New Brunswick’s Education Minister spent months consulting with parents and visiting schools to come up with new ideas for a better education plan for the province.
He has released what he is calling the green paper, a 23 page report outlining with ideas and changes for the future.
Minister Dominic Cardy says, “If we don’t get education right, we will be handicapping our kids going forward, which will end up being a handicap to our province, and our ability to maintain the strong social programs we need. If the education system isn’t working, we won’t have the next generation of teachers, of doctors, or entrepreneurs.”
This paper was designed to get some ideas out there, for public consultation to reflect things that the department is already thinking about..
A couple of things contained in the paper are a focus on literacy and a focus on trades. He says if we can’t get our literacy rates up, it will prove very difficult for students to get a job.
One of the actions that the government plans to take is eliminating grades from the K to grade 2 level to start, “A child who is really racing ahead in one subject, they would be free to do that, while a child who struggling, they get the individual attention they need to be able to excel at the highest levels they find possible.” He hopes to have this process started in the next school year.
Cardy also wants to implement a no tolerance policy for violence in the classroom, “I don’t want to hear anymore reports of teachers or Educational Assistants buying kevlar armour to protect themselves in their class, not having any recourse to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
Cardy says he wants New Brunswick students to be better trained in critical thinking and collaborative problem-solving.
The full report can be found HERE.
