Skip to content

In education, average isn't good enough

An editorial in the Calgary Herald last week left me, and likely every other parent with school-aged children, very concerned. It was reported that a 15-year-old Airdrie boy could not handwrite his own name.

An editorial in the Calgary Herald last week left me, and likely every other parent with school-aged children, very concerned. It was reported that a 15-year-old Airdrie boy could not handwrite his own name. The mother of the student discovered this when she and her son were at the bank. She was shocked when asked by her teenager how to write his name on a bank document.

Alberta Education responded with the lame excuse that “cursive writing is a mandatory part of the curriculum, but teachers and schools have the discretion to decide how much time to spend on it.”

I now worry what other basic life skills are treated this way by Alberta Education. Spelling? Reading? Multiplication? Canadian history?

The problem with Alberta Education’s explanation is this. Just because something is a “mandatory part of the curriculum” does not mean it is a skill that every student must mandatorily learn; and there’s a big difference.

This whole issue stems from a serious flaw in the education systems of most North American jurisdictions. It is called ‘Social Promotion.’

Social Promotion is the practice of promoting a student to the next grade in order to keep them with their social peers regardless of whether or not the child has learned the material that was taught. In other words, just because cursive writing is a mandatory part of the curriculum, doesn’t necessarily mean little Johnny or Sally needs to know how to do it properly before being pushed through to the next grade.

I don’t know very many parents or teachers who feel this is acceptable. I certainly don’t.

In my view, the traditional classroom model of a teacher lecturing students of the same age is outdated. Although there are many teachers that do amazing and creative things within the restraints of this model, more often than not, this system results in gifted students having their potential restricted by peers who may not learn as quickly, while students who fail to grasp key concepts are moved on to higher grades and more complicated subject matter regardless of whether or not they are ready. This often leads to strong students forgoing additional learning opportunities, the domination of a teacher’s time by a few individuals, and perpetual poor grades and behavioural problems for those who fall behind.

Systemic issues like this one are not solved overnight, but we have to start somewhere. We need to make the decision as a province to end the practice of social promotion in schools. Students should not move on to more advanced subject matter until they have shown competency in the prerequisites. We need to allow our children to both excel and fail in school. It is an injustice to withhold from them the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from overcoming a former weakness by applying oneself.

As a start, Alberta Education should permit open-enrollment and tuition-free public, Catholic and charter schools to opt into a competency-based learning and assessment education model. Students in these schools would have the opportunity to learn at a pace and in a way that is tailored to their individual needs and would not move on to more advanced material until they demonstrate strong understanding of previously taught subject matter. For those students who have trouble understanding the lesson material, teachers and parents would work together to ensure those skills are mastered before moving the child on. Conversely, students who are able to comprehend and learn the material at an accelerated pace would continue to be challenged with new material as they are ready – perhaps obtaining trades, college and university level course credit while still in high school.

Students would still spend time with their social peers while playing sports, at recess or during extra-curricular activities. Classroom time should be for learning – not for socialization. If there is some age discrepancy in a classroom because we end the practice of social promotion – that’s entirely acceptable, and frankly, will better prepare our children for workplace reality.

In what is becoming an increasingly competitive world, let’s stop teaching kids that 50 per cent is good enough; frankly, it’s not good enough...and teaching them it is will only hurt them in the long run.


Airdrie Today Staff

About the Author: Airdrie Today Staff

Read more


Comments


No Facebook? No problem.

Here is how you can stay connected to the Airdrie City View and access local news in your community:

Bookmark our homepage for easy access to local news.
Pick up a copy of our newspaper and read local news that you cannot get elsewhere.
Sign up for our FREE newsletters to have local news & more delivered daily to your email inbox.
Download our mobile icon to have access to our news right at your fingertips.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks