I noted a smug article in one of our national newspapers this morning.
It trumpeted the good news that Canadians are well-educated. Now education is a topic near and dear to the heart of any parent nowadays. It certainly is for me.
But, I am finding this 'good news' not as exciting as I might. I have some questions about it, and I thought, based on the international membership here, that there could be some light shed on it.
1) Just how good is a 'basic' education elsewhere, compared to here? I have seen our system get considerably diluted over the years. A high-school diploma is no real guarantee of any level of literacy, nor of any level of critical thinking. Here in Ontario, passing a 'literacy test' has been imposed only last year as a criteria for that diploma, and that test is not a particularly high hurdle. My learning disabled child managed to pass it with ease.
2) What exactly does a college education mean elsewhere? It doesn't mean a whole lot in some cases here.
3) What drives these numbers anyway? In Canada, an economic recession at the beginning of the '90's kept a lot of students in school, merely because there were no jobs to be had at all. I am not sure it could be said that the courses taken were the types to make for a 'good education' as opposed to putting in time until the job market rebounded.
I am sure there are more questions about the data that I have yet to consider.
Do the Lurkers have any thoughts to add or light to shed here?
These were the base statistics offered:
Education standings
Canada has the most educated population of all the member-countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to statistics in 2000.
College or
Rank Country university
1. Canada 41%
2. United States 37
3. Ireland 36
4. Japan 34
5. Finland 32
5. Sweden 32
7. Australia 29
7. New Zealand 29
7. Norway 29
10. Belgium 27
Edit: the full article can be found here....
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/Article...CN/National/Idx
It trumpeted the good news that Canadians are well-educated. Now education is a topic near and dear to the heart of any parent nowadays. It certainly is for me.
But, I am finding this 'good news' not as exciting as I might. I have some questions about it, and I thought, based on the international membership here, that there could be some light shed on it.
1) Just how good is a 'basic' education elsewhere, compared to here? I have seen our system get considerably diluted over the years. A high-school diploma is no real guarantee of any level of literacy, nor of any level of critical thinking. Here in Ontario, passing a 'literacy test' has been imposed only last year as a criteria for that diploma, and that test is not a particularly high hurdle. My learning disabled child managed to pass it with ease.
2) What exactly does a college education mean elsewhere? It doesn't mean a whole lot in some cases here.
3) What drives these numbers anyway? In Canada, an economic recession at the beginning of the '90's kept a lot of students in school, merely because there were no jobs to be had at all. I am not sure it could be said that the courses taken were the types to make for a 'good education' as opposed to putting in time until the job market rebounded.
I am sure there are more questions about the data that I have yet to consider.
Do the Lurkers have any thoughts to add or light to shed here?
These were the base statistics offered:
Education standings
Canada has the most educated population of all the member-countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to statistics in 2000.
College or
Rank Country university
1. Canada 41%
2. United States 37
3. Ireland 36
4. Japan 34
5. Finland 32
5. Sweden 32
7. Australia 29
7. New Zealand 29
7. Norway 29
10. Belgium 27
Edit: the full article can be found here....
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/Article...CN/National/Idx
And you may call it righteousness
When civility survives,
But I've had dinner with the Devil and
I know nice from right.
From Dinner with the Devil, by Big Rude Jake
When civility survives,
But I've had dinner with the Devil and
I know nice from right.
From Dinner with the Devil, by Big Rude Jake