Ontario’s science curriculum has everything — except science

By Chris McGowan, The Ottawa Citizen January 2, 2012
.
———————– My Comments ————————————————
I never found the science curriculum as it existed in Ontario during  2000-2006 to get in the way of providing hands on experience, experiments and practice in the scientific method. Most of the science teachers I worked with did a great job in the classroom. It doesn’t hurt to take positive criticism as given by the Ottawa Citizen article – I know that my fellow science teachers would have appreciated the article’s call to focus on practical research skills and inquiry.  I did find  the comments on the article interesting in their negative attitudes regarding  ‘being accountable to the public’ and towards ‘school admins’; this may be more of a problem than the curriculum.
—————————————————————————————–
The quote below from one person’s comment illustrates my point:
.
“Great article; nailed it! Since the school ‘Admins’ are only shallow and self-selling salesmen themselves, they operate from the position that there’s no money in solutions, and only exist to exploit the endless symptoms of un-solved problems into eternal ‘crises;’ it’s how they operate at all levels, … ”  (Comment made by SaulTartarus 5:27 PM on 1/2/2012)
.
Is this attitude prevalent among the teachers towards their administrators in the schools today?   Not a good basis for teamwork and problem solving.
.
As a matter of fact Ontario public schools do well in science; “Toronto, December 20, 2007 – Ontario’s students have a lot to be proud of.  They are showing themselves to be world-class when it comes to international comparisons in student achievement.  Grade 10 students are in the top five countries in the world in Science, Mathematics and Reading.  The reading skills of Grade 4 students are in the top three.  These results come from the 2006 PISA study, an assessment of 15 year-olds sponsored by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and, in the case of Grade 4 students, from the 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). ” (Ontario Public School Boards’ Association)