Re: “Progress, but no promises” Nov. 19
Dear editor,
Over the last year, we have all become aware of the school crisis that we are facing in Airdrie. We have a shortage of schools; parents and students are tired of having class in hallways and gyms. The Province says that Airdrie will get schools, but we were also told that it likely will be at least two or three years before we see any results of any action taken. What is a city like Airdrie to do? In two or three years the problem is only going to grow.
Many opinions and solutions have been explored over the years on many levels, but nothing has come of it. However, there is one option that, to my knowledge, has not yet been considered. Encourage homeschooling.
Homeschooling takes kids out of school buildings, reducing the heavy load that is currently straining the system, reduces the number of new schools needed, provides better pupil-teacher ratios to both those schooled at home and those who remain, and is less expensive for the government.
We, as a city, are paying for the poor planning of the Provincial education system, but we don’t have to wait for the government to fix it. We can act on this crisis without waiting for the Province. Parents can explore the option of homeschooling their children. The City of Airdrie can creatively encourage homeschooling, perhaps by offering tax breaks or other incentives and by working with the Rocky View Schools. Rocky View Schools can encourage it through contact with parents and students.
I believe that if the community of Airdrie effectively implemented such a strategy, we would not only no longer have a problem, we would also reduce our dependency on the provincial government to fix all our problems, and most importantly, we would no longer have a second-rate, over-crowded, under-funded school system.
Dallas Lammiman, Airdrie
