Class sizes must be smaller
Premier Doug Ford has said the plan to send students and educational workers back to school in September is not his government’s, but that of health officials. And to Ford’s credit, he has done well following the recommendations of his health advisers.
But the current plan ignores a key element of recommendations by experts at the Hospital for Sick Children — class sizes must reflect social distancing requirements. Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce are deliberately ignoring this. In doing so, they are jeopardizing the health and lives of our children and education workers.
“Let’s give this a shot, at least,” isn’t good enough when it comes to the health and safety of our children. This is criminal negligence. Lecce and Ford should be held personally and criminally responsible for this deliberate failure to fully implement the recommendations, all to save a buck. Paul J. Scott, Hanover, Ont.
It will be interesting to observe school administrators attempt to regulate two entrenched behaviours in some teens — adolescent romance and nicotine addiction.
With the former, it isn’t unusual to see a young couple in a school corridor during the lunch hour, locked in warm embrace. And then sweet kisses when departing, heading for different afternoon classes. That’s tough to do, and meaningless, wearing masks. Will hall monitors be required to yell, “Distancing!” Will hand holding be permitted if both lovesick youths promise to scrub them thoroughly before going to class?
And then there is the nicotine crowd, seen huddled on the sidewalk bordering the school, buddies often sharing smokes or vaping devices. Very close contact there, especially during winter months. Face masks won’t be visible in that setting.
These two issues may seem trivial to many people, but as a high school supply teacher, I’m curious to see if Lecce’s distancing stipulations for students hold any water with some teens. Garry Burke, Oro-Medonte, Ont.
Re Federal back-to-school guidelines urge phased-in return to classes, face shields for teachers, Aug. 8
The experts at the Hospital for Sick Children say they cannot support a plan to put so many kids in a classroom where they cannot be physically distanced. The federal government recommends reduced class sizes. But Ontario
Premier Doug Ford is picking and choosing the advice he takes.
It would be expensive to hire new teachers but he is overlooking the obvious. How about stopping French, music, library and any other subjects taught by extra non-classroom staff? The school day could be one period shorter to give teachers the planning time usually covered by these extra teachers. That would mean having to hire fewer teachers. The kids would lose out on the suspended subjects but perhaps they could be taught online.
Just give it a try, at least until January. Gail Rutherford, Toronto
Elementary class sizes are too big to allow for the necessary social distancing that would keep students and teachers safe. There are not enough teachers and not enough physical space to create new smaller classes.
So what are we to do? Early on in the government’s planning there was talk of a proposed model in which existing classes would be split into two. Section A would attend school on Monday and Tuesday, section B would attend on Thursday and Friday, and Wednesday would be used for deep cleaning.
Yes, this would be inconvenient. But you know what else would be inconvenient? Getting COVID-19. Having a family member get COVID-19. Dying of COVID-19.
I recognize that people just want to get back to normal, but normal no longer exists. It is not just a question of waiting this out for a couple of months and then going back to your day-to-day routine. By most estimates. this epidemic will span years, not months. We need to start planning and acting accordingly. Daniel Warden, Toronto
There is something very strange in the recent actions of our premier concerning his refusal to reduce class sizes for elementary students.
Premier Doug Ford has stated, after disastrously applying his own limited logic to the pandemic (go away and enjoy March break!) that he will now listen to the experts for COVID-19 advice. Well, most experts are now advising him to reduce class sizes.
What’s behind his change of heart? Perhaps his political ideology.
By refusing to reduce class sizes, he is betting on the cautious wisdom of parents to do it for him by not sending their children to the guinea pig labs. In so-doing, he will be able to sneakily implement online learning for students, a plan his government had been toying with, with great pushback.
I believe this to be an attempt to reduce the number of educators in this province. David Ottenbrite, Cambridge, Ont.
It appears it is imperative to lower class sizes if we are going to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. In order to find more money to hire the staff required, would this not be the ideal time to amalgamate the public and Catholic school boards? Katharine Binks, Scarborough
Staff and students should boycott the proposed return to school . We have seen enough examples of right-wing refusal to spend money on necessary precautions to know how devastating the results of such meanness can be.
Until a great deal more space is found, where small, well-distanced classes can be held, and the necessary staff and equipment provided, we had all better stay at home.
Most outbreaks of COVID-19 seem to come from underfinanced institutions and below-par workplaces, so let’s not add schools to the list. We have had enough already. Jenny Carter, Peterborough, Ont.
I have a great idea for Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board announced — even before the government announced its plan for reopening schools — that it was “status quo” for all students returning to school this fall, meaning full days, five days a week with no change to class size.
With this in mind, the TCDSB should then be exempt from the province’s plan for reduced class sizes in high schools and the option of remote learning. The money saved could be used toward hiring more public elementary school teachers, thus dropping the class size to a reasonable 15 students where physical distancing can be better maintained.
There has never been a better time to revisit the question of why Ontario taxpayers are still continuing to fund religious-based schools. Eduarda Madeira, Toronto
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