The Learning Agenda

On a facebook forum for rural schools solutions (CORES), one of the trustee candidates brought up the BC government's plans to transform education and our school district's endorsement. 21st century learning, personalized, flexible, empowered by technology, better teachers & standards, allows parents to choose what, where, how, and when their kids learn. In response, I'd have to say that the "Learning Agenda" needs to be seen in more detail. "21st Century Learning" means too many things to be at the centre of a plan. For some, it means critical thinking and problem-solving, or collaboration and creativity, for others it means more distance education and use of technology. Some of those things belong in any century, and are already "normal" in our schools. The where/when part speaks to the goal for more distance education, phased in as students approach Grade 12. As a parent, I am not interested in having my child learn about math or social studies by staying home and looking up helpful websites on a cell phone. This would be a difficult option for working parents. I want my kids to learn, websites or not, in the presence of a teacher who can guide & instruct and other students with whom they interact. There are some successful "blended" models for delivering distance education, but we're not there yet in SD57, our correspondence courses have very low success rates. Making improvements there is very much needed if distance education can be used to support rural communities. Our schools and teachers are not always perfect but squeezing out the students for distance courses as they approach graduation will not make them better. More parental involvement sounds good but the reality is that most working parents are quite content to send their kids to school and trust that they are learning. Do many parents (outside of home-schooling) actually want to design their kid's educational experience? Choosing a school or program (like Montesorri) yes, but curriculum and learning activities? Our teachers are already very good at this. I am absolutely committed and deeply involved in my kids' education, but I have more than enough opportunity to interact with their teachers and affect how and when they learn. I think the "Learning Agenda" is not so much flexibility as it is privatizing education. It seems to be a recipe for downgrading public school until we end up with a two-tiered education system. There are some really good things that can come from changes to the system, but our own district has a big problem in that many of the "21st Century Learning" ideas that teachers want to pursue are stopped by board office policy. The disconnect between the teachers and the board office has deepened over the last few years and is quite obvious during the current job action. Sorting out and bringing in the "Learning Agenda" will not succeed unless this disconnect can be addressed. This will be a hard task for trustees, but it needs to be on the agenda. I look forward to the challenge.