A few weeks ago, my journalism class was treated to a presentation from the STU Writing Centre regarding basic grammar and punctuation.
While answering questions for the class and taking notes, I thought, “These are things we should have learned in middle school.”
My professor asked for the presentation after noticing some students were struggling with these concepts on their assignments.
This isn’t saying the presentation wasn’t informative. It helped to promote what STU’s Writing Centre is about, for those who may need another pair of eyes to assist them.
Also, it’s not suggesting that the Writing Centre isn’t a necessity, as even the best writers edit and proofread extensively. But, some may be unsure about submitting a paper without some revisions.
Could the fact that students in their first year of post-secondary studies don’t understand basic grammar and punctuation say something about New Brunswick’s public education system?
According to Statistics Canada, 53 per cent of high school graduates in New Brunswick in 2012 are functionally illiterate. Students in this category may be able to write functional sentences and decipher street signs, but little else.
This means there are some major problems with New Brunswick’s education system. Some possible suggestions for where those problems lie include too big a focus on adapting to the 21st Century and forgetting what actually works. Or, maybe they’re failed attempts to streamline administration that have resulted in more unnecessary bureaucracy and less classroom resources.
Or could bilingualism have an impact on the province’s education shortfalls? As recently as 2008, New Brunswick students were consistently ranked last in Canada in French as a second language test scores.
Perhaps this means our entire French Immersion program must undergo a complete review, along with New Brunswick’s curriculum and education system as a whole.
A nation like China—with one of the world’s fastest growing economies—pays New Brunswick to use its curriculum in their English second language schools. Asian and European countries evidently hold learning to a higher value than their North American counterparts, but if China’s use of New Brunswick’s curriculum has been met with success, why hasn’t this province seen similar results?
In many parts of Europe, standardized testing plays a minimal role in learning until students reach adolescence, and nations such as Finland have some of the world’s best public school systems. If New Brunswick considered eliminating standardized tests, it would be a step in the right direction.
Education is a crucial piece of the future economic puzzle, but how can New Brunswick students play a role in the province’s future when they can barely read road signs and write functional sentences?
