By Ian Palmer
A computer company has entered into a partnership with eight local high schools, including Lisgar collegiate institute.
The partnership promises to land some students a coveted job in Silicon Valley, but it has some people asking questions about corporations’ place in the classroom.
Cisco, a networking giant with more than $100 billion US in assets, approached the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in March and proposed a two- to three-year intensive multi-media computer course.
A leader in data communications, Cisco had a revenue of $7.2 billion US last year.
It controls roughly 85 per cent of the world’s router industry. Routers control the flow of e-mails, over the global Internet, to computers.
The board jumped at the offer, says Greg Marshall, the board’s information technology manager.
“We saw it as an opportunity to shape kid’s careers in areas where there’s really an interesting (growth development),” says Marshall.
However, not everyone sees the project in such a positive light.
Parents and politicians are among those suspect of the merger between public education and private industry.
Eleanor Heap, head of the Lisgar Collegiate Institute Council, says specialization — regardless of perceived benefits — detracts from the overall learning experience.
“I don’t think education should be ruled by private industry,” says Heap. “Children need a generalized education. Mike Harris would be pleased.”
Paul Benoit, whose son is in the program at Lisgar, is cautiously optimistic.
“The larger context raises certain questions. How are we going to protect those courses meant to be educational? The liberal arts option cannot be eclipsed; it needs to be preserved.”
Board trustee Albert Chambers says he is not aware of the particulars involving the joint effort, but believes such trends are generally speaking a move in the right direction.
“It is especially important in areas like the high tech industry where there is such tremendous growth,” says Chambers.
“We’re going to have to enter into partnerships, but we must maintain the integrity of public education.”
A ‘brain drain’ effect, in which young Canadians are lured to the US by the prospects of a more lucrative market, is what concerns MPP Richard Patten.
“Hopefully we’re educating young kids to live in Canada,” says Patten, adding that “we shouldn’t be subsidizing companies to train our kids and whip them off to California.”
Patten says the program amounts to a company training its employees in Canadian schools.
He’s also concerned that only “the cream of the crop” will be offered guaranteed jobs within the information technology sector.
But some Lisgar students would choose California over Ottawa, if given the opportunity.
Charles Benoit, 16, is taking the course at Lisgar.
He says California is an amazing place and that there would be little worry of a California operation shutting down.
“The program is different from the other classes offered in school,” says Benoit. “You’re always learning stuff.”
His friend Jesse Razaqpur, 16, is also in the course.
“I’d probably choose California because it offers greater opportunity and the chance at promotion.”
He says the new course is practical.
“Computer courses are a lot more current than regular courses,” says Razaqpur.
“I can see many applications. If I have two computers at home, I can link them and form a network.”
Lisgar principal Angela Spence says it’s misleading to assume students would be sent to work in the United States.
“Students may have the opportunity of going to the United States. There is a connection with the parent company, but the institution running this program is Cisco Systems Canada which operates out of Ottawa,” says Spence.
In the United States alone, mid to large size information technology firms report 190,000 job openings.
This leaves kids who graduate from this course in a good position, says Spence.
Cisco’s program involves about 450 schools worldwide and 15,000 students.
Students who successfully complete the mandatory exam will receive a Cisco Certified Network Associate Certificate — the ticket to employment right out of high school.
The program is costing the board $120,000-$130,000, or about $15,625 per school. Considering that the typical lab can cost $100,000 to set up, the board figures it got a bargain.
The corporate file
The Issue: Corporations in the classroom.
What’s New: Cisco Systems Canada and Lisgar collegiate institute are offering a joint multi-media computer course.
What It Means: While some applaud the program’s vocational approach, others are uneasy private enterprise has imposed on public education.
What’s next: Students who complete the course and pass an exam will receive a certificate, after which the option exists of working at Cisco’s California affiliate.