Sam Odrowski
The Rainy River School Board’s new student trustee sat down with a group of fellow students earlier this month to discuss their input for the province’s education consultation.
At the meeting, Katelyn Bruyere gathered thoughts from everyone who attended on how to better prepare students with life skills, improve standardized testing, address cellphone use in the classroom, deal with mental health needs, and more.
The students’ perspective is very important when updating and improving the current curriculum that is to be taught because they will be affected by the changes the most, Bruyere noted.
“I think it’s really important for the province to get a really wide range of input for the consultations,” she said.
“A student voice is important to have because someone who went to school 30 years ago is not going to have the same experience as someone who is going to high school today,” she reasoned.
The consultation asked students how they can build a new age-appropriate health and phys. ed curriculum that includes topic on mental health, sex education, and the legalization of cannabis.
“For this one, we wanted to make sure that the curriculum recognized all aspects of health, including mental, sexual, and physical . . . and we wanted the curriculum to be modern and reflective of our needs,” Bruyere explained.
“In the curriculum, we have to be sensitive to diversity and it needs to be inclusive in design,” she stressed.
Regarding cannabis use, Bruyere said students feel the government should focus on it like it would for tobacco or alcohol use. They recommend looking at the long-term effects and educating students.
Another question they provided input on asked how the province can improve student performance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
“We thought that since the schools in our district are so different based on size and programs offered, we wanted to make sure all of these disciplines are available so that any student in the district will be able to see if they like any of the career options in the particular subjects offered,” Bruyere noted.
Additionally, students would like to have more experiential learning opportunities through field trips and guest speakers so they can gain more practical experience.
As well, they would like to see courses on coding available at local high schools.
“We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to see everything that’s out there and not be limited in their choices,” Bruyere said.
Students at the meeting also provided input on how to improve provincial standardized testing.
“We all thought that providing students any support for mental health at all was very important because anxiety for standardized testing, like the Grade 10 literacy test, was very high,” Bruyere explained.
“A lot of students are afraid that if they fail it, they’re going to fail high school because they believe so much is riding on this test.
“We just want to help students relax,” she added. “We suggested providing more preparation sessions to students to help.”
Bruyere also suggested having teachers put less stress on students about the consequences of failing and more emphasis on preparation, as well as reassurance.
Another question they provided input on that ties into stress asked, “What can be done to ensure students graduate high school with important life skills, including financial literacy?”
The students recommended creating a mandatory life skills course for those who are exiting high school. It would cover things like how to pay bills, file taxes, take care of a child, change a tire, and live on a budget.
“We learn so much about things that will prepare us for university or college, but we don’t learn things that will prepare us for life,” Bruyere said.
When the topic of banning cellphones in the classroom came up, the students said they felt the focus should be on using them as a tool instead of a distraction.
“It should be left up to the teacher’s discretion on how the cellphones are used in the classroom because cellphones do have applications in healthy lifestyles,” noted Bruyere.
The last question the students answered asked, “What elements should be included in a Ministry of Education parents’ bill of rights.”
The students said they believe parents should have regular updates on their child’s progress at school so there is regular communication between both the parents and teachers.
“Then if a student is facing challenges in school, the parents will be able to recognize it,” Bruyere reasoned.
The students also stressed that mental health programming is needed at current or increased levels.
“We thought this doesn’t just include health education but also talking about personnel within elementary and secondary schools just to promote mental health and wellness,” Bruyere said.
“This will help students along the way if they’re having any challenges with their mental health.”
Bruyere is encouraging all students, parents, staff, and residents to provide input to the province during its education consultations.
Input can be provided at https://www.ontario.ca/page/for-the-parents
The consultations close Dec. 15.
“We want to make sure that these policies will fit as many people as possible to help make education better for all the students, and make sure they are getting as much support possible to help them succeed,” Bruyere enthused.
