SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Zero Heroes

On June 1, I blogged about an Edmonton teacher who had been suspended for giving a zero to students who hadn’t handed in their assignments. Well, this teacher, still suspended, has become a pop hero of sorts. It turns out that most Edmontonians had no idea about the board’s no zero policy, and when it became public, most people thought it was nuts. More or less the same thing happened in Ontario a few years back, by the way.

In fact, this is not an isolated case. Education leaders are constantly implementing crazy policies that mostly fly under the radar but which outrage the public when they find out about them. I think of too-explicit and premature sex education curricula, too-high teacher pay and benefits, too-easy and non-standardized tests, virtually-guaranteed high school graduation policies, irrelevant PD day activities, benighted teacher hiring and firing policies, and much more. 

The bottom line is - our education leaders are way out of touch with what the public wants and what taxpayers think they are paying for. Unfortunately, our education leaders are unelected and unaccountable, and there are very few teachers like the zero hero - who, although a hero, is likely out of a job and a profession he loves - who are in a position to stand up for what they think is right. H/T LDA