SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable,  must be the truth

Back in the nineties when Ontario introduced legislation mandating school councils, there was huge interest all over the province. The vast majority of schools had dozens of capable, committed candidates for their school council that first year, and the elections had a robust turnout. The next year was a different story. Few schools had enough candidates to force an election, and the school councils were mostly acclaimed. What happened, you ask? Well, the capable, committed candidates on the first-year school councils quickly discovered that the principal had no intention of allowing them to have any meaningful input or carry out any meaningful function other than raise money, and so they got tired of wasting their valuable time and moved on. The second year, for the most part, it was only candidates who were content with going through the motions, and so there were so few candidates that they automatically were appointed to the council. And so it has continued to this day.

This is confirmed by a recent Parents for Education survey, as noted in Educhatter's latest blog, where 90% of school councils spend on average less than 10% of their time working on the school improvement program - even though that is what the Ontario legislation created them to do.

So we are left with the question of why principals and other education leaders don't want capable parents as part of their team to raise education standards. Essentially, it boils down to two possibilities: either the education leaders don't think capable parents would be helpful in a drive to raise education standards or else the education leaders don't want to/don't think they can raise education standards.

The former possibility (namely that education leaders don't think capable parents have anything to offer) is not at all plausible, as it is well accepted that parental involvement - of any kind - leads to enhanced student learning. Furthermore, school improvement schemes are far more likely to be successful if they have input/buy-in from all of the stakeholders.

Which leaves us with the explanation that education leaders don't want to/don't think they can raise education standards. Is this possible?

Sunday at the Movies (Parent Power)

Coming to a theatre near you...... YouTube link

And now for something completely different

This is not at all educational, but it's lots of fun. So far, 37,533,453 people have viewed it. Why not be number 37,533,454?

News Bulletin - Timely Feedback Aids Good Teaching

A new study from the Council of Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research "suggests that the use of interim assessment data to modify classroom instruction and inform schoolwide policies and practices is positively and significantly related to higher student achievement in some grades and subjects".

Putting this into words of one syllable, the study found that if kids are tested regularly and their teachers act on the results, the students learn more.

Unfortunately, Ontario's provincial testing does not fall into the useful category, since it does not provide sufficiently detailed feedback, nor is it reported quickly enough. It's too bad, because Ontario could instead use off-the-shelf standardized tests that would yield very detailed information, come back very quickly, and cost a fraction of the price of the EQAO tests. H/T DW

A website to be grateful for

You know there's a website for everything when you visit Become a Nanny, a website with resources for people who want to be a nanny. Actually, there's lots of good stuff on this site, information that is relevant to parents and teachers as well. In particular, I draw your attention to 30 Blogs for Helping to Teach Kids to be Thankful. H/T MK

No Commentary Necessary

More examples

Gambling with children’s lives

French immersion has become very popular these days, mostly because it allows parents to put their kids in schools with fewer students with learning problems, for example English-as-a-second language students. French immersion has become so popular that now the Peel school board is considering a lottery, since it can't cater to all of the parents who want it. more The main problem seems to be a lack of French-speaking teachers.

Parents are up in arms, as well they might be, at having their children's future subject to chance. 

Instituting a lottery is taking a blunt instrument to this problem IMHO. I can think of several creative solutions that the Peel board might explore. 

They might consider:

• Paying French-speaking teachers extra;
• Creating other élite programs, for example Chinese immersion or Montessori or intensive academic, to reduce the number of French immersion seekers;
• Working with the Alliance Française and/or Canadian Parents for French to find solutions;
• Using non big-box schools, for example church basements or retail space or public libraries, to house some of the programs; and 
• Improving the experience for all students by offering better service to students with learning problems.

I'm sure you can come up with additional ideas....

New kid on the blog

This first blog by Mike Thomas is kind of interesting, in that it chronicles his journey from education reform opponent to education reform booster - all because he looked at the evidence with an open mind! Others should try this!

Sunday at the Movies (Khan Academy)

This TED talk touches on some recent themes in our blog - gamification, distance education, and the potential of technology. As well, be sure to watch to the end, as there is a surprise guest. link

Who’s Got The Power? Not us.

This map is amazing.  It shows by state how much parents have power over their children's education by how much choice is available to them.  Too bad we can't make map like that in Canada yet.  Who has the power? Not us.