Discussions

I don't think anyone would suggest that the Education in Manitoba is perfect as it is. There is a reason the government took over a year to do a sweeping review of the education system in Manitoba. It was supposed to be released last spring, so the document says March 2020. That's how you'll know if you are reading the actual review, not the government's 'response' to the review that they put out in March 2021.  
 
They must hope people will think that Bill 64 and their BEST plan is the result of the review, or is at least based on the results of the review. At 180 pages long, they're betting most people won't actually read the commission document or compare the two.  
 
The review actually is its own document and is worth a read. If you're not up for 180 pages, you can read the 10 imperatives (recommendations) made in the review in the first 20 pages or so. If you dig deeper, you can read a lot of the responses from people - parents, students, educators, anyone across the province who cared enough about education to participate and give their input. There are suggestions similar to what is in this thread - kids need life skills, financial skills, they can't make even change, focus on the basics, address poverty, put money back into the classrooms, cut costs at the top.  
 
Division amalgamations were expected and recommended, but nowhere in the review does it recommend isolating the power at the top and appointing a government authority to make all of the decisions, or eliminating all but one of the school boards/divisions. But, that's what the government's response is.  
 
Reading the government's plan you may notice how many times it says they want and value parent and community input, voices, participation. They had all of that with this review. Also notice that there is absolutely NO requirement for the government education 'authority' to listen to or follow the recommendations and advice of the 'voices' they asked to hear, and there is no a mention of a role for *educators* in guiding plans decisions to improve student outcomes in the future. People who dedicate their lives to education have a vested interest in the future of education and will still be there to see it through. Parents will be involved until their kids grow up, government appointees will last as long as the current government. Educators stay in the schools and educators will be doing work.  
 
Anyone who has filled out an EngageMB survey in the past few months should know the drill by now. They ask, and then do whatever they want. People who fill out the surveys are less likely to complain to their MLAs because they feel like they sent their message.  
 
For sure, lots of things could be done to improve education in our province. We can always do better, and we want to. But please take some time to read the actual review document, and see how it stacks up against what the government is proposing to do. This is THEIR review. THEIR document. THEIR professionals that they hired to advise and guide the review and write their conclusions with OUR feedback. To the credit of the commissionners, they did their job.  
 
The commission's education review document can be found at the link posted below. It's a little harder to find by googling or searching the MB education website, and that's by design. The review is what Manitobans paid for and participated in. We should take the time to consider its findings and recommendations seriously, and ask that our government to do the same.  
 
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/educationreview/docs/public-discussion-paper.pdf  
 
If you have WFP access, this interview with one of the report's commissioners is a good read.  
 
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/provinces-school-board-decision-bit-of-a-mystery-commissioner-says-574052602.html?fbclid=IwAR3YkisGwwLr38puR91XVUsQvN_ZJbr6jjUtS4ovN9WENlKWMifIO2yk58E

There are a lot of issues with our school system. The biggest and most important issue is automatically moving students to the next grade if they are ready or not. Education is a progression of knowledge. If you dont know the difference between a vowel and a noun or can't write a sentence in grade 4 how can you be expected to write a paragraph in grade 8 or an essay in high school. YET students enter grade 1 and 8 years later go to grade 9 doesn't matter if they are ready or even went to school regularly.

I would support the changes you mentioned. Some of the changes I would love to see would be hard to implement though.  
 
Cut top heavy bloat so more money filters down the the kids.  
Decrease class room size.  
Stop passing kids that shouldn't passed.  
Look at / study / cherry pick parts of a curriculum from a higher Provience / county.  
 
We do need to make our curriculum harder, much harder. It can't happen overnight of course, but we could start by not handing out ribbons for everything.  
 
Again with the 8/10 meeting grade, is that meeting Manitoba's grade expectations? Manitoba's education is near the bottom of Canada's.

And I agree with a few above who talked about the social pass. When students hit the HS system they are destined to fail if they don’t have the basics to support them to get there. A friend of mine tried to have their child held back because they weren’t ready. Superintendent and principal refused to let them do that. That I don’t understand. They wanted something they felt was right for their child but were denied.  
 
I would also throw out there that school needs to be valued more overall. My kids constantly have had numerous classmates away on holidays over the years. Many kids who don’t complete homework - when that is valuable practice work for mastering concepts and/or being able to complete a curriculum in the allotted time. Time to get rid of the no zeros policy and reintroduce homework grades.  
 
I do encourage people to read the 180 page review. It certainly shows that the government wasted a LOT of money to just do what they wanted to do anyway. That is frustrating and I still hope people will fight to maintain a local voice rather than a politically appointed board. By amalgamating some of those cost savings will happen, but I would rather pay to have a few trustees represent our area than give the government full authority to do whatever they want, because unfortunately they have shown that student outcomes and improvement is not actually their top priority!

What I still haven't seen is any evidence that all those places whose students are doing better than ours have also eliminated their school boards and operate by a centrally appointed government committee. If the reason for doing this is because our outcomes are low compared to others, then surely whatever changes we propose should be based on evidence that this is what has been proven to work elsewhere. What is that evidence?  
 
In reality, this seems far more about cutting costs. Which may or may not be a good thing, but more importantly may or may not lead to better outcomes. If the money is just redirected to where it can be better used (the schools and classrooms), let's see the details. But if it really is about savings, then by definition that money won't be redirected. It will be saved.  
 
Taking more central control of education is inherently anti-democratic, and certainly insensitive to local interests, needs, knowledge and experience.  
 
To all who say that "something needs to be done". Sure, that might be true. We all want our students to achieve better outcomes. But change for the sake of change can be more harmful than helpful. Let's see the evidence that what is being proposed is a superior way to get to the outcomes we want.

Here is an important document that you should read if you are worried about the policies for promoting students and 'no fail, no zero' policies.  
 
This is our province's current policy. If you don't think your child's school, teachers or principal are following it (or aware of it) you might want to let them know.  
 
The policy focuses on student responsibility for providing evidence of their learning, not passing them no matter what. It speaks of consequences including lowering grades for late work, not giving credit for incomplete work, and ensuring student work is their own. It requires students who are promoted (or not) to be supported in specific ways to ensure their success. So if you keep a student back, they must have appropriate support for their needs. The same goes if they are promoted to the next grade.  
 
Here is the main 'principle' of the policy - (page 9)  
 
'Assessment practice and policy at the provincial and local levels must support students’  
responsibility for their learning. In addition to developing academic knowledge, it is  
important to support students in the development of lifelong learning skills and values,  
and that educational practice and policy reflect this. It must be made clear to students  
that they are responsible for providing evidence of their learning within established  
timelines, and that there are consequences for not completing work and for submitting  
work late.'  
 
I've encountered a lot of people who believe that students can't repeat a grade and that they can't get a zero, can hand in or do nothing and pass their grade. The current policy is to keep them in the best environment for them to thrive, and to support them in that environment.  
 
Now, the question is - who knows what the policy is, and who is following it?  
 
Unlike the previous document I shared, this one is only 15 pages on. Also worth a read so you know what is expected of students and educators in Manitoba. It might not be something that needs to be *changed* so much as FOLLOWED.  
 
https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Policy-Manitoba.pdf