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A plan introduced by the Ontario authorities final week requiring all college boards to have a digital studying choice for the 2022-23 college 12 months sends “combined messages,” a neighborhood lecturers’ union president says.
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The Elementary Lecturers Federation of Ontario, representing elementary college educators within the province, mentioned in an announcement Friday the province’s plan was “irresponsible.”
Domestically, Better Essex ETFO president Mario Spagnuolo mentioned it was a “combined message” from the province.
“In a couple of weeks’ time they actually need to transfer issues again to regular by way of mandates and restrictions, but in the identical week they’re asserting that there’s going to be digital college,” Spagnuolo mentioned.
“The opposite factor this selection does is take away the main target from what we needs to be doing, which is consulting with dad and mom as to why they might need to select digital college in September, discover out what these causes are and work with the varsity group to handle these considerations.”
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Ontario would require college boards to supply digital studying as an choice for the 2022-23 college 12 months, training minister Stephen Lecce introduced Thursday, although mentioned the precedence is in-class studying. The province may also deliver again standardized testing this 12 months and committing further funds to assist deal with studying loss, studying intervention and psychological well being packages.
The union mentioned it believes in-person studying is the best choice for college kids, and sources needs to be put towards making in-person studying as protected as attainable although smaller class sizes, extra assist for college kids with particular wants and higher air flow in faculties buildings.
“The federal government can’t be allowed to equate distant studying with the instruction that college students obtain in-person within the public training system,” mentioned ETFO President Karen Brown. “It’s the authorities’s accountability to create a protected studying surroundings for all college students in faculties, however as an alternative of creating crucial changes, they proceed to stretch training sources and put added strain on college boards, lecturers, and training staff by requiring them to offer on-line studying within the coming college 12 months.”