Page Content
The following are excerpts from newspapers throughout Alberta. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the ATA.
Computers for Schools deserves an A+
“A novel program to recycle computers for use in schools across the country has become an inspirational success story of what good government and ordinary Canadians can achieve together. ... The national Computers for Schools program collects hardware and software being discarded by government and businesses, refurbishes the equipment, and gives it all to needy schools—which is just about all of them. ... Millions of Canadian kids have been provided with access to critical computer learning tools that few schools could afford to buy. ... The million machines distributed since [1992] now represent a large percentage of all the computers used by students and staff in schools across the country.” —Greg Weston,
Calgary Sun, April 27, 2010
No homework makes grade
“If there’s a lesson here, it’s that parents still know best. With the final weeks of school ahead and end-of-term tests looming, Spencer and Brittany Milley are neither struggling to keep up with their peers, nor lacking the skills to pass exams. Indeed, thanks to their parents’ refusal to allow traditional homework in their house, 12-year-old Spencer and his 11-year-old sister may be better prepared for the next grade than many of their peers. Of course, that meant doing what parents should be doing, by taking a direct interest in their children’s success. Last fall, Tom and wife Shelli became the toast of students everywhere, when their battle against dubious and time-consuming after-class assignments went public. ... Instead of wasting time on concepts they already grasped, the Milley children did extra work as assigned by their parents, based on the need for further tutoring. It meant both parents taking a direct interest in their children’s education, rather than leaving them alone to read textbooks and complete homework sheets.”—Michael Platt,
Calgary Sun, April 26, 2010
Recession might be over but funds are receding
“The worst of the recession is over. That’s the message we in southeast Alberta are being sent ... Education Minister Dave Hancock likes to say there were no cuts to public education in the recent provincial budget. What he neglects to say is that the provincial government has still not committed to funding an arbitrated teachers’ salary increase next year, leaving local school boards on the hook for the difference. This, combined with a series of claw backs and reductions in grant funding from the previous year has left Medicine Hat school boards staring into a sea of red ink. ... In the space of only a few months, the impact of the recession has started to be felt in the classroom—and there is a real possibility things will get worse in education before they get better. So let’s take off the rose-coloured glasses, because as long as schools are closing and programs are being axed, the recession is far from over.” —Amanda Stephenson,
Medicine Hat News, April 14, 2010
