Larger high school classes prepare teens for the real world and boost their resiliency, Education Minister Lisa Thompson says.“We’re hearing from professors and employers alike that they are lacking coping skills and they are lacking resiliency,” she said Wednesday on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.“By increasing class sizes in high school, we are preparing them for the reality of post-secondary, as well as the world of work.”Thompson’s comment drew the ire of educators, with one calling it “outlandish.”“There is no evidence that larger class sizes increase resiliency,” said Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, adding that as class sizes have shrunk in recent years, student achievement and graduation rates have shot up.The minister, he said, “hedges, obfuscates and spins” to avoid talking about the cuts being made to education, accusing the Ford government of being “willing to sacrifice quality” to save money.Last Friday, Thompson unveiled a number of education reforms, including hiking average class sizes in secondary schools from 22 to 28. Because those are averages, many classes for teens are already well into the 30s, which offsets smaller, specialized classes — and educators worry classes could soon hit 40.Thompson said the bigger classes will be phased in over the next four years, and promised no teacher will be laid off — despite estimates from critics that more than 10,000 positions will be eliminated. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused the Ford government of cutting $1 billion from education, “cramming more students into crowded classrooms” and turning the system into the “Hunger Games.”“I mean, if students are being told they’ve got to make it on their own, they’ve got to fight for (teacher) attention, the government is bringing the Hunger Games into our schools,” ...
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