When I read the Hive Learners prompt I knew I had to write. Unfortunately, I'm rushing to get a bedroom ready for two homestay students who will be coming to live in our house for the next two months. Now if you read my Actifit report you will know that the last two students were great kids but a real handful to deal with. After them I vowed I would never have students in the house again. Unfortunately my wife thought differently.
However, having had many homestay students and having two children who went through the education system in Canada I can say that I have an idea what is happening here with the children. One question to ask of course is : What is the purpose?
The general idea is that school is for children to learn. Honestly that is a pretty good answer. The bigger question though is : What are they learning?
Now with the homestay students that I have coming to our house the main goal is to learn English. They are from Korea and it is easier to learn English when in Canada than when you are surrounded by Korean speaking people in your home country. However, they are coming from a Christian school in Korea to stay with Christian families here in Canada. There is most certainly a faith perspective for the children to come here. To see how Christian's live and worship in a country very different than their own. There is also the cultural aspect of it. Living in Korea gives you a very Korean viewpoint and mindset. If you spend time in Canada? It is a very different way of living, a different outlook on life, different food, different priorities and generally a good place to expand a view of how the world works.
But what about for the students who are Canadian and study in Canada?
In the Canadian system everyone goes to school at least until the end of high school. Girls? Go to school. Boys? Go to school. Mental handicaps? Go to school. Indeed as a parent if you try to keep your child OUT of school the consequences can be severe. Now, a family IS allowed to homeschool their child (teach them privately at home) and the government even provides academic support for those children. There are private schools if you don't trust the public system but those schools are expensive. In general children go to school.
After finishing Grade 12? Everything changes. After Grade 12 the students are no longer children. They are adults. Adults get to choose whether or want they want to further their education. Trade school? Vocational training? University? All of those options are possible and even subsidized by the government. However, its not free any more. If you want to continue studying you need to pay for it. Also, getting into University is competitive. Very competitive. As an example: My son wants to become a physician. The local university which trains doctors only accepts 200 per year out of over 2,000 applicants. Just to be an applicant you need exceptional grades and if you don't get accepted?
Now I wish that I could say that education is all about the facts. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic. Maybe a little history, music and general information thrown in.
However, not every school is equal and all public schools have to teach the public agenda.
When I was going to school multiculturalism was something that was taught a lot. Multiple ethnicities made for a more diverse country and a stronger Canada. I can get behind that as I see how Canada has benefitted from having a diverse ethnic background. Unfortunately, I can also see the divisions that come because of it.
The current agenda? 2SLGBTQ+ has become a big topic. The rights and teachings of the indiginous people is also something that has become a major topic. Of course, being tolerant of all different religious teachings is another thing high on the public school priority.
However, is that education of indoctrination? As a Christian I believe in the rights and respect due to people in those other groups and faiths. However, I also believe that I want to teach my child MY beliefs strongly and then when they are older allow them to explore what they will choose for themselves.
"Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is older he shall not depart from it" is a teaching from my Bible which I hold to.
Another thing that makes me think is this : Every child goes to school. If the child is a bully? If they are disruptive? If they are disrespectful? If they damage the school property? Doesn't matter. Every child has the right to an education so every child goes to school.
Except when one child's right to education keeps an entire classroom from learning? Something seems wrong about that. In that way sometimes I think that its not so much about education and more about giving parents a place to take their children so they can go to work.
At the core I believe that absolutely every child should have the opportunity to be able to read, write, and be mathematically literate. Learning how to evaluate information on the internet and learn on their own are incredibly important tools for lifelong learning.
For my children I sent them to a Christian school for their education until middle school. Why? Well, I wanted them to go to a school where my believes would be respected but just as importantly I sent them to a school where reading, writing and arithmetic were high on the academic priority and I knew they would get a solid foundation for their future.
When my children were teenagers? Well, that's when they went to public school. That's when the found out that there are a lot of different viewpoints, economic variations, and religions. In private school my son had to have an expensive laptop. When he went to public school he never took it. When I asked why he said "Having expensive stuff makes me stick out in public school". He learned about different ethnicities forming cliques, he learned about different sexual orientations, he also saw a lot more disrespect for authority.
That the world isn't a Christian bubble. That the world is messy and that there are a lot of different people with different views. That he will need to figure out ways to fit in, ways to get by, and that everyone deserves respect even if they are different.
He also learned that there is more to life than academics. At the private school most of the people were university bound. At public school? Some people he called "burnouts" were unlikely to ever pursue additional education...or even a job. Some people looked at trades. Other sought vocations. Others University. In the end he realized there were a lot more paths than just what he saw in private school.
Overall?
I'm glad that Canada enforces basic education. I wish they focused more on education for those who wanted it and I wish they were a little more hands off on the content that is taught.
However, I'm just one small voice and both of my kids are finished high school and think for themselves.
Feel free to give your opinion as I always like comments.
And thank you for reading this far. Really appreciate it.
