The Money Rut

By Robert Hurdman

I am a parent of three children, only the oldest of whom is in school. He attends grade one, so we are in the midst of our second year of experience with the public education system here in Calgary. There is one theme that, far beyond any other, stands out to me and that is: Money. The province talks about money, the teachers' union talks about money, the school talks about money and the school council, more than anything else, talks about money.

I first developed a keen interest in education well after I graduated from the public education system. As I developed ideas about parenting, teaching and learning, I felt that I identified with a certain philosophy of education (which readers of Joe Bower's blog will understand). But it wasn't until my first child entered the system that I understood how byzantine and resource-hungry that system is. We've been fortunate to have caring and responsive teachers and principals so far. Besides being asked to make donations to the classroom, we have also been welcomed to participate inside the classroom and on field trips. I have gotten the feeling that, to a certain extent, the educators "get it." They understand, in the way I hoped they would, the importance of exploration over instruction and the value of curiosity over compliance.

But something funny happens when education staff are no longer in contact with children. The focus shifts from the needs of the students to making demands of students and teachers and mandating compliance. And this is where the grasping for more money seems to come up. I attended a school council meeting last week, and they spent a large portion of the meeting bemoaning the lack of funds and the lack of parent involvement in fundraising. They insightfully brought up an important question: What is the purpose of school council? The first answer was to support the administration financially. I said nothing, because the conversation quickly moved on to envisioning the kind of school parents would like: more volunteer opportunities, more interaction with teachers, more communication with the school. I am convinced that the focus on the need for money distracts from this more meaningful conversation.

I am unfamiliar with the workings of school boards outside of Calgary. However, money is a big issue with our school board. Just like the parents on school council who feel unequal to the task of raising and handling large amounts of money, the trustees seem uncomfortable inspiring a culture of stewardship. Two examples that arose during the trustee election (but ultimately didn't affect the outcome) were the long-term lease of "the Palace," as their new admin offices have come to be called, as well as the annual subsidy of a foundation, EducationMatters, that raises only a small fraction of the amount of money it receives from the board. The board, for their part, seems to feel helpless in the face of a lack of stability of funding from the province. The province, relying on resource revenue, feels unable to commit to a dependable funding model.

Parents, unfortunately, are caught in the middle of this bureaucratic tug-of-war. We see the board as unresponsive and possibly wasteful with resources. We see the stress this puts on the administration of
our community schools. We see the province and their unreliability in providing funding and the stress this places on teachers. The last thing we want is for these stresses to affect our children. But we
need to balance this with outside demands that our children absorb a large amount of information and regurgitate it on standardized tests. 

While I am sure that there are parents who believe we should demand more of the government, more of our board, more of our teachers and more of our kids, I worry about the human cost. I don't want schools in one neighborhood to be stronger because they have a greater ability to raise funds. I don't want teachers to burn out within five years of joining the profession, leaving the more detached to continue. I don't want to have to rely on cooperating with parents who have become cynical about having any input into public education, based on years of disappointment. But most of all, I don't want kids who graduate from high school, knowing a little about a lot, but knowing next to nothing about themselves.

It isn't money that allows children to follow their interests, cooperate on projects that they determine and present their outcomes in a way that is meaningful to them. Money is necessary to keep the system running, but focusing solely on money distracts us from some of the more important questions. What kinds of people do we want our students to become? What do our children need, not in twenty years,
but now? What kind of relationships do we want to have between parents, teachers, administrators and politicians? I know what my answers are, now I want to hear what answers other members of the public bring to this important conversation.