Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

There are a number of ways to interpret standardized test results recently released for students in Yellowknife and other NWT communities.

Administered to Grade 3, 6 and 9 students each year in an effort to gauge how pupils are doing in the classroom, the results are listed in percentages for English and math. Students in the NWT write the same examinations as those given to students in Alberta.

Using a passing grade of 65 per cent, results are tabulated based on the percentage of students who achieve an acceptable standard.

Overall, it seems that students in Yellowknife are not doing too badly. In Grade 3 English, for instance, 80.4 per cent of Yellowknife students achieved the acceptable standard. Grade 6 English was even higher, with 86.7 per cent of students reaching the acceptable standard. In Grade 9, 84.2 per cent of students achieved the acceptable standard in English.

Math scores were lower, with 79.6 per cent of Grade 3 Yellowknife passing, 68.6 per cent of Grade 6 math students reaching the acceptable standard and, in the lowest recorded score, 53 per cent of Grade 9 math students in Yellowknife reached the standard.

Overall, as a result of looking solely at the percentage of students who achieved the acceptable standard, one might conclude that most students are learning English reasonably well and a majority of students are passing their courses in math, although there is room for improvement among Grade 9 students.

That said, we're more concerned with another statistic that was released along with the achievement test scores.

The percentage of students who were excused from writing the provincial examinations is significantly higher in Yellowknife than in Alberta, and even higher yet in NWT communities.

A document from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment states that school superintendents were given the authority in 2007 to excuse students from writing the tests if they are on an individual education plan or if they are working at two or more grades below their grade level.

The result is that student achievement test results are skewed because students who are already failing are not part of the equation. Therefore, achievement test statistics are not an accurate reflection of where the student body is in terms of academic accomplishment.

There seems to be a correlation between the percentage of students excused from writing provincial achievement tests and the number of those who reached an acceptable level. As mentioned previously, the highest percentage of Yellowknife students reaching the acceptable level was 86.7 per cent in Grade 6 English. But the highest percentage of Yellowknife students excused from writing the exams was also in Grade 6 English, at 20.1 per cent.

Obviously, a person who looks at the percentage of students who achieved an acceptable standard in isolation would not get an accurate reflection of how Grade 6 students in Yellowknife are doing in the classroom.

Further, we suggest Yellowknife educators place a high emphasis on giving extra instruction to those students who have been excused from tests. In our view, developing a strategy so that all students are learning at their proper grade level is more important than celebrating the success of those students who are achieving an acceptable standard, especially a standard that doesn't truly reflect our students' standing.

One of the biggest discussions making the rounds, as we plow through the month of tournament season and hockey, hockey and more hockey in the Kivalliq, is how great an emphasis should be placed on winning at all costs?

Sounds like a simple enough question on the surface, but it's far more complex.

In no other sport - at least that doesn't involve one human being beating another senseless as its main objective - do emotions run as high as in hockey.

In many areas across hockey-crazed Canada, the need for victory is instilled in players at a very young age.

Stacking teams to win tournaments at every level is almost as much a national sport as hockey itself.

It's tough to argue against it when you're talking AAA minor hockey teams, then up through the university ranks to junior A and above.

A case can even be made for it when you're talking an area's top senior men's event, such as the Avataq Cup here in the Kivalliq, and, of course, when preparing for the Arctic Winter Games (AWG).

But the ice gets a lot choppier when you delve into the lower levels of hockey.

Let's be honest. How many communities would want to keep coming back to, say, an eight-team tournament if one team was continuously far superior to the others?

And how long would even hometown fans stay interested, watching their team win game after game by the 7-0 mercy rule, knowing in their hearts the other teams didn't stand a chance?

The rhetoric of why bother playing if you're not there to win loses all meaning when you stack the deck in your favour to the point where only divine intervention could change the outcome.

The game is far more exciting in lower levels when teams are evenly matched in competitive tournaments and players are coached to win, but not at all costs.

Coaching at higher levels of hockey comes with a lot more responsibility than simply putting another check mark in the win column.

That's especially true in areas such as the North, where the AWG represents the pinnacle of competitive hockey.

The problem with preaching accept nothing less than absolute victory is that the message also implies, by its very nature, that anything less than is absolute failure.

And an unchecked fear of failure (the loser tag) can lead young athletes to very dark places.

Team Nunavut's bantam and midget squads picked up numerous major penalties at this year's AWG, including a major hit to the head late in a game already lost and other actions that cast Nunavut hockey in a negative light.

And this is not the first year it's happened.

Such are the actions of players who are driven to win, but have not been taught how to lose.

Competitive hockey was never meant to be a passive sport, but numbers on a scoreboard should not hold the power to define a young athlete's sense of self-worth, nor undermine their love for the game or desire to compete.

Is the notion of competing hard, doing your best, having fun, accepting the outcome with dignity and taking pride in your effort really so disagreeable?

If, as hockey lovers, we can't find it in us to put character ahead of victory, we've already paid the cost.

A high cost indeed!

Numbers are part of math lessons in NWT classrooms, and numbers tell parents and teachers that what's going on in the classrooms isn't good enough.

Close to 65 per cent of students were at or above their grade level in English, while the story was a little better in math, where 69 per cent were equal to or better than grade level.

The figures, released a few weeks ago, were pretty well on par with last year. Smaller communities struggled compared to regional centres and students in senior grades fared worse than their younger counterparts.

As well, aboriginal students are only graduating at a rate of about 44 per cent, according to numbers from a few years ago.

In light of the persistently sluggish statistics, the Department of Education's deputy minister, Dan Daniels, told News/North that there will be greater emphasis on early childhood education and literacy programs.

We've heard those things before, and we understand why those are stated objectives.

Daniels also mentioned poor attendance, a common problem, particularly in the communities. This is undoubtedly a legacy of residential schools, which damaged parenting skills but also turned horrified aboriginal people against a formal learning environment because they were torn away from their mothers and fathers, their culture was degraded, their language was banned, their hair was shaved and many were physically or sexually abused.

That experience was not conducive to building trust, and it's going to take generations to establish a sense of confidence.

Schools have been taking some progressive steps by bringing in community members as classroom assistants and by having teachers from the south go through cultural orientation sessions. This helps them, to a degree, grasp the background of the Dene, Metis or Inuvialuit people, depending on the region. Retaining teachers for several years or more would help matters.

One factor Daniels did not mention is the controversial inclusive schooling policy, which leads to students with failing grades advancing with their peers for social reasons.

While those lagging in academics are not supposed to be recognized as having passed into the next grade level, we all know students who were pushed through the system. They may have come out with a diploma in hand, but they had no chance of being accepted into a university or college program in the south.

They were also ill-prepared to take on even the entry-level jobs they could find in their home communities. This does little good, and surely breeds frustration for the student.

We have stated it before and will make the case again - what the NWT school system needs is to hold tightly to academic standards while adjusting the timeline for a complete education to be accomplished.

If some students need an extra year or two to graduate with adequate comprehension of English, math and other literacy skills, so be it. As well, those students will have been exposed to on-the-land programs, having learned to fish and trap, traditional legends and the significance of plants and animals.

These are the young adults we must aim to produce, and we should not be fixated on doing it in a maximum of 13 years.

Every penny counts, and the $11.1 million the federal government recently invested in the Nunavut Arctic College is certainly not chump change, but it's still far from what's truly needed.

Nunavut Arctic College offers basic adult education in addition to its post-secondary and trades courses, and that is where the federal cash injection is aimed. The adult education courses are often referred to as pre-employment training, as it can often lead to first jobs for its participants. This funding, according to college president Mike Shouldice, will help develop and beef up the curriculum as well as expand online and distance education programs.

The investment is a good and necessary one, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's personal visit to announce it raised the profile of a serious issue - the need for adult Nunavummiut who haven't finished their basic education to have the resources to do so. This ties not only into the economy, but addresses one of the main challenges recently identified with decentralization: a lack of qualified candidates to finish government jobs.

Mining and fisheries are two of Nunavut's biggest industries but government is still the territory's main industry by a long shot. Most jobs, especially at the community level, are in the public sector; while this is the case, decentralization is key to bringing income to Nunavummiut. There's an argument that it's inefficient to try and spread GN employment throughout the territory, but if the jobs are staying in Iqaluit and being filled by qualified southerners, why have government headquartered in the North at all? It could just as easily be based in Ottawa, but that's not what we want.

Nunavummiut need jobs, and need, of course, to be involved in the decision-making and governance of the territory. Obviously, education is essential for this to happen.

Our territory's employment rate for 2011 was close to 55.8 per cent, compared to the NWT's 70.7 per cent and Canada's overall 61.8 per cent. Fifty per cent of 20- to 24-year-old Nunavummiut in 2007-2010 did not have a high school diploma and were not in school. Without question, all available resources and encouragement should be given to them to do so, and it looks like Nunavut Arctic College is dedicated to providing this opportunity. Cultural barriers and the dark cloud of residential schools have historically cast a negative light on schools, but that is gradually changing. Inuit language and cultural courses are being taught across the territory, and there's a big push to increase their prevalence.

Now is the time for adults to go back to school.

Nunavut Arctic College operates on around $30 million a year. This $11.1 million injection - over five years - bolsters the bottom line a bit, but imagine what the college could do with $111 million.

Admittedly, that's just a little less than half of the Department of Education's total budget and definitely a lot of money, but with an investment like that, there could be an adult education centre in every community.

It's an investment that would pay dividends.

Most people would accept that territorial court judges ought to be well-compensated.

The four judges of the NWT territorial court bench currently each make more than $233,000 a year. That's a lot of money, but not everyone makes the effort to go to law school.

Reading through the judges' 38-page submission to the NWT Judicial Remuneration Commission, it's clear that they feel they're worth the money - and then some. The judges are asking for an unprecedented 13.6 per cent pay hike this year, which would add $31,745 to their salaries for a grand total of $265,000.

The largest increase the judges have received since the commission was brought to life in 1997 was a lump sum adjustment on April 1, 2004 of 6.2 per cent, plus a 2.4 per cent increase based on inflation -- about $16,000, for a total of $198,979.85.

Their arguments for this latest increase are many: the NWT's crime rate is higher than in other jurisdictions; they must travel long distances to perform circuit court duty in the communities; the cost of living in the NWT is high; and allowable claims in territorial civil court have been raised to $35,000 from $10,000, further increasing their workload.

Most constant is their complaint about how much their salaries have fallen compared to their provincial and territorial counterparts. Their salaries were the highest in the country in 2001 but have since dropped to fifth place. The judges insist their desire to return to the top of the heap isn't "simply based on pride or history." That may be true but we would wager there aren't a whole lot of people asking their bosses for a 13.6 per cent pay hike this year.

The judges argue that the number of cases heard in court rose to 14,292 last year from 6,611 in 2001. The crime rate in the NWT is rising - up six per cent in 2010 from 2009 - but how much of that is from breach of court conditions brought on by interminable delays?

The judges' submission doesn't make any mention of what they've been doing to speed up the glacial pace of the court proceedings over which they preside.

It sure seems slow, and it is a common complaint.

Yellowknifer followed one case during the previous agreement period involving a father accused of injuring his infant son that took three years to wind its way through the court system. And besides, as GNWT lawyer Glen Rutland pointed out, it's not fair to compare workloads to previous years because a fourth judge was added in 2009 to lessen the burden.

Judges can argue their salaries must not be tied to the government fiscal situation all they want lest it appear that their judicial independence has been compromised. But when ordinary people are being offered pay increases far below inflation rates - such as the 3,700 GNWT workers who may go on strike over an offered 0.25 per cent raise this year - or are not getting any increase at all as tough economic times continue, the judges' insistence for an independent consideration of their 13.6 per cent salary demand doesn't seem just -- just greedy.

At the Feb. 25 hearing, commissioner Dave McPherson asked the judges' lawyer, Glenn Tait, whether he thought there might be a "public perception" problem by asking for a 13.6 per cent increase, given many people were "taking a cut."

"Nobody in this territory is taking a cut," Tait replied, seemingly ignoring the NWT's falling employment rate that dropped for the fourth straight month to 68.5 per cent in January.

From our perspective, it seems the judges' benches are getting a little too high to clearly see the little people on the ground.

For me, the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference is one of the highlights of the school year in the Deh Cho.

It's hard not to be supportive of an event that provides primarily high school students with opportunities that they are in need of. In fact, the region could benefit from having more events of this sort.

There are two primary benefits to the conference. The first is that it gives students an opportunity to try activities they might otherwise not experience. In some cases students are able to build on skills they already have.

Let's be honest. Although teachers and other staff in Deh Cho schools are innovative and do their best, there are geographical factors that limit the number of activities students in the region can participate in. It's hard for a student in Trout Lake or Nahanni Butte to have the same opportunities as a student of the same age in Yellowknife or Edmonton.

The conference briefly removes some of those barriers by bringing together instructors with a range of expertise. Students were able to try their hands at self-defence, silver jewelry making, advanced cross country skiing as well as a variety of other things that are likely not readily available in their home communities.

With eight sessions over two-and-a-half days, students can only get a taste of any one of the topics, but it could be enough to pique their interest and drive them to find ways to continue doing that activity or learn more about that topic.

The conference is also beneficial because it allows students from across the Deh Cho to come together and share experiences. In most Deh Cho communities the peer group for teenagers is small. There simply aren't many people the same age as them.

Events like this one, however, allow everyone in that age group from the region to come together. It's readily apparent that the teens enjoy this opportunity because they quickly leave the group they came with and intermingle with youths from the other communities.

The Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference is a great asset to the region and its high school students. Thomas Simpson School staff should be thanked for organizing the event.

Similar events should be encouraged so youths have every possible opportunity to broaden their horizons.

The month of March is Fraud Prevention Month, spearheaded by the RCMP to raise awareness about a very present threat.

Fraud pops up on our caller ID, in our e-mail inboxes, sometimes it's even at our door. Recently, it's also surfacing on the news, with Elections Canada investigating voters in an Ontario riding who were called and told to go to polls that didn't exist in last year's federal election.

According to the RCMP, fraud-related offences are now thought to be as profitable as drug-related offences, estimated at between $10 and $30 billion annually in Canada – with 80 per cent or more conducted by criminal organizations.

Closer to home, some Inuvik residents have received unsettling phone calls where callers state they are from a service provider and have noticed a virus or security breach on the victim's computer.

Scammers prey on a victim's fear or good will. The elderly are targeted by fraudsters pretending to be grandchildren in need of financial aid. Those who hear that their personal information or computer files are being threatened initially want to do anything in their power to stop this from happening, and the voice on the other end of the line is saying they can help.

However, going to a certain website or giving a caller certain information about your computer is like dusting off the welcome mat and letting a scammer have free rein of your personal and financial information.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the calls about viruses or threats to your computer now account for between 70 and 80 per cent of frauds reported daily, starting back in March 2010. The rise in the complaints relating to the scams mean they are are working and scammers are investing more resources into them.

The majority of fraud can be prevented on the front lines, with the person answering the phone or checking their e-mails and realizing that something doesn't feel right.

Hang up the phone if there is a feeling of doubt, delete the e-mails and report anything suspicious to the police.

Even if it feels rude, it will undoubtedly feel 100 times better than being the victim of a stolen identity, a theft of money, or another scam.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.