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First Nations history sorely absent
Curricula need to be revamped to feature more about First Nations, says Paul Martin, former prime minister of Canada. Martin launched a Native education foundation when he retired from federal politics in 2006. "Should Canadian students be taught about the history of the Métis, the history of First Nations and the history of the Inuit as a part of Canadian history? Absolutely," says Martin. In 2011, the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative partnered with Free the Children to deliver programs about First Nations education to schools. At present, 300 schools participate. The former PM isn’t alone in his belief that Canadian history curricula need to be redesigned. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission on church-run residential schools for Aboriginal children reported in February that all Canadians need to be educated about the history of residential schools.
3P/wk
A Brooklyn elementary school teacher is limiting the number of times per week students can visit the washroom. Teacher Stephanie Warner’s potty voucher system provides students with three weekly visits to the john. Unused vouchers can be redeemed at the end of each week for prizes. Parents are outraged by the policy, which Warner imposed to stop frequent and disruptive bathroom breaks.
Taxpayers on the hook for online schools
Virtual schools in Colorado cost taxpayers virtually US$100 million a year, including millions wasted on students who are no longer enrolled. That’s the finding of an investigative report by the I-News Network and Education News Colorado. Reporters found that 50 per cent of the 18,000 K–12 students enrolled in online classes left within a year, and that one out of eight online students dropped out of school permanently—four times the state average. Many students who left online schools were further behind academically than when they began. Online students are funded at a rate of $6,228 per student per year, which is slightly less than the average per-pupil funding statewide.
