Recently I was asked by a teacher to clarify my response to a recent CTA (Coquitlam Teachers Association) survey where I answered No to the question: Do you support a return to firm class size and composition? (Yes, that sound you hear is teachers all across Port Moody scratching my name off of their list of who to vote for.) Ok, so let me clarify: I do believe that the current system of class size and composition, that was unfairly imposed on the teachers by the government (ripping up contracts is just wrong), is broken and does not work. Ive heard much from parents and teachers during my door-to-door campaigning on how the current system is failing everyone. However, Im not sure that returning to pre-2002 rules (which is how I had interpreted the question) is the right way to go. The old language does not adequately reflect what the reality for special needs students is today. We need a system that provides flexibility for individual schools and districts to tailor their classrooms to meet the needs of students while ensuring teachers have a class whose size and composition is manageable. Maybe this would mean guaranteeing a certain level of extra support for special needs students. Maybe it would mean something else entirely, but I think it needs to be looked at anew. That said, if we have only the two choices then certainly pre-2002 rules are far better than what we are dealing with today. By answering No I had hoped (perhaps naively) to open dialog regarding this issue to get people talking about class size and composition and start thinking about better ways to do things. As an engineer, Im trained to never accept the status quo, but to continuously ask questions and analyze the situation to see if there is a better way for everyone involved. This is the approach I would take as a school trustee: working collaboratively with all the stakeholders to find the best solutions for our schools, which sometimes mean devising an alternative to the solutions already on the table.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:34:20 +0000
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