Waiting for a Miracle in the wake of a Global Pandemic
It’s happened before – Global Pandemic and Divine Intervention…so why not defer to both when trying to decide what to do about Public Education?
Carlene Jackson (Interim Director for the TDSB) claimed that barring a miracle – it is very unlikely for schools to open on time and on schedule amidst the global pandemic.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record of thousands upon thousands of other parent voices – but really…why did they start visiting these plans so late in the game? I understand and support the wait and see attitude – but where are and were the contingency plans? How are they holding meetings about this now? How was plan A through Z not decided and figured out prior to mid-August? I also understand that the government and the school board collectively have to align with the recommendations of public health and safety and that task is daunting. But quite frankly parents are out of patience. And with a lack of patience comes panic.
One of the most devastating results of this era of uncertainty is that parents – not educators, ministers and directors of education – are creating a two tier education system. Learning pods are popping up like wildfire and families are hiring private teachers to come to their home and offer a home school experience, paying for this service out of pocket. Desperate to be able to work from home and scared about the reality of their children missing out on another year of curriculum, parents are problem solving themselves.
Obviously this model is flawed – who will write their children’s report card? IEP? Any official ministry document that needs to be uploaded and filed into a central database housing your child’s Ontario Student Record – which you will need to show when applying for private schools, colleges and universities. But again – can parents afford to wait and see on August 19th? Parents need a plan – which is why these larger concerns may be able to be shelved for now. Besides – how can one plan for university and higher education when their years of fundamental skills and essential curriculum are being jeopardized by funding and a lack of resources. Parents are adopting the TDSBs motto of putting kids first – and they are putting their own kids needs ahead of the general populations.
This level of uncertainty would never and is not happening in the private education sector – and granted there are factors and justifiable reasons why. The issue unfortunately has become about timing, and unfortunately the government has said many times over that it is time for children to return to school period end of story.
And so, parents are left with the brutal choice of deciding between a centralized virtual school vs. a lack of resources required to achieve Toronto Public Health recommendations in TDSB public schools and waiting for them to figure it out.
Every year I speak at the Our Kids private school expo. My topic is a hot one – I speak about how to choose the right school for your child. This summer my main area of consultation has been more focussed on how to find the best possible education for your child. Is it at public, private, online or in a non-binding learning pod? I am a huge proponent for public education, I myself have a child in public school…but for the first time this year, I also have a child in private school – and the differences are vast.
If Carlene Jackson is waiting for a miracle I hope it’s not a metaphorical the parting of the red sea with private schools on one side of the bank and public education on the other.
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Until Our Next Lesson,