It’s only been a couple of years, but in some ways it feels like an eternity since I had to adjust to the beginning of a new school year and get both myself and my children out of bed in the morning, make their lunches, and deal with homework overload at the end of each day.
To be honest I am not one of those parents who rejoiced in the return of the school year, especially when my kids were younger and I wasn’t working, because it meant much more of a schedule, and it interrupted the flow that we as a family had developed over the course of the summer.
I have also never been one to subscribe to the idea that the education system is a one size fits all, or that it should be.
If I had access to more resources when my kids were growing up, I probably would have home schooled them, as I found that both of them struggled in their own ways with various aspects of their education. My son, who is now almost 20, admitted to me recently that he never read a single course related book throughout his entire school career.
Why didn’t any of his teachers notice? Why didn’t I notice? Why wasn’t something done? Was it just because my kids got missed among the many faces and needs of students that teachers are faced with each day, or does it speak to something deeper.
Personally, I think it has more to do with how we structure our education system, and the fact that government doesn’t seem to think it’s a priority.
This is yet another example of top-down, as opposed to bottom-up, thinking.
Imagine the ideas that could be generated by teachers, parents, and students, if they knew that those ideas would be given serious thought by government and had a chance of being implemented.
Well, the policy changes proposed for the Cowichan District, as discussed at length on page 5, could do more to inhibit parents’ voices. So if you value the policies that have been put into place by a board that was democratically elected, and whose policies were developed over many years, you might want to get your two cents in before Sept. 26.
