The sixties saw educators applauding the open concept classroom
In the seventies, phonics was replaced with the whole language or ‘look-say’ reading concept.
At roughly the same time, an educational innovation took root in the U.S. and soon made its way to Canada. Hailed as the solution tot accelerating drop-out rates and modern approach to global education, Continuous Progress Instruction (CP), became the hot new buzzword in educational circles.
Viable alternative
CPI is based on the ideas of American educator L.J. Trump. It was set up as a “viable alternative to conventional secondary school organizational patterns.” Though it was initially deployed across Canada, this experimental program disappeared from all but a handful of secondary schools. At present, only Bishop Carroll in Calgary, Ecole Georges-Vanier in Montreal and Ecole Secondaire Cochrane High School in Ontario carry on with the program.
But more recently, CPI re-appeared at Westmount Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario.
Known as “Westmount 1990,” the program is modeled after a CPI program in Calgary and another in Lethbridge. Classroom instruction is the exception rather than the rule. In the program’s ideal state, students check in to school day’s work and touch base with course teachers when they need assistance. Occasionally, small group sessions are held but, for the most part, students are expected to follow a curriculum contained in learning guides, on the road to becoming self-reliant learners.
Based on the philosophy that “no two learners approach a learning task in quite the same way,” CPI seeks to avoid grouping students according to ability, allows a student to pursue a particular subject to the depth he or she wishes, and acknowledges that objectives are not essential for all students. The program relies heavily on Teacher Advisers to guide, but not teach students.
Unstructured
To a degree, the Westmount program reproduces a university environment. The unstructured nature of the program permits students to attend group sessions if they wish and work all day on assignments only, if necessary.
Missing, however, are the structured lectures and tutorials that form the heart of any campus instruction.
Westmount students write tests or exams when they feel prepared. Frequently, senior students administer tests for junior grades. To prevent cheating, five different tests are routinely prepared in any given subject. Unfortunately, allegations that seniors are giving or selling tests to younger students make the current system less than ideal.
Students complain of spending thirty minutes tracking down a teacher for assistance, then lining up for only a minute or so of that teacher’s time.
Grade nines, in particular, miss the classroom instruction. Many realize they lack the self-discipline necessary to teach themselves while those at the grade twelve and Ontario Academic Credit level are scrambling to complete their credits as the school year-end approaches. The majority of Westmount students will not finish one or more required credits. Some fear they will not graduate on time, and view themselves as guinea pigs in a failed experiment.
Since partial implementation began in 1989, enrolment has dropped sharply from a pre-program high of 1050 to a projected low of 775 for this September. Enrolments at neighbouring Sir Allan McNab and Hill Park secondary schools have risen as frustrated Westmount students opt out of the ’90 program. September will see enrolments of about 1,280 at McNab and 1,160 at Hill Park.
Parent frustration
Parents too, have voiced their frustration and anger. In a public forum held at Westmount school on May 28, over 200 parents turned out to protest the continuation of the CPI program. Angry parents charged that they, and not the school, had become the teachers and tutors at home, despite principal Andrea Robertson’s claim that her staff was now teaching more than ever.
Rather than keep to an open forum, as advertised, school administrators had made preparations to split the crowd into small discussion groups. Each group was to adjourn to a classroom where teachers, Board and Ministry of Education officials would act as facilitators and respond to concerns.
However, the principal had miscalculated and angry parents became irate. One man yelled, “What is this, divide and conquer?” Most parents and students stayed in their seats, refusing to leave the auditorium. During the next two hours, parents outlined their concerns, requested statistical proof on program viability, and demanded that someone pull the plug on Westmount ’90 . Students, too, came forward to tell stories of lost credits, threats of suspension for lagging behind in certain courses, and overloaded teachers.
The day after Westmount’s public meeting, a local open line radio show let the community air its beefs on the program. A few Westmount students phoned in with negative comments and were summarily suspended by Principal Robertson later that day. The students responded with a mass walkout the following day. By 9:15 a.m., May 30, over 70 students had joined the protest. Their numbers increased as the day progressed.
Ignore parents
Area school trustees met several days later to discuss the Westmount situation. According to one source, most of the trustees in that meeting chose to ignore the concerns of parents and students, preferring to believe the assurances of board administrators that the program was working.
Assurances aside, the anger of both parents and students is real, justifiable and building steadily. The community has given Westmount ’90 a try and doesn’t find it a common-sense approach to education. While rumours abound that the same program will make its way into other Hamilton schools, it is clear that the Ministry of Education is committed to CPI-type learning. It has already contributed roughly $100,000 to Westmount ’90 for start-up costs, with the local board adding in double that amount.
Westmount ’90 is costing the taxpayers of Hamilton. Its cost can be measured in dollars, but who can measure the cost to those students whose education and future are on the line?
