Post 236--Private Schools and Public Schools Are Complementary

Beth Green wrote this article about  Private and Public Schools being complementary, not against each other. She should know, for she is engaged in deep professional research on the topic under the umbrella of the Christian Canadian think tank Cardus. Her title says it clearly: "Private schools form and important part of BC's school system" (Vancouver Sun, October 26, 2018, p. G3).

She offers her opinion in view of the unrelenting opposition to private schools in the province. It is like everything else many of our secular neighbours talk about: If it's Christian and/or independent in education, they will have little truck with it.  That, at least, is the case with 39% of the province's population--hardly a majority. I was, in fact, surprised to read this statistic. It's not as bad as I thought. I think it's a case of the loud minority vs a silent majority.  Canadian Christians tend to be a quietist lot, something that annoys me to no end. I've noticed that throughout the 43 years of my adult life that I've been abroad.

Well, Beth's article makes for worthwhile reading. So, go for it and enjoy--and do a rethink if you're among that loud minority. Here goes.....

Pacific Academy is an independent Christian school in Surrey. JASON PAYNE JASON PAYNE / VANCOUVER SUN

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It’s about time we recognized a simple fact about B.C. education. The province’s independent schools are a positive complement to public schools.

While not identical in their methods or environments, both help to achieve the common good purpose of educating the public. And new research is now establishing how independent schools contribute to educating the whole person, not just academically but socially.

We can now confidently say that B.C.’s independent school graduates cultivate diverse social ties, are active and engaged members of their communities, are committed to the well-being of their neighbours and are ready to give of both time and resources. And, as a bonus, they generally look back on their high school days positively. It so happens they also feel more strongly than public school grads do that they’re prepared to face real life.

This more complete look at provincial school outcomes comes thanks to the newly published B.C. findings of the 2018 Cardus Education Survey. It compares B.C.’s public school graduates to grads from Catholic, Evangelical Protestant and non-religious independent schools. Controlling for things like family background and income, we’re able to isolate the effect that schools have on students. The results are telling.

Take civic engagement. Many Canadians worry about the loss of civility in our culture, the decline in how welcoming our country is and a drop in charitable giving. There’s evidence that B.C. independent schools are helping to counteract those negative trends.

B.C.’s Protestant schools seem to shine in developing students who grow to be generous adults. Of all grads in B.C., they’re most likely to donate money to help others.

Non-religious independent schools, meanwhile, produce graduates who are 2.2 times more likely than public-school grads to volunteer. That’s a strong sign of social engagement. Religious independent school grads also display diverse social ties.

Evangelical Protestant school graduates are just as likely as public-school grads to have a friend who is gay or lesbian, a recent immigrant, of a different race, a co-worker, has a university degree, makes more than $100,000 annually, or makes less than $25,000 annually. Catholic independent school grads are almost identical to the evangelicals in this area.

B.C. independent schools don’t just help shape student character. They also help in other, more pragmatic, ways.

Non-religious and Catholic independent schools seem to excel in preparing graduates for careers. Their graduates reported average incomes up to $16,000 higher than public or evangelical Protestant grads. The non-religious and Catholic independent school grads were also more likely to attend university or a graduate program. Evangelical Protestant and public school grads were tied on that score.

And B.C. independent schools of all types seem to be doing well in preparing students for “real life.” Survey respondents (all of whom are aged 24 to 39) rated their former high schools on how those institutions prepared them for things like work, post-secondary school, and religious life. Now at least six years out of high school, those who graduated from an independent school felt more strongly than their public-school counterparts that their school had prepared them well.

The findings are clear. Independent schools are a productive and positive part of the B.C. education system, educating more than one in 10 students. Independent enrolment continues to grow, providing the province with a cost-effective means of meeting a diverse set of schooling needs. So, it’s not surprising that 61 per cent of British Columbians said in 2017 that they supported full or partial government funding for religious schools.

B.C.’s independent and public schools are complementary parts of one education system. They can and should learn from each other. The sooner we recognize this, the better the province will be able to improve education for everybody.

Post 165—Labour Unions Hurting Social Fabric of Society

During my teen years I worked in the lumber mills of Port Alberni in the centre of Vancouver Island. So did my Dad after our immigration in 1951 and, for a few years, so did two of my sisters in the plywood plant which was co-ed. We were all members of the IWA, the International Woodworkers of America.  We made good money. The Alberni Valley had the highest per capita income in all of Canada, thanks to both MacMillan & Bloedel and the IWA.  I’ve written about this already in earlier posts. I was aware that, as good as we had it, it could not last. I suspect the CEO and his cohorts made the usual outrageously high salaries as they are wont to do these days, but I was not aware of that issue at the time. I was aware of the fact that if our wages would continue to rise almost annually, the IWA would sooner or later price us out of the world lumber market.  They did rise and we did lose out eventually. The town shrunk with the reduction of jobs as did other BC towns with the same industry and the same IWA. In fact, the IWA no longer exists; it merged with another union.  It turned out to be its own enemy, more so than the company.

Labour unions have been a great force for good at one time. They lifted up the working class, a fact we should never forget and always appreciate. This, however, does not mean we should grant them license to force themselves on the society at the latter’s expense—and, ultimately, at their own expense. There is a movement afoot in Quebec province, for example, to reign them in because of their excesses. Those excesses are not only about wages and accompanying perks, but also in that they inhibit the healthy social instinct for volunteering. I’ve seen it in Vancouver, but for today the issue is in Quebec. 

Giuseppe Valiante, a Canadian Press journalist, has an article in the Vancouver Sun of April 24, 2017, under the title “Paint a school for free? In Quebec, that’s illegal,” with the byline “Union rules blamed for hurting social fabric of society.”  Due to copyright issues, I cannot copy the full article here, but it is about authorities, under the pressure of a union, stopping the mayor of Saint –Sebastien from painting the town’s public school with the help of local volunteers. It had not been painted for 33 years and there was no money from the school board. So, the mayor took the bull by the horns and recruited members from the community. An inspector came along and that was the end of this communal effort.  The volunteer job would have cost roughly $3,500. The union came in and the price rose to $120,000!  The union members did not even want to charge them, but the union forced them to take full wages at around $94 per hour!

“Left-leaning media columnists and provincial politicians argued parents shouldn’t have to paint their kids’ schools, because government has the responsibility to maintain public education infrastructure,” writes Valiante. From my point of view, this is about as absurd,  convoluted and corrupt as things can go!  Where does this kind of “reasoning” come from?  My Christian reasoning encourages communal efforts and holds parents responsible for their children’s upbringing, including their education. Preventing parents and the community from taking on their responsibility by powers with vested interests!  I have no words for that kind of mentality within my Christian vocabulary and the others I surely would not wish to utter!   

I am so annoyed, I have difficulty reining in my emotions at this point and restrain my language.  So, I am inviting you to read this fine article but terrible story for yourself.  Please go to: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/04/23/quebec-painting-incident-exposes-unions-hold-on-volunteering-rules.html.