Dear Editor
Re: Why do we need so many teachers for today’s classrooms? Letters to the editor, Opinion, Oct. 9.
Garth Evans has fallen into the usual trap of assuming that because he attended school he’s developed a full understanding of the challenges facing today’s teacher. Is he also an expert in anatomy because he’s visited the clinic?
The provincial government claims Grade 1 class sizes average 21.5 – and this is with one teacher in charge. Maybe two teachers appear in the class photo published because they each work part-time. I can assure you there is no 10:1 student to staff ratio.
What other differences were there in 1956? Fewer autistic children, children with ADHD, children who don’t speak English, children from single-parent families, over-scheduled, anxiety-ridden children, children damaged by cyberbullying, children addicted to their smart phones and game consoles, sleep-deprived children staying up late at night watching YouTube/social media, and children lured by gangs and party drugs. Children were not raised on a diet of genetically-modified food stuffed with additives and hormones.
Children could be packed into classrooms in 1956 because corporal punishment was the norm. Ask anyone who went to school in the “old days” how much misbehaviour was tolerated. Parents accepted corporal punishment – they didn’t call the police. They didn’t sue the school district. They also sided with the teacher if they reported cheating or misbehaviour – they didn’t rush, lawyer-like, to defend their child.
Neither were teachers required to make school fun, interesting and entertaining. In 1956 children were there to memorize the information presented to them and later regurgitate it. Nowadays teachers must complete with a world of selfies, likes, and a customer base that demands instant gratification.
Sitting in neat rows and listening to the teacher drone on is so … 1956.
Keith Montgomery, teacher
Burnaby North Secondary
