Government didn't do their homework in proposing curriculum changes, NDP leader says

Newfoundland and Labrador's NDP leader says the province's decision to back off a plan to make some arts and other junior high school courses optional shows they didn't do the proper consultation in the first place.

"They obviously didn't do their homework, and they didn't think it through," Jim Dinn told CBC News Tuesday.

"It's sad that the department has such little regard for the curriculum, for the teachers and for the students that they bring in these — I would assume — hasty changes."

On Monday, Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell said in a news release the province was backing away from proposed changes to the curricula at 14 schools for the 2025-26 school year.

That decision came following criticism from students and parents.

The changes would have allowed students at those schools to choose some of their classes by partially opting out of social studies and core French, and completely dropping art and music. Talking about the plans, Howell said they need to improve student engagement in schools.

However, Dinn, a former junior high teacher, wants to know how the province decided that giving students the opportunity to opt out of classes like art and music would lead to stronger engagement.

"I think unless they can show us the data, it's a bit misguided," he said.

"If it's about student-based or student-centred learning, then simply giving them a choice in which ones they want to do as modules is a pretty superficial way of addressing that. Because student-centred learning is a lot more than that. It's about teachers having time to work with students and to guide them along the way and to have that interaction, but that does require classes that are significantly smaller," said Dinn.

A spokesperson for Howell said the minister was travelling and not able to do an interview answering questions about the backtrack.

Paul Dinn, the Progressive Conservative education critic, called the plan a knee-jerk reaction to address engagement without forward thinking.

He cited other incidents where the province appeared to act before they finished consultations — like a plan to ban the use of cell phones in schools that was ultimately softened after student criticism, and proposed reconfigurations to Prince of Wales Collegiate that he says consultation had no effect on.

WATCH | Social studies, French, music and art could remain mandatory:

Opposition parties say consultations are a must before major curriculum changes are made

2 days ago

Duration 2:14

It’s back to the drawing board as the province presses pause on plans to revamp the junior high school curriculum. The pilot project was proposed for next year, and would have seen subjects like art and French become optional. Both opposition parties agree: the move would not have benefitted students.

"Why is this being done? We don't know," Dinn said. "Show us the data that supports what you're doing, and what the target is. We don't have that here."

Both Dinn brothers said they hope the province will use the additional consultation time to come up with a plan that truly addresses the concerns students and teachers have — like large class sizes and a lack of resources.

Additionally, Jim Dinn called on the province to address external factors that can lead to a lack of student engagement, such as mental health and poverty.

"I think in many ways government settled for the easy, what they perceived to be the easy fix, and realized that it wasn't so easy," he said.

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