And yet again there are other considerations. Most teachers ARE teachers because they were able to 'pss' the exams and move on into post-secondary institutions to receive the paper qualifications needed to teach. We have produced countless teachers who teach subjects. Really, we need teachers who teach kids.

Howard Gardener's excellent research into multiple intelligences is a case in point. Not all kids learn the same way. We give lip service to believing that, but the truth is that not many schools have the economic 'oomph' to support it. In Alberta, special needs kids are sorely under-funded, and not too many school divisions actually fund gifted and talented programs because the cost is not supported by government--despite the requirement being part of the Education Act in this province. We have known for decades that the optimum learing ratio is 17 to 1. However, that takes money, so the bullshit flies about 'do more with less' until eventually teachers/schools are trying to everything with nothing. Until such time we put bucks where the research proves it should go, we will none of us have the education systems that would produce students who have been challenged to their fullest potentials. And society will pay as a result of that. Indeed, it is becoming a national disgrace.