Reading Log Eight
The presence of progressive pedagogical ideologies surrounding education, particularly early childhood and elementary education, is not a new reality in Canadian society. Ever since the mid nineteenth century, when a new focus on the importance of our youth erupted, there has been a constant push for alternative schooling and educational methods. This is seen throughout Canada, but this weeks articles evaluate the alternative schools in British Columbia and Ontario. Parental unhappiness with the strict structure present in public schools lead parents to take it upon themselves to create schools more fitting for their children. The parents of this time period possessed well constructed ideas concerning how to improve their children’s education, but certain alternative schools were in fact too progressive in practice. Children need freedom of thought, focus on personal development, and cultural opportunities, but as seen in the article “Changing Ideologies and Provision in Western Canadian Primary Education” by Philip Gammage the curriculum has not ignored these progressive ideals and has in fact become more progressive in structure while maintaining a formal educational structure.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the parents of Ontario children were extremely unhappy with the public school system. They deemed them as “…rigid and unimaginative”[1] and took it upon themselves to create a new form of schooling. The article “The Ottawa New School and Educational Dissent in Ontario in the Hall-Dennis Era” by Deborah Gorham analyzes the history of the Ottawa New School in the relation to general educational reform that occurred during this time period in Ontario and North America. Gorhams main focus, in which she initiated, is the Ottawa New School. This elementary aged school was “…ungraded [and] much of the day’s activities develop[ed] spontaneously from the children’s own interests and imagination…”[2]. It is essential that children have freedom and choice in their education, but at such a young age there is no way for them to be able to initiate all aspects of learning that they need in order to progress within the educational system and in life. In today’s society, if you want a well paying job in order to survive, you typically have to have a university degree, and there is no student decided curriculum at that level.
The creation of alternative schools in rural areas in BC were similar to those in Ontario but differed in their focus on rural skills. In the article “‘The community school literally takes place in the community’: Alternative Education in the Back-to-the-Land Movement of the West Kootenays, 1959 to 1980” by Nancy Janovicek describes the Vallican Whole School as a result of the migration to the interior and the counterculture that was present at the time. Once again, these schools “…encouraged [children] to pursue their own interests rather than…follow a strict curriculum”[3]. The interests of those attending school should be noted and taken into account doing their educational. However, it is not always the case in university and in the workplace. Within university degrees, there are requirements that do not necessarily fit the exact interests of the particular student. Similar to the workplace, there will be times when you will have to perform jobs that are not exactly what you enjoy.
There is no denying that the ideas behind alternative schools need to be implemented in our education system. There is also no denying that there still needs to be structure within elementary and secondary education in order to prepare students for university and the workplace. The article “Changing Ideologies and Provision in Western Canadian Primary Education” by Philip Gammage analyzes the change in curriculum across BC and Alberta. There are many shifts in curriculum that Gammage mentions, but the most notable aspect of his article is a list that highlights the major changes in the school curriculum. The entire list represent progressive ideas such as: both provinces emphasizing close school-home linkage, emphasis to greater attention to linguistic diversity and immigrant culture, considerable attention to arts and humanities, the integration of learning experiences for younger children, developmental stages across age and grade, and lastly a focus on primary education to officially lead to a more flexible and developmental base framework[4]. Clearly there is no need for complete alternative schooling if we can integrate progressive ideas of schooling into our current curriculum.
Alternative schools and progressive pedagogical reform arose from changing social conditions and a dissatisfaction with the public school system. The intentions behind these schools were valid and necessary to enact change in the curriculum here in Canada. However, as demonstrated in the article by Gammage, there is no need to have separate schools that are entirely alternative as we have successfully incorporated progressive ideas of education into the current curriculum. It is a reality that in today’s society that a post-secondary degree is required in order to get any high paying job. University is not a complete student-guided form of education and neither is a level-entry job. The reality is that there will be superiors, such as professors or bosses, that will make decisions for you. With saying this, even though alternative schooling appears lovely in concept, it is simply not realistic and will not prepare students for the future.
Bibliography
Gorham, Deborah. “The Ottawa New School and Educational Dissent in Ontario in the Hall-Dennis Era.” Historical Studies in Education 21. no. 2 (Fall 2009): 104-122.
Gammage, Philip. “Changing Ideologies and Provision in Western Canadian Primary Education.” Comparative Education 27. no. 3 (1991): 311-323.
Janovicek, Nancy. “‘The community school literally takes place in the community’: Alternative Education in the Back-to-land Movement in the West Kootenays, 1959 to 1980.” Historical Studies in Education 24. no.1 (Spring 2012): 150-169.
[1] Deborah Gorham, “The Ottawa New School and Educational Dissent in Ontario in the Hall-Dennis Era,” Historical Studies in Education 21, no. 2 (Fall 2009): 104.
[2] Ibid, 111.
[3] Nancy Janocivek, “‘The community school literally takes place in the community’: Alternative Education in the Back-to-land Movement in the West Kootenays, 1959 to 1980,” Historical Studies in Education 24, no.1 (Spring 2012): 150.
[4] Philip Gammage, “Changing Ideologies and Provision in Western Canadian Primary Education,” Comparative Education 27, no. 3 (1991): 312.