OVERALL OBJECTIVE—TO COLLOBARATE OUR EFFORTS WITH OTHER AGENCIES, INSTITUTIONS, AND GOVERNMENTS TO IMPROVE THE PROVINCE’S FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL NEW BRUNSWICKERS
WHO WE ARE – We are a group of altruistic New Brunswickers who have formed a think tank made up of community and business leaders who believe there is a need for a non-partisan organization that can provide informed advice and leadership that will enable the actions necessary for New Brunswick to succeed both socially and economically.
INTRODUCTION – We thought that each of our newsletters should be more focused on one topic, rather than a scattering of many issues. This newsletter is notes from our research on education over the past few months. It is by no means complete, but does provide a glimpse of insight and direction during and after Covid-19.
BACKGROUND – We all heard of the one room school. All classes were in the same room. One-room schoolhouses were common, especially near the farms or small villages or towns where many families lived. The teacher would stand at the front where there would be a big blackboard. The students might have rows of desks or just benches to sit on.
Parents in the school district were expected to chip in to provide wood for the school, so lots of times kids might walk to school carrying a log or two. In the country and small towns, schools went to Grade 8. High Schools – or as they were called then, grammar schools — were in cities or big towns. So usually only children with wealthy parents got to go to school past Grade 8.
Lots of people back then didn’t send girls to school at all, because they thought it wasn’t important for them to learn. Girls were taught things like sewing and manners instead of school subjects. The subjects were mainly reading, math and writing, with others like geography added to the curriculum in 1850 and history added later. The reason they had summer vacation is that was when everything’s growing and kids were expected to help out. Strict discipline was applied. If assignments weren’t completed, students were strapped. Some were suspended for a period of time. If a child misbehaved, he/she was reported to parents who usually took disciplinary action at home. School was a place to learn and children were not only taught subjects, but knew the difference between right from wrong.
GREENPAPER – Over the past several decades schools and learning adapted to changes in society. The Industrial Revolution and two world wars impacted learning and subject matter. Today we are now in the IT world and schools, teaching and learning are changing. Over the next few decades as much as 40% of traditional jobs may disappear. Artificial intelligence is here and will expand exponentially over time. Students are stressed, not knowing if they can find employment when they graduate.
The Minister of Education, Dominic Cardy, introduced the Green Paper in October 2019. This is a document that offers the public and stakeholders a range of ideas and policies to consider. The ideas outlined in this paper build on the foundation of the 10 year Education plans, one for each of the two education systems (Anglophone and francophone), published in 2016. One of the issues that is commented on in this paper is the behavior in the classroom. Some classrooms are unmanageable. Teachers are subject to violence and threats. Parents feel disconnected and, increasingly, we see students raised without the challenges they need. This needs to be addressed, as well as inclusion.
The other sensitive issue that needs attention is bilingualism. The document reads: “After 50 years as an officially bilingual province, one would expect we would have figured out how to ensure all New Brunswickers are able to communicate in both official languages. Sadly, that is not the case. Our Anglophone education system has relied on a French immersion program that has resulted in less than half of our high school graduates being able to speak French at a conversational level. This is simply not good enough.”
We would encourage you to read the Green Paper. Content is not cast in stone, but more of a discussion paper. Obviously Covid-19 has interfered in implementing any significant changes. As well, many people who are comfortable with the “status quo” are resistant to change. The walls are tall and sheer, and many people just cannot see the difficulty associated with asking the public school system to create self-starting, critical thinking, problem-solvers. The link to the Green paper is as follows: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/promo/summit/GreenPaper.pdf
PARK STREET SCHOOL – One of the pioneers of revolutionary education for the 21st century was Chris Treadwell. He was the principle at Park Street School which is an elementary school in Fredericton. He later became assistant deputy minister in Department of Education. Chris and his team bought a whole new vision in teaching students to learn. Many parents and students who came through the system are still talking about their experiences. While we cannot give a full description on how they did it, the following is a summary of the methodology given to us by Chris.
- We recognized that we had to work to students’ strengths and interests and not just the standard curriculum
- We also realized that we needed to have parents to be part of the process of creating individualized plans
- In math and language arts students moved at their own pace in 6 week blocks.
- Apart from literacy and math, students took classes with their home room classmates.
- Students constantly had success in class as they were always at a level where they could have academic progress, so they were less apt to act out from frustration.
- Curriculum pace was personalized
- We also worked on interests. We had student-led clubs supervised by teachers so they could choose a lot of clubs or lead them themselves if none interested them
- We still had children who had behavioral problems and for these students we created individual programs where we focused on student strengths such as double the amount of gym classes, or more outside time, frequent breaks from class. We tried to give them success at their level rather than punish them.
DEPUTY MINISTER GEORGE DALY – We had an opportunity to have a conversation with George Daley. He is supportive of many of the ideas in the Green Paper: however, COVID has interfered with serious discussions and planning. The following is a summary of our conversation:
- Over the past couple of years, school population has increased. It is expected to increase by about 1,000 per year over the next 10 years. Mostly driven by immigration, but also more young people are staying in New Brunswick. This increase will continue to place pressure on the system for new schools, especially in Southern N. B.
- He agrees with the concepts of: (i) personalized learning, (2) experiential learning (3) greater community involvement. Removing classrooms formats which promotes standardized learning might be an option.
- Strong advocate of breakfast and lunch programs in all schools as well as safety and security and building relationships with students. These are critical ingredients in order for children to learn effectively.
- Children in rural communities do not have the same opportunities as urban centers. Population growth is predominately in Southern NB. However, virtual learning could occur better in rural NB with increased access to high speed internet.
- French immersion discussed. The Deputy believes there is a clear imbalance in learning environments between non-immersion and immersion classrooms. He wants effective learning environments for all students. He would be interested in the number of our immersion grads who have left the province and the impact that has had on the province. How do we keep our best and brightest home?
- Regarding our kids doing poorly on PISA exams, the Deputy said there are five levels at which ratings are done. In the higher level, we lag behind Alberta and British Columbia. In other PISA assessment we do very well against other international jurisdictions, but we trail the large Canadian provinces sometimes by 3-6 months in learning. He also pointed out we are the only province in Canada that includes a full French immersion model and full inclusion model.
- The Deputy expressed concern over the way universities were teaching teachers. Teachers do not teach reading skills. He is to have a discussion with appropriate people at the universities. (On a side bar, Universities are complaining that high school graduates do not have adequate reading skills to enter university, and universities are offering reading courses to upgrade their levels).
- They are doing further research on what is working and what is not working. In terms of total public school system expenditures, 90% are fixed costs.
LITERACY IN NEW BRRUNSWICK – For years we have heard that functional illiteracy in NB is hovering around 50%. While that may be true, it is important to define illiteracy. The following is a breakdown pursuant to information provided to us by the Literacy Council of New Brunswick:
Based on the Survey of Adults Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), June 2014
Forty-eight per cent of Canadian adults have inadequate literacy skills
No province earns above a “C” grade for adequate literacy skills. In New Brunswick 53.4% of adults (16 years and over) had inadequate literacy levels. That represents approximately 300,000 people in our province. Based on the skill level definition below, there are approximately 85,000 adults in New Brunswick at Level 1, 54% of who are employed; and 173,000 adults at Level 2, 64% of whom are employed.
- Level 1: Have basic skills and great difficulty with text
- Level 2: Have limited skills and cannot read well. At this level, the individual can only deal with material that is simple and clearly laid out.
- Level 3: Have a basic skill level, but may have problems with more complex tasks. This is considered the minimum skill level for successful participation in society.
- Level 4 and 5: Have high levels of literacy, with a wide range of reading skills and many strategies for dealing with complex materials. Individuals at this level can meet most reading demands and can handle new reading challenges.
SALIENT INFORMATION– We have nearly 100,000 students who depend on 294 schools throughout the Province. Almost $1 billion was budgeted for schools infrastructure over the last decade. There is an estimated $250 million in deferred maintenance. We spend approximately $1.5 Billion annually in educating students. That works out to $5000 per child. This appears normal.
However, is there a better way to reduce costs and reach our children? Virtual learning certainly will help. But the issue of rural/urban divide comes into play. Can we entice a math teacher to teach in Doaktown, as an example?
We continue to review post-secondary and universities in New Brunswick. We did complete a report which you can read by referring to the link:
As well, we did meet with Dr. Paul Mazerolle, President of UNB. UNB is focused on five pillars.
- Research impact- Creating a synergy for research. Growing international students. Collaborating with others in research projects.
- Transforming education for the future. – More adult learning programs. Greater experiential learning. Position UNB in the World Market
- People-centric, values-informed university community. Be structurally efficient. Promote leadership development
- Modern, integrated, sustainable UNB – Many professors are leaders in their field. (e.g. Working on projects with NASA and GOOGLE.
- Specifically University focused on four areas. (1) Energy for the future. (2) Water and environment. (3) Health research (4) Security – Fiber Research, Food Security, Human Security. Also looking to increase attention to equity diversification and First Nation’s issues.
We hope to meet with other University President’s in the near future.
We like to hear from you. We can be reached at any one of the following:
Telephone number: 451-1357; 461-0053 (cell)
Address: P. O. Box 804, Station A, Fredericton, NB E3B 5B4