I have been writing these columns for exactly ten years as
April 25 was the anniversary of my first submission.
During this past week, I took the opportunity to look back at old columns. Perhaps not too surprisingly, the issues important in 2006 are still the issues we are discussing today.
For example, the very first column was about education. At the time, B.C. was ranked very highly in the OECD education measures (third behind Japan and Finland). Our system was strong and our students outperformed their counterparts in the United States, Europe and much of the world.
We had a good education system, but it was starting to unravel with the closing of schools and the imposition of standardized testing.
Ten years later we are still talking about school closures and underfunding. We are no longer one of the best jurisdictions in the world according to the OECD.
Our ranking has dropped to 13th.
But our education system is considered one of the better in the world. It is just in desperate need of some tender loving care. This is not a call for an infusion of tax dollars although more money would certainly help. Rather it is getting back to allowing teachers to do what teachers do so well - teach.
The inherent distrust expressed for the teaching profession is harmful to the system. I have heard too many people say something along the lines of "teachers are paid too much and only work five hours per day for 10 months of the year."
But if you then ask what they think of their children's teacher, it is usually high praise. Teachers do a great job.
We have this strange dichotomy of praising the individual while condemning the group and yet the group is composed of those individuals. Even so, we still have a good educational system if we would just stop tinkering with it.
The same sentiment applies to the post-secondary sector. There seems to be a fascination with collecting numbers for the sake of numbers instead of asking questions about the quality of the education being delivered. And, for that matter, what are the metrics for deciding whether students are getting a quality education? Is it a job?
That would appear to be the opinion of our premier as she bemoaned having to pay for a student to get a degree and then send them back to school to get a diploma so they could get a job. Get kids out of school sooner and earning money seemed to be her message at the recent COFI conference.
Unfortunately for Clark, the numbers don't really support her conclusion.
The average salary of a high school graduate is only two thirds of the average salary of a trades/college graduate and only half of the average salary realized by university graduates.
Further, a person earning a university undergraduate degree will earn $827,000 more on average in their lifetime than a worker with only a high school diploma. Ditto for a registered apprenticeship where the lifetime earnings are $524,000 more than a high school diploma. A university education or trades training pays for itself.
But in terms of a tax-base for government the more university graduates we have, the better.
I have also written a number of columns about the environment and our political will with regard to addressing pressing issues such as climate change.
I have gone so far as to describe climate change as an existential crisis.
Over the years, I have had a fair amount of push back on the subject.
One colleague asked me if I believed climate change would wipe out the planet Earth. I said "no."
His reply was along the lines of "then why worry about it?"
That led to a rather interesting discussion in which we discussed the fate of the human species relative to the fate of life on this planet. For the record, no one I know thinks climate change will eradicate all forms of life on this planet.
Life will go on.
The question is "in what form?" or "will humanity?" Dinosaurs were the dominant species on the planet for millions of years.
We seemed destined to ensure humanity will not challenge their record.
Yes, life will go on, but will humans and the species around us be part of it?
Do we have an obligation to the generations yet to come?
And for that matter, do we have an obligation to the generations who occupy this planet today?
Should we work towards a civil society in which all are afforded equal opportunity to grow up, get an education, be employed, be paid equal wages for equal work, live a healthy life with clean air and water, and age with dignity and respect?
I think the answer is "yes" and I will keep saying it as I write future columns.
