... Especially IB World schools. This is because many private schools share similar characteristics with universities. The most obvious example is the rigorous academic environment at IB private schools. Many first-year students entering university from the public education system are overwhelmed by the increased workload and thus witness a drastic grade drop; Maclean's has a fantastic article about this phenomenon. In addition to being unprepared for a university workload, public school students often receive inflated averages at high school which provides an unrealistic assessment of their skill to their detriment. University professors mark much more strictly because they are holding their students to a much higher standard; as evidenced by a real life scenario, in which a grade 12 public high school teacher gave an A+ letter grade to an English essay and an English professor evaluating the same paper assigned a B- letter grade instead. This disparity in grading systems makes the transition from grade 12 to first year much more difficult for students and demonstrates a severe lack of preparation.

Alarmingly, in addition to unrealistic grade assignments in public high schools, Ontario university professors in the sciences are reporting massive knowledge inconsistencies amongst their incoming first-year students. That is to say, in first-year science classes there is a huge diversity in background knowledge of core concepts with many students being insufficiently prepared for undergraduate chemistry and physics courses (which is reflected in their grades).

This is because Ontario has a huge spectrum of high school types and localized learning is leaving students unprepared for, and unaware of, university expectations. That is why I cannot stress how important IB private schools are for offering an international standardized education. This is the greatest solution for preparing students for university, by equipping them with all of the necessary tools to survive first-year courses. Private school students perform better on standardized tests than public school students, and by receiving a rigorous and advanced education they are less likely to experience a grade drop or learning gap when they enter university.

To all my readers, I hope you have a fantastic long weekend! And please let me know, what was your experience like making the switch from high school to university?


Private schools reduce the need for afterschool private tutoring. The ultimate benefits of this are a reduced education cost (depending on the external private tutoring company) and the elimination of a disjointed education experience (a tutor often complicates a child's learning experience because there is no coordination between school teacher and tutor).

In Canada, supplemental private tutoring is growing exponentially. Many parents are sending their children to afterschool tutoring sessions because the large classroom setting in public schools is overlooking struggling students. Private tutors also individualize students through their one-on-one tutelage. Many critics are pointing out this flaw in Ontario's public education system that is resulting in swarms of families having to supplement their child's education on their own time with their own money.

But instead of paying for a private tutor, why not just enrol your child in a private school instead? The guaranteed small classes eliminate the need for hiring a private tutor because no child is overlooked and the teacher has more time to mentor each student. Private schools also eliminate the disjointed learning experience that an independent tutor engenders, because a child will be receiving sufficient attention and education from one reliable source. Especially at an IB World school like St. Jude's Academy, you also know the exact qualifications of your child's mentor; whereas at independent tutoring companies you often do not know the education background of your child's assigned private tutor.

Also thank you for the almost 3,000 G+ views! If you haven't checked out my Google Plus profile yet, you can click here.




Bullying. It has become so commonplace in our society that it feels like an inescapable reality of school life. It is a parent's greatest fear, and too often it can feel like you are helplessly stuck on the sidelines, only able to hope that it does not happen to your child. Bullying is not okay: it is harmful and corrodes the purpose of school, which is to get an education. There does not seem to be a concrete solution for public schools to deal with this alarming issue. Often bullies only get a "talking to" and are rarely suspended, which only cultivates the fear that makes victims reluctant to ask for help from their teachers.

I do not profess to know a permanent solution to this troubling issue, but I do know one thing: Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics show that bullying is less prevalent in private schools than in public schools. A 2015 HILDA survey revealed that twice as many parents of public school students reported their children had been bullied compared to private school parents. Of course there are many different degrees of bullying, so that one definition does not fit all, but it is logical to assume that in at least some capacity, private schools do offer a solution to the problem.

The first way private schools are contributing to a workable solution is choice: if your child is being bullied at a public school and the school administration is unable to offer an acceptable solution, the existence of private schools allows you to enrol your child at a different school and thus escape the bullying.

But once at private school, how can you feel rest assured that your child will remain safe? One answer is small class sizes. Because private schools guarantee small classes, the teachers will be able to supervise students more effectively, and any whiff of bullying will not go undetected like it often does in public schools. Greater and more effective teacher supervision has been proven to be a strong deterrent against bullying, nipping the problem right in the bud.

Another reason why private schools have less bullying—and if they do, are more effective at dealing with it—is the nature of the school administration. Because private schools are independent, they possess more freedom and authority to deal with the perpetrators instead of having to adhere to a lot of bureaucratic red tape. If a case of bullying is proven to exist and has occurred on more than one occasion despite formal warnings, private schools have the ability to expel problem students; they don't expect the victims to solve their own problems by switching schools. Private schools have zero tolerance for bullying, because they have a greater responsibility to students' families (who are paying for their school experience after all).

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that one day public administrations can come up with a permanent solution for dealing with school bullying.


Beginning in 2005, Ontario's provincial policy mandates that all students from Grades 1 to 8 must receive at least 20 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every school day during instructional time; this is known as the Daily Physical Activity. The DPA is part of the government's "Healthy Schools Plan" and can range from students doing jumping jacks beside their desks to going for a walk, or playing physically active games in the classroom.
 
On average, regular PE or gym class only occurs twice a week for students under grade 9. In Ontario public high schools, gym class becomes an elective after grade 9 which has resulted in a sharp decline in student gym participation. While the provincial government's DPA initiative recognizes the importance of youth exercise and attempts to institutionalize regular fitness, the program falls short of actually meeting students' physical health needs, and it does not apply to high school students. That is why physical education needs a major facelift in Ontario.
 
In 2013, the National Academy of Medicine published a report stating students should be doing at least 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity at school, with more than half of the activity occurring during regular educational hours. In America, there is a movement to get the Department of Education to actually designate physical education as a core subject like math and reading, which reflects the level of importance fitness shares in a child's cognitive development.
 
All in all, this means that 20 minutes of classroom physical activity a day, infrequent gym classes, and optional team participation is not doing enough for students' health. There is a predominate culture of viewing gym class as merely "play time" interrupting regular lessons, and students in public schools are not required to join a team sport. However, more and more research is illustrating how important physical education at school is for a student's mental development and physical health (and that's without going into the added mental benefits of fitness, like reduced stress).
 
This is why lower school students at St. Jude's Academy take PE every day. In addition to regular gym class, each student participates in field days and is encouraged to take athleticism beyond the school. In grades 5-8, St. Jude’s delves deeply into the athletics with skiing, curling, rock climbing and tennis. Instead of going skiing or curling once a year, our students go multiple times in order to become proficient in these areas. St. Jude’s is a member of the Small School Athletic Federation (SSAF). With the SSAF, the school participates in competitive team sports: soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track.

Sources: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/05/23/physical-education-schools/2351763/


Last time I talked about the gender imbalance in STEM classes, programs and careers (in regards to female representation and unequal pay). Now I want to attempt to answer two big questions: why does this matter and what can be done to equalize the trend?

Mostly it relates to the general gender wage gap issue in North America. On average, in the workplace women make 77% of what their male coworkers make despite occupying similar positions and possessing a similar credentials. Getting more women into STEM could reduce the gender wage gap. Not only are there currently more jobs in STEM than in any other industry, but most of these high-tech jobs are high-paying, and STEM is the fastest growing industry today. Attaining STEM gender equality would be a major step towards achieving gender pay equity at large. Think about just a few the amazing scientific advancements and discoveries that we can't imagine living without: the nerve growth factor, the DNA double helix, nuclear fission, the AIDS drug AZT... all of these accomplishments were made by female scientists! And if we continue to limit female students from pursuing STEM programs, imagine all of the other scientific advancements we could be denying ourselves.

Possible Solutions: Addressing stereotypes early on and preventing their effects from snowballing. With standardized testing proving there is no biological impediment to girls thriving in STEM, that means we need social solutions. In our homes and schools we need to encourage girls to pursue a variety of interests, to introduce them to science as equally as the liberal arts, to encourage them to enter STEM programs if that is what they want. We need to nip harmful gender stereotypes in the bud, and teach girls they are just as capable of being scientists as boys. Lack of confidence is listed as the number one roadblock for girls entering STEM. In my personal experience, private schools greatly help to accomplish this goal because, as part of their inclusive nature, all students are expected to engage in all subject matter and are provided with ample opportunities to explore STEM classes and clubs thanks to the better funding in private schools. The private sector is also an important gateway: we need businesses to value female scientists the same as men, and to create programs supporting their female workers until more women start entering the STEM workforce.

If you're interested in learning more about girls and STEM, I highly recommend this fantastic website: https://ngcproject.org/engaging-girls-stem The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) has a lot of great resources and links to peer-reviewed publications and literature with detailed analyses about this complex sociological issue. In comparison my two posts are only the tip of the iceberg!



My references:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/girls-stem-these-figures-show-why-we-need-more-women-science-tech-engineering-maths-1540590
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamara-hudgins/why-more-girls-in-stem-is-a-win-for-all_b_9379214.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/celia-islam/closing-the-stem-gender-g_b_3779893.html
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Where: Ontario, Canada

Who: A passionate Vice Principal and IB coordinator

Why: I love blogging about education in my spare time!

St. Jude's Academy is an IB School

St. Jude's Academy is an IB School

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