A PERSON has only to venture up to the second floor of Skeena Middle School to realize one of the challenges of modern education.
There that person will find lines carefully laid down on the floor and set back from the protective railings which overlook the open spaces to the floor below.
Students are not venture beyond those markings either as a further safety measure or, perhaps, in a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood movie prison riot, to take away the temptation of throwing objects below.
Either way, school is back in for another year of the serious business of shaping young minds and preparing students for their adult lives.
This year is, however, different as witnessed by what was to be a first day of school Sept. 6, instead taken up by time spent by teachers absorbing the new curriculum.
Being eliminated to a large extent is learning by rote, replaced by learning by embracing a specific project so that, it’s hoped, students will acquire all that they need along the way.
There’s a case to be made that innovative teachers have been doing this all along by adapting to strengths and weaknesses of students.
And there’s also a case to be made that no matter how something is taught, 2 plus 2 can only equal four.
Still, if the new curriculum gives students the knowledge they need, it will be worth it.