Jin Schofield (9) | STAFF REPORTER
As we approach the halfway point of 2020, it is important to reflect on the events that have occurred in the past year. On April 4 of last school year, many St. Robert students walked out against the cuts the Ford Administration made to education. While this article will not describe this event in detail, it will demonstrate different opinions St. Robert students had on the cuts, and the walk-out itself. Many events have occurred since then, but it is interesting to see what our student body feared and thought as the issue arose.
To clarify, the following quotes do not represent the opinions of the author (Jin Schofield), the Axiom Newspaper as a whole, or St. Robert Catholic High School. These are quotes taken from specific students. These quotes are just a sample of some opinions within the school. Eleven students from varying grade levels were interviewed. Some quotes were excluded, as they stated the same opinions and reasonings as other quotes already included in the article. However, the reporter can be contacted if any reader wishes to read the remainder of these opinions. Additionally, misinterpretations or falsehoods possibly used by students to justify their opinions were not excluded – the Axiom encourages all readers to conduct their own research before forming their own opinions.
On the Topic of Cutting Education Principally
“I understand that government debt is a problem, and I believe it has to be fixed. However, I think that education is the one sector where cuts should never be made. Education is so important in securing the present and future. It is a long-term investment that forms the foundation of a country. I think that allowing Ford to make cuts to education as Plan A is a terrible precedent for our country. On that principled basis, I oppose the budget cuts.”
On the Topic of Arts and Trades Cuts
“As they are increasing class sizes and cutting down elective courses (including trades and arts), students are ultimately getting fewer options and “freedom” of what they can learn. The standard courses such as math and the sciences will not be cut because they are believed to be more important. I believe that this view is skewed. These elective courses help students learn things beyond what a standard math and science course could teach them, such as patience and teamwork. They allow students to express themselves in a different manner. Cuts to these programs not only take away these opportunities for students but also take jobs away from teachers.”
On the Topic of OSAP
“OSAP is not an effective program – it is a backward program. It enables the middle class to use taxpayer’s money to get grants meant to secure low-income families a chance at post-secondary education. By slashing the OSAP funds, the money can be used more wisely to give it to those who actually deserve and need the money. There are other scholarship options out there, which require you to write an essay or do something academic.”
“They are cutting OSAP, so it harms those who need funding the most.”
On the Topic of Autism Cuts, Disadvantaged Students, and Direct Funding
“The cuts aren’t really cuts, they’re just redirecting funds from the autism program to help more children with autism. It’s giving parents more freedom to choose how they want to go at developing their children instead of a solid brick plan for an exclusive group of children with autism with a massive waitlist. This way, although they may be potentially harming those exclusive children by offering less money to them, they’re slowly moving the waitlist forward; instead of using a direct service approach to only reach a certain group of children with autism, they’re switching to direct funding to reach a larger group of children with autism.”
“There are exemptions on an individualized basis.”
These courses can be six hour drivers’ ed courses find that pharmacy order viagra overnight or they can be more comprehensive drivers’ education courses in Texas may be offered at public schools, which can be a convenient option for students under age 18 but which tends to be less harmful with maximum results in a short period. It helps dig this order levitra to heal the damaged nerves and tissues. Today it is tadalafil best price possible to pick up your medicine has little appeal, consider an online source. buy levitra Bad habits like binge drinking, smoking, hard drugs and stimulants are very common in college situations.“In terms of cuts to autism funding, we should really be assigning more teachers and providing more funds in that area. Any family that has a member with an illness, be it physical or mental, has to spend a lot of money on treatment and this has a huge impact on their lives. Many families have to change their lifestyles and find new ways to approach the situation given that they have to pull out so much money for their loved ones. If the amount these families receive (up to a certain age, I believe) is cut, it is a lot more difficult for them to get the professional help/therapy.”
“Much of the budget cuts attack the programs implemented for kids with autism, those in radicalized communities (e.g. leadership programs), and tutor programs in schools. Basically, a big hit on individualized education in the public system. This makes it harder for people of different backgrounds to have equal opportunity. Beyond hindering people of all different academic abilities and wants, it especially hurts those who need the most help. While the rich can attend private schools to avoid these changes, the middle class and poor will be most affected. The middle class would be paying taxes for a declining public education system. I think this is unethical.”
“The Ford Administration wants to encourage people to seek alternative funding methods, such as direct funding to individuals for learning incomes. The implication of this is the boosting of private school business and charter school prevalence, both of which are less accessible to those of lower socio-economic backgrounds. This hinders equal opportunity. They want to maintain “efficient price-setting”, which means funding schools based on their average spending on utilities like heat, water, etc… The problem is that not all schools are alike, and this actually does not provide adequate funding to schools in the most appropriate ways. This one-size-fits-all approach does not maximize “money value”. Their recommendation states that the premise of money value is going to be on “outcomes” of helping students achieve full potential by clearing “obstacles”. They are not specific. They plan on measuring outcomes based on learning skills. These are subjective and can be easily influenced by politics. This could mean that Ford wants to focus more on STEM instead of funding the arts, and clearing “obstacles” can very well be referring to the aforementioned cuts on programs for autism, etc… Either way, this general ambiguity is also a cause for concern.”
On the Topic of Class Sizes
“It’s physically impossible to add more people to certain classes, for example, many classes at St. Robert contain 30+ people. Even then, adding a few more bodies shouldn’t affect learning or quality of education; more people gives you an opportunity to hone social skills, something a lot of kids in our school lack. The group of people who are affected most by this would obviously be the smaller classes, the classes with maybe 15-20 people. They would probably get merged with another class to get up to par with other classes of 30. I heard there is a class in grade 12 with 7 people right now. Their class brings down the average. Basically, increasing average class size would mean taking two of those classes of 7 and combining them. This does not mean adding people to classes who are already maxed out. ”
On the Topic of E-Learning
“E-learning would be perfect for those who want more attention. Have you ever wanted to ask a teacher a question the night before a test? E-Learning helps with that because teachers are more connected to the internet. It also allows for more freedom to learn when you want and how you want, since everything is recorded. Think of it as a taste of university.”
On the Topic of the Mechanism of Protesting St. Robert Students Used
“The demonstrations are not directly against the government that is implementing the changes to education. By walking out fourth period, it makes it seem almost as if we are protesting against the school administration, not the government itself. Even though that was not the intention, that was essentially the impact of the walkout. I do not think that skipping school is necessarily a good way to protest against cuts to education in the first place because that seems to me to be counter-intuitive. The demonstrations would likely not be seen by the government, or at least only in media form. The ones who actually see these demonstrations are the teachers and administration, who are on our side against the government changes. I think demonstrations directly against the government (like the one that occurred in Queen’s Park) would be much more substantial. Media attention is important but I do not see the need to skip school to make a point – we are demonstrating against teachers and administration, and harming our own education, which is pointless.”
“Writing formal complaints would be much more effective than walking out.”
“Some people are inappropriately protesting, which shows some youths of our generations aren’t being mature, and have misinterpreted information.”
“This union needs to mobilize a student sit-in at Queen’s Park during the weekends so that Mr. Ford and his Ministers can see what is happening by themselves. With support from parents, the students can use the extensive media exposure to pressure Mr. Ford to actually conduct dialogues with the student and parent leaders. Walking out is just step one.”
Once again, none of the above quotes represent the opinions of Jin Schofield, the Axiom Newspaper, or St. Robert Catholic High School itself.
