ONTARIO—The Ontario government recently announced major changes to education in the province including a ban on cell phones in classrooms and the introduction of mandatory online classes, leading to mixed reaction from the Rainbow District School Board (RDSB).
In a release issued March 15, the provincial government stated that average class sizes will stay the same for Kindergarten (26 students) and Grades 1-3 (20 students), increase by one student to an average of 24.5 students for Grades 4-8 and increase by six students in secondary schools, from an average of 22 to 28 students. However, for mixed-grade classes that contain primary and junior-intermediate students, as is common on Manitoulin Island, the maximum class size is 23.
The math curriculum will be taking what the Ford government calls a “back-to-basics” approach and will highlight fundamental math skills and include a component on financial literacy. It is expected to enhance skills training in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields through revamped career studies, business studies and computer studies courses that will include the development of job skills. It also pledged to increase co-operative education and apprenticeship placements.
The province stated it will reveal a revised First Nations, Métis and Inuit Studies curriculum for the secondary school level in May, to be implemented this fall. It said the curriculum “was developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners to increase learning about Indigenous perspectives, cultures, contributions and histories.” This follows the controversial scrapping of the Indigenous curriculum updates announced last year.
In the category of funding, the cost adjustment allocation and human resource transition supplement will be discontinued. These two funds helped cover staffing costs.
The formula to calculate how much funding schools receive will be adjusted because of the secondary school class size increases. Schools will receive an increase in their funding to cover utility costs and student transportation, increases that tend to regularly occur. The Ontario Ministry of Education stated that it would be reviewing the student transportation funding formula.
Students in health classes will also learn additional topics in sex and relationship education, online safety, cannabis and concussions.
One topic that drew much press coverage in recent weeks was a ban on cell phones in the classroom. The Provincial Code of Conduct will ban cell phone use during lessons as of this fall.
They will be permitted if a teacher has an educational need to have the students use these devices, for health and medical purposes and if students with special education needs require them.
School boards have to update their own codes of conduct to be in line with the provincial code. RDSB director of education Norm Blaseg said the board has had a digital citizenship policy in place for a few years.
“We’ve tried to embrace technology and have had many of our staff—teachers particularly—working with students and using mobile devices to support their learning environment,” said Mr. Blaseg.
“That’s not to say I don’t agree that kids use them far too often, in fact I would suggest they do and I think it should be limited. But in terms of the educational context, I think there is purpose behind it and they could be used to support student learning,” he added.
RDSB board chair Doreen Dewar said restricting electronic devices in classrooms has already become a commonplace practice within Rainbow schools.
“The teachers are already doing it and I don’t see how there’s going to be a change. It does take time (to enforce), but that’s part of their teaching duties,” she said. “(Teachers) have had to handle it in the past, they handle it now and they will handle it in the future. I have every confidence in them.”
Mr. Blaseg added that the board was waiting for details and tools from the ministry that would help enforce the cell phone restrictions.
“It can be like a power struggle. We’re trying to make kids aware that they’re not useful in certain contexts; there has to be a certain amount of education that has to be applied,” he said. “It’s hard to change habits.”
Another major change to Ontario’s education is an increased focus on online learning. Students will now need to complete a minimum of four credits online in order to graduate. Ms. Dewar said online learning has its place within an education system but making it mandatory is an entirely different situation altogether.
“Especially in areas where you don’t have a large school population you need to use eLearning in order to be able to provide all of the courses that can’t be provided in a school that has a small enrolment. Manitoulin Secondary School is one of them,” she said. “However, the students themselves realize that not everybody can learn that way.”
At last week’s RDSB board meeting, student trustee Hannah Golden discussed a conversation she had with the other student trustees in Ontario about eLearning.
“In all, we’re not exactly enthusiastic about it. We personally believe it’s unfair for students who learn better without computers and it’s honestly not a good fit for everyone,” she said.
The student trustees’ concerns included student self-regulation to focus on online classes, the challenges for students without computer or internet access at home and challenges with managing the time needed for their other extra-curricular activities.
The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA) called for a reversal of mandatory eLearning credits and stated that 75 percent of students, in a 2017 survey, said online learning did not provide comparable-quality learning environments in relation to in-person classes. One element missing from online classes is the instant teacher feedback on student progress.
Ms. Dewar said the provincial government was boasting about its commitment to consulting with “parents and guardians, students and other stakeholders;” however, she wondered who exactly had been consulted given the student trustees’ negative position.
She also criticized the government’s recent changes to autism funding, including removing the wait list for autism support and moving those students to regular schools, “where, by the way, they will be met with increased class sizes,” Ms. Dewar said.
“I find it difficult to join with OPSBA (Ontario Public School Boards’ Association) in congratulating the government for their consultation process, and I’m serious when I ask, ‘who are they consulting with?’” she said.
She apologized for the long “rant” but soon reconsidered that position.
“You know what, I’m not sorry. I mean every word of what I said,” Ms. Dewar added.
Mr. Blaseg added that RDSB has had optional online learning available for at least 20 years.
“The challenge and concern is, how do we make sure kids who require interventions be supported when it’s time to take one of the four courses? We haven’t received those details yet,” he said, adding that details about whether this will be mandatory for children with learning disabilities is also yet to be announced. He said this would not come into effect in the next school year.
“In school, we’re still trying to teach kids how to become independent learners. We’re going to have to do a lot more work in terms of trying to establish key traits among every one of our students, such as discipline and perseverance,” said Mr. Blaseg.
