More choice would help clean up Ontario school mess
With a new school year approaching, it’s time to remind everyone that Ontario’s public school system is a gigantic mess. Ontarians may not actually want or need such a reminder but the government and unions are determined to deliver it anyway. Their negotiations for a new contract have stalled before even substantially beginning, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario — which is essentially taxpayer-funded since public-school teachers are forced to pay union dues — is readying a strike mandate and the provincial government is preparing taxpayer-funded advertisements to criticize the unions.
As taxpayer costs mount, the quality of Ontario’s public education, already far too low and sliding for two decadesaccording to test scores, seems bound to deteriorate further. School violence and disorder have escalatedsignificantly in recent years. Many students regularly use artificial intelligence, but more than half of Ontario teachers report receiving no training from their school or board on how to instruct students on AI use.
