Two months ago, as the school term came to a close in June, Julianne Hazlewood, the host of CBC’s Morning Show, interviewed students at Sir John A MacDonald School in London. Children from age 9 to 13 responded to Julianne’s question about the biggest lesson they had learned at school in the preceding year. Some of the children’s responses were:
- “you do not need to be ‘cool’. Just be yourself and everything will be fine.”
- “If you don’t give up, you will achieve your goal.”
- “Just stay humble and kind. Don’t hold a grudge.”
- “Try not to take everything for granted.” [E.g., the amazing teachers I am sad to leave as I move on to high school.]
- “Friendship is the strongest thing on this earth. Nothing can break it.”
Had I been asked, many decades ago, about the biggest lesson I had learned at school, I would have spoken only about academic learning, or perhaps about developing skill in some sport. Lessons for living would have pertained to rules regarding behaviours which were deemed to be right or wrong. We were instructed in “rules” of life. The children interviewed by Ms. Hazlewood were not merely taught rules; rather, the teachers seemed to have helped the children to internalize and practice the values inherent in being fully human. I expect that students have always learned lessons about how to live from the examples given each day by their teachers, and the quality of relationships between the children and their teachers. For the children interviewed by Ms. Hazlewood, knowledge seems to go beyond “rules” and become actualized in attitudes and behaviour.
Today our teachers are better prepared to understand and foster both psychological development and the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. The philosophical changes in education provide hope for preparing the next generation to be persons who are more fully, compassionate and wise human beings. However, there is concern that deficiencies in teaching children mathematics seriously impacts their ability to function in a world where math and science skills are imperative.
Caroline Alphonso’s article in the August 14, 2018 edition of The Globe and Mail highlights the abysmal state of mathematics education in Canada; she identifies deficiencies in the mathematics curriculum and in the math skills of teachers. University teacher education programs fail to prepare teachers competent in teaching such numeracy skills as fractions, percentages, decimals, and multiplication in addition to geometric and algebraic concepts. A survey of incoming primary-junior and junior-intermediate teacher candidates done by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education during orientation week, disclosed that about a third of the candidates scored at or below 70% in a grade 6/7 math test. In Ontario, half of the grade 6 students failed to meet the provincial standard in the 2017 annual math test. The number of class hours and content of math courses in different teacher education programs varies widely; class hours vary from 36 to 72 in Ontario. Concordia University in Montreal’s program for educating elementary school teachers includes three courses comprising a total of 146 classroom hours.
Lack of confidence and ability in math deters students from pursuing the STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and math) essential to the current needs of society. This situation places Canada in an inferior position in developing our economy and our ability to compete with other countries. Some university education programs are taking steps to improve the math skills of teacher candidates. Let us work towards balancing educating students to live as good members of society with the ability to contribute to the economic well-being of Canada. - Patricia McKeon, csj