Will Richardson sees the need to shift educational reform in another direction from a technology centered/achievement focused model to a student centered, technology facilitated model. I really believe that in North Vancouver we are moving towards the kind of educational reform that Mr. Richardson is so passionate about,but it is moving slowly!
There a lot of things that need to happen in order to achieve school wide educational reform. 1. A commitment to fund technology in the schools.(provincially) Every school in North Vancouver has a different technology plan (crazy) and is completely PAC funded. 2. Superintendents and administrators should have a clear plan and vision for moving their schools towards a new model of education. 3. Class sizes and structures need to be addressed at the middle school and high school level so that differentiated learning can be delivered. 4. Teacher training and collaboration has to be at the forefront of change because as educators if we don’t start moving in new directions we certainly can’t take our kids there. 5. Commitment to bring back our teacher librarians to full time staff members and assist teachers in inquiry learning.
I found a great article that is more relevant to British Columbia Educators and the issues to be considered with Educational Reform. Considerations for Education Reform in British Columbia http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/santos.pdf
What I find fascinating about the implementation of the BC Education Plan is how little consideration has been given to the magnitude of change that is being proposed and how little consideration has been given to provide philosophical, curricular, pedagogical, and technological support to educators to implement these changes. You make good points about key areas that need attention. I was under the impression that the North Vancouver School District was well organized for incorporating technology, but these conditions change from year to year, so even if a school had a good set of computers 5 years ago, if no one has kept the system up to date, you have a school with a lab full of out of date computers that no one is using. It is definitely my sense that the absence of productive input from teachers is evident in the patching implementation of the BC Education Plan at this time.