It may look like teens are constantly staring at their cell phones, thumbs moving faster than the typewriters at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, but the majority of Ontario students, 72 per cent, say they have no place in the classroom.
The first ever survey of teens by the Ontario Student Trustees' Association also found most students want to be taught about sexuality, view their marks from the provincial tests and for the school day to start later — although only by a slim majority.
"We are trying to give students a tangible voice," said Zane Schwartz, a student lead on the project.
He is most surprised by the vote for information on all sexualities to be taught during sexual education classes.
"Catholic students also want information on sexual orientation," he said. When asked, 82 per cent of students said yes, with the highest majority, 90 per cent, coming from the Toronto Catholic District School Board. He said while most educators in Catholic schools are against this idea, students clearly want it.
The largest majority, 92 per cent, came when students were asked if they should be able to view their marks on provincial tests. Schwartz, who read over 20,000 comments, said students want to view results so they can learn. "I learn a lot from seeing what I've done wrong on tests," said a student in Peel District School Board. "Why make them [students] write a test and not tell them what they did wrong?"
Schwartz said this is a good example of the survey as a whole. "Clearly there is somewhat of a disconnect between what happens in classes and what students want."
A razor thin majority of just over 50 per cent said they would benefit academically from the school day starting at 10 a.m. or later and a slim majority of 54 per cent said physical education should not be mandatory in high school. Despite studies on the increasing number of overweight teens in Canada, Schwartz said many students don't want mandatory physical eduction due to course availability. If students have to take these classes, they may not be able to take other classes required for certain university programs.
While it is up to the school boards to make the changes, Schwartz said the majority of trustees are presenting the results to their boards in upcoming weeks. But he said "teachers can make some small changes right away."
The Ontario Student Survey was conducted primarily on Facebook over the past few months, with 2,656 students from 69 of the 72 school boards responding to the questions.
(AFP photo)
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