To reduce poverty, curriculums must change

Students at the New Brunswick Community College's Trade Education Centre (Photo: NBCC)

“Be ambitious on poverty reduction,” was the recommendation of a recent headline in The Telegraph Journal.

I’m confused. Are you? Wasn’t there grand plan decades ago to reduce poverty, to level the playing field, to make lives healthier and happier? What happened with all that? Certainly the poverty rate has fallen to 7.9% from a 2015 14%, but the ever-elusive ‘they’ and we need to be doing more. So much more.

I’m sorry, but this government, like its predecessor, is failing miserably. One thing that many among us are opposed to is the penalizing of persons on welfare who work/earn money/improve their financial lot in life to meet the needs of their family by having their pittance of a monthly ‘social assistance’ check attached. That’s not okay. It was never okay. It never will be okay.

Current and past governments just don’t get it and I’m not alone in wondering why that is. We have a labour shortage because our education system needs a huge shake-up to the curriculum; it was needed decades ago. Bring back all of those vocational education classes — all of them, updated  to mesh with the times in which we live. We need more tradespeople. We need more nurses’ aides, more people educated and trained in nutrition, health and wellness, particularly focused on elder care health management, in the home, given we have a significant population of elderly and advanced geriatric citizens. The ideal and what they want is to stay in their homes. 

Hands on/learning by doing or kinesthetic learning, beginning in kindergarten and following students right on through to grade twelve and beyond may well be the solution to reducing school absenteeism and the all too predictable dropping out into a life of poverty.  Kinesthetic learning is ideally suited to children with challenges as opposed to the traditional,’sit down, sit still and pay attention to me’ model. Keeping hands and minds busy reduces classroom disruptions and acting out.

In grade school, we start with visual/book learning; read, remember, recite — a commonly practiced method for teaching young children where information starts with picture books, followed by flash cards, and then on to textbooks and all that reading, reading, reading and regurgitation. Take the tests, pass the tests and then move on to the next grade/year until the final destintion is reached. Twelve and done! 

In university, the  teaching and learning landscape changes, with a move to auditory learning, most easily observed in the lecture formats of certain college courses, where students aborb information through listening and note taking. Lively discussions further enhance learning and retention.

It is clear that there are certain situations in which hands-on learning is the only way to teach something. There is no use trying to teach a child to ride a bicycle in a traditional classroom - they need to get outside to try out a bike. Many people argue that doing something is the best way to learn about it, rather than attempting to learn about it from a book. No matter how many books you read about cycling, you are still sure to fall off the first time you try! Miracle of miracles, even I learned how to ride a two-wheeler. But then as I got a bit taller, the balance went to hell. I wasn’t terribly proficient but at least I was able to cross it  it off the ‘to learn’ list. Then there was the learning to skip rope, but we won’t go there. I was all about learning by doing. Skipping wasn’t pretty.

That is why it’s important to bring back the full slate of vocational courses so that those who learn best by doing will have a better chance of staying the course and staying in school. Hanging in and hanging on will improve outcomes. The earlier students learn to think for themselves the better prepared they are to forge ahead as adults when faced with new challenges. Reading and writing and learning facts have their place, obviously; there are any number of professional specialised careers that speak to that, but those who part of that stream appreciate the need for skilled labourers who are good at their jobs and enjoy the work. So, everyone works together to make a community thrive. 

Governments, as they budget for education across the province and across the country need to just stop and look around at what’s missing and what is needed to fix it. All hands on deck for all hands on learning.

There is no doubt that actively involving students will enhance their education. However, hands-on learning is always effective when combined with traditional learning from books. When students see that they’re getting what they want and what they’re interested in, their curiosity naturally expands and they will go on to read and learn more on their own. Teachers need to let go and let grow.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her geriatric Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca