Plato must be feeling pretty chuffed these days. Even having floated down the River Styx some 2,500 years ago, he can now see so much of his work coming to fruition in public schools throughout the province.
I wonder if he is down there in Hades saying to Aristotle and Epicurus, “Ha, told you so! There is an unperceivable realm filled with perfect forms that are immutable. What else could account for so many ‘Academies’ popping up around B.C.? People are buying into my teachings after all.”
The word “academy” originally came from the Greek, “grove of Akedemos,” where Plato taught. Its meaning has been broadened in general usage to mean “a place of learning,” and related words, “academic,” “academe,” and “academia” all have to do with intellectual pursuit at a higher level.
In B.C., “academy” has come to mean, “Holy smokes, we better jump onto this bandwagon or we’re going to lose all of our students!” Academies are being produced at public schools like Zeus’s offspring. In 2010, there were about 70 sports academies. That number jumped to more than 100 in 2011 and has continued to increase since then.
Districts across the province, including Sea to Sky, are introducing academies on subjects as varied as dance, soccer, mountain biking and hockey.
They have to. School districts see students leaving to attend private schools or academies at other public schools, and the fact is, fewer students mean less money. But what is the cost?
Simply from a social justice perspective, academies should give us pause. In a very real way, these programs are elitist. Not everyone can afford the fees that the schools charge for the programs, and although the School Act ensures that anyone who can’t afford to pay must be allowed to participate, I don’t think that there’s any requirement for the board to pay for the $3,000 mountain bike that’s needed.
Academies can also cause issues for the schools that house them. Sometimes, the schools have to adapt to the academy rather than having the academy fit into the structure of the school.
The villain in this whole piece is, once again, the provincial government. The chronic underfunding of education has created a “protect your own” ethos in schools and districts. Boards of education have to think like corporations, with the bottom line obscuring all decision-making. But for education, the bottom line may not be the place we ought to be focused.
I am having trouble understanding this government’s education philosophy; it really is all Greek to me.
