Question 3 – Zone 2 Response
Contents
The Question in brief
Response from:
– Waleed Qirbi
The Question in Brief
This question comes from Charlotte Dwyer and Ny Holmes, two Grade 11 Ottawa secondary school students who recently organized Nepean High School’s successful walkout against Ford’s changes to the curriculum.
Their Question
What steps are you going to take to ensure that students feel they are heard in regards to their involvement in THEIR curriculum?
Waleed Qirbi
I am a believer in the active involvement of students with their curriculum. In terms of having students feeling that they are involved, I feel that by allowing teachers the ability to actively provide courses with opportunities for creativity, and the ability to work independently, the students will benefit greatly. A more modern approach to education, rather than a stringent, traditional approach, has been proven to result in greater student interest and involvement.
I will propose that by establishing an “open learning model” Program with at least three schools in the School Board, we could “pilot” this model, and test the results of the open learning model with a random group of students starting in Grade 5. Through a scientific review of the results after 3 years, we could compare results with other students not in the program, and confirm the model with real data. The key is to determine what will lead to better results for our Children and their future.