ith just six more years before the dawn of the year 2000, a question begs to be _asked.

Whatever happened to the B.C. Ministry of Education’s much-touted and publicized Year 2000 scheme of inspirational goals for the public school sys- tem? ;

The term, so easily identified, seems to have been abandoned.

The Year 2000 philosophy emerged from the 1988 Sullivan Royal Commission on Education, which called fer a “refocus” to meet the needs of all learrers.

_ Working towards full imple- mentation by the turn of the century, the ministry directed the first changes to occur at the primary levels about four years ago.

Limited success

The key concept of learning as an indi- vidually paced process, particularly ‘in the early years, was greeted with enthusiasm. ~~ The new dual-entry system for kindergarteners was fought by parents in West Vancouver, how- ever... It was to be the beginning of a “new process, whereby children

would flow through the levels of -

learning during years one to four at their own pace.

-. Before the first year was out, dual entry was dropped — per- haps because it. was awkward -

.» and disruptive in practise, and because the necessary funding cand resources to make it, and - »: “some of the other modifications - work, were not available. - Other aspects of Year 2000 |. seemed to work well. : Even before 1990, kinder- “garten teachers had begun to - _ change some of their teaching ” “methods, such as greater use of » theme-based instruction (apples to teach everything from drt to “math) and reducing pressure on little’ ones to reach milestones at

SERVICE

a prescribed time.

Teachers began keeping copi- ous notes so that they could pro- duce the anecdotal report cards that focused on the positive and what each child could do — ignoring what they could not.

But it wasn’t long before par- ents began to complain about the vagueness of the reports and demand to know how their chil- dren were doing in comparison to other children or the average standards for that age.

“Some people were confused by the reports; it all depended on

- how well-written they were and now well understood,” says Chris Kelly, North Vancouver Assistant Schoo! Superintendant.

The Ministry of Education has responded by announcing that the concept of standards will be reintroduced to primary reports by next fall.

Evaluation will be based on a child’s progress towards expecta- tions tor their age group.

Students in Grades 4 and up will get letter grades.

Parents will be told what steps they can take to support their child’s education.

Parents want changes

Jill Mingay, president of the District Parent Advisory Council in West Vancouver, greets this change with enthusiasm.

“The children never experi- enced failure. If there are no stan- dards, there’s nothing to strive

for,” she believes.

Mingay says that she has been fighting against the Year 2000 program for some time because she thought it copied similar experiments in education that had been tried and had failed in Alberta and Ontario.

In the past few years, Mingay feels that there has been a lack of concern for course content and that the students are being taught that school is a place to play.

“This does not work in teach- ing kids to respect learning,” she says.

Mingay is critical of the indi- vidual approach to learning because it assumes an inate desire to learn that is not, in all cases, that strong.

The fack of phonics in reading

‘and the acceptance of poor

spelling (to encourage kids to write without being bogged down by details} she dismisses as not being part of “the real world.”

The results further down the road are disgruntled employers and unemployable kids, Mingay says. -

She believes that the Ministry

_of Education is moving slowly to

answer these concerns about the public schoo! system.

According to West Vancouver assistant superintendant George

. Stewart, the primary program is

staying the same except for a few key changes.

In addition to the new report- ing methods, there will be a tura back to the use of the words kindergarten and Grades 1 to 3 instead of the terms Year One (kindergarten) to Year Four (Grade 3) which never quite took

"PEOPLE MAKING THE DIFFERENCE"

". Our primary goal as an organization is to work together to maintain and improve the

_ quality of life for the residents of our community. Our mandate is to provide high ““ealivre, cost effective services in a wide variety of areas such as public works, parks, 2 engineering, finance, environmental and fire protection, library, health, recreation,

| ‘planning and.administrative services.

Career Advancement - We offer a diverse range of employment opportunities from

~ entry level, technical, operational to management positions.

“Diversity in the Workplace and the Community - We value the diversity of people in the workplace and the community and uphold the principle of employment equity and public participation. ‘

Summer Positions - We provide employment opportunities to students while

continuing their education.

i

Human Resources and Fire Departm

ent personne! will be pleased to provide more

_information on career and employment opportunities, and look forward to meeting with those who attend the ''Stay in school - Career Fair 1994".

off with parents.

Government publications indi-:

cate that the ministry is settin high goals for all students an supporting the premise that every child should emerge from his school yeass with the “knowl- edge and.skills needed to earn a living in the next century.”

Curriculum will be reviewed to make sure that students can meet high standards in the tradi- tional basics: reading, writing and arithmetic.

There has never been a de- emphasis of this core curriculum, according to Kelly, at the North Vancouver School Board.

In addition, students require an expanding number of skills, from problem solving to the use of computer-based technology.

Intermediate and graduate programs

The Ministry of Education has turned its focus to updating inter- mediate and graduate programs, placing higher priority on career planning and job readiness than

efore.

There is no mention of the now discredited term, Year 2000, in newly reieased documents, even though the concepts that worked have been kept.

Education experts acknow- ledge that some Year 2000 con- cepts were unworkable or were

introduced too quickly and with-

out sufficient ministry support. . * Since then, the North

Vancouver Schoo! District has

come up with its own guiding

plan?

principles for change. These are:

* Any decision made to alter programs will adhere to five elements of teaching and learn- ing: ;

+ students as active partici-

pants in learning,

> respect for the idea that every student has an indi- vidual style and pace for learning,

> belief in the need for for every student to develop both individually and as part of society,

* the need to develop appro- priate curriculum, an

+ the use of different ways to assess and report on sttl- dents’ progress.

*» Using the above criteria, pre- sent practices that work should be recognized for their success and should be maintained.

“* When changes must be made, they should be introduced in a

radual, incremental and evo- utionary way.

“ Any changes that are made should be school-based and

. involve parents.

. wa

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