Three tips to helping children discover the pleasure of reading Children are struggling to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on their learning, particularly those in younger grades who were already struggling with reading. Fortunately, a University of Alberta research team has created and tested an evidence-based program to help get students back on…
ChatGPT is an impressive tool, but it is just that – a tool Artificial intelligence has come a long way. Unlike the rudimentary software of the past, modern-day programs such as ChatGPT are truly impressive. Whether you need a 1,000-word essay summarizing the history of Manitoba, a 500-word article extolling the virtues of your favourite…
We must never give up the struggle to preserve our right to know Academic freedom is a cornerstone of democracy. Academic freedom, therefore, should be cherished by both the left and the right. When this freedom is threatened, it should concern all of us. Academic freedom is misunderstood by many. As an educator, I want…
The learning styles myth perpetuates a falsehood about how students learn Are you a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a tactile-kinaesthetic learner? If you think this is a valid question, then you, like many others, have fallen for one of the most pervasive education myths out there. It’s not hard to test this claim…
Tying funding to parental choices generates strong incentives for schools to provide higher-quality customization
When Canadian schools suffer from poor track records and students fall behind, provincial governments always favour the same response: throw more money at the problem. New crises prompt political actors to request further rounds of new investments, reinvestments, refinancing, and improved financing — the slogans change, but the strategy is always to try to secure…
The primary job of the principal is to improve the results of a single school, not a district
Nearly two years ago, Quebec’s ministry of education reorganized the management of the province’s elementary and secondary schools to enable each school’s principal, staff, and parents to take over the operation of the school. The external political school board no longer exists. In a sense, the Quebec system now looks very much like the management…
Quebec spending per student is 13.6% less than in Ontario yet Quebec students achieve comparable results to students in Ontario
By Tegan Hill and Jason Clemens The Fraser Institute Policy-makers in Ontario often mistakenly think more spending on public education automatically means better results. But despite relatively high and increasing levels of spending on public schools, there hasn’t been a commensurate boost in student performance. More spending on public education doesn’t always mean better results.…
The Quebec system offers an opportunity to dive deeply into outcomes. The results aren’t promising for children
Advocates of state-run child care saw opportunity in the COVID-19 crisis. It’s an old idea but not a great one. Working parents returned home to care for their children, some able to continue paid work from home and others not. As a result, calls for universal child care grew louder than they had for 15…
Archaic regulations, union monopoly, lack of responsiveness to parental demands are just a few of the many handcuffs holding back Quebec’s public school systems
By Deani Van Pelt and Yanick Labrie The Fraser Institute It’s that time of year again when parents across Quebec are preparing their kids to return to school after the summer break. And when parents meet in the schoolyards and drop-zones for the first time in months, conversations may turn to “cuts” in education funding,…