"There's a lot more leniency and a lot less work in credit recovery," says a teacher at one middle-of-the-pack Toronto school. "Kids know that, if they fail, they can do the class again in six weeks."In Dalton McSlippery's Ontario... there's no such thing as failing.
Credit recovery is also a convenient way for some teachers to shuffle the losers out of their hair.
"It has turned into a huge program here," says the teacher, who, like most, won't speak on the record for fear of professional consequences.
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FROM THE COMMENTS:
"I believe this approach to teaching emphasizes the child's self-esteem ahead of other trivial matters, such as actually learning."**********
"That way Ontario's next generation of underachievers can gaze proudly into the fry vat."
RELATED: Failing and disappearing
Thirteen schools closed in Ontario in 2008, but 77 schools are on a list recommended for closing. Most of them will be gone in June, Ms. Kidder predicted. Canada is experiencing steady long-term decline in enrolment.**********
The number of school-aged children dropped to 5.2 million in 2005-06, down 3 per cent from 1999.
Local school authorities and experts in most provinces say the decline will continue through 2013 and beyond. With little national debate, the country is walking into an irreversible process that will leave dozens of communities in tatters, Ms. Kidder said.
"We have to decide as a society whether we're going to say, 'Oh well' and just keep emptying all these parts of the country," she said.
"It's a big public policy issue and it's a national one."
LAST WORD: Second, third... forever chances
Ontario... land of no consequences...
"Shoot a gun, deal drugs or assault a neighbour and your days in Toronto's public housing should be over."*
"The truth is, nothing can be further from the truth."
