Earl Krushelnicki, the man behind Blues Underground, brings live bands to the city for concerts and dances, and also has 40 years of teaching experience He is running for a trustee position on the school board in Saturday's municipal election.
"I want to change the whole thing," said Krushelnicki, when asked what his top priority if elected. "The elements of change are all in the current system. Teachers have the ability to provide the instruction in a way that best suits the kids and the teacher. They have that creative and professional flexibility."
He said the best way to implement the 21st century learning initiatives proposed by the education ministry is to be less rigid with students.
"The government has prescribed learning outcomes for each grade and one year builds on the other and for a kid that can go through those steps, everything is great, but if a kid learns a bit differently or learns one thing slower than the other thing, at the end of the school year you're still passed into the next grade," Krushelnicki said.
"A lot of the frustration for teachers and the education system are because of a system that was set up 60 or 70 years ago. The world has changed, it's so complex and we have to prepare the kids to make judgments on the spur of the moment and teach them entrepreneurship."
Krushelnicki has an extensive background working with special needs students. He began his teaching career in elementary schools, which led to a position at the College of New Caledonia with the Techniques for Access, Reaching Goals, and Employment Training (TARGET) program, which helps students with developmental disabilities learn work-related skills. He also taught CNC's Job Education Training (JET) program, a more advanced job skills course that places students into entry-level work positions.
His background at CNC has given Krushelnicki a better understanding of what District 57 teachers are now going through with special needs students fully integrated in the mainstream system. Classroom composition is one of the hot-button issues in the ongoing teachers' dispute with the province and he would welcome the chance to share his insights on the topic to help improve classroom situations.
"Even though other people perceive them as being special, either because of a learning disability or developmental disability, those kids don't see themselves as any different than anybody else, and it took me a long time to learn that," said Krushelnicki. "The system, because of the funding model, sees them as being different, and they do present a lot of challenges in the classroom. We have the Individual Education Plan [IEP] for those kids and sometimes it's difficult for the teacher when you have a lot of kids with IEPs in your classroom.
"I know teachers revisit IEPs all the time to talk about what the next goal is going to be, and that's time-consuming. These IEPs only have to be reviewed once a year, but kids progress differently. So it depends a lot on the skill-level of that individual teacher and the flexibility, and they sure have to be creative to manage 25 kids in that classroom. Its a very challenging issue for teachers."
Krushelnicki hosts a two-hour blues radio program Saturday afternoons on CFIS 93.3 FM. Proceeds from his Blues Underground concerts are donated to the school district to fund high school programs to fix band instruments and buy sheet music. The organization also paid for a guitar instructor for an after-school program at Duchess Park, which rewarded students for their attendance by giving them reconditioned guitars.
"Some of those kids are in bands now," he said. "Giving kids the gift of music, what more could you ask for? Fine arts, drama, dance, those are things that stay with you all your life."
