This past week there was a great deal of discussion about the education policies that have either been put in place by the NDP government directly or that have been allowed to develop under their watch. The question is whether these policies serve the purpose of ensuring our kids come out of the public education system ready to succeed in either post-secondary education or in the workforce.
The debate started when the Manitoba Teachers Society released a survey that showed that a quarter of teachers in the province have felt pressure from their superiors to change the marks or advance students to the next grade when in their professional opinion it was not justified. The survey also showed that the vast majority of Manitobans oppose a blanket ‘no-fail’ policy that prevents students who are not performing up to the required academic standard from being held back a grade. It is commonly accepted that many school divisions have a formal or an informal no-fail policy.
Also this past week, it was revealed that the NDP government, through their Minister of Education, has indicated that teachers should not be deducting marks from students who hand in homework assignments late. The directive from the Minister of Education that late assignments should not be given a lower grade effectively means there are no deadlines for assignments since there is no incentive for students to turn them in on time.
The NDP government says that the no-fail policy and the policy of not subtracting marks for late assignments are about protecting students. The problem is that it does little to prepare our children for further education or for the workforce.
Parents know that an important part of life is the ability to meet deadlines and the ability to perform up to an expected standard. That is true whether we are starting our first job or whether we are well established in a career. The same holds true in college and university studies. Assignments are given and the expectation is that the deadlines will be met and that the work will be of an acceptable standard.
The NDP, by creating an education system that doesn’t respect deadlines and that allows students to pass when they have not met the academic standard, want Manitobans to believe they have created a compassionate education environment. Nothing could be further from the truth because once these students graduate and begin full-time employment or further education they will quickly realize that they were not given the preparation and skills that are expected in the world outside of grade school.
There is nothing compassionate about establishing policies in education that set students up to fail after they graduate. The NDP government’s no-fail and no deduction for late assignments policy is misguided and hurtful to students who will someday be expected to function in a world that demands the ability to meet deadlines and to meet performance standards.
