Early childhood education, curriculum development, graduation years, and technology in education were only a few of the topics discussed by more than 75 teachers, parents, and students attending a public forum held at Glendale elementary, Thursday, Feb. 3.
The forum was based on the research paper Personalized Learning in the 21st Century: Initial Thoughts for Discussion and included participation by Alison Sidow, superintendent of achievement for the Ministry of Education and educational consultant Sheila Rooney.
At the early learning discussion table participants said it is important to provide or maintain a variety of early learning opportunities for children.
They also said young students need music which helps to open their brains to learning; that early learning should be joyful, with more hands-on, play- based learning around numeracy and problem solving.
Some parents also wanted informal reporting on how their young children are doing in school and felt full day kindergarten was a great opportunity to catch any problems a child may have with learning early on in school.
They also wanted more parent involvement in education of three and four year olds.
Over at the graduation years discussion table, there was general support for the idea of having more credits given to work students do outside the classroom; support for expanding offerings of independently directed courses; and support for more freedom and flexibility in the graduation years.
Allison Tew supported students having the option of taking more than one spare class if they need it.
She said she currently has two spares.
She uses one for her homework and one to work on her portfolio. But she said her school wants to take the second spare away because the district doesn’t receive funding for the second spare.
Tara Delisle said that before students graduate they should also be learning about taxes and budgeting, financial planning, and other skills for life.