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SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Sunday at the movies (Yes, Prime Minister)
This three-part TV show is very funny and worth watching but, if you don't have 30 minutes to spare, just watch Part 2.
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
The nasty secret of university drop-outs
The latest additon to our lending library is Campus Confidential: 100 startling things you don't know about Canadian universities by Ken. S. Coates and Bill Morrison. Though ostensibly written for students, the book contains a great deal of information that will surprise many parents, teachers, taxpayers, and even professors. Canadian universities have undergone a lot of changes over the last 25 years. Here are a few little-known facts: a university degree is no longer a golden ticket to landing a job; the university one attends matters very little; university administrations' top priority is filling spaces; and cheating is rampant on modern campuses. The excerpt (pp. 61-63) reveals the shocking extent of academic failure.
"There's a nasty secret that rarely surfaces in public discussions about universities. Many students - at some places perhaps nearly half of all those who enter - do not graduate. Across the country, tens of thousands of students each year leave campuses, some to transfer to other educational institutions, others for jobs. But the vast majority leave as academic failures.
"Think about that for a moment. Remember how much time and effort young Johnny devoted to picking a university, paying tuition and room and board, and launching his studies? Now, imagine how he feels when he fails three or four mid-term exams, struggles with essays and lab reports, crashes during final tests, and then gets the dreaded Dean's letter requiring an extended academic holidy, often in mid-year when his probation runs out. Contemplate the phone call: 'Hi, Mom. I got kicked out of school. Can I come home?'
So much is loaded into this experience. Forget the money; you can write that off as an unfortunate investment. remember that young people, coddled from birth, have little experience with failure. They have been told that prosperity and opportunity require a university degree. They know their future depends on it. And now they have been rejected by the institution that was the repository of their career ambitions. Failure in university is a life-limiting experience.
"Why is the failure rate so high? even the best schools, attracting only the top students. lose up to 10 per cent of their first-year students. Issues of maturity, too much beer, the discovery of sex, wrong program choices, laziness, homesickness, and money woes are part of the challenge.
"But the real culprit is the national conceit that all students who want to go to university should have the chance. University, according to this belief, is a right, like shelter and medical care. Other countries limit access to (publicly funded) universities to students who have demonstrated aptitude and motivation.
"No such elitism for Canada. even the top schools are comparatively accessible. Our national mantra about equality of opportunity is no better displayed than through the expensive university admission processes. Universities need money to survive. Students provide money. Therefore students are heartily welcomed, with inadequate concern about their ability to succeed.
"The current approach is wrong. Students who fail carry a heavy personal burden. Their parents are disappointed - with their child or the institution - as well as out of pocket. The cost to the government is considerable. And classes with large numbers of students ill suited for study can produce a very unhappy academic environment.
"There is enormous variation in academic success rates. Universities that attract mor students of lower academic achievement (below 75 per cent is a good cut-off, given today's grossly inflated high school grades) have lower graduation rates. The data on this crucial topic is collected but is rarely disseminated and does not form part of the maclean's ranking of universities - even though it may be the single most important measure of institutional effectiveness.
"Greater honesty is needed here. A dismally large portion of the students going to a Canadian university in any academic year will not graduate. If incoming students knew this secret, some of the weaker ones might find a better training option elsewhere. Others might be more motivated and might work harder, knowing how many actually do fail and are asked to leave. This dirty little secret needs to be aired."
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
The Sunshine State
We have mentioned a number of times that Florida is the US state with the most and the best school choice. The graph compares the learning gains of low-income grade 4 and grade 8 students on the national tests of reading and math between 2003 and 2009. (As an aside, get a load of the negative trend in West Virginia - a state with zero school choice.)
American parents of low-income children who are struggling in school would be well advised to head for Florida. Canadian? Well, there's always Alberta!
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Shakedown
School for Thought predicts lots of turmoil when contracts come up for negotiation next year AFTER the election naturally. Regardless of who is in government at the time, the province is is serious financial trouble. The Ministry of Education has yet to announce next year's finalized Grants for Student Needs; however, boards have already been warned that expected increases in funding, in almost all areas except teacher salaries and benefits (which are determined by contract), will surely be less than originally forecast.
School For Thought previously reported here and here that the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association had approved a dues increase at their AGM targeted to specifically fight the Tim Hudak PCs in the October provincial election. Yesterday it came to light that OECTA had sent a letter to their members explaining the dues increases and to announce their election campaign "Who Speaks for Children?".
Christina Blizzard in the Toronto Sun has a good column on it, Union Blackmail Ramps Up, where she remarks, "This ad campaign is about ensuring the fat pay, perks and pensions of teachers are preserved and enhanced."
Speaking for children my foot!
The March 31st letter to their members clearly states: "the election of a Conservative Government under Tim Hudak would threaten the common good, particularly education. It was not that long ago that teachers were experiencing disrespect and cuts to education funding under the Harris (and then Eves) Conservatives...Conservatives believe that teacher unions have too much power with the McGuinty government and would move quickly to reduce that influence if elected on October 6...If Tim Hudak gets elected, it is safe to predict teacher negotiators will face hostility at the bargaining table when collective agreements expire on August 31, 2012."
Of course, none of that can be proven to be true, but how is THAT about speaking for children when most of the funding goes to pay for salaries and benefits? The only "common good" they are concerned about is their own. Needless to say, there are many teachers who are incensed about this move to pick their pockets. Time to speak up.
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Reminder:
Don't forget to register for Measuring UP School Accountabilty Seminar April 26th in Toronto. If you thought Waiting for Superman was controversial, then you must see Canadian premiere of The Cartel. The early-bird registration price as been extended to Friday and space is limited. Register ONLINE HERE.
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
In defence of mathematical foundations
There's an article in the March issue of Educational Leadershp that should put to rest any lingering misapprehensions that the advent of calculators means that kids don't need to learn basic arithmetic any more. The author is a Johns Hopkins mathematics professor, who characterizes himself as a grade 13 teacher (because he teaches first-year university students). In fact, he says, most first-year university math courses are actually K-12 math courses, since high-school graduates tend to be very poorly prepared in math.
Here's a most-telling quote from the article: "I polled members of an electronic mailing list I belong to, asking them whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: 'To succeed at freshman mathematics at my college/university, it is important to have knowledge of and facility with basic arithmetic algorithms - for example, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and algebra (without having to rely on a calculator)'. I got 93 responses (we're a small community), and they all agreed with the statement. One ex-dean wrote: 'That it is even slightly in doubt is strong evidence of very distorted curriculum decisions'. A professor at the National University of Singapore wrote: 'Without such a facility, no one gets to enter the university'.... From Germany, 'What a question! The answer is, of course, yes!' From Japan, 'I thought it was a joke for you to have asked our opinion about such a self-evident truth.'"
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Only clear writing
The Queen's English: And how to use it is a practical guide to clear, unambiguous writing. It includes lots of amusing examples, such as (from the section on hyphens) "the black cab driver" (which one is black - the cab or the driver?) and (from the section on commas) "we ate chocolate, cakes and ices" (without the comma, we would have been eating chocolate cakes). Here is an excerpt (pp. 89-90) on the proper placement of the word "only".
"Only is the most frequently misplaced word in English.... It should normally be placed directly before the word it qualifies.
"Only I ran to the house. The other people did not run to the house.
"I only ran to the house. I ran but did not walk, hop or skip to the house.
"I ran only to the house. I did not also run to the park or the fence.
"I ran to the only house. There were no other houses.
"The placing of only has a fascinating range of implications, as shown in the exercise below. It can cause ambiguity. See if you detect any ambiguity here:
"He only drinks port in the evening.
"It could mean that he drinks nothing but port in the evening, with no whisky, beer or other drinks then, or that when he drinks port, it is only in the evening. A strict grammatical approach is that only qualifies the following word, the verb drinks, and that when he has port in the evening, he only drinks it, rather than spewing it or bathing in it. Clearly it would be better to put:
"He drinks only port in the evening, or
"He drinks port only in the evening.
....
Exercise
"Put the word only in all possible positions in this sentence and consider the implications:
"The psychologist gave the baboon the banana.
The placing of only has implications for the presence, absence and number of other investigators, animals and fruits, and alternatives to gave."
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Where are the boys?
Here's another thought-provoking excerpt from Campus Confidential, this one on the academic gender gap. After documenting the trend towards fewer men in university (fully 60% of graduates are female), they go on to say the following (p. 187).
"So what happens to the young men who, in large and growing numbers, are not doing well in school, have trouble finding high-paying, stable jobs and a marriage partner, and don't seem to fit into the service-oriented twenty-first century economy?
"We're in the midst of finding out. One segment of Canadian society - First Nations people - provides a grim warning. First Nations women are far more likely to go to university than men. Once educated, they tend to stay in urban centres and often marry outside their First Nation. The young men, in turn, are educationally disenfranchised, without work or prospects, and often live in communities where many of the most talented, well-educated and active women have left. They often feel they have no future. The result? Frustration, anger, abuse, and self-destructive behaviour.
"Elsewhere in Canadian society, many families know exactly where these young men have gone. When you tell an audience that you have found the missing young men - they are in their parents' basements playing video games and working just enough to keep themselves in male toys - the bitter laughter from a sizable portion of the audience lets you know you are right. Add to this the reality of boomerang children - kids who return home after a period of time of near independence - and you have pinpointed one of the most serious generational challenges of the early twenty-first century."
To find out what you can do to guard against this fate for the young boys in your life, visit our site dedicated to this problem.
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Sunday at the Movies (The Importance of Spelling)
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Only in other provinces and states? Pity!
In the wake of a new study showing that Milwaukee school choice students were more likely than their public school counterparts to graduate from high school and proceed to a four-year college, I thought I would provide an up-date on the progress of school choice programs in the US.
February 8 VIRGINIA New tax credit scholarship program
March 10 ARIZONA Expansion of tax credit program
March 10 UTAH Expansion of voucher program
March 15 COLORADO New voucher program
March 16 OKLAHOMA New tax credit scholarship program
March 30 INDIANA New voucher program
March 30 DC Expansion of voucher program
March 30 MINNESOTA New voucher program
The research on existing school choice programs suggests that these expanded/new programs will improve students' lives, and so more programs will be expanded and created. Eventually, the weight of the evidence will become too heavy to ignore. And Canadians can hardly say this is just an American phenomenon, since the students in Canadian provinces that already have significant school choice programs (Alberta, BC, and Quebec) do better than students in other provinces.
SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT
Basking in the Sunshine
The 2010 Sunshine List is out. This is the list of all the Ontario public sector employees who earned more than $100,000 in 2010. There are quite a few of them!
Of course, our primary interest is the school board employees, the list of which can be found here. This year, there are not quite 9,000 education sunshiners listed (more will follow, since addenda are always published later in the year listing the late-filers). In 2003, when the present Ontario government took office, there were 788 sunshiners. Over the same period, student enrollment fell from just under 2 million to about 1.9 million, a loss of about 100,000 students. In 2003, there were about 2,500 students for every well-paid bureaucrat, but by 2010 there were only about 200 students per well-paid bureaucrat.
At this rate, every student will soon have his or her very own well-paid bureaucrat. And that's not an April Fool's joke!