I think most people in society have a love-hate relationship with the government. We don't necessarily like the decisions they make, but we certainly could not live without them.
This holds true when discussing the governance of education. There certainly is a hierachy. The federal government really only plays the role of funding. It is the provincial government that is the top of tree. They are responsible for the programming.
Note: Did you know that The Education/Public Schools Act overrides any other legislation??
I definitely was not aware that it had so much power!
Next we have the school board, which is a fancy group of individuals elected by the community. Among these members, is the superintendent. This person acts almost as the mediator between the school and the division.
As a teacher, knowing the political side of things is essential to understanding who makes the "big" decisions and what my roles as the teacher will be.
As a parent, it is also important to know the role you can make in changing education. You can be on a parent advisory council and be the voice for other parents within the school system.
As a prinicipal, you need to have a much more broad understanding of each element of governance because at some point, you will have members from each area sitting in your office. You will have the teacher....the parent....the superintendant...the board member...and possibly the provincial premier. You act as the middle ground for all of these levels.
:)
One issue I do have......why do elected community members get to make the decisions? Are they just like you and I? Are they more qualified? Especially when it comes to special programs such as speech language and even the music program. How can we be certain that they know the benefit of these programs? What point of view will they take?
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