Changes to Education that need to happen NOW!
by Amy Bowker
March 29, 2021
We have known for a while that education needs to make several changes. As a teacher who is teaching online during a pandemic, some of these changes needed are glaringly obvious to me. Here are some that I’ve been thinking about.
Getting rid of the Time Allocation Model
The time allocation model is the amount of instructional time allocated per subject so that educators can make sure they are accurately cover each subject. At the beginning of the year, teachers carefully make their schedule making sure that they are adhering to the Time Allocation Model. This encouraged teachers to separate subjects into Math, English, Science, arts and so on. But life isn’t sectioned off that way. Life is messy and every project we do covers many different subjects. For example: if I’m going to build a clubhouse for my backyard, that project would cover math (area, money, number sense) English ( writing a list, making a plan, reading about how to make a clubhouse, oral) and Art (planning out what the clubhouse will look like, paint colours). Right now in my virtual class, I had to break up a block of learning with 3 different subjects due to the support that I’m getting. I’m so thankful for the support but I find breaking up the subjects makes it so difficult for the students to get into and excited about a project. They just get started and then we have to move on the next time. It really halts their learning. In real life our learning or projects are never separate, so why are they in school?
Smaller classes
This has been an ongoing battle for education. Smaller class sizes are essential for student learning. Educators have only so much time throughout the day to connect, build relationships and adequately meet the needs of all of our students. The more students we have, the more needs we have in our classes. In Education Week “Special Education: Definition, Statistics, and Trends” the rate for special education needs in our classes raised from 13.4% in 2007 to 13.7 in 2020. That may not sound like a lot but that is 6.5 million students. Special Education needs are rising and these students are individuals. Just because a student is labelled as having autism, that doesn’t mean that we have a set of instructions that work for them. We need time, support and one on one time with the student to really develop a plan to help that student. Smaller class sizes will give teachers more time that they need to meet all their student’s needs and fully support them in their learning.
More support for students with needs
Mental health issues with students are at an all-time high now because of COVID, but these needs were there long before COVID was here. Students are struggling. They need more support. We need more teachers who can support their learning but as well we need teachers or guidance counsellors in all schools for their mental health. Students are dealing with more pressure than ever before as well as normal family troubles such as divorce, poverty and more.
More PD Days throughout the year
PD days stand for Professional Development and we are usually told what we will be learning about that day. I would highly suggest more PD Days throughout the year so that teachers have more time to co-plan with other teachers, plan for students’ needs, prep supplies or behavioural interventions for their students, and this, in turn, would make better more purposeful learning for the students. When teachers get time to work together, they create the best units for student learning. More time to plan means teachers can really plan well for their students, thinking of their needs and interests, and make units that intersect the curriculum and involve really deep learning. Other places throughout the world have PD days every Wednesday PM. That way teachers can collaborate on a weekly basis and really plan to assist students and constantly adjust to their needs.
I know that these changes would make a huge difference to the stress level of teachers and the engagement of students. What would you add to the list?
