And no doubt

you have all seen this most recent proof of the child-centered-ness of our provinicial politicians.

[cross-posted to Living in interesting times.]

More evidence that

the N.B. Ministry of Education is peddling backwards: in the U.S.A., according to the New York Times, reliance on standardized testing is on the way out:

A commission convened by some of the country’s most influential college admissions officials is recommending that colleges and universities move away from their reliance on SAT and ACT scores and shift toward admissions exams more closely tied to the high school curriculum and achievement.

For a government that practically boasts a line of action figures (Kelly “You won’t like me when I’m angry” Lamrock, The Invisible Shawn, Jack “The Flash” Keir, Ed “Elastic Man” Doherty, and all their rubbery friends), they sure are mired in the past.

When Bad Research Leads to Bad Policy: The Case of New Brunswick

Shamelessly lifted from Matt and Diana: “This opinion piece was in response to EFI policy development in NB. It was written by Philip Oreopolous who is an Associate Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia and a University of Toronto Research Fellow, Canadian Institute For Advanced Research. It was written just before the decision was announced on August 5th.” Download PDF.

Too good to languish in the comments

Eric just posted the following comment in response to the previous post on humour:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Kelly Lamrock: Because the chickens on this side of the road were causing streaming which hurt our test scores! For this reason, we are eliminating chickens and will provide each child with an egg in grade 6 from which some might produce their own chickens. Children who do not opt for the egg will receive chicken manure.

Donald Arseneault: The chicken had to cross the road so we could establish a Uranium mine on the chicken’s property.

Kelly Lamrock: People who oppose the chicken crossing the road are missing the hidden X factor! You often have to cross roads in fantasy football.

Victor Boudreau: Because the other side is not paying its fair share of taxes! The Liberals will increase the taxes on both sides as well as introducing a road crossing fee.

Kelly Lamrock: Following a court ordered consultation, I have decided to compromise and just make the chicken cross halfway. We’ll just hope that no cars come by.

Mike Murphy: Because it is more efficient to have separate systems! We’ll have chickens on that side and ducks on this side.

Shawn Graham: What did Kelly say?

You know what’s really

Liberal caucus, learning to carry a tune

getting on my wick? All these apologists who think that whatever disasters the Liberals propagate, they should be forgiven as long as they appear “contrite” and “rueful”, as long as they “learn.” Of course, Graham and Lamrock set the tone themselves and their supporters are only too happy to take the hint. This from the government that wants to give merit raises to government bureaucrats. That wants performance-based contracts. That wants to “measure outcomes” and impose repercussions for anyone who doesn’t “produce”. And we are supposed to wryly shake our heads after each cock-up and say indulgently, “Well, I bet they won’t do that again! Kids, eh? But did you see how abashed they looked? How cute is that? Look at Shawnie with his hands in his pockets, and little Kelly, shuffling his feet.” The ever-consistent Marcelle Mersereau writes, “The Graham government has survived its first serious crisis. There have been lessons learned from this exercise that will not be quickly forgotten.” Not very reassuring from someone who herself seems to have forgotten the serious crisis of last fall, for starters.

Me? I say, “spare the rod.”

[Cross-posted to Living in interesting times.]

It’s … Alive??

Disappointing

is the only word I could think of that doesn’t have four letters. I am listening to the press conference from Fredericton. The mandatory intensive French programme is still in place, and early immersion will be less effective as it will only start in grade three. As far as I can tell that is the only bone thrown to the critics: the retention of some form of early(-ish) immersion. The rest of the original Lamrock plan remains, and the Minister is still trotting out much of the same disinformation: that poor and aboriginal children are clustered in core, without acknowledging that EFI is frequently not offered in the rural areas where those children often live (a situation that will continue with the new gr. 3 entry point as the Minister explicitly said that there are no plans to expand early immersion to rural schools); that students in K-2 need to develop language skills in their mother tongue; that intermediate French is bilingualism. Still fixated on testing, teacher “accountability” and “rewards”. There is to be a new “Ministerial Advisory Group” and more “stakeholder” meetings. Nothing about increased FSL resources. In a nutshell, lots of rhetoric but the result is a mishmash that will make few happy, neither the entrenched anti-EFI people in the DoE and elsewhere, nor those who blame immersion for streaming, nor those who want children to have the opportunity to develop advanced language skills. And significantly, our system in N.B. will still remain out of step with K-12 education in the rest of the country, making moving to and from the province difficult.

Lots of rhetoric, LOTS of self-congratulation, but no mention of the primary causes of the woes in N.B. education: our lowest per-capita spending, per student, in the country, followed closely by a centrally controlled, un-democratic DoE.

Unintentionally hilarious moments: both Graham and Lamrock repeatedly congratulating themselves on overseeing a province-wide debate on education.

So yes, disappointing. Very disappointing.

[Cross-posted to Living in interesting times.]

Details for Tuesday, August 5th

From CEC:

There will be a press briefing at 11, and at 12 a public announcement which will be open to the public.  The main event, with Graham and Lamrock, will be at the Centennial Bldg, with public overflow a block away at the Crowne Plaza (Lord Beaverbrook Hotel) being simulcast.

I expect there will be many interested parties in attendance, and I hope as many of you who can attend will.

Link to government media advisory.

The final countdown

has started to Minister Kelly Lamrock’s announcement on August 5 about the future of K-12 education — at least for the next 2-3 years — in New Brunswick.

I hope he is thinking of the history books while pondering his decision.

I’d have preferred a dart board, myself …

Introducing the Kelly Lamrock bobblehead.

CEC Press release sent out June 19:

Parents Demand Improved Engagement Process for FSL Program Changes

Saint John (New Brunswick) – Thursday June 19, 2008 – In light of Wednesday’s Ombudsman’s Report, parents in New Brunswick are calling on the government to improve its engagement process with parents and other concerned citizens and expand the timeframe for determining changes to French Second Language programs.

The report released by Ombudsman Bernard Richard was very clear in identifying the serious flaws in the process used by Education Minister Lamrock and his Deputy Minister Kershaw. It highlighted the fact that consultation was insufficient and that Commissioners Croll and Lee “acted unfairly to a good number of those who appeared before them”. Even more disturbingly, the Ombudsman uncovered clear evidence that the Department of Education was working on a plan to phase out Early French Immersion before the final report was even submitted. After the Minister received the report, he led the public to believe that he was considering, however briefly, public opinion. These revelations cast serious doubt on that fact. In keeping with these concerns, the Court of Queen’s Bench last week also ruled that “the decision of the Minister was unfair and unreasonable.”

The Minister has subsequently announced a six week consultation process via the internet, stating that a decision on the French Second Language curriculum in Anglophone schools will be announced on August 5th, four weeks before the 2008-09 school year starts. The Ombudsman has expressed grave concern with this schedule. Parents are also very concerned that this timeframe is unrealistic and will not allow schools to prepare in time for the beginning of the school year.

“We have no faith in the six week process outlined by the Minister, given his conduct as revealed by the Ombudsman’s investigation,” said Bruce Robertson, a parent involved in pushing for change. “What’s more, implementing massive change four weeks from August 5th is completely unrealistic and demonstrates that the government is not serious about listening to new ideas or implementing the best French Second Language system for New Brunswick.”

“We’re calling on the government to put together a committee of experts to review the issues and set a realistic timeframe for implementation,” said Paula Small, one of the parents who submitted an affidavit to the court case. “To retain any credibility on this issue and offer the best chance of meaningful improvement, the government must take the time to review the system properly.”

In order to do this, parents are asking the government to respect the Ombudsman’s recommendations and the court ruling, and support schools in reinstating Early French Immersion for Fall this year. They’re also asking the government to go one step further, and, again following the Ombudsman’s recommendation, reinstate Core French and delay implementing any changes to FSL programming until 2009-10. Parents are not advocating for the status quo, but rather want to ensure that the changes made are the correct ones based on the best available information. Given that the discredited Croll and Lee report did not provide this information, it is imperative that the government takes the appropriate time to gather it.

“At this point in the year, the government needs to promote certainty and stability in the education system,” said Tim Jackson, another parent involved in pushing for change. “Let schools plan with certainty now for the 2008-09 school year and conduct a genuine engagement process which involves experts on inclusion, literacy and FSL. Then decide what an appropriate timeframe for implementation might be.”

For more information on the engagement process the group is asking the government to follow, please see the attached backgrounder.

For more information, please contact:
Bruce Robertson

I am too

disgusted with Kelly Lamrock to make any more photoshop mash-ups, at least right now. He has been given two opportunities for a graceful out, but he is rampaging ahead. It will bite him in the a …er, arm, and hard, but he’s causing a lot of grief in the meantime.

I predict a noticeable drop in “voter apathy” at the next provincial election.

How else can this be explained?

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock, who has the double distinction of being “unfair and unreasonable” as well as winning the prize for the “worst example of public engagement,” who is flirting — and some would say he has gone all the way — with contempt of court, is now on record as thumbing his nose at the provincial ombudsman.

How can this be happening?

There can only be one explanation.

The Ombudsman’s Report is out

and can be downloaded here. It presents quite a story.

As one correspondent just wrote, “Oh, I could kiss Bernard Richard!”

Update: In this Canadian Press story picked up by canadaeast.com, M. Richard is quoted as saying, “In my time in public life, I have never seen a worse example of public engagement than this process.”

The Miramichi Reader would seem to agree.

Now let’s all take some advice from Janice Harvey.

N.B. education as a B movie