Ontario’s teacher unions are slamming a reported move by the Ontario government to consider making virtual learning permanent.
“The move to virtual learning was never intended to be permanent; it was a temporary measure intended to deliver emergency instruction during a global health crisis,” Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario President Sam Hammond said in a statement Thursday.
Hammond said the plan would divert funds from public education to private companies.
“To be clear, this plan will negatively affect students, increase inequities, lower standards in publicly funded education, and put us one step closer to the privatization of public education,” he said.
The Ford government has not so far acknowledged publicly that it is considering making virtual learning permanent.
The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that the province is considering making remote learning a permanent part of the public school system.
The paper reported that parents could have the option of enrolling their children in full-time synchronous remote learning starting in September of this year.
Students have been engaged in a mix of in-person and remote learning for about a year now in order to provide more space to physically distance in classrooms because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2021 budget tabled yesterday, the Ford government pledged $40 million to “to help ensure that students and teachers can seamlessly participate in remote learning in response to COVID‐19, and for the future.”
The Globe also reported that the ministry was looking at making it mandatory for teacher education programs to cover teaching in a virtual environment.
Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation President Harvey Bischoff told CP24 Thursday that he can’t see how the move would benefit students.
“I’m not sure what the pros are at all because I don’t know what problem it is the ministry is trying to solve,” he said. “We’ve seen all this year them saying that keeping schools open in a face-to-face setting was the highest priority and, you know, I agree with that as a priority, even though they failed to put in sufficient resources. But now they’re saying they want to create a permanent remote learning option and I just can’t reconcile those two things.”
Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers Association President Liz Stuart also told CP24 she doesn’t see the benefit for students.
“I think we can all agree that safety is always paramount but both the education and health experts have been very clear about the fact that we understand the importance of in-person learning because that’s the best for students, not just academically which is important, but also for that social and emotional piece,” Stuart said.
She added that there is still no solid data about learning outcomes for students who learn remotely.
Like Our Story ? Donate to Support Us, Click Here
You want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity/live coverage for product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +16477721660 or email Adebaconnector@gmail.com
