The NLTA acknowledges the need for a renewal of the province’s junior high curriculum but questions the province’s timing and focus in doing so.
The provincial government is looking at program changes for junior high students in hopes of improving student engagement.
According to data released by the provincial government, one in five students is frequently absent without an excuse.
The proposed changes include the combination of some subjects, offering some courses through a modular delivery format, adjusting the amount of time devoted to certain subjects and making some subjects partially or fully optional.
Teachers’ Union President Trent Langdon, a junior high school counsellor, says focusing on choice, overlooks some of the critical issues affecting teaching and learning in the classroom.
That includes class size and composition, and school resourcing. He says if literacy and numeracy are concerns, then class sizes in junior high have to be reduced, and supports have to be increased to address the disruptions caused by aggressive and violent behaviour in the classroom.
Opposition parties say proposed changes are ‘missing the mark’
Both of the province’s opposition parties believe government is missing the mark when it comes to addressing student engagement in junior high school.
The proposed changes would see some courses become optional or modular, such as social studies, art, and music.
Both NDP leader Jim Dinn and PC education critic Paul Dinn make the same argument – that cutting back on those subjects would be detrimental to students, and that government should be focusing on issues such as overcrowded classrooms and teaching resources.
Paul Dinn argues that the proposed changes contradict numerous other reports that have been released over the years, such as the 2019 Youth Advocate’s report on chronic absenteeism, which indicate that student engagement is a complex issue with many contributing factors.
Jim Dinn meanwhile says he is “outraged” by the proposed changes, which he says is a “weakening of the education system”
He says while it is always good to review the curriculum to make sure it is current and relevant, he doesn’t believe it will fix student engagement if class size and composition haven’t also been addressed.
