To the Editor,
Re: Project explores alternatives to school rankings, June 9.
What a worthwhile project. But does it address the fact that many students in B.C. are not learning the basic skills needed to maximize their potential?
While I laud the areas that are being measured, why are the basic skills not included?
Ranking of the school currently is really a ranking of teachers. They don’t want to admit this, but for as long as they can deny this fact, they will continue on the current course and our students will suffer.
Whether students take advantage of extra-curricular activities has little or nothing to do with their ability to read with comprehension, speak articulately or calculate basic mathematical concepts easily.
These are some of the things they will use every day in both leisure and work-related scenarios.
It is also interesting to note who is leading this group – a former B.C. Teachers’ Federation president and NDP MLA.
It doesn’t sound that unbiased to me.
J. Sharpe
Nanaim