Re: Toronto has another diploma for dummies

["Arthur Hu" <arthurhu@comcast.net>]

Ironic that this "one high standard and school to work for all"
is still ending up with the academic / vocational track when all
is said and done. Sigh.

-----Original Message-----
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org
[mailto:arn-l-owner@interversity.org]On Behalf Of Robert E. Bowd
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 8:30 PM
To: arn-l@interversity.org; Wa-Ed
Subject: Re: [arn-l] Toronto has another diploma for dummies


The dummies, Arthur, are the neoconservatives who took billions of dollars
out of the school system, in special education, textbook shortages, and ESL
resources, and are now issuing a 'non-elitist' certificate that signifies
these kids can't learn ('because the new curriculum is too tough').  Talk
about blaming the victim.  These kids can learn if the school is not an
alienating environment for them.

The more interesting thing to me is that the Conference Board of Canada
(whose employability skills are the foundation of the certificate) will get
to co-sign the certificate and thus give the usually arms length corporate
sector a direct educational role in the school system.  This may have
implications for other currricular strata and end up being the thin edge of
the wedge in a more direct form of school accountability to the corporate
sector.

There is the possibility that this will be a failed intitiative, with
considerable blowback, if many of these kids STILL do not find jobs (highly
likely - many of them will lack the middle class cultural capital desired in
the retail service sector as a condition of employment and would also find
Michael Bloom's managerialist jargon ("multitasking" offputting) in this
reinvention of the old class stratified basic level programme.

I wonder if parents of kids with the certificate could launch a law suit
against the board, if jobs are not forthcoming?

Bob Bowd

----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Hu" <arthurhu@comcast.net>
To: "Wa-Ed" <wa-ed-deform@yahoogroups.com>; "Arn-L" <arn-l@interversity.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 2:43 PM
Subject: [arn-l] Toronto has another diploma for dummies


> TORONTO ELMIMINATES NON-ELITE DIPLOMAS, OFFERS SKILL CERTIFICATE
> \clip\2004\02\torskill.txt
>
> Fri, 20 Feb 2004 Toronto Star Certificate rewards job skills, not
> marks Toronto board to issue 200 in June Seen as alternative to
> dropping out KRISTIN RUSHOWY EDUCATION REPORTER
>       Toronto high-school students doomed to fail because the new
> curriculum is too tough will be able to earn a certificate showcasing
> their job skills rather than their school smarts.
> In the past, many of the students who will be eligible for the skills
> certificate would have studied at the "basic" level and earned a
> diploma.  Now, the basic level has all but disappeared, leaving those
> students struggling to learn material beyond their capability, or
> taking courses developed locally by boards that often don't count for
> credit. ...  Almost half of students who begin high school end up
> going straight into the workforce - with or without a diploma.
>
>
> Fri, 20 Feb 2004 Toronto Star  Certificate rewards job skills, not marks
>       Toronto board to issue 200 in June
>       Seen as alternative to dropping out
>       KRISTIN RUSHOWY
>       EDUCATION REPORTER
>
>       Toronto high-school students doomed to fail because the new
> curriculum is too tough will be able to earn a certificate showcasing
> their job skills rather than their school smarts.
>
>       The new Employability Skills Achievement Certificate, to be
> offered this June by the Toronto District School Board, is even
> endorsed by the Conference Board of Canada.
>
>       While not meant as an alternative to Ontario's high school
> diploma, it will serve as an alternative to dropping out with no
> credentials whatsoever - which many educators have warned will happen.
>
>
>       The skills certificate will be accompanied by a portfolio, put
> together by teachers, outlining a student's achievements on a skills
> list developed by the conference board.
>
>       It could include anything from problem-solving and multi-tasking
> to being able to use a computer.
>
>       "The skills certificate is something that is good for all
> students ... but there are a number of students in our system who are
> not successful in achieving (a high school diploma)," said Gerry
> Connelly, acting director of the Toronto public school board.
>
>       "This certificate gives them something that is credible with the
> workplace."
>
>       The certificate will be granted this June to about 200 students
> who have been in high school for several years but don't have the
> required 30 credits or who haven't been able to pass the mandatory
> Grade 10 literacy test or alternative literacy course, Connelly said.
>
>       It comes on the heels of a report warning that as many as 40,000
> students across the province are at risk of dropping out because they
> can't earn enough credits to graduate in four years under the new
> system, and a lawsuit by families trying to put the literacy test on
> hold so their children can get a diploma.
>
>       Currently, the province offers a "secondary school certificate"
> for students who have completed 14 credits, or a "certificate of
> accomplishment" for others who don't complete even that.
>
>       But Connelly said neither has any clout in the working world
> because employers aren't familiar with them.
>
>       They're usually granted to students who drop out after a couple
> of years, said Judi Misener, principal of Sir William Osler High
> School, a vocational high school in Toronto.
>
>       "My students don't drop out," said Misener, who's been pushing
> for some sort of recognition for them after the previous Progressive
> Conservative government rejected suggestions for an alternative
> diploma from several Ontario school boards.
>
>       "These are all students who have completed 30 courses - a mix of
> credit and non-credit - who've been in school four years or more, and
> if at all possible have done their 40 hours of community service," she
> said.
>
>       "These are students who have been punctual, been attending, been
> doing their work and passing their courses," Misener said.
>
>       "They've been involved in work experience or co-op programs, so
> they have put their skills to the test in the workplace. They have
> worked hard to the maximum of their potential."
>
>       But they haven't been able to pass the Grade 10 literacy test,
> which is a diploma requirement starting this year.
>
>       "They're functionally literate ... and numerically literate,"
> Misener said. "But they are hands-on learners. They've worked so hard
> to read and write, and at the end there's nothing for them, until now.
> It gives them some validation, some dignity and self-worth."
>
>       Misener expects about 40 of her students to be granted the
> certificate this year.
>
>       Students will receive a certificate, similar to the Ontario
> Secondary School Diploma, signed by the board chair and director of
> education, as well as the chief executive officer of the conference
> board.
>
>       Both the Toronto board and conference board logos will be on the
> certificate.
>
>       The Conference Board of Canada is a not-for-profit think-tank
> that developed the employability skills list with the input of
> hundreds of employers and educators across the country.
>
>       The list is widely used by employers in hiring and when
> retraining employees, said Michael Bloom, the organization's director
> of education and learning.
>
>       He said the deal with the Toronto board, to be finalized next
> month, is a first.
>
>       "All of these skills are skills that we believe are generic
> skills important to success in the workplace," he said. "Ideally,
> everyone would have some of them, but not all. ... It's not a
> competition, but it gives a holistic view" of a person's strengths.
>
>       In the past, many of the students who will be eligible for the
> skills certificate would have studied at the "basic" level and earned
> a diploma.
>
>       Now, the basic level has all but disappeared, leaving those
> students struggling to learn material beyond their capability, or
> taking courses developed locally by boards that often don't count for
> credit.
>
>       The 200 students the Toronto board is targeting this year is
> low, Connelly said, but "we're targeting the students with little
> chance of success."
>
>       Education Minister Gerard Kennedy yesterday welcomed the board's
> initiative, but said the province is also working on ways to assist
> struggling students.
>
>       "Suffice to say that we understand our obligation to students,
> those who would have graduated potentially and those who might have
> not. Our interest is very genuine," he said.
>
>       "We want them to have the greatest success they have."
>
>       Kennedy said the province is weeks away from announcing its own
> strategy to help more students graduate - or at least stay in school
> and get on track to earning a diploma.
>
>       "This is a small start, we're hoping for a larger group next
> year," said trustee Bruce Davis (Etobicoke-Lakeshore). "There are a
> lot of students this can help. We can see this as being very helpful
> for students and employers."
>
>       Almost half of students who begin high school end up going
> straight into the workforce - with or without a diploma.
>
>       This skills certificate should help ease that transition, Davis
> said.
>
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> contact us using our webmaster form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.
>

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