“I don’t believe they are making decisions that are informed with research,” President of the Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation District 29 Scott Marshall tells My Bancroft Now about the provincial government’s education cuts.
With class sizes going from one teacher for an average of every 22 students to one for every 28, Marshall says an estimated 60 teachers will be lost. With one teacher accounting for six classes, that means around 368 classes could be cut from schools across Ontario. North Hastings High School teacher Chip Gillis says that over the next four years five to six teachers could be lost at the school, which would mean 30 to 36 classes would be lost.
Mandatory e-learning will be added in schools across the province. “E-learning is not for every student,” Marshall says. He notes that in the five previous town halls he’s been a part of, that has been a cause for concerns for parents. He points out that statistics show students are not as successful with e-learning as they are in the traditional classroom setting.
“I think we need to start with knowledge and facts and understand of what is really happening,” Marshall says. “We need to start with a good frank discussion about what these cuts mean and then we hope it leads to further discussion.” He urges parents to contact their local MPPs with their concerns about the cuts.