The rights of students with LD to education - The Supreme Court decides

Later today, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a case that is important to every student with learning disabilities in our country.  The decision will be watched closely by departments of education, school boards and families everywhere.  We'll report on the outcome as soon as we get more information.

In the meantime, here's a recent press release from the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, one of the interveners in the case.

The Bridgeway Team

LDAC one of 17 Interveners in Moore case at Canada’s Highest Court

March 8, 2012 (Ottawa) The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) along with 16 other groups have been granted intervener standing in the appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada of Moore v BC (Ministry of Education) and School District 44 North Vancouver. The Appeal which is to be heard on March 22, 2012, at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Ottawa, concerns whether the School District of North Vancouver and the Ministry of Education of BC discriminated against Jeff Moore, a severely dyslexic student by failing to provide him with meaningful access to an appropriate education.

Jeff Moore suffers from dyslexia and when he was in elementary public school, between 1992 and 1995, his family believed that because of funding cuts for special needs education, Jeff was not receiving sufficient early intervention and a range of services which would have allowed him to become functionally literate. At the beginning of grade 4, Jeff was placed by his parents at their expense in an independent school specializing in teaching students with learning disabilities (LD). In 1997, the Moores filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal, claiming that Jeff and other students like him had been discriminated against for the foregoing reason, seeking reimbursement for their education expenses as well as other remedies. Hearings between 2001 and 2005 resulted in a decision in 2005 by the BC Human Rights Tribunal that the Ministry of Education and the School District had discriminated against students with LD including Jeff, by cutting funding and services and by not providing meaningful access to public education services.

The BC government and the School District appealed the Tribunal decision to the BC Supreme Court and the BC Supreme Court overturned the Tribunal decision, finding that no discrimination occurred. The Moore Family appealed this decision to the BC Court of Appeal and the appeal was heard by a panel of 3 judges. Two judges, forming a majority, dismissed the appeal but the third judge gave a written dissent in favour of the Moores. The Moores were granted leave to appeal the BC Court of Appeal decision from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in December 2011.

LDAC has appeared at every level of the Moore claim as an intervener, represented at each hearing by our volunteer lead lawyer, Yude Henteleff, C.M., Q.C., a prominent and nationally respected human rights expert and advocate. Mr. Henteleff has advocated at each hearing for the right of children with LD to services which provide LD students with those resources that enables meaningful access to the education services provided to all other children.

The SCC hearing provides a unique opportunity to advance the rights of LD students across Canada and it is fundamental to the work of LDAC to participate. If successful, this appeal will hopefully assure meaningful access to educational services by such students across Canada. In any event, LDAC’s position will come to the attention of governments and school divisions across the country who hopefully will initiate needed changes.



Click below to link to the Supreme Court of Canada documents of Frederick Moore on behalf of Jeffrey P. Moore v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Ministry of Education, et al.
http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/cms-sgd/dock-regi-eng.aspx?cas=34041
Click below for a link to the decision of the Court of Appeal of BC (October 29, 2010)
British Columbia (Ministry of Education) v. Moore
, 2010 BCCA 478

Human Rights & Education - A free public information session

 Have you ever wondered what rights the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission works?  Although education is a fundamental human right, have you ever wondered what that means to you and your family?  We invite you to join us for a free public information by the NS Human Rights Commission on March 8, 2012.  Hope to see you there!

Rhonda & the Bridgeway team

Free Public Information Session - Human Rights and Education in Nova Scotia

Date:                     Thursday, March 8, 2012
Time:                     6-8pm
Location:              Bridgeway Academy, 3 Valleyford Ave., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
 

The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission provides public education on human rights through information sessions.  During this presentation, members of the Commission will cover the work of the Commission, everyone’s rights and responsibilities, grounds for lodging complaints, and filing complaints and dispute resolution processes of the Commission.  Attendees will also be invited to ask questions.

This session is open to members of the public.  For more information, please contact Bridgeway at 902-465-4800.

If you have any questions or require more information about other services provided by the NS Human Rights Commission, please contact:

                           
Phone: (902) 424-4111 (TTY), Fax: (902) 424-0596
Email: hrcinquiries@gov.ns.ca,
Website: www.gov.ns.ca/humanrights/
Physical Location (Halifax Office): 6^th Floor, 1690 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS
Mailing Address:  PO Box 2221, Halifax NS B3J 3C4

Bringing brain research into the classroom

We have shared a few news stories recently on the science of learning disabilities, specifically work focused on the brain and LDs.  It's interesting to note that these breakthroughs aren't just theoretical - some of the findings are being implemented in classrooms around the world.

Here's an interesting article from a recent issue of Education Week, an online publication for teachers in the US, on how brain research is making its way into special education settings.

Rhonda & the Bridgeway team


Special Educators Borrow from Brain Studies

By Nirvi Shah
Rockville, Md.

In a corner of a classroom here at the Ivymount School, a frustrated 7th grader tells himself to take a deep breath. Slowly, without distracting his classmates, he calms down.

This exercise is among many strategies derived from brain-science research that educators at this private school are using with students with disabilities. In this case, the technique is being taught to students with Asperger syndrome, for whom self-control in a moment of frustration can be elusive.

The five steps to regaining calm—including breathing deeply, reading directions, and telling oneself to give something a try—are taped to many of the desks of students in the Model Asperger Program.

Ivymount is one of a growing number of schools trying to adapt techniques based on brain research to special education settings, a practice that many teachers and parents may not have even envisioned a few years ago. While some educators remain skeptical, brain research is slowly migrating from the lab into the classroom, both in predicting which students may have learning difficulties and intervening to help students diagnosed with disabilities.

Opportunities Emerge

Among the efforts under way:
• In Cambridge, Mass., a Harvard University center is devoted to training those who want to use neuroscience and cognitive science to improve teaching, including for students with disabilities.
• In Washington, George Washington University has created a doctoral program in applied neuroscience in special education.

• The Center for Applied Technology, in Wakefield, Mass., employs specialists in neuropsychology, along with other experts, to expand learning opportunities for students with disabilities.
• A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is using brain-imaging to predict which children in a given kindergarten class might eventually struggle with reading, because of dyslexia or other reasons, so intervention can take place as early as possible.

"We are just beginning to understand how big this is," said Maxine B. Freund, a professor in George Washington's department of special education and the associate dean of research and external relations. "It's an opportunity we treasure."

That's especially so for students with disabilities, said Kurt W. Fischer, a Harvard professor of psychology and human development and the founder of the graduate school of education's Mind, Brain, and Education program.

"What we need to do is figure out how to harness those differences instead of making everyone learn the same way," he said.

That doesn't mean there shouldn't still be some caution about translating brain research into educational techniques, he said.

"There are people that are skeptical, and they ought to be skeptical," Mr. Fischer said. "There are lots of things happening," he added, but "it's still early."

Read the rest of the article on the Education Week website.

Inspirational quotes - Educational change

My final installment of inspiring quotes (for now).  I'd like to dedicate these to Nova Scotia's Minister of Education, the staff at the Department Education, and staff and elected officials at all of the school boards in Nova Scotia. My wish for you this year is that you find a way to rise above political agendas, bridge differences and start working together to make our education system the best for what should be your first priority - our kids.

Rhonda

We need a metamorphosis of education - from the cocoon a butterfly should emerge. Improvement does not give us a butterfly only a faster caterpillar.

Learning to Learn

How has the world of the child changed in the last 150 years?' … the answer is. 'It's hard to imagine any way in which it hasn't changed….they're' immersed in all kinds of stuff that was unheard of 150years ago, and yet if you look at schools today versus 100 years ago, they are more similar than dissimilar.

Peter Senge

Educating the masses was intended only to improve the relationship between the top and the bottom of society. Not for changing the nature of the relationship.

John Ralston Saul, 'Voltaire's Bastards.'

The conduct of schools, based upon a new order of conception, is so much more difficult than is the management of schools which walk the beaten path.

John Dewey

Much educational change is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Anon

I imagine a school system that recognizes learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning. A school curriculum that values questions above answers…creativity above fact regurgitation…individuality above conformity.. and excellence above standardized performance….. And we must reject all notions of 'reform' that serve up more of the same: more testing, more 'standards', more uniformity, more conformity, more bureaucracy.

Tom Peters , Author 'Re-imagine'

Making the Grade - Do schools help or hinder our journey to finding our Element?

We have finally reached the end of The Element!  In this final chapter - Making the Grade - Sir Ken Robinson looks at the role school plays in our lives (a topic we're certainly interested in!).  Share your thoughts on the role school played in finding your Element!

Rhonda & the Bridgeway team

Many of the people you'll find in The Element didn't do well in school.  Take Sir Richard Branson as a example.  In school, he was good at athletics and showed a flair for business.  Unfortunately, his grades were poor, which confused his teachers, who knew bright and industrious.  Branson left school at sixteen, and one teacher predicted he would either be in jail or be a millionaire by the time he was 21.

As it turns out, Richard Branson followed his passion - his entrepreneurial spirit - and started a magazine.  He followed with a mail order business selling records, which eventually evolved into the Virgin Megastores.  he eventually launched Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Cola, Virgin Trains and Virgin Fuel.  Now, he's starting Virgin Galactic, the first commercial endeavour to send people into space. 

Why did school not work out for Richard Branson?  He eventually learned he had dyslexia, which also impacted his ability to do math.  He has created his empire through his passion and creativity, but surrounds himself with others who help with the areas where he struggles (accountants!).   Would his teachers have predicted this as his future if they went strictly by his grades?  Probably not.

Sir Ken believes that, "public education puts relentless pressure on its students to conform."  He sees schools as a product of industrialism - they have been created like the factory culture they were designed to support.  It does well for some, but dropout rates continue to climb.  He believes that, "the structure and character of industrial education are creaking under the strain of the twenty-first century."  He points to the declining value of a post-secondary degree as a symptom of the problem.  Students are no longer guaranteed jobs in their field of study, mostly because so many people have degrees today.  In the past, when most jobs were manual or blue-collar, only a few people went to college.  That's changed, as has the job situation, where more jobs involve digital technology and information systems.  More people need degrees, so more are getting them.  The pressure to succeed at this level is increasing as well, with some countries putting pressure on their youngest members to start preparing at the earliest stages.

Most education systems in the world are going through reform, both for economic and cultural reasons.  But Sir Ken believes that, "the mistake that many policymakers make is to believe that in education the best way to face the future is by improving what they did in the past."  He breaks the education system into three main processes - the curriculum (what the school system expects the student to learn); pedagogy (the process by which the system helps students do it); and assessment (the process of judging how they're doing).  Most reform focuses on curriculum and assessment, which reinforces the old hierarchy of subjects and puts even more emphasis on assessment.  Overuse of standardized testing, Sir Ken argues, turns it from a tool to a focus of education.

Sir Ken argues for more focus on teaching, which is fundamentally important in raising standards in education.  Great schools always have great teachers in them.  But that's not enough.  We'll give the last word today to Sir Ken:

"The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn't need to be reformed - it needs to be transformed.  The key to this transformation is not to standardize education but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.  The key is to embrace the core principles of the Element.  Some of the most invigorating and successful innovations in education around the world illustrate the real power of this approach."

Tomorrow, in our final installment, we'll examine Sir Ken Robinson's call for the transformation of education, which is also the subject of his presentation this April at Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  We hope you can join us!

Inspiring quotes - Education

A few weeks ago, I shared some inspiring quotes related to teaching.  Today, a few more quotes; this time on the importance (and impact) of education. 

Rhonda

What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon it destroys our democracy.

John Dewey

Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.
Chinese proverb

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.
Jim Rohn

Education cost money, but then so does ignorance.
Claus Moser

What sculpture is to a block of marble
education is to the human soul.
Joseph Addison

Average does not fit all

Public school is a good place for some students.  But for many others, we know it isn't a good fit.  If it were, there wouldn't be a need for Bridgeway.  Unfortunately, students with learning disabilities (and many others) are falling through the cracks because they don't learn in the same way that other students do, or their mental health or social needs are misunderstood and under-supported.  

Thanks to Charles Cirtwill, President and CEO of the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies, for allowing us to share this guest blog, which was recently published in Progress Magazine.

Rhonda & the Bridgeway team

Average does not fit all

by: Charles Cirtwill

I'm told that during a recent talk to about 100 students studying to become teachers, a representative of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union announced that there is no crisis in education. That person is absolutely right, and that’s the problem.

In Nova Scotia—indeed, in almost all of Atlantic Canada—there isn’t a widespread crisis in education, at least from Grades Primary to 12. Yet for special needs children, for children of Mi’kmaq descent, for children in black communities, and for rural or poor children, the situation is significantly different. Positive improvements aside, I would argue that the evidence supports the continued use of the word “crisis.”

But for the vast majority of us, our schools are not failing. Our kids are graduating in large numbers, and a great many of them go on to further study or their first jobs. Results on our own local and provincial assessments, on the national assessments, and on international assessments tell us we are where we basically have been for several decades: right around, or just above, average.

Yes, our kids are getting a decent education; not the best in the developed world, but not the worst either. Indeed, I have visited some remarkable classrooms in this region with remarkable teachers, where I believe the students are getting some of the best education in the world. With heavy enrolment in fully funded, publicly delivered, highly homogenous programs such as French-language instruction, full immersion, or international baccalaureate education, many children get all of the benefits of exclusive private schools without the cost or the social stigma.

As a result, many parents, students, and teachers are reasonably happy with their schools on a day-to-day basis. Sure, if they visit Alberta or Ontario or Newfoundland and Labrador, they will likely come away with at least one “Why don’t we do that?” question. But they quickly forget it because other issues need more immediate attention and, after all, the system can’t be that bad since their school is generally OK most of the time.

As the grammatically incorrect saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But it is broke. Despite the slow encroachment of choice into the monopoly system, it remains largely inflexible to individual need and special circumstances. It’s very much “top down” and “one size fits all.” The continued bleeding of not just the children of wealthy people but also the children of desperate or determined parents of less than significant means to private school or home schooling indicates we have a problem, and it’s a persistent one.

The results on the international assessments show us a worrying trend that suggests that while we stand still, others are moving past us or moving farther ahead. Living in a country with all of the advantages we have, “average” might have been great when only the most advanced OECD countries were in the mix, but as countries with real social and economic problems join the list of comparators, “average” becomes less a badge of honour and more a mark of shame.

For the past several years, I have been exposed to both the philosophy and the history of the “Edmonton miracle,” a remarkable shift from a top-down to a bottom-up education system. This approach is a remarkably empowering one for teachers, parents, and students. The system creates a lot of challenges for central-office types with centralization tendencies. This power transformation was even more exceptional because it was launched under the explicit constraint that the new approach would cost “not one dollar more” than the old one.

How is it that such a fundamental reform can not only happen but also have sufficient time to take root and then thrive? It was because of a crisis. Before the transformation, Edmonton was average; indeed, it was arguably failing—failing to educate, failing to graduate, failing to thrive. Parents were frustrated, teachers were frustrated, students were frustrated, the community was frustrated. So when the spark came in the form of administrators willing to give up their power and let teachers teach and parents choose, the tinder lit and the schools were transformed.

Every day I hope we’ll reach our crisis point in education, because until that day comes, “average” is the best we can ever hope to be.

Charles Cirtwill is President and CEO of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.

What's the best way to teach our kids?

Thanks once again to Lisa Saunders, Director of Programs at Bridgeway for contributing more of her writing on education.  Lisa is working on her Master's degree at Acadia, and will sharing some of her studies with us in guest postings on our blog.

Enjoy!

Rhonda

By Lisa Saunders

Over our history there have been and continue to be many great debates: is the world flat or round, does God exist, are carbohydrates good or bad?  Within educational circles one debate rages on; what is the best way to teach our kids?  Traditional education offers the stability and predictability of reading, writing and arithmetic, long-established customs found in schools that our society has historically deemed appropriate.  Progressive education, on the other hand, has the qualities of well-rounded education that western society has come to covet; a focus on each student’s strengths and interests, assessing in various ways that support diverse learners.

Throughout the past 100 years many studies have been carried out with the sole purpose of investigating how we learn.  Many of these studies have shown an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting the implementation of the characteristics of progressive education: individual instruction, informality in the classroom, multi-sensory teaching practices and the use of group discussions and laboratories as instructional techniques.  Successful implementation of this very practice has been seen all over the world.  From establishment of progressive education techniques by John Dewey in the early 1900’s to the public uprising against the No Child Left Behind Act, progressive education has been a supported teaching practice spanning over two centuries, albeit with varied success.  As long as we have administrators and policy makers fully immersed in traditional education, progression will not be fully realized.  Difficulty lies in separating the two ideas in that, elements of traditional education: external motivation, memorization of rote facts and concentration on skills in reading, writing and math, are sewn into the very fabric of our educational system. 

Each generation experiences the upcoming generation doing things a little bit differently – how did our parent’s parents feel about television, or our parents feel about computers; how do we feel about social networking and assistive technology?  These tools can be seen as barriers to learning or they can be seen as tools, stepping stones for the next generation to express what we have taught them.   As each generation learns more about how the next generation of students learn, educators attempt to predict what skills will be most beneficial in the next generation’s society.   Central skills include the need for workers to have a proficient ability to receive, store, process and communicate information.  Teaching our students to be independent thinkers will always serve them, no matter their career choice. 

Critics in education will always exist, projecting their view on an education system that is slow to change and seems to cater to the average student.  The essence of learning is not to regurgitate facts, memorized for that expressed purpose, rather it is to understand, investigate and discover in a way that is meaningful to each of us.  As we are all different in thoughts, experiences and viewpoints, so must our learning and evaluation be diverse from that of our classmates.  There are many students who have gifts that reach far beyond memorizing multiplication tables and mastering spelling bees, who require creative and out-of-the-box teachers to guide them towards becoming the forward thinkers of the next generation. 

It makes sense to tailor education to each individual. Though many of our traditionalist teachers and administrators work in their comfort zone, relying on those methods that were bestowed upon them as students,   we all want to teach and support our next generation of children in a way that will be beneficial to society.  Teach a student what to think and humanity stays stagnant, teach a student how to think and who knows how far we will go.

What are your thoughts on education in the future?  Share them in the comments section below!

More ideas that challenge the rules of education

If you`ve been following the blog for a while, you know I love to share ideas about education that make us think differently.  Here`s a looooonnnnggg article from Wired magazine about the Khan Academy that I stumbled across the other day.  I won`t post the whole thing here, but I will encourage you to click through to the article and read the whole thing. 

Enjoy!

Rhonda

How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education

By Clive Thompson

“This,” says Matthew Carpenter, “is my favorite exercise.” I peer over his shoulder at his laptop screen to see the math problem the fifth grader is pondering. It’s an inverse trigonometric function: cos^-1(1) = ?

Carpenter, a serious-faced 10-year-old wearing a gray T-shirt and an impressive black digital watch, pauses for a second, fidgets, then clicks on “0 degrees.” Presto: The computer tells him that he’s correct. The software then generates another problem, followed by another, and yet another, until he’s nailed 10 in a row in just a few minutes. All told, he’s done an insane 642 inverse trig problems. “It took a while for me to get it,” he admits sheepishly.

Carpenter, who attends Santa Rita Elementary, a public school in Los Altos, California, shouldn’t be doing work anywhere near this advanced. In fact, when I visited his class this spring—in a sun-drenched room festooned with a papercraft X-wing fighter and student paintings of trees—the kids were supposed to be learning basic fractions, decimals, and percentages. As his teacher, Kami Thordarson, explains, students don’t normally tackle inverse trig until high school, and sometimes not even then.

But last November, Thordarson began using Khan Academy in her class. Khan Academy is an educational website that, as its tagline puts it, aims to let anyone “learn almost anything—for free.” Students, or anyone interested enough to surf by, can watch some 2,400 videos in which the site’s founder, Salman Khan, chattily discusses principles of math, science, and economics (with a smattering of social science topics thrown in). The videos are decidedly lo-fi, even crude: Generally seven to 14 minutes long, they consist of a voice-over by Khan describing a mathematical concept or explaining how to solve a problem while his hand-scribbled formulas and diagrams appear onscreen. Like the Wizard of Oz, Khan never steps from behind the curtain to appear in a video himself; it’s just Khan’s voice and some scrawly equations. In addition to these videos, the website offers software that generates practice problems and rewards good performance with videogame-like badges—for answering a “streak” of questions correctly, say, or mastering a series of algebra levels. (Carpenter has acquired 52 Earth badges in math, which require hours of toil to attain and at which his classmates gaze with envy and awe.)

Initially, Thordarson thought Khan Academy would merely be a helpful supplement to her normal instruction. But it quickly become far more than that. She’s now on her way to “flipping” the way her class works. This involves replacing some of her lectures with Khan’s videos, which students can watch at home. Then, in class, they focus on working problem sets. The idea is to invert the normal rhythms of school, so that lectures are viewed on the kids’ own time and homework is done at school. It sounds weird, Thordarson admits, but this flipping makes sense when you think about it. It’s when they’re doing homework that students are really grappling with a subject and are most likely to need someone to talk to. And now Thordarson can tell just when this grappling occurs: Khan Academy provides teachers with a dashboard application that lets her see the instant a student gets stuck.

“I’m able to give specific, pinpointed help when needed,” she says.

The result is that Thordarson’s students move at their own pace. Those who are struggling get surgically targeted guidance, while advanced kids like Carpenter rocket far ahead; once they’re answering questions without making mistakes, Khan’s site automatically recommends new topics to move on to. Over half the class is now tackling subjects like algebra and geometric formulas. And even the less precocious kids are improving: Only 3 percent of her students were classified as average or lower in end-of-year tests, down from 13 percent at midyear.

Read the rest of the article here.

The Committed Sardines

Yesterday I was blogging about Sir Ken, and today I'm blogging about sardines.  Is there a connection?  Yes!  A friend sent me a link to this website the other day, and if you're someone who thinks we need to rethink our approach to education (as Sir Ken does), you'll be interested in this.

Start with this inspiring answer as to why this group calls themselves The Committed Sardines, then explore the website for yourself.  (And don't forget to forward it to the educators in your life!)

Enjoy!
Rhonda

Why Are We Called The Committed Sardines?

First, an aside. A blue whale is the largest mammal on earth. An adult blue whale is the length of 2 1/2 Greyhound buses put end to end, weighs more than a fully loaded 737, has blood vessels large enough for an adult to swim down, a heart the size of a Volkswagon Beetle, a tongue 8' long and weighs 6000 lbs. A baby blue whale is estimated to gain more than 50 pounds an hour from birth to agcompare the way a blue whale turns around (slowly) to how a school of fish turns around - specifically a school of sardines - which can have the same or even a greater mass than the whale, does the same thing. A school of sardines can turn almost instantly. What's their secret? How do they know when to turn. Is it ESP? Do they use cell phones? Are they using the Internet?

The answer is simultaneously a little simpler and quite a bit more complex. If you take a careful look at a school of sardines, you'll notice that although the fish all appear to be swimming in the same direction, in reality, at any time, there will be a small group of sardines swimming in a different direction, in an opposite direction, against the flow, against conventional wisdom. And as they swim in another direction, they cause conflict, they cause friction, and they causes discomfort for the rest of the school.

But finally, when a critical mass of truly committed sardines is reached - not a huge number like 50 percent or 80 percent of the school, but 15 to 20 percent who are truly committed to a new direction - the rest of the school suddenly turns and goes with them - almost instantaneously!

Isn't that what became of our feelings about smoking? Isn't that exactly what happened to the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union? Isn't that what caused the Internet to suddenly appear overnight. Each and every one of those events was an overnight success that took years in the making. Overnight successes that took a small group of people who were truly committed despite the obstacles, challenge, yabbuts, and TTWWADIs to make the necessary change.

That's why we're Committed Sardines.

Sir Ken Robinson in Halifax!

We're thrilled to announce that Sir Ken Robinson is coming to Halifax as part of a new conference being organized by our sister organization, Turning Tides Community Outreach.  We'll share more information over the coming months, but for now we thought we'd introduce Sir Ken and his ideas on education, creativity and innovation.

Enjoy!

Rhonda

A community conversation on education

Phew!  It has been a busy beginning to 2011 with preparations for a major conference on learning disabilities in May 2011.  More on that in a few days.

For now, I wanted to share information on an upcoming conversation on education in Nova Scotia.  Called "Putting Students First and Fixing Our Schools," the public forum will be taking place on Monday, March 28 from 6:30 to 10pm at the Maritime Conservatory for Performing Arts in Halifax. 

The featured guest will be Michael Zwaagstra, Teacher and Author of "What's Wrong With Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them."  His presentation will be followed by a reaction panel, including Doretta Wilson of the Society for Quality Education, Charles Cirtwill of the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies, and Denise Delorey of Save Community Schools.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.  Go to http://www.aims.ca/ to register online.

I have just picked up a copy of Michael Zwaagstra's book, so I can't share my opinions on it - yet - but Paul Bennet of Schoolhouse Consulting recently shared his review of the book in an article in the Chronicle Herald.  That article is reproduced below with the permission of the author.

Rhonda

Put common sense back in school system


By PAUL BENNETT

Much in today’s education system defies common sense. Cutting through the public rhetoric of "romantic progressivism" and "edu-babble" to get at what is really happening can be frustrating for parents and supporters of our publicly funded school system. It can also leave you in what might be called a "school daze."

A few examples come immediately to mind. We claim to be teaching children to think, but often give them little of substance to think about. School systems professing higher standards now allow virtually everyone to pass their grades. School taxes and teacher salaries rise at the same time as student enrolments shrink and schools close.

Good teaching is critical to student learning, but teachers are rarely, if ever, evaluated on the quality of their instruction. Special needs children are mainstreamed, even when they might benefit from more intensive, individualized learning. High school graduation rates rise, yet universities regularly claim that graduates are ill-prepared for post-secondary studies.

Whatever happened to common sense in education? That’s the fundamental question asked and answered in a stimulating new book with the alluring title What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them. Co-authored by Michael C. Zwaagstra, Rodney A. Clifton, and John C. Long, policy analysts linked with Manitoba’s Frontier Centre for Public Policy, the book’s a real rarity. Although written by Canadians, it’s actually aimed at a much wider North American audience.

The book is organized and presented in a clear, straightforward fashion. In 14 rather short but readable chapters, the authors tackle the fundamental issues, essential practical matters, and the so-called "distractions," namely teachers’ unions and "edu-babble."

What’s Wrong with Our Schools promises straight talk and it delivers on that commitment. Zwaagstra, Clifton and Long have the courage to state in plain, understandable language, what matters to them in education. Learning subject matter comes first. Testing is good for students and so is a little homework. Students do need some periodic discipline. Special needs children cannot always swim in the mainstream. And, shockingly, public schools are still falling short in teaching literacy and preparing students for the academic rigours of university.

It’s a bracing and most refreshing education book. Concerned parents and students of education will find it far more satisfying than Charles Ungerleider’s overrated 2003 book, Failing Our Kids. Where Ungerleider defends mediocrity, serves up rationalizations, and pays careful homage to teachers, this book cuts right to the chase.

Most chapters begin with a personalized story of encounters with the contemporary and largely unresponsive school system. In each case, the reader is introduced to a serious impediment to achieving better schools and higher standards. After several of these vignettes, the formula tends to be a little tiresome, even for those sympathetic to the overall message.

Zwaagstra, Clifton, and Long are all well-known educational researchers fiercely committed to raising public school standards. Manitoba social studies teacher Zwaagstra has worked on the AIMS High School Report Card project and is a staunch supporter of standardized testing and the ranking of schools.

What’s Wrong with Our Schools will stir controversy because it challenges the "romantic progressivism" deeply ingrained in the Canadian educational establishment. It is written by three acknowledged experts, but provides some clear, unambiguous answers to the most perplexing issues confronted by parents and students in our P to 12 education system. Let’s hope it gets the respect it deserves, where it counts, inside the system.

Paul W. Bennett is director of Schoolhouse Consulting, Halifax.

Cuts to education - a call for calm

The calls for some perspective on the funding cuts to education continue.  A measured opinion was offered in this Saturday's Chronicle Herald by Paul W. Bennett, the founder and director of Schoolhouse Consulting.  He has graciously given us permission to share his thoughts here.

What’s behind funding crisis in N.S. schools?


By PAUL W. BENNETT

The Chronicle Herald - Sat, Dec 11, 2010

Our public schools and their students, or so we are told, are now under threat in Nova Scotia. Since the Education Department asked the eight provincial school boards to prepare for deep budget cuts in late October, elected trustees and top educrats have been in a tizzy. The infamous cuts will supposedly "devastate" the entire system by forcing the closure of 70 schools, costing 2,000 teachers their jobs, and slashing special education services to the bone.

Listening to the official mouthpieces of the province’s school board members and administrators, one might think Darrell Dexter’s NDP government has gone completely crazy. Digging more deeply into the critical financial state of the system and crass education politics yields a different answer.

Nova Scotia’s school system is facing a serious financial crunch for which it is little prepared. With the province’s alarming annual deficit and $13-billion debt, most reasonable Nova Scotians know that budget reductions are coming in the biggest spending areas: health, education and social services.

The Education Department’s current "planning exercise" is a legitimate attempt to not only change the annual education funding game, but to shake up a rather closed, insular system. Nova Scotia public education shows all the classic signs of "producer capture." It is the producers of education (educrats and teacher organizations), not the parents or taxpayers who really control the system.

Education Minister Marilyn More may now be learning this fact first-hand. Merely proposing serious reductions threatens what St. Francis Xavier University political scientist Peter Clancy correctly identified as the "core interests" of education: senior administration, school boards and the teachers’ union.

What are the facts? The NDP government’s initial proposal is to examine the impact of reducing education spending by $196 million over the next three years because of provincewide declining enrolments. The reason: The province is facing a further drop in Primary to Grade 12 school enrolment of 11.5 per cent by 2014-15 and the system is losing 3,000 students a year.

School boards reacted to the proposal by seizing upon the most potentially damaging scenario. It started in Chignecto Central regional board when chair Trudy Thompson expressed "shock" and claimed it meant "a devastating cut of up to 22 per cent" in education spending.

Mr. Dexter is standing firm — insisting "the cuts" come "first from administration" and, if at all possible, "not the classroom."

Not everyone is bamboozled by the "fear factor" blitz. A very astute group of Antigonish County parents known as Save Community Schools spotted something missing from the Nova Scotia School Boards Association’s tale of "a thousand cuts." There was not a single reference to cutbacks to school board administration, even though, in the premier’s words, "the first place the boards are to look for savings is in administration."

Within the Strait regional school board alone, Save Community Schools contends there is "fat" at the top of the system. Between 2004 and 2010, administrative costs for "regional board management" have risen 39 per cent, far faster than inflation and investments in student services or classroom instruction (plus seven per cent). They also note board-related governance expenses jumped by 24 per cent over this same period.

The Strait board is one of the province’s most cash-strapped boards, facing staggering enrolment declines. But even here, administrative expenses are increasing by about five times the rate of investments in student instructional services.

The Antigonish County parents are asking the right questions. Why are boards targeting the core areas first with cuts? Their actions are "telling" when it comes to "the priorities of school boards" in the province.

In championing the cause, the NSSBA is out to spook the parents whom they purport to serve. In the last round, a Public School Coalition spearheaded by NSSBA claimed they were out to "Save Grade 2" and mounted a flashy effort to sway public opinion. The current campaign amounts to the Big Scare, featuring what AIMS president Charles Cirtwill has aptly dubbed the Classroom Cuts Horror Show.

It’s hard to outsmart parents like those behind Save Community Schools. Spooking voters is not recommended for school boards whose legitimacy is being called into question. And provincial politicians backing the Big Scare had better be careful in choosing their bedfellows. The real tragedy is that Nova Scotia public education has serious structural issues and the current nonsense threatens to postpone the inevitable.

Paul W. Bennett is director of Schoolhouse Consulting, Halifax, and author of The Grammar School (2009).

You can also follow Paul W. Bennett on his blog: http://educhatter.wordpress.com/

There was a terrific editorial in today's Chronicle Herald as well - check it out: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorials/1216958.html

Inclusion and The Current

We were rivited to our internet-radio this morning, listening to a segment on inclusion in public schools on The Current on CBC Radio.  They shared perspectives from a parent, a teacher, an advocate for inclusion from Newfoundland, and Winnipeg human rights lawyer who was against inclusion. 

I would encourage everyone to listen to the interview.  You'll find it on The Current's website at http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/

If you have an opinion to share about inclusion, please leave your comments here.

Below you'll find the response letter sent to The Current by our Founder and Executive Director Lucinda Low.


Dear Anna Maria,


I listened with great interest to the many perspectives offered this morning in your segment on inclusion in public schools. I am the Founder and Executive Director of Bridgeway Academy, a provincially-designated special education school for students with learning disabilities in the province of Nova Scotia. Each one of our students is a reinforcement of my belief that inclusion in the public school system does not work.

I started this school 27 years ago when my school board was unable to provide the support and programming my son needed. Today, we provide individualized education to close to 100 students with learning disabilities. All of our students have come to us after trying, and failing, to succeed in the public school or private school system.

The stories I hear from parents are heartbreaking. Parents share with me the emotional toll that trying to support their child has taken on their entire family. It is not uncommon for parents to break down in tears as they share their stories with me, recounting the ways their children have not only struggled to learn, but also with self-esteem, anxiety, and social exclusion.

I do believe that there are teachers in every school, every school board and every province who try very hard to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities. Unfortunately, the system is not set up in a way which allows them to succeed. As the teacher who was interviewed on your program pointed out, meeting several different needs in one classroom can be extremely difficult. And as needs go unmet, behaviours begin, making the situation even more untenable.

At our school, remedial classes operate on a 6:1 ratio, with students of the same skill level working together, regardless of grade. Our teachers understand the needs of each individual student and teach to them in the way they learn best. Our students are further supported with social skill instruction, and learn to establish and build relationships, self-manage, and communicate. We handle behaviours by looking at the individual and determining if they need to develop the skills to handle specific situations.

How do we know we’re succeeding where inclusion hasn’t? When a student tells us he feels “normal” again. When a parent tells us that her child is able to do her homework on her own. When a child tells us he likes this school because he’s not being yelled at every day.

Our students are not on individual program plans – they are learning the Nova Scotia curriculum, but in a way they understand. Once our students are remediated back up to their grade level, we’ll help them transition back into the public school system. If they are graduating from our school, we’ll help them transition into post-secondary education or into the working world. Our students have gone on to get their college diplomas and university degrees. Our students have gone on to become business professionals, teachers and hairdressers. No matter how long they stay with us, all leave our school understanding their learning disabilities, their learning styles, and will be empowered to advocate for themselves.

I would invite you to visit us at any time to talk to our students, our teachers and our parents. I think you would find the experience both enlightening and emotional.

Lucinda Low
Founder and Executive Director
Bridgeway Academy