Mighty AC

sigh...

All applied kids aren't at risk students, just the bottom end on that tier. I often work with these students and am routinely blown away by how far behind they are. It's amazing how many high school kids still can grasp grade 4 math concepts. Merging this kids in with students that excel is exactly opposite of what should be done, it just hurts everyone else. Saving at risk students has to start far earlier with something like a mastery approach. Right now they are just shuffled along and spit out at the end with few skills and little hope.

The absentee rate is similar for the bottom half of current applied level classes. However, when they do self stream by not showing up, it's amazing how much more can be accomplished by the rest of the class. Meaningful whole class discussions and debates become possible, small group tasks are infinitely more beneficial.

Graduation rates are higher than they have ever been, but playing with stats isn't a meaningful use of our time. The reason more Applied students fail to graduate is because it is the lowest tier which then houses students with behavioral and learning challenges. Back when there were Advanced, General and Basic streams it was the Basic tier that had the lowest graduation rate because it contained our weakest students.

Having a handful of groups of eight to ten students working at a similar pace and ability level allows more beneficial collaboration to take place and more effective use of teacher time than fragmenting the class into many groups of two or three.

That talking point has been repeatedly debunked. A review of such studies published in 2013 (with the studies reviewed all carried out since the year 2000) found that there is no statistically significant link between employment and minimum wage increases. The authors compiled results from six different methods and four datasets to find that minimum wages do not lead to falls in employment. A second, very recent review corroborates these results. Furthermore, both reviews found that higher minimum wages not only aren’t responsible for raising unemployment, they actually have a range of other positive economic effects. These improvements include, of course, higher incomes, but also less employee turnover, less wage inequality and better organizational efficiency. http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2014/01/16/are-higher-minimum-wages-uncanadian/ So first you mention that 'few workers actually make minimum wages' and then go on to suggest that modest pay hikes to these few workers will impact the cost of living enough to actually hurt them? Interesting. Cost-push inflation can increase the price of some goods and decrease the price of others. A modest increase in the minimum wage will have almost no impact on prices. Much of the cost increases to employers are offset by organization efficiencies and reduced employee turnover. As it turns out a 10% increase in the minimum wage correlates to a 2.4%-3.6% decrease in the poverty rate. That's huge, not only for the families that can take better care of themselves, but it also removes a significant burden from social services. http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/03/08/Minimum-Wage-Myths/ Well, small increases have been shown to have no adverse impact on unemployment while simultaneously reducing poverty and social costs to society. Employers can manage the cost of small wage increases through organizational efficiencies and tiny price hikes. $15 is at the low average range of living wage calculation performed in cities across Ontario. It is a figure that can handled by businesses and will go a long way to improve the lives of Ontarians. The economy in this province has shifted from manufacturing to serviced based. The vast majority of new positions being added are low wage, service jobs.

Agreed. The top teams in the regular season win only 60-65 percent of their games. It's a fast paced, dynamic sport that leaves a lot of room for bounces. I do have a problem with playoff officiating in the NHL though. Fewer penalties are called, especially as series progress, and as a result the game becomes quite different than that of the regular season. Speed and skill gives way to size and strength in the playoffs. This is unique to hockey and must be tough for GMs. Those building baseball, football and basketball teams don't have to face a different set of rules in the post season.

Education is always a hot political topic, hence the ongoing cycle of increasing and decreasing standards. One politician will announce tough new standards that will push our kids to the top in the world. And the peasants rejoice. A couple years later the graduation rate falls and the peasants are angry. A new politician finds creative ways to lower the standards and takes credit for a rise in graduation rates. We shouldn't accept it, nor should we accept that an entire class must proceed at roughly the same pace because they were born in the same year. The mastery approach is much needed. The mastery approach would allow us to put summative evaluations to rest. I picture a system where purely formative evaluations are used to diagnose strengths and weaknesses simply to gauge understanding and allow teachers and students to fill in any gaps.

Well if you can't see how it could work then it's probably not possible. There are countless global and international agreements on regulations affecting everything from trade practices, to human rights, to war. The Montreal Accord is an example of an agreement struck to limit CFC use and protect the ozone layer from further damage. Getting these deals done can be difficult but far from impossible. International Environmental Agreements Currently, multinationals lobby for trade agreements with nations that allow them to produce products as cheaply as possible. That makes sense, corporations must seek to create value for shareholders. However, there is a problem when cost savings come at the expense of environmental integrity and human health. Not only is there a problem for the planet and exploited workers in third world nations, but progress is also held back in the developed world as corporations and their shills argue that environmental destruction and diminishing compensation are necessary for a strong economy. To end this race to the bottom trade agreements should protect the planet and worker safety/health. This can be achieved by applying tariffs to items produced in locales that do not meet the standards of the importing nation. Corporations can then decide to either improve their production practices or pay the tariff.

More homogeneous groups allow teachers to reach more kids at a time. A streamed class would likely break down into 3 groups of students based on pace and ability. Without streaming a class of 30 likely becomes fragmented into 6 or more levels, thus teacher time spent addressing each student's needs is dramatically reduced. How do you avoid slowing the pace for academic kids, and the inevitable loss of teacher time for each level of student? Students are recommended for specific streams based on the ability they've shown throughout their unstreamed elementary years. Grade 9 courses just build on the content taught at the intermediate level, so I fail to see any benefit in spending one more year robbing time and help from students. If the goal is to push more kids into higher levels we need to address skill gaps in the younger grades. If the goal is to increase the graduation rate we need more practical options for basic level students. Less streaming doesn't help with either goal.

Streaming would benefit a mastery system as well. Watering down the content for another year, as was done in the early 90's, just holds top students back while robbing direct help time from the kids that need it. A 15%-19% failure to graduate rate is the best it has ever been, but it could certainly be improved. Part of the problem for the, primarily, bottom kids that fail to graduate is that the applied stream is too advanced for them. Applied classes are taught in a more experiential, hands on fashion but the content can still be fairly difficult. More streams would help, but rather than just reintroducing the equivalent of the previous Basic stream, I would like to see more practical options available for the core subjects. Greater access to tech or life skills versions of math, science and English that focus on practical skills for a desired career path would certainly help. Check out this short video of an mastery approach achieved through team teaching in elementary school. If this approach were to be used through elementary school and then met with the mastery/MSIP approach in high school we would far more students graduate with a solid set of fundamental skills necessary to be productive in society.

Funny. Keep transferring wealth from the middle to the top and see social need swell, health decline, education decline, crime and violence increase and worse (for a Republican) few people will have the disposable income to buy products.

Stop eroding jobs, benefits and wages and the need for social programs shrinks.

I would rather see worker safety standards and environmental regulations be a requirement of free trade. Companies failing to meet set standards should be hit with tariffs when exporting their goods. We need to dispense with the ludicrous idea that people and the planet are expendable in the pursuit of profits.

Mexico landed $30 billion in new production investments over the last 15 years with $3.4 billion last year alone. Most of that production has moved from the US. Once manufacturing companies create infrastructure in the third world they tend to keep expanding there. It's all part of the capitalist race to the bottom. Free trade between nations with unequal environmental, health and human rights laws just doesn't make sense.

Current economic policies don't favour production in the US either.

Two assembly plants and several parts plants are still receiving ongoing investment. Production from the Ontario plants is top 5 of global Toyota production; things are just fine. Corolla demand currently exceeds comfortable plant capacity. Toyota has juggled models in the Cambridge plants to suit demand a couple of times in the past and this move is no different.

Toyota isn't pulling out of Ontario it is simply consolidating Corolla production. In the west they currently produce the Corolla in two separate US plants and one in Cambridge, ON. In 2019, the Corolla will be produced in just Mexico and Mississippi. Toyota has made recent investments in both Ontario assembly plants (Cambridge, Woodstock) along with Toyota owned parts plants in the area. It is expected that the Cambridge plant, which also produces a Lexus model will become an all Lexus plant in 2019.

Since their needs are not being met, every cent of income earned by those being paid the minimum wage is plowed back into the economy, plus it improves lives, health, education, reduces social costs for the state and reduces turnover rates for employers. Even if the wage increase was accompanied by a small increase in unemployment the pros outweigh the cons for society. However, it seems that claims of a rise in unemployment may even be false. Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment? Five Myths to Bust about Minimum Wage Hikes If you wish to discuss the implications on education we can do that here; however, to avoid derailing this topic an economic discussion about minimum wage can continue in this business/economy thread.

Since their needs are not being met, every cent of income earned by those being paid the minimum wage is plowed back into the economy, plus it improves lives, health, education, reduces social costs for the state and reduces turnover rates for employers. Even if the wage increase was accompanied by a small increase in unemployment the pros outweigh the cons for society. However, it seems that claims of a rise in unemployment may even be false. Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment? Five Myths to Bust about Minimum Wage Hikes

It would be great if they can sign Derek Roy, at a decent rate, for a couple of years as well. Those two worked well together and even seem to have bonded off the ice. I couldn't stand Roy in Kitchener or Buffalo, but he was fairly impressive during his stint in Edmonton. If he can help Yak reach his potential then that's a huge bonus.

Those who are poor, have special needs or struggle with the official language will always fail at greater rates. I'm not sure why that is disturbing or surprising to you. The idea you are promoting here aims to get more upper middle level kids into advanced level courses, it does not address the needs of the bottom fifth at risk of failing out. We could put every grade 9 math student in one gymnasium sized class with multiple teachers and the bottom fifth will still be the kids that fail, mainly for the reasons we have already discussed. We already direct far more resources at this segment of students than any other; however, that doesn't mean we can't improve remedial learning programs. Though, I would like to see initiatives meant to help at risk kids graduate not come at the expense of other students. I think the best way to do this would be a combination of gradeless, mastery learning with a multiple subject instructional period (MSIP). First of all why do we have to break classes into 5 month chunks forcing 30 kids to advance at the same rate? Those that fail to grasp a concept fall behind and never catch up. Why not force students to stick with a concept or unit until it is mastered? That way they are more capable of learning subsequent units. Basically students that fail to achieve the equivalent of 85% or higher on a unit must revisit the concept until they do. Built in remediation time is easy to find with a team teaching approach at the elementary level, but much harder to find in secondary school. This is where the MSIP concept comes in. Rather than having four, 75 minute periods per semester, the school day is split into 5 one hour periods. Students still take four classes, but also have a daily MSIP period. During this block students requiring remediation must report to specific teachers to receive help with specific concepts. Those who are not struggling with a unit can use that time to complete homework, projects, use the library, seek out a teacher for additional information, etc. The school system can only do so much though. Subsidized after hours language tutoring for ELLs and a mandatory living wage of say $15/hr would lead to countless benefits for society.

Ha ha...I feel like that some days even now. I bet the constant pendulum swing from one new initiative to the next becomes maddening over that amount of time. I find that even when some of the research and thinking behind a new initiative is sound, the implementation often becomes ridiculous, often ignoring very rational educational knowns. The pendulum almost always settles in the middle, but dealing with the swing is always tough for those on the front lines.