December 9th, 2022
Recently the Ontario Ministry of Education has released information that all high school students who entered grade nine in the 2020-21 school year are required to complete two online courses for 2 credits out of the 30 needed to graduate high school and receive their OSSD. Many students have already voiced their concerns.
After 2 years of mandatory online school students are sick of online courses. We have expressed that we do not learn properly in those conditions and even the government, according to them, is currently trying to repair the damage this process has done to our education. According to Global News, the Ontario government is offering “catch-up payments” to guardians for them to put towards tutoring for their children, to fix the damage 2 years of online schooling has done.
As a student, I feel the consequences of this every day in my class. We are constantly working backwards to reverse the effects of online learning during covid and build a foundation for ourselves that should have previously been built but couldn’t have been due to online school. In conversation with my peers, I have heard many who are deciding to utilize the opt-out option, myself included. My classmate Kate Arden has emotionally stated “Our teachers are already working to restore the education we’ve lost from the two years of online”.
This decision feels like its only purpose is to prepare us for a completely online learning environment in the future. Online learning is a way for the government to lower costs for schools. Hiring less qualified teachers, using a digital workspace, increasing class sizes to 40-50, and having each student at their own home means they do not have to pay for buildings, utensils, qualified teachers and many other things that go into proper education. This shift is part of the reason we are in the midst of a possible strike.
This is another reason the ministry of education should not have imposed this new requirement. They are aware that we have many things going on when it comes to our schooling, a possible strike, mid-terms, and we are finally, after so long getting used to a “normal” high school experience. These 2 classes seem like only the first step to me, to introduce us to fully online learning. Once 2 classes become accepted they will slowly keep increasing until we are shifting to a complete online course load. We are the perfect generation to push this plan with, we have already been exposed to this concept and are more likely to accept it.
According to the ministry of education, students who are currently in grade 11 or started grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year can have their 2 years of online school during covid count towards only one of their required courses and they are still expected to add in one online course into their schedule. This, as a grade 11, throws quite a curveball into my plan. Since this condition was not in effect when I began planning my final years of high school I have a premade plan for grade 11 and grade 12 which will ideally lead me to my plan after high school, this plan does not include these courses. Many other students have run into the same issue as I have, we are looking ahead into the future, already nervous about this big change and all the expectations and now we are given one more obstacle to work around.
Now, not everyone has this opinion about mandatory online courses. To look at both perspectives, online learning in our day and age may have some benefits. Students who prefer the home environment during learning and are uncomfortable with the school setting can have great use of the online learning possibility. Online learning allows for a flexible lifestyle and students have the opportunity to control their schedule, time, and pace. Another aspect to look at is the projection of our world and the recent adjustments we have had to make. In a conversation with Mr. Graansma he brought up this, “There is an upside, especially after the pandemic, there is the possibility that something like that can happen again and we live in a world where we need to be able to use technology to learn”
I, along with many students strongly feel that this decision should not have been so drastic. These courses should have been introduced as an option, this would please both those for online school and those against it. The option of online courses offers a dynamic that can work for anyone. If we are given an opt-out form, which many students including myself will be signing, then why weren’t we given an option from the beginning? This proposition of a “mandatory” requirement seems unnecessary and drastic. I know I would have appreciated being asked for my input and opinion.
Thankfully, this form exists and can be found in the guidance office at Cameron Heights. Students and their parents must sign this form and return it to the guidance office to successfully remove these online courses from the students OSSD requirements.
In the end, it is our education, so we as students should have been considered. We should have had a voice in this action.
Ford government to table legislation that would impose contract on education workers, prevent planned strike
“Ford Government To Table Legislation That Would Impose Contract On Education Workers, Prevent Planned Strike”. Toronto, 2022, https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-s-education-workers-could-go-on-strike-friday-if-deal-not-reached-with-province-1.6131307. Accessed 31 Oct 2022.
Online Learning Graduation Requirement and Opt-Out Process (Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute)
” Online Learning Graduation Requirement And Opt-Out Process (Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute)”. Chc.Wrdsb.Ca, 2022, https://chc.wrdsb.ca/online-learning-graduation-requirement-and-opt-out-process/. Accessed 31 Oct 2022.
Ontario parents to receive ‘Catch Up Payments’ for school-aged children | Globalnews.ca
“Ontario Parents To Receive ‘Catch Up Payments’ For School-Aged Children | Globalnews.Ca”. Global News, 2022, https://globalnews.ca/news/9214051/ontario-parents-to-receive-catch-up-payments-for-school-aged-children/. Accessed 31 Oct 2022.
By : Milica Kolovic
Categories: Editorials
