Petition to Reduce Class Sizes to Keep Communities Safe
As of August 27, over
242,000 people have signed the
following online petition to Ontario Minister
of Education Stephen Lecce and Premier Doug
Ford started by a Toronto teacher.[1]
The petition reads:
The Ontario government's 'plan' for reopening
schools
essentially amounts, in most elementary and
middle school grades, to
sending 30 students and a teacher back into a
room for 6 hours/day with
poor to no ventilation and probably only enough
space for 30 cm of
distancing between desks. This is shameful and
demonstrates a reckless
and
disturbing lack of care for the health and
safety of our children,
teachers, school staff, and communities.
We have evidence from countries and regions
that went back to
school in the spring to show that it CAN be done
safely, without a
surge in cases. The evidence suggests that the
way to do this (along
with other measures) is SMALL CLASS SIZES.
Denmark, Norway, Finland,
Germany, Greece, Belgium, France, Switzerland,
and British
Columbia offer examples of this.
(The petition lists
various newspaper's articles which highlight
that evidence suggests that smaller class sizes
are key to safe return
to schools)
Meanwhile, Israel offers an example of a
country that went back to
school with full-sized classes, and had
disastrous results, going from
well below 100 cases a day to over 1500 daily
(see articles linked
above). (Note: some point out that it is
difficult to blame this
increase entirely on schools reopening, since
bars and other public
spaces
reopened at the same time. It is worth pointing
out that in Ontario,
schools are also set to open within several
weeks of bars and other
public spaces).
Is this government counting on this plan
achieving smaller class
sizes because parents with the means to do so
will pull their children
out of school for at-home or private options
(thereby undermining our
public education system)? In communities that
are hardest-hit by COVID
already due to socio-economic inequities, most
parents will not
have the resources to keep their children at
home or to turn to private
options. Meanwhile, Ontario families with the
greatest privilege and,
generally speaking, the most power to advocate
for a properly funded
education system, will opt out of a system that
fails to protect them.
This is not acceptable.
The most up-to-date report from Sick Kids on
reopening Ontario
schools stresses that the government MUST
prioritize reducing class
sizes. ("COVID-19:
Guidance for School Reopening,")
- Addressing structural deficiencies, such
as large class sizes,
small classrooms and poor ventilation, must be
part of any plan to
reopen schools" (pg. 2).
- Smaller class sizes should be a priority
strategy as it will aid
in physical distancing and reduce potential
spread from any index case
Decisions should take into account the available
classroom space in
addition to the number of exposures that would
occur should a student
or staff test positive Where needed, the use of
non-traditional spaces
should be explored to accommodate smaller
classes in order to allow
daily school attendance. This may necessitate
additional
teacher/educational resources" (pg. 10).
The evidence suggests that with smaller class
sizes, we might
actually have a shot at remaining in school
full-time this year. Even
for a government that doesn't want to spend its
dollars on the public
good -- wouldn't it be cheaper to spend the $3.2
billion now or
whatever it will take
and avoid the enormous costs to the healthcare
system and the economy
when this absurd "plan" fails?
As parents, grandparents, students, teachers,
school staff, and
community members, we DEMAND a back-to-school
plan that we can trust to
give us a chance at staying in school this year.
Families must not be
forced to choose between risking their safety
and opting out of our
publicly-funded education system.
Notes
1. To sign the petition,
click
here
This article was published in
Number 56 - August 27, 2020
Article Link:
Petition to Reduce Class Sizes to Keep Communities Safe
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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