Who Decides to Do This ...? Educational Reform Again?

Preamble

In October 2009 during a keynote address to over 220 BC Science Teachers, I pointed out that eventually a time will come when they will have to take steps to become informed and deeply understand the direction the Ministry of Education is going with educational reform. I also stated I would identify when that time would occur.  

This is that time.

Who Decides to Do This...?

When I was seconded to the Ministry of Education in the mid 90's to work in the curriculum branch, one of the most common questions I received was “who makes these decisions to do these things?” This somewhat cryptic question could be aligned to any educational issue of the day, but it tended to focus on curriculum documents because this was the time of the IRP, the BC curriculum document. I was somewhat fascinated by the question teachers asked me, because the answer, while not alway clear, was “you”.

There are two definitions for “you” according to all knowing Google:

1. Used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing: "are you listening?";
2. Used to refer to the person being addressed together with other people regarded in the same class: "you teachers".

My answer is predicated on both definitions when it comes to decisions made around educational policy. When referring to a person the speaker is addressing, generally the Ministry makes attempts to communicate their intentions to educational professionals and the general public through the media. This is usually done by announcement of a plan that may or may not be attached to new funding. This is different from policy tweaks and changes to operating procedures that occur on a regular basis. For example, the removal of grade 12 exams are a policy change. For teachers of grade 12 courses this is a huge change in the day to day operation of their job, but the view from a bureaucratic level is it's making a minor change to the system. But, back to the plan. In the mid 90's the current majority NDP government announced their Educational Plan and this included information on curriculum changes. At the time, the educational community was still recovering from the cancelling of the Year 2000 Plan. Consequently, the new Educational Plan was for the most part missed or misinterpreted by most people.

 Over the past 8 years, education and specifically curriculum has been a wasteland in BC. There have been tweaks, reductions, nips and tucks and no new funding for any of these changes. As a result not much has changed in our classrooms even though funding for various pet projects and initiatives have come and gone. It's not surprising that the cynicism arising from the lack of vision is creating an environment similar to the mid 90's. With the release of the BC Education Plan (www.bcedplan.ca) by the current government we are moving into a new focus on Education in British Columbia.

It is time for “you” to take notice and read it.

Now for the second definition of “you” and again I reflect on my time working at the Ministry of Education. After I would present the mandate of the government to teachers (as a seconded teacher I was required to present the intentions of the government regardless of my personal view), invariably someone would get upset and vent. Sometimes the group would focus on a particular issue and occasionally the emotion would trigger a letter to the Minister. Which I would write the response for his or her signature before being mailed out. The part that always bothered me in this process was that it ended there. Nothing else happened. Somehow the issue died out, the tyranny of the moment that defines teaching took over.

My hope for this time is the second definition for “you” means groups of teachers, schools, Districts, PAC's, businesses and all possible combinations in-between finds ways to talk and share their views. Maybe it's a conversation with your neighbour, maybe it's your first posting on a teacher community site like www.bcscienceinteractions.com or a phone call to your new Board Trustee. And don't stop there, make sure that the results of these conversations are forwarded to the Ministry. There is an 'Engage' button on the www.bcplan.ca site. Use it. Everyone has a MLA. Communicate with them. Talk to them share your experiences.

You has to be us.

If this doesn't happen now and happen soon, policy will be developed without a clear understanding of the complete picture in today's classrooms. And a year or two from now you will be listening to a Ministry presentation and asking.... “who makes these decisions to do these things?”