Professionally Speaking welcomes
letters and articles on topics of interest to
teachers. We reserve the right to edit letters for
length. To be considered for publication, all letters
must be signed and provide the writer’s daytime
phone number. Letters should be addressed to: The
Editor, Professionally Speaking, 121 Bloor Street
East, 6th Floor, Toronto ON M4W 3M5; e-mail: ps@oct.ca
I would like to comment on the
article "Take Another Look at Our
Students’ Science Ranking" published in the
December ’97 issue of Professionally
Speaking.
I agree that
one must examine the context before interpreting test
results; however, the article included some rather
sweeping generalities and inaccuracies in the context
of the Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS, 1995).
The main
premise of the article was that countries (for
example, Bulgaria, Korea, Singapore) that scored
higher than Canada/Ontario in TIMSS, tested
"only a selected population" because
"the practice of streaming and excluding
individuals happens in some countries…,"
and that Ontario students’ performance would
have been much stronger "if we removed the
poorest and weakest from our education system."
Enrolment statistics for all students in the age
6–23 range were used as evidence of streaming,
as well as to indicate that these countries
"educate far fewer students than we do."
The problem
with the argument is that while the statistics do
show a decline in some countries’ enrolment in
upper secondary and tertiary programs, there are no
statistics provided in the article for lower
secondary and elementary school enrolments where the
percentage of students enrolled is high for all
countries.
The first three
releases of data from TIMSS, during 1996 and 1997,
involved the achievement results of 9- and
13-year-old students (Populations 1 and 2,
respectively). It is my opinion that these
achievement results are comparable since virtually
all students in the participating countries were
enrolled. For instance, in Bulgaria and Korea,
education is compulsory to age 14 and 15,
respectively, and although there is no compulsory
period of education in Singapore, every child
receives at least 10 years of general education
including six years of primary and four years of
secondary education.
Admittedly,
comparisons of student achievement for TIMSS
Population 3 (students in their final year of
secondary) are more challenging because of the
streaming/tracking practices of some countries,
particularly in upper secondary school. One of the
stated purposes of TIMSS is to provide information
about the extent to which education systems have been
effective in educating their whole population, not
just elite groups of students. To address this issue
in Population 3, the TIMSS project will report
separately on the mathematics and science literacy of
generalist students, as well as students with special
preparation in advanced mathematics and physics. The
release of the TIMSS Population 3 achievement results
is scheduled for February 1998.
I trust these
remarks will be useful to educators as they consider
the results of international assessments such as
TIMSS.
Richard Jones
Richard Jones is the
project leader for national, international &
education indicators at the Education
Quality and Accountability Office.
I just finished reading with great
interest the December ’97 issue of Professionally Speaking in which your College
describes the events that occurred before the
withdrawal by the government of some clauses from Bill 160 regarding the use of
non-certified instructors in schools. The Association
of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO)
applauds this victory and congratulates the College
for its dynamic intervention in this important
matter.
The ATIO fully
agrees with the points raised by your organization to
the Harris government during the debate surrounding
Bill 160. Indeed, it is important for our respective
professions to establish a clear distinction between
someone who possesses a certain level of competence
and an individual who is trained with that purpose in
mind, who is certified by his or her professional
college and who must adhere to standards of practice
and a code of ethics.
Pascal Sabourin
Dr. Pascal Sabourin is the
chair of the ATIO and a certified translator.
The article "College Resolution on Bill 160" in the December
’97 issue of Professionally
Speaking raises some concerns. According
to this article, seven members of the College’s Council voted against a motion that asked for the
withdrawal of sections of Bill 160 that allowed
unqualified teachers.
I feel that it
is important to know who voted for and against this motion.
I cannot
understand how anyone who is truly interested in
education could, in effect, vote for the use of
unqualified teachers in Ontario.
Joe Simpson
Joe Simpson teaches history
and geography at the Listowel District Secondary
School.
I read with great interest "Accounting for Yourself –
The Challenge of Voluntary Accreditation" in the December
issue of Professionally
Speaking.
I had never
heard of accreditation for a school until I moved to
Kenya in 1974 to teach at Rift Valley Academy, a U.S.
accredited school. Having been used to a system here
in Ontario, I at first was very hesitant about the
whole issue of accreditation until I began to realize
that somewhere along the line there has to be some
accountability for a private school. Now, I
wholeheartedly concur with the accreditation process,
even though it can be a very stressful exercise for
the teachers of a private school.
David C. Penney
David C. Penney is a Grade
4 teacher at the Calvary Christian School in
Woodbridge.
Thank you
for releasing the Professionally Speaking
magazine free of charge to the College paid members. I have read the
last two editions
from cover to cover. I still think it is a great thing that has happened
to Ontario teachers in terms of getting connected.
I am a supply
teacher of many years and my joy will be made
complete if the College will start publishing job
positions for those of us who have to cough out $90
per annum.
I know many
colleges do this for their members in order to
facilitate job search.
Esther Garber
Esther Garber is an
occasional teacher with the Ottawa-Carleton District
School Board.
This is a time of public
sensitivity to the provincial government’s
reluctant and piecemeal disclosure of the intent of
its educational "reforms."
I suggest that
provision for open public debate involving all
components of society proceed now.
Charter schools
may well contribute to a revolution, but not one that
I would want to see. Debate on this issue will reveal
the interdependence of all components of our society
and the harm done to them by establishing charter
schools.
Charter schools
will influence society to drift toward and
accommodate, exclusively, particular classes and self
interest. Already their clarion call is for
efficiency in our students – efficiency for
what!? The exclusivity of the charter school concept
rings too much of the neo-conservative thinking that
one component of society and its predominant ethos
– achieving market share – will pull
society’s other components along and ever
upwards. But where is "along" and what is
"upwards?" Let the students learn in a
broader context than this while they still can.
I have no
problem with legislating restitution to the caring
community all society wants to see built. Your
"reforms" to education both under way and
pending – the latter being charter schools
– neither in content nor method of implementing
are in the tradition of building democracy.
Tell us your
whole agenda – particularly the rationale.
Ron Hall
Ron Hall is a retired
history teacher in Toronto.
Congratulations to you and your
staff and the contributors on an attractive,
informative and useful magazine! I have read both
issues cover-to-cover, a compliment in itself! The
tone seems very professional, yet not heavy. It seems
like the College has many projects on the go. I hope
to see reports of results within the year.
Katrina Hall
Katrina Hall teaches Senior
Kindergarten French immersion at Humbercrest Public
School in Toronto.
