By Nicola Luksic
The province’s Liberals and NDP say they plan to toss the Harris government’s version of standardized teacher testing.
“Keep in mind that this (Conservative) government could be on its last legs,” says Gerard Kennedy, Liberal education critic. “We’re counseling teachers to ignore the standardized tests. Hopefully Ontario will have a new government within two years.”
Though they agree with the principles of the 1995 Royal Commission on Learning’s recommendation of standard testing and re-certification through an independent professional body, the Liberals do not support the province’s version of teacher evaluation.
Why? It’s mainly because the Ontario College of Teachers, the professional body developing the program, isn’t independent. The Ministry of Education appoints five of the 11 members of the professional learning committee responsible for developing teacher courses and tests.
“Government-built tests can’t be very effective. Evaluate teachers right on site – it’s not as though we have special binoculars from Queen’s Park,” says Kennedy.
The Ministry of Education says the province-wide testing assures parents that all teachers are being evaluated equally.
“We wanted to make sure that teacher evaluation and development is consistent across the province,” says Tanya Cholakov, spokesperson for the Ministry. “Ongoing teacher training is important for student success.”
Kennedy does not deny this. But he says the Harris reforms alienate teachers from their own profession and send negative messages. “We have an overwhelming number of excellent teachers, but there is a tremendous amount of discouragement.”
Liberal MPP (Ottawa Centre) Richard Patten agrees that teacher morale is plummeting.
“The manner in which the government made the changes is an insult to teachers,” says Patten. “It’s an in-your-face attitude – punitive and negative. The way it came out left me with a bad taste in my mouth.”
Patten was Liberal party education critic from 1995 to 1997.
“Education is the foundation of our social fabric. Brain, not brawn is crucial. If this is true, then support needs to be there,” says Patten. “Teachers are people who are spending more time with our kids than we do. They should feel supported.”
Patten wants class sizes capped at 18 for kids under Grade 3 and 25 for students in high school. “This enables the teacher to build better relationships with the children.”
He says teachers don’t need to be “forced” into taking government-regulated courses. “I have yet to meet a teacher who isn’t interested in improving themselves and voluntarily taking extra courses.”
Patten’s wife, Penny Patten, teaches junior kindergarten at Ottawa’s First Avenue elementary school. She, like her colleagues, regularly takes refresher courses on teaching methods and classroom technology.
“We are aware that many teachers take development courses already,” says Ministry spokesperson Scott Browrigg. “We want to make sure that all teachers are up-to-date.”
Traditionally, individual school boards were responsible for teacher training and development. The NDP would like to return power to local control.
NDP education critic Rosario Marchese says the NDP would toss out all of the Harris government’s changes to education.
“These programs should be scrapped. Focus should be more on positive development,” says Marchese.
The NDP education platform focuses on local, rather than province-wide, development. Professional development days will increase under the NDP, according to Marchese, allowing school boards to decide what training its teachers need.
Marchese calls the newly-implemented testing program “perverse,” arguing that teaching is the only profession “singled out” by the government. He says standard teacher testing is popular among voters, making it an attractive “political tool.”
“It’s not whether it is effective, but whether it sounds effective,” says Marchese. “Teachers should be able to determine for themselves how to maintain the standards of their profession.”
Minister of Education Janet Ecker denied numerous invitations to respond to criticisms leveled by opposition leaders.