Quote Originally Posted by Johnnny5 View Post
I agree with your first point, which is why every effort should be made to get and keep these kids in the classroom [[Even if that means public boarding schools for some). As for being unable to teach those with no interest, on that I have to disagree. There are ways to reach many of these kids, but it does take more effort and a lot more funding. In the end it's far less expensive to educate these kids for 12 years than it is to lock them up for 20 to life!
Your posts on this subject have been spot-on!

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When it comes to disinterest........that tends to come from falling so far behind you don't understand what's being talked about in the classroom.

When that happens you also lose faith in your own ability to graduate, never mind go to college.........and understandably the mindset goes to "What's the point"?

The key to addressing this is getting at learning challenges early on.

Letting a student get to Grade 9 with a Grade 4 reading level is simply not Ok.

Fixing that is about direct classroom investment.

But its also about targeting supplementary help.

The extra help needs to be focused on literacy and math as foundational skills.

It needs to be in-class with educational assistants.

It needs to be in the form of help before and after school.

It needs to in the form of online resources; and tablets that can be loaned out to kids who lack internet access at home.

It needs to be programs run through libraries and community centres; and daycare programs.

It also needs to be a summer school and summer camp programs that are targeted to help kids catch up on those foundational skills.