Lack of time at school reason for student failure
While the government pats itself on the back for shovelling more money into the education pit (almost $18 billion and counting), the teachers' union (and all who are paid under that huge umbrella) seem all too eager to point out that it's not their fault students don't achieve higher results; it might be the students who are to blame.
Pointing the finger of blame at students for achievement failures in school is like blaming the driver of a new car if the tires fall off due to improper installation at the factory. It's not the driver's fault. They're a customer and if the product failed (and continued to do so year after year), it's the vendor's fault.
Students (parents and taxpayers too) are also customers and the education system is the vendor so the blame must lie at their feet.
They are "who" to blame. But "what" is to blame? How about time? As in how much time does a student spend in the classroom in front of a teacher, learning?
Too little, I say.
To date, my son's Grade 8 school schedule included: Jan. 1 to 4 off (end of Winter Break), Feb. 15 off (Family Day), March 10 to 14 off (March Break), March 21 off (Good Friday), March 24 off (Easter Monday), March 28 off (PD day), two snow days off, two ski days off, one fun day and two days sent home early due to bad weather, not to mention a couple of sick days here and there.
And in two months school will be finished and my son will have another 10 weeks off for summer vacation. Is this the proper way to prepare a 14-year-old for high school? Perhaps if our children spent more time in school, more time in front of a teacher and more time learning, we all might learn "what" really is to blame.
Glenn Williams
