Douglas College, and the public
education system as a whole need to
progress to keep with the times. The
days of assembly-line education are
over, and as soon as our educators
realize this the better. Both the way in
which students are taught and the way
that evaluations are performed are
archaic. Individuals are entering post-
secondary educational institutions with
a wider variety of skills and abilities
than ever before. The presence of
mature students and _ international
students attests to this fact: students
need to be taught material in ways that
are suited to their abilities as well as to
their previous knowledge and
experience.

Currently the assembly-line
method of teaching is still
overwhelmingly dominant: formal
classes, rigid traditional teaching
methods and means of evaluation are
still used almost exclusively. Not only
does this inhibit learning for many
individuals, but students are finding
themselves without the necessary
resources with which to enter the
workplace.

Creativity and innovation, the
skills needed in today’s workplaces,
are skills that must be exercised.
Unfortunately these skills are currently
discouraged in our public educational
institutions, in favour of rote
memorization and set curricula.
Formal exams are still the evaluation
method of choice, and self-directed
learning has yet to be implemented to
any worthwhile degree. A post-
secondary program should stimulate

imaginations and empower individuals,

while preparing students for future
challenges. These objectives are not
currently being met very effectively.

Hopefully soon we will see some
real changes both in the material
being taught and in the methods used
to teach it. If not, we can expect to see
the growing number of privately
owned colleges offering the most
viable alternative for education and
career training. Students need to
demand some real change before this
happens, lest we see the better
schools become the domain of the
haves and the inferior public schools
that of the have-nots.

March 5, 199

 

 

March 5, 1996
Volume 20 Issue 11

The Other Press is Douglas College’ ¢ autonomous student
newspaper. We've been publishing since 1976.

Being autonomous means neither the Douglas College
Students’ Society nor the College administration can tell
the Other Press what to print. Only you, the students, can
decide what goes in the paper - by helping out. It means
that if someone doesn't like us, they can't shut our voice
down for telling the truth or half-truths, or outright lies. But,
we would never lie - our cesspool of lawyers keep us from
saying anything libelous.

     
  

ember -of the Canadian University!
of student newspapers from across

 
  
  
     
   
  

BM or 3. 5° Mac format.
riter’s name and phone
e OP will publish letters
aren't published, but we
nly you can answer. And*
If there is more than one

Charlotte Holst, Idella Stur
Martha Roberts, Maureen J.
Zanatta.

Accounting - Marion Drako
Production Resource - Darin C coy 4
Editorial Resource - Trent Ernst

Editorial Resource Assistants

Neila Dandy
Boyd Pearson