The goal of inclusiveness loses value when it results in mediocrity and failure.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
CTV News in Ottawa reports “a proposed change to the graduation ceremony policy of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) would see the board switch to equity-based commencement ceremonies and allow for students without passing grades to participate.”
“The main difference between a commencement ceremony and a graduation ceremony is that a commencement ceremony is more inclusive,” the OCDSB states on its website. “This aligns with the Board’s larger commitments to equity, inclusion and diversity.”
It may be the inevitable result of a generation raised on sports events that award all players, regardless of results, with a trophy and a juice box.
We could not disappoint such softly raised, self-regarding princes and princesses with the cruel reality of actions impacting results, could we? God forbid!
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of The Winnipeg Sun's Daily Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
The ceremonies would include those who have historically faced challenges within the education system.
Do they mean the challenge of studying hard? Doing homework? Showing up in class?
If the child is intellectually unable to do the work, that is a different circumstance and a conversation for another day.
While it is true that we don’t all share the same gifts — life isn’t fair — the goal of education is to educate, not to babysit for a dozen years or so and send unprepared, newly minted adults into the cruel world.
Woody Allen said, “Eighty per cent of success is showing up.”
Showing up means more than just being in the building most days. It means being prepared to work.
Employers rarely sustain the employment of a person who merely shows up, especially one with a learned entitlement mentality.
This type of attitude toward success in education is not new. It was a decade ago when right-thinking Canadians were shocked when the Edmonton Public School Board suspended teacher Lynden Dorval.
His “crime?”
Dorval was suspended for giving students zeros when they missed tests or didn’t hand in assignments.
A later finding was that the board was in the wrong, but it should be shocking that anyone in education thinks a mark higher than zero is appropriate for zero work and defends that policy to the detriment of a teacher.
A former teacher called my radio show Monday to say he was not allowed to score a student below 60, nor anyone above 90.
So no one fails, despite failing. How Orwellian is that?
The reason for a ceiling of 90? The lower-scoring students might feel bad.
They should feel bad. They should experience the figurative slap on the side of the head that a failing score conveys, such that they catch on that more work is needed.
Failure is a learning experience. Winners in all areas of life will tell you they learned more from their failures than from their successes.
Failure as an opportunity for future success is a learned behaviour.
The Ottawa group planning this misplaced plan said, “Students’ educational journeys are diverse, this means that all students’ experiences ought to have the opportunity to be celebrated with their teachers, peers, families and friends in attendance.”
Graduation celebrates hard-won accomplishment and is a point of pride.
Shame on anyone whose woke agenda is so bloated with faux caring that they teach our young people failure is an option.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
AGAR: Failing in school should not be regarded as success
4
0
12.03.2024
The goal of inclusiveness loses value when it results in mediocrity and failure.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
CTV News in Ottawa reports “a proposed change to the graduation ceremony policy of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) would see the board switch to equity-based commencement ceremonies and allow for students without passing grades to participate.”
“The main difference between a commencement ceremony and a graduation ceremony is that a commencement ceremony is more inclusive,” the OCDSB states on its website. “This aligns with the Board’s larger commitments to equity, inclusion and diversity.”
It may be the inevitable result of a generation raised on sports events that award all players, regardless of results, with a trophy and a juice box.
We could not disappoint such softly raised, self-regarding princes and princesses with the cruel reality of actions impacting results, could we? God forbid!
Get the........
© Winnipeg Sun
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Rachel Marsden
Donald Low
Bradley Blankenship
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
Michael Kwet
