signs of trouble

Too many leave school with the appetite killed and-Sir Richard Livingston

carrieann — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:39:59 +0000

Too many leave school with the appetite killed and the mind loaded with undigested lumps of information.

Suicide Prevention Matters: Teen Program Shows Success

carrieann — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:33:55 +0000

Research shows ‘Signs of Suicide’ prevention program helps reduce the number of attempts by high school students.
Read article: Signs of Suicide Program
( Christian Science Moniter ) (2008-01-03)

John Abbott Challenges Faulty Assumptions About Kids

carrieann — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:02:11 +0000

John Abbott speaks about the fact that children are innately inquisitive and insists that schools need to capitalize on this fact.

Featured in this video:
John Abbott is the President of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, an initiative to facilitate the emergence of new approaches to learning in the United Kingdom.

Tell Them From Me: Canadian Students Speak About Their Schools

carrieann — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:29:45 +0000

Tell Them From Me is an assessment system that measures a wide variety of indicators of student engagement and wellness, and classroom and school climate that are known to affect learning outcomes. The anonymous survey covers areas including: perceptions of testing, involvement in sports teams and clubs, attendance, hours spent watching TV, a sense of belonging, post-graduation goals, bullying, self esteem, student anxiety and depression.

signs of trouble

mlay — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:18:21 +0000

Canada has a strong history of investment (both philosophical and financial) in public education. Over 40 billion dollars is spent annually on getting our children from kindergarten to grade 12¹, yet public opinion polls show confidence in the education system is at an all-time low², home schooling is growing exponentially and the percentage of children attending private schools has doubled in the past 25 years³. Although public education certainly appears to work for a percentage of our children, an increasing number of factors point to a deeply flawed system.

Many of our current arrangements for learning are -John Abbott

admin — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:06:56 +0000

Many of our current arrangements for learning are based on misunderstandings about how the brain functions, how learning takes place, and how young people naturally mature.

The Need for Change

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:50:29 +0000

Over 40 billion dollars a year is spent in Canada getting our children from Kindergarten to Grade 12,[i], yet over 40% of our youth fail to meet expected performance levels for basic subjects[ii] and almost one quarter of our children fail to graduate with their peers.[iii]. Students are disengaging grade by grade[iv], a trend illustrated by their increasing dislike for school[v], declining academic achievement[vi] and rising rates of teenage depression[vii] and suicide[viii]. Contrary to Canada’s most fundamental democratic tenets, minority and low-income children are the hardest hit[ix].

what's the problem?

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:02:09 +0000

Canada has a lot to be proud of when it comes to education. We rank well internationally, our schools are filled with intelligent, passionate educators, access is free and the majority of our youth graduate from high school to join a diverse and primarily peaceful, well-functioning society. Many of us, however, have a niggling suspicion that something isn’t quite right. When you can’t think of a single teenager who enjoys school and is excited to learn – something is wrong.