Nanaimo-Info-blog: Is BC Education Trapped In The MATRIX?

Follows is an article, school principal Cathal Walsh who is the principal at Ladysmith Intermediate posted on his blog. It is reprinted here with permission. It would seem those seven deadly words which stifle progressive thinking are at work: WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT THAT WAY.

This school year marks twenty-one years since I accepted my first full-time teaching job. I’d like to say that much has changed for the better in the past twenty years but sadly – not really. This year I have decided to move on to a new chapter in my life as I recently resigned from my position as an elementary school principal with Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools. At 45 years of age I’m not retiring but I am stepping out of the “BC Education Matrix” for a little while to regain perspective and pursue other personal and career goals.  What do I mean by the education matrix? Well, if you recall the movie The Matrix, it proposed a hypothesis that we are all asleep; living in a dream world of sorts with each of us following a pre-programmed ritualized existence absent of free thought or creative free will.
The eternal conflict among BCTF, educators, students, general public and government in British Columbia highlights the incredible disconnect that continues to exist in this province among all education stakeholders. It is evident that we need to “wake up” from the matrix like dream world we have been living in. The world around us is changing at a never before experienced rate and our most valuable future resources (children) are being held to the standards and confines of industrial age education theory, policy and union mantras. Let’s look at the archaic sticking points of the current negotiations and consider a different perspective?

1. Class Size. Is it important? Yes – but only If you are still teaching in a model that places full responsibility on one individual (teacher) for the entire social, emotional and educational development of every child in their care. Other models that employ teachers working as teams backed up with the deployment of technology in support of learning are proven to be far more effective in meeting the needs of more students than your typical class size. However, adopting these new paradigms for student learning requires an uncomfortable shift from “Mrs. Jones’ class” to Mrs. Jones as part of a learning team. The class size debate hinges on the accepted notion that all students will be assigned to specific classrooms (and teachers) based solely on students’ age rather than their learning needs, personal interests, skills or innate talents. The irony of debating class size to the point of collective agreement inclusion and legislation is that it only serves to chain us to the past; preventing our schools from progressing towards more flexible models of educational programming for all students. Flexibility in learning and program delivery is critical in the world we now live in.

2. Class Composition. Similar to class size, class composition operates from a flawed and antiquated paradigm of teaching and learning. However, even within the current model debating appropriate number of designation levels (the current primary measure of class composition) per classrooms is truly bizarre. Speak with any teacher and they will tell you two things:
i. The students with designations aren’t always the highest needs learners; and
ii. No two designated students (indeed no two students) are the same.
If you are going to try to define appropriate class composition with a random number of designated students then you may as well include hair colour and favourite cartoon in your criteria because you have as much chance of getting it right! Each group of learners have diverse needs. Designations are only one measure. Class composition, if you want to call it that, needs to include consideration of many other factors including student achievement levels, behaviour support required, student self-regulation abilities, teacher strengths, parent support, poverty, etc…). Bottom line – it’s not as simple as declaring a magic number of “designated” students per classroom. It’s a complex issue that likely requires decision making authourity and subsequent access to funding downloaded to the district and school level where administrators and their teaching staff can best determine and design a program of learning support for all students in every school. That may mean some classes with thirty-five students for parts of the day and other classes with fifteen students. It may mean designing the educational program to look different than what we are accustomed to seeing. However, that would mean thinking independently and challenging the status quo and in “the matrix” that’s a no-no.

Cathal Walsh is a school principal with Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools on Vancouver Island.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestLabels:BC Education