Before he begins, Michael Zwaagstra wants everyone to know that he is not an advocate of private school over public school. He teaches history at a public high school in Steinbach, Manitoba, and grew up learning in the public system. Above everything else, he is a supporter of children receiving correct, thorough, and effective education.
Manitoba high school teacher and city councillor Michael Zwaagstra spoke in Toronto on Dec. 4, 2010.
With that made clear, he goes on.
“But there are problems that exist within the public school system…”
On December 4, 2010 he delivered his key points as to why public schools are failing to properly prepare today’s students for the real world to the attendees of the Society for Quality Education‘s (SQE) annual general meeting in downtown Toronto, mostly because, he argues, that schools refuse to fail students.
According to Zwaagstra, in many provinces it is incredibly difficult, if not downright impossible, to assign students a mark of zero for incomplete work, or dock marks for late assignments or academic dishonesty. He notes complaints from university professors that their students are unable to meet deadlines, form proper essays, or think critically about their subjects. He also points to the success of extracurricular tutoring programs like Kumon as testament to schools’ failure to give enough instruction to students.
In his book What’s Wrong With Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them (excerpted here), co-authored by Rodney Clifton and John Long, Zwaagstra makes the argument that the new “romantic progressivism” philosophical approach adopted by many schools are leaving today’s students coddled and ill-prepared to handle the demands of university and work. Whereas traditional methods emphasized wisdom from practical knowledge, discernment from critical reflection, and insight from specialized knowledge, this new romantic progressivism encourages a de-emphasis on knowledge by focusing more on the learning process than on core materials, using the lack of specific content included in many course outlines in public school as a clear example. A lack of teacher leadership and expertise, principals with little power to change their school’s curriculum, inadequate standardized testing, and the absence of school choice are also responsible for students’ poor performance in university, according to Zwaagstra.
To hear more about Zwaagstra’s arguments, watch our video:
While his views are controversial, many in attendance were in agreement.
“The autonomy of principals is the main thing, without that you can’t manage schools,” said Richard Burghardt. “He puts it all together in a way, I think, many people think. And I certainly also agree.”
“The aspect that we’re most interested in is school choice…most of the other solutions he was talking about are not going to happen really until you have the school choice and the competition,” said SQE’s president Malkin Dare.
However, these opinions are in stark contrast to the lessons of many university Departments of Education which promote child-centred instruction and dissuade direct instruction and lectures (of which Zwaagstra is a fan), and countless alternative independent and private schools, which are still consistently producing able and successful graduates. Opposers, like Annie Kidder, argue that standardized testing unfairly judges students with different learning styles and speeds and schools are places to educate all aspects of a child, not only to teach facts.
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What are your thoughts? Should schools shift back towards a traditional model? Should teachers stop “guiding” and start “teaching”? How can schools still teach qualities like curiosity, creativity, and leadership? Answer in the comment section below!
Thank you for sharing this article. Zwaagstra is correct in his beliefs regarding schools failing students by not holding them accountable for both content and deadlines.
Although academic accomodations and modifications are sometimes necessary to ensure individual student's successes, it is equally important to ensure that students, all students, are held accountable for deadlines and due dates. Being organized and sensitive to deadlines are essential tools for success in the workplace.
What a welcome post! It's a great teaser for Michael Zwaagstra's new book, What's Wrong with our Schools.. and How We Can Fix Them.
So much of the focus in public education is on staying in school and pushing everyone on to university or college. Graduation rates are often used to claim that school systems are achieving record "attainment levels." Charles Ungerleider's widely read book Failing Our Kids is one source that perpetuates that myth.
High school graduation rates are rising, but it's not really a sign of higher achievement. In Ontario the graduation rate averages in the 75% range, but in Nova Scotia it has now hit 86% ( 2009-10). On national comparisons, Nova Scotia ranks consistently in the middle of the pack (See PISA) Clearly that province's high graduation rates are the result of "social promotion" to graduation.
Private schools have a strange symbiotic relationship with the public system. While the "dumbing down" of high school education benefits private schools, private school supporters should be concerned about the impact it has, over time, on the quality of new admissions.
Thanks to Our Kids for making Michael Zwaagstra's speech (at the Society for Quality Education AGM) available on video — so that those, like me, who missed the event could have access to his message.
Our pleasure Paul!