School Daze

Whether Dalton wants it or not, it seems that the Faith-based school proposal floated by the Tories will be debated by all and sundry in the days preceding the provincial vote. Cornered in answering a question by Steve Paikin on The Agenda the other night, Dalton asserted that he supported a Public school system, but he would not be drawn into a discussion of whether the Roman Catholic school system opened the door for other faith-based schools. A graphic showing that 37% of voters fell under the Separate School category may have explained his reluctance to debate. Heaven forefend that we should go back to one system! Okay, two – allowing for the French-language system.

It seems that as long as the curriculum established by the government is followed, the teaching can be described as ‘public’. It appears we are not so concerned with what is being taught along with the set curriculum but how the school is funded. The Toryites say the money will be available and it will not diminish what is now called the public school system finances. The Daltonites say that the money will have to come from somewhere, and the public school system is the logical place. No mention has been made of the funding coming from that magic pot of gold that appeared from out of the blue just before the election.

I recall not so long ago when the costs (education taxes) for the Separate school system were substantially lower than the public system cost. A number of taxpayers suddenly changed religion and became staunch Roman Catholics so their children could attend the church schools. Whether this was a plot by the Holy See to gain more souls or not never got a lot of ink because the systems soon equalized as the separate system had to grow to accommodate the newly anointed who took the pressure off the public school system when their parents converted.

What will happen if we now split our resources into any of the hundreds of religions and sects that make up our modern society? The Christian camp broke into a number of pieces at the Reformation and although most have settled into the two main camps now, there are signs of splits again as the religious debate such heavy topics as allowing women into the clergy, whether Dan Brown was right or wrong and homosexual marriages. Those parents who have strong feelings on any of the above may want to shield their children from the falsehoods taught in the public system and start their own schools, complete with off-yellow coloured mini buses sporting catchy symbols like fish, crosses, stars and moons, candlesticks and the Templar’s Maltese Cross.

Lost in this smoke screen of faith-based education is the quality of the education that the students receive, curriculum or not. In an age when no one fails and most get A’s, the value of our learning experience is coming under scrutiny. We have so over-analyzed our teaching that there has to be a problem if Johnny cannot do calculus or Mary does not like studying dinosaurs. Our teachers are instructed by psychologists that they must attend to these serious issues so Johnny and Mary do not feel inadequate and thus develop lifelong learning aversions. Worse still, that their parents may take the school to task for giving their pride and joy less than the A+ they need to enter medical school where their earning potential will look after the parents in their dotage. What a disaster it would be to have a nurse that does not like or understand dinosaurs or a mechanic who does not understand the fractal geometry used in designing the fuel injection system in your hybrid car.

When the public clamour is for more affordable and accessible university education and yet when graduates with a BA are serving coffee and tending tills for find work, we should be looking at the product our system is turning out, not at whether throwing more money at the system is the only answer. It begins to beg the question of whether this focus on education is a political or economic issue, not one of our social and cultural needs. Faith-based education has become political in this election as the Toryites target ethnic voters.

Certainly, we need skilled workers in this era of technical wizardry and knowledge-based systems, but we need a citizenry with life and social skills – the knowledge that should be fostered in primary and secondary schools. We should be instilling in our youth the life-long love of the arts and sciences, a respect for the environment and other people, a sense of tolerance and kindness that seems to be slipping away from so many. For those looking for job skills, they should find those in technical and trade schools, apprenticeships or in post-graduate studies.

The word on the street is that our local Conservative will follow the party line on faith-based schools, even though as a former educationist he may not agree with his boss. Our Liberal candidate has always been careful to follow the party line and this would be no exception for her to side with Dalton. It is unlikely that local voters will be able to sway their party on any change in position. Maybe our NDP candidate will raise the question during a debate and will sit back to watch his opponents flounder on the question.