Commentary
The recent announcement that the Alberta government intends to provide funding in its education budget for new independent schools is entirely welcome news in every respect. This is not surprising coming from such a sensible and often innovative government. Premier Danielle Smith has a strong claim to the title of the most capable and successful leader of the government of any large jurisdiction in Canada. In her policy message, she expressed the desire to put all of the education options on the same level playing field. This is an admirable formulation and is entirely just, given the decades of massive funding and excessive indulgence that the public school system and the teachers’ unions have received.
It is one of the great ironies of Western civilization that for 80 years we have spent more and more on education to get less and less well-educated graduates. Part of this deterioration can be explained by the expansion of career opportunities for women, reducing their interest in the teaching profession. However, the principal problem lies with the behavior of the teachers’ unions, which has been irresponsible and detrimental to the education system.
In practice, strikes by teachers have often occurred during the school year, impacting students and parents. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the negative effects of such strikes, causing significant harm to student development. The shutdown of schools was unnecessary and inflicted damage on students, for which teachers share responsibility.
The private and charter schools that are not unionized generally remained open with no adverse health effects. These schools consistently outperform state schools, indicating a decline in proficiency in public education over the years. Despite increasing teacher salaries, results have worsened, reflecting a flawed compensation policy.
This crisis extends beyond education, impacting media integrity and government quality. Reversing these trends requires a better-educated electorate and population, starting with the education system.
If we aim for better politicians and media, education must improve to create a more informed and culturally sophisticated society. Public schools need to prioritize education over daycare-like functions to produce competent graduates.
The Alberta premier’s pilot study aims to assess the state of the education system, potentially revealing the shortcomings of unionized state schools. Despite being a pilot study, its findings may highlight the need for reform.
In these circumstances, the pilot study will be observed by all Canadian jurisdictions, and the policy recommendations for reversing the long decline in educational standards, and the resulting standards in public information, will likely lead to the conclusion that unless the state systems can be de-unionized and held to a higher performance standard, the successful future of our societies will necessitate increasingly more private but closely monitored education.
In all probability, the recent initiative of the Smith government will be closely monitored and its findings will have a widespread and positive impact throughout the country.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
