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What a difference First Doug Ford’s $200 check What does this do to me or most Ontarians? Even if this will buy a few bags of groceries, there will be no lasting effects on the well-being of our society.

The Ontario government plans to give $200 each to 15 million Ontarians, which will cost the province $3 billion. Imagine what $3 billion could yield if it were spent carefully by a thoughtful, wise and compassionate government.

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I leave it to others to comment on the health care system and other deserving sectors of society that could benefit from this significant infusion of cash. What concerns me is the education system, as I am a retired special education teacher and we have people with intellectual disabilities in our family.

Recent conversations with parents and teachers leave me saddened by the lack of progress in services for exceptional students in this province. The situation is not getting better, but getting worse. It’s so serious that the Ontario Human Rights Commission has launched the Survey on the right to readwith its report published in February 2022.

In 1988, the former Ottawa School Board had two classes for students with learning difficulties in each elementary school. There was a limit: only eight students per class and these lucky eight had a special education teacher and a teaching assistant.

These courses are long gone. Students with LD, as well as other exceptional individuals – those with autism, behavioral problems, vision and hearing, to name a few – are all in mainstream classes. One way or another, teachers are expected to accommodate all their needs, all these idiosyncrasies, while covering a more complex curriculum. It’s a herculean task.

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If I had the $3 billion to spend, I would spend it on salaries in the education system. First, I would limit class sizes, no more than 20 students. This would mean hiring a lot more teachers, but with only 20 students per class, a teacher could actually give them more individual attention.

These teachers would still need help, so I would hire hundreds, if not thousands, of teaching assistants. EAs are essential to caring for today’s diverse student population. Of course, AE salaries should be significantly increased. Why do we underpay those whose services are so essential to the well-being of our society: caregivers, personal service workers, and daycare workers — ah, but I digress.

There are other professionals that all school boards must hire. Students in difficulty must undergo a psycho-educational assessment, carried out by a school psychologist, in order to draw up an accurate portrait of their abilities. Wait times for students to be seen and evaluated by a school psychologist stretch for years. As a special education teacher, I often played the role of God, juggling the names of the children on that list. The sooner children are assessed, the sooner they should be able to receive the services they need to succeed. Some of the professionals needed to provide these services are speech therapists, occupational therapists, and social workers.

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If the government spent $3 billion to reduce class sizes and hire teachers, special education teachers, educational assistants, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and speech therapists, it would go a long way to ensuring positive long-term outcomes. term. Premier Ford would definitely get his money’s worth.

Children in our province must be well taken care of from the start. If they are educated by competent professionals in small classes and provided with necessary services, they will become confident and capable adults.

Their time in our schools is limited: only 14 years, grades K-12. How we serve them during this short time has the greatest influence on the type of citizens they will become. As Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young advised: Teach your children well.

(Or…how would you spend $3 billion?)

Mary Ellen Kot is an Ottawa writer and former teacher.

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