COMMENTARY

New Rule: Let’s Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don’t Learn - Let’s Fire the Parents

May 14, 2010

BILL MAHER, Host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher

EDITOR'S NOTE: This week's piece is borrowed from The Huffington Post. The humorist has a point worthy of further discussion. WSS>

Last week President Obama defended the firing of every single teacher in a struggling high school in a poor Rhode Island neighborhood. And the kids were outraged. They said, “Why blame our teachers?” and “Who’s President Obama?” I think it was Whitney Houston who said, “I believe that children are our future - teach them well and let them lead the way.” And that’s the last sound piece of educational advice this country has gotten - from a crack head in the ‘80s.
 
Yes, America has found its new boogeyman to blame for our crumbling educational system. It’s just too easy to blame the teachers, what with their cushy teachers’ lounges, their fat-cat salaries, and their absolute authority in deciding who gets a hall pass. We all remember high school - canning the entire faculty is a nationwide revenge fantasy. Take that, Mrs. Crabtree! And guess what? We’re chewing gum and no, we didn’t bring enough for everybody. READ MORE...

Between 2008 and 2009, the average employment rate fell faster for off-reserve Aboriginal people than for non-Aboriginal people. As a result, the gap in employment rates between the two groups widened from 3.5 percentage points in 2008 to 4.8 percentage points in 2009. The average employment rate for Aboriginal people in 2009 was 57.0%, compared with 61.8% for non-Aboriginal people.

Source: Statistics Canada

THE NEWS

School principal ‘stuck’ on world literacy
By Yana Doyle, Calgary Herald
International literacy day is commemorated every year on September 8, but the children, staff and parents of River Valley School believe global literacy is something that should be promoted every day. For the second year in a row, this globally conscious school has embarked on an ambitious fundraising initiative to support world literacy, and for the second time have emerged as real global ambassadors. It was back in the 2008/2009 school year that the River Valley School first heard about the 'Room to Read' program. The purpose of this international charitable organization is to promote literacy amongst children in developing countries, and to support the education of girls throughout the world.

Alberta trade and technology students compete in skills competition
By Cigdem Iltan, Edmonton Journal
The government will award about 86 new scholarships worth $75,000 to trades students every year, beginning this year. The money comes from WorldSkills Calgary 2009, which gave more than $1.4 million to the provincial government's Heritage Scholarship Fund. WorldSkills Calgary was an international skills competition that featured eight Albertans on Team Canada at the Calgary Stampede Park last September. Trades students will receive $500 toward their post-secondary education for each gold medal they win at provincial and national skills competitions, and an additional $9,000 if they go on to represent Canada at the biannual WorldSkills Competition.

Thirsk dares kids to dream the impossible and make it happen
By Robert Baroon, The Daily News
British Columbia's Robert Thirsk said he decided to become an astronaut in 1962 while his elementary school class in New Westminster watched with fascination as John Glenn become the first American to orbit the earth. Thirsk, who returned in December after six months living aboard the International Space Station as the six-person crew's medical officer and robotics specialist, spoke to local high school students about his experiences as an astronaut at the Nanaimo District Museum on Thursday. The event was part of a cross-Canada tour that Thirsk and fellow astronaut, Belgian Frank De Winne, are taking part on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency to talk to the public about the importance of the space program and encourage students to pursue their dreams.

Students call for measures to improve the university and college experience
By Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario
A report released by the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario identifies that high tuition fees and high student debt are factors that have caused the erosion of the quality of education offered at Ontario colleges and universities. As a result, student engagement has suffered and quality has declined. "In March, the government announced that it would allow tuition fees to increase by an average of five percent for the fifth year in a row," said Shelley Melanson, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario. "This fee increase, combined with growing class sizes and ballooning student debt, means that students are now paying more than ever before and getting less."

Students choose online courses in records numbers
By eCampus Alberta
A record number of post-secondary students won’t be driving to school or catching the bus this fall. Their classroom will be their home as they log on in record numbers to online studies. “This year there are more courses and more programs offered online in Alberta than ever before,” said Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. “That’s due to the foresight of 15 publicly funded colleges and technical institutes who have banded together under the eCampusAlberta partnership.” The eCampusAlberta partnership was established in 2002. Tricia Donovan, Executive Director of eCampus Alberta, said course registrations reached a record of nearly 5,200 in 2006/07 - up approximately 45 per cent from the previous year.

U of S Learning Community students grades 10% higher
By University of Saskatchewan Press Release
A recent study revealed that U of S students involved in Learning Communities—a U of S program to help first-year students make the transition into university life—achieved grades that were on average 10 per cent higher than non-Learning Community students. In the fall of 2009, 333 students registered in 11 Learning Communities. Those students, who were active members in their communities and attended six or more Learning Community meetings, earned grades in first term courses that were 10 per cent higher than non-Learning Community first-year students. While some of this effect is accounted for by student self-selection, membership in Learning Communities appears to positively affect academic achievement.

Commercial campuses ready to fill gap
By Stephen Matchett, The Australian
The idea that only public universities, employing permanent staff and endowed with research infrastructure, can teach high-quality degree courses is already internationally obsolete. According to a UNESCO report on global higher education, 30 per cent of enrolments are in private-sector institutions, as businesses in Africa and eastern Europe meet demand the state won't, or more frequently can't, afford to fulfil. Other big growth areas include the Middle East (even the sniffy Sorbonne is in business in Abu Dhabi) as well as Singapore, Malaysia and China. And a new boom could kick off in India, where the national government decided last month to allow foreign universities to set up shop.

Africa’s universities learn to tap a precious resource: their alumni
By Megan Lindow, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The sign at the entrance to Obafemi Awolowo University proclaims this campus, renowned for its Modernist architecture and horticultural diversity, the most beautiful in Africa. A decade ago, however, the buildings were dirty and tattered, with broken windows, leaking roofs, and peeling paint. The decay was an outward sign of the turmoil that has gripped African universities over the past few decades, as their budgets have evaporated and their facilities crumbled. Plagued by cuts in government support, Obafemi Awolowo had few options for rejuvenating itself, recalls Roger Makanjuola, a professor of psychiatry who was vice chancellor at the time. Then he hit on an idea still relatively novel to most African universities: asking graduates for help.

Universities say students may face earlier loan payback
By Hannah Richardson, BBC News
The Russell Group of top universities says it faces a £1.1bn black-hole in its finances by 2012-13. The claims come in the group's submission to England's official review of student finance and fees. The National Union of Students has said students already pay "more than their fair share". The Russell Group represents the 20 most research-intensive universities in the UK, and includes the likes of Oxford, Cambridge and University College London. It says that without extra income its members will be forced to make significant cut-backs.

The Swail Letter (May 2010).
In this issue: Trends in International Education Enrollment.