Walk 4 Justice - Calling for the Trail of Tragedies to end

Today, at Memorial Park, near the Manitoba Legislature, walkers who had come all the way from British Columbia arrived to bring attention to the many Murdered and Missing Women from various parts of Canada.  They brought with them their stories of how they have walked day after day since they began in June.  It is a long walk as they are continuing east with their cause.   They are calling for the trail of tragedies to end.  I joined many others to remember those who are no longer with us.  By bringing attention to this issue, hopefully we can work together to end the senseless tragedies.

The River Heights Farmer's Market - each Friday afternoon during the summer

Friday afternoons from 1-6pm until September 30 at the River Heights Community Centre (Grosvenor & Oak) running through September 30th.

I was at the River Heights Farmer's Market yesterday, as I have been several times this summer picking up fresh vegetable straight from the farm.  There are excellent tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peas and a variety of other vegetables as well as vendors with honey, with fresh breads and more.  Come and check it out.

In the photo above, I am purchasing some Tansy flowers from Stephan Regnier who runs an organic farm just west of Winnipeg.  Because he does not use chemicals to control insect pests, he has to use a variety of other strategies.  One of the strategies is to plant the Tansy flowers near the vegetables.  The Tansy Flowers are a natural, organic insect repellent. The leaves give off a stinky, strongly pungent odor that the bugs just don't like.  Growing Tansy flowers also gives him an additional product the sell - the Tansy flowers themselves.  When they are cut, the odour is quite pleasant - try it for yourselves.

Tonight - Summer Cocktail Fundraiser for Election Readiness

Come and have some fun this evening at our summer cocktail fundraiser.

It is hosted by Christian Monnin and Karine Pelletier

Tonight - Saturday August 6 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm

585 Lyndale Drive in Norwood/St. Boniface

Tickets $40.00 - Cocktails, Great Appetizers and Good Company

All proceeds to benefit Election Readiness for the Manitoba Liberal Party

Come and join us - you can pay at the door.  All are welcome.

We need to pay attention to Science learning in Manitoba

Manitoba students' scores on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Science have been falling along with our students' scores in Reading and Math (see my previous posts).  The testing in science only dates back to 2006.  Nevertheless, when taken together with the Reading and Math scores, it is a considerable concern that our Manitoba students are falling behind internationally and when compared to Ontario. 

While Reading and Math are absolutely essential, science is the future.  It is about how we are positioned to grow the technology and the economy for tomorrow.  It is vitally important that our students are well grounded in science and are doing well in science. 

In response to my posting on math earlier this week one of the replies was from Anil Sedha.  He commented
"A majority of the youth who study math hate it. Not because it's too complex but because the way it's taught. I would hope that a curriculum and process change is brought about that actually engages students and makes it fun to learn.   There was a time in my 10th grade that i could not do well in Algebra and Trigonometry. Then my friend's sister started teaching me as a tutor and within 3 months my math scores upped from 7/125 to 108/125. I remember this because it was a significant change in my life that enabled me to be an engineering student. I solved the same problems and followed the same book but the change in process helped immensely."    We need to listen to what people like Anil are saying and make the changes we need to make math and science fun to learn. 

There are certainly some really excellent science teachers in Manitoba.  One of these Dr. Francis Amara was highlighted on my blog on Dec 21, 2009 for his work at the Inner City Science Centre.  We need more teachers like Dr. Amara, but even more important we need to make sure all those who teach science have the support and the curriculum materials to make it fun to learn.

If you have comments, you can send me an email at jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca or post a comment on my facebook page.

We need a major effort to improve math abilities in our young people in Manitoba

In comparison to Ontario, Manitoba has been losing ground in the performance of our students in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).  The PISA assessment is conducted when students are age 15 in many countries around the world and provides a comparative picture of how we are doing in Manitoba.  Sadly, our Manitoba students performances have been falling.  The graph above shows that Ontario students are continuing to do well, while Manitoba students are losing ground.     There are of course many Manitoba students who continue to do very well.  But this is an average for all of our province, and when our provincial average falls it is not a good sign.  We must do better.

From talking to business people, I also hear that they are finding that some Manitoba students are not as good at math as they need to be.  

The reasons for the decreasing performance of Manitoba students in Math is not certain.  There are many excellent teachers and many excellent school boards.  But, we need to find out why the overall performance of Manitoba students has been decreasing and we need to address the problems and to improve.  It is too important for our young people and for all of us.  A good education is the basis for a healthy province.

I welcome comments and suggestions.  You can send me an email at jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca

It is really important that we improve Manitoba student's reading skills

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores. In the last ten years, there has been a very concerning fall in the international test scores for Manitoba students as can be seen in the graph above.   While Ontario students have continued to score at a high level, the scores for Manitoba students have plummeted.   The precise reason for the lower scores by Manitoba students is uncertain.  But it is a problem, and one we need to address.

Certainly, there are many teachers and many school divisions trying very hard, and many classrooms where children are learning and reading at a high level.  It is important to pinpoint where the shortcomings are and to address these.

Reading is so vitally important to learning that the impact of poor reading skills will be reflected in many different ways in decreased performance and decreased ability.  Manitoba Liberals believe we can and we must improve the reading ability of our young people.  If you have comments or suggestions, please email me at jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca