International Day of Education
Leading up to Inclusive Education Month
January 24, 2025 is the International Day of Education, and February is Inclusive Education Month in Canada. As usual, I’ve had a lot to say about education and inclusion this past year.
Most recently, I wrote about a news story reporting that Manitoba Education is “lowering” its standards for new teachers. Certain credits will no longer be mandatory for teachers to graduate with a B.Ed. in MB, a province which has consistently scored the worst in math and reading on standardized tests in Canada.
Manitoba Education is reducing the credit requirements for new teachers graduating from Bachelor of Education programs… but does that really matter?
Manitoba Education Lowering Its Standards
What is it they don’t want us to see and discuss?
However, uproar over whether a teacher has taken x number of credit hours in math tend to serve as a distraction from greater, underlying issues across our public education system.
“Look Over There!”: The Politics of Distraction
Ban bigots, not books
Then, of course, there was the resurgence of local and national bigots last Spring. Although, if we think that was bad (and it was), we better hold on to our proverbial hats, because it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse.
Those genuinely concerned about kids will care about the facts, not cherry-pick only the convenient ones. The bigots continue to spread misinformation and outright lies in order to support their anti-2s+LGBTQ (patricianly anti-trans) agenda.
Parental Rights Rhetoric Puts Students At Greater Risk
Frankly: Fuck your “parental rights”
Children are human beings with rights of their own.
By wanting anyone who doesn’t conform to the cis-het ‘norm’ to keep their existence quiet, those in the “parental rights” movement are committing a type of psychological violence against the LGBTQ community.
Bigots are trying to erase the existence of queer people from popular culture, media, and education.
2s+LGBTQ Lives Are More Important Than “Parental Rights”
It’ll be okay, Karen
I have some practical advice for those pearl-clutching, alt-right haters.
What to do if your child reads a book you feel is inappropriate. If you find out your child read something you feel is developmentally inappropriate, something which upset them, or something you find offensive… here are some suggestions for how to (and how not to) respond…
Behaving Badly
Lastly, but (to my mind) most importantly, anyone who has followed my writing for a while will know that I am vehemently anti-behaviourism. Despite the wealth of research which has been accumulating for more than four decades — and despite the fact that the evidence of the harms of behaviourism continues to grow and strengthen — our public education systems remain hopelessly and stubbornly out of date.
Nourishing The Genius of Children
Safeguarding children’s curiosity and love of learning.
As per usual, I want to reiterate that I am approaching this conversation from a systems perspective. When I criticize public education and schools, I am not criticizing the individuals who are doing the best they can…
How Schools Are Actually Indoctrinating Our Children
Parents worried about indoctrination are correct about the overreach of government and politics in their children’s schools. Their energies and concerns are focused on the wrong type…
Positive Behaviour Supports Are Compliance-Based
Student afraid to go to school? Must be a “home issue”.
School avoidance, single-trial learning, behaviourism, and complacency.
I want to share two short anecdotes that, at first glance, may not seem to have much to do with school or, more specifically, school avoidance.
School Avoidance and Aversive Conditioning
Creating a useful student profile for your child’s school
If you went into a school today and looked into a filing cabinet, I wonder how many student plans you would find in there gathering dust. I suspect it would be quite a few.
Why Student Support Plans Rarely Help
Planning to ignore someone in advance does not make it evidence-based or helpful
Ignoring conveys lack of concern for someone’s feelings simply because we do not like their behaviour. This is problematic for many reasons.
Planned ignoring is intentionally disregarding another person’s feelings and experience. It is unkind, invalidating, and harmful to the relationship.
Planned Ignoring is Still Neglect
Behaviourism By Any Other Name is Still Behaviourism
“Positive” approaches need to provide authentic choice rather than simply using a nicer name for the same old thing.
For example, using the “first-then” strategy to gain compliance is using reward and punishment, even if different words are used in their place.…
Behaviourism By Any Other Name is Still Behaviourism
Instead of training future workers, we should be facilitating fun
Adults think children are constantly working to undermine, disrespect, and disobey.
We’ve got teachers, parents, and other adults asking how to stop children from fidgeting, speaking out of turn, getting distracted, or being impulsive — the hallmarks of childhood…
How Capitalism and Behaviourism Go Hand-in-Hand
In a society build on manipulation and competition, it’s no surprise one result is exploitation.
Behaviourism is a theory originally developed by John B. Watson, later made famous by B.F. Skinner. Behaviourists posit that all behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings…
Capitalism and Behaviourism Go Hand-in-Hand
Schools as institutions of control
Towards A Theory of Neurotypical Biopower: Behaviourism as a form of neurotypical biopower over Autistic students.
The principles of behaviourism are ubiquitous throughout society, especially in public education, and in particular with Autistic students. For more than three (probably four) decades, experts in child development have expressed increasing concerns…
Towards A Theory of Neurotypical Biopower
More to come
As you can imagine, I still have plenty more to say about public education. I admit to being very pessimistic about the near future of our education system, given the high likelihood that Pierre Poilievre will be our next Prime Minister (shudder).
If that dreadful scenario should play out, we can expect more education cuts, less (or no) protection of 2s+LGBTQ students, little to no representation of — or support for — marginalized groups in the classroom, and even worse inclusion practices.
If you are Canadian (or communicate with Canadians), please make sure they are aware of the risks to our democracy as a whole, and to our vulnerable citizens in particular. A brief peek at our neighbours to the South will give you a preview of what’s to come for us. While Canada’s baby-fascism will be a diluted form of what we’re seeing in the U.S., it sure as hell won’t be good.
© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB
Related articles
What The Research Says About Homework
French Immersion is Not Just for “Good” Students
“Differentiation Happens in the Classroom”
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"Children are human beings with rights of their own." And I write fiction about them based on that assumption.