Unpublished Op-Ed submitted to the Toronto Star

Increasing class sizes, getting back to the basics and revoking the sex-ed curriculum reflects more of the Luddite, regressive and dismissive political thinking of the Ford government and of all governments.  Unlike doctors or lawyers, education is based on political whims rather than educational research and is why we cannot make any progress. We have a revolving door where every four years we switch directions – going forward and back, left and right.  Governments make educational policy on the basis of what the public wants, not the evidence-based advice of experts, teachers, principals and others. Until this changes, nothing will change. Education will continue to run in circles as it has for the last century.

Class sizes are already extremely challenging in elementary schools given the fact that teachers are generalists and must meet the diverse and challenging needs of students that are constantly changing. ESL, special needs, single-parent families, refugees, politically aggressive parents and moving are only a few of the challenges that modern teachers face daily. They are almost exclusively female. Teaching children in any grade is a major challenge but meeting the demanding needs of up to 30 students is a virtually impossible task yet women teachers do it every day. Few, in any line of work are required to deal with multiple clients simultaneously everyday for ten continuous months and to be fully responsible for them during that period. Most elementary school parents are responsible for only a few of their own children. Multiply that by ten and you have a normal cramped ‘egg crate’ classroom. Research also shows that teachers are committed to their profession not for monetary but for altruistic reasons. Elementary school teachers are the vast majority of educators in the province, yet they get no respect, pay or credit for their work because of their gender. They are vastly under-rated and under-valued.

Research has shown that up to end of the Primary grades is the critical point where learning begins to solidify. These grades are the most crucial of any in a person’s life in sorting out difficulties they may have. After Grade 3 it is much more difficult, if not impossible to change a person’s learning style, behaviour, attitudes and demeanour. The student in Grade 3 is going to be the adult we see in society. As a result, these grades are of key importance to the long-term development of children. They should have the lowest class sizes and the highest level of support due to the ages of the children being taught and the importance of this educational period.

Elementary schools are authoritarian, top-down and hierarchical bastions of ancient patriarchal values and beliefs. Women are given token input into their work and what works by governments and boards. They are patronized and subordinated even by female patriarchs who now populate the ranks of the liberated work force. Women have been freed in many other areas but not in elementary schools that remain professional, white ghettos. The ease of teaching young children is often mistaken for a lack of skill and expertise.  In our content obsessed ‘factory school’ curriculum, the more difficult content you teach the more respect you get.

Increasing class sizes in secondary also misses the point. The problems are with cellphones, social media, cars, out of school work activity, extra-curriculars, sports practices, friends, family commitments etc. that have been pushing academics down the social priority ladder for the past thirty years. Adding more students to classes where they are already distracted and learning only about twenty percent of the curriculum they need to know only exacerbates the issues. Despite these distractions students and parents still expect good grades to get into university despite putting in a lacklustre effort in high school. By the time they get to university, they don’t know what they don’t know. Schooling should be the top priority given that it determines the rest of our life in society.

Economically elementary and secondary teachers are a bargain. They not only provide highly professional free custodial care for children allowing our economy to run smoothly but they also give them a globally respected education in the process.

So cutting teachers and raising class sizes may be good politics but bad educational policy. Doug Ford’s ‘Back to the Future’ education curriculum will not work.