Governance

The levels of Governance in the school system is a little confusing.  Generally though the hierarchy from top to bottom goes as follows: provincial government, school division and school board, superintendent of schools, principal, vice principal, teachers and staff.  Basically the Government level is responsible for the laws in education, the Board level stipulates the rules and the school division puts the rules in to policy to be implemented by the school.
Knowing this hierarchy and what each level is responsible for is very important to me as a teacher.  I must be aware of where decisions are being made and who the people are making them.  I believe in order to be effective and make changes, if needed, you need to know how the system that you are part of works.  Like the financial aspect of the education system it is part of my job to know who controls what and who to go to if I need something or want to implement a change.  I also need to know my role and what I personally have control over.  I wouldn't want to make a decision and then later find out I had no authority to make that decision.  That would reflect poorly on me and the school I work for.  It would also be important for me to know what the Education Act entails as it is that document that the Provincial Government follows in making their decisions, and it is the law that I must as a teacher abide by.  It is a necessity that I know what my responsibilities are as a teacher and how the education system is governed.

Money, Money, Money!!!

How are schools funded?  That is a good question and it seems it varies quite a bit.  I think that is the most surprising part of my learning about the financial side of education, that there is so much variance between schools, provinces, and even districts.  I was under the mistaken assumption that our education system was more consistent from one school etc. to another. I did not realize that the area and the value of the land in that area plays a huge role in the amount of funding the province gives a school.  In a nutshell if the school is in an area with high taxes then the province does not contribute as much funding. Local taxes are taken in to account and then the province will decide how much they need to contribute to each school.  I was also not aware that the per pupil amount was more for rural schools but that makes sense so that they can accommodate for there smaller class sizes.
This is important information for me to know as an upcoming teacher as I will need to be aware of the funding available because it obviously affects many things.  Funding for programs, extracurricular activities, salaries, etc.  If the money is not there then things will get cut.   It is also important for me to know when I go to work at a school what funding they have.  Are they a "high risk" school and have extra funding to help families cope with various issues?  Are they in a low property tax area and rely heavily on government funds to pay for teachers salaries and the programs they offer?  These are all important questions to ask and be somewhat aware.  I think that in order to be a contributing member of a team you need to know how the team operates.  For this reason I see it as important to know where the funding is coming from and how much is being given when I work at a school.  As well as where the money is being spent.  I have worked as a daycare director and I have been responsible for a budget.  Every once and a while you will get a staff member that thinks that the money is never ending and until you make them aware or give them their own budget to work within the requests for funds never stops.  I believe to be a professional teacher and contributing member I need to be aware of all aspects of my position, the team I work with,  the school district, and community I work within.

History of Education

Wow, the history behind our education system is very interesting.  I was only partly aware of what a strong influence religious groups had on the development of our education system.  It is very intriguing to hear about all the different nationalities and their role in the development of our education system and their beliefs about education.  I was also surprised by how different each provinces beliefs and practices could be from one another depending on who inhabited that province and who migrated in.
As a teacher I think that it is important for me to have a good understanding of the history behind our education system and to also know where it is going and what factors today will influence it.  This is important because I need to be able to teach my students for the world we live in today.
I need to prepare them for today and the future and meet them where they are at, because we all know kids today are much different from the kids of generations past.  Children have a lot more to say and have a lot of issues outside the classroom to deal with as well.  Teachers themselves and their role is also different. They don't have the power they once did and can not assume the same role or use the same behaviour modification methods they once did, but at the same time they are dealing with much more on a daily basis.   Our school of thought has also changed from a worksheet, solo practice type thinking to a more open, group sharing collaboration of ideas.  And we can see that kids of today need that and we know it is often more effective.  Some of the other more current needs are the ability to teach a variety of developmental levels and children with various learning, behavioural, emotional, social and cognitive needs.  All of these changes need to have a place in my teaching and my need to stay current is important for the children in my class to get what they need and consequently be what society needs. Technology is also of huge importance in today's schools and this will have to be taught at a rate close to that of the needs of our society to make sure we have the students to go out in to the world and be successful.  Just as they did in 1919 when they decided that more technical education was needed I will need to stay abreast of the needs and changes and adapt.  In order to do this it is important that I also know the history of our educational system and what influences brought it to where it is today.