Expanded mandates bring big school changes
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times
July 18, 2008 
By: Katherine Wagner

A wave of change is breaking over British Columbia's public education systems.

Two years of shifting provincial directives and programs, as well as court-imposed interpretations of existing legislation, are working their way through the education system.

Full-day school for three, four and five-year-olds, free summer school, virtual schools and expanded international education ventures have either arrived or are waiting just outside the door.

Every year, taxpayers invest billions in B.C. education programs for one reason: Publicly funded education is in the best interest of our democracy and our economy (which, in turn, funds our aspirations, ideals and dreams). We educate children so they will grow up to be engaged, involved, responsible and productive citizens.

Therefore, everything that takes place in our public schools should be aligned with this mandate. If it isn't, no matter the merit, it should not be part of our schools. To stray from that focus, is to dilute and muddle the mandate of our education system.

… Last week, the Canadian Council on Learning released "Reading the Future". In it, they report "48 per cent of all Canadian adults aged 16 and older experience some degree of difficulty in their ability to read, write and understand effectively..." The study predicts the number of Canadians falling below "the internationally-accepted standard for coping in a modern society" will increase significantly by 2031….

.The Ministry of Education is exploring the idea of offering publicly funded all-day Kindergarten and pre-K. Already the norm in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec, full day kindergarten is a promising, but expensive, reform.

Well-designed preschool and kindergarten programs taught by qualified educators should not be confused with daycare.

However, many advocates of free universal daycare consider public schools an ideal place to locate their dream. By tapping into the reach and resources of our public schools, some of the huge costs of this social service could be off-set.

Generally, researchers agree high quality daycare offered to disadvantaged children can have a measurably positive effect on future education outcomes. Therefore, in keeping with the mandate of the education system, urban schools located in low-income neighbourhoods are ideal locations for free or subsidized daycares….

Hang on tight to the side of the boat, because waves of change are only going to get bigger.