Kincardine student urges Ontario education minister to listen to what students want

To the Editor:

The following letter to Ontario education minister Lisa Thompson, was written by Kate Thompson, a Grade 5 student at Ecole Elgin Market Public School in Kincardine:

March 22, 2019
 
Dear Minister Thompson, 
 
My name is Kate Thompson. I live in Kincardine and I go to school at Ecole Elgin Market Public School. I think education is very important. Without education people wouldn’t have jobs, so they wouldn’t be able to pay for food for their families.

I believe everyone should be able to raise a good, healthy and educated family. Nobody can do that if the government won’t support education. The schools need money from the government to be able to teach kids properly.

My class used to have 19 students. I think that is a good number of kids for one class. Kids can get one-on-one attention with their teacher, it won’t be crowded or cramped for hook space, and it won’t be too noisy so kids will be able to concentrate better and focus on their work.

But then our class got seven more kids. I think our class has too many students now. Our teacher is too busy because there are more students. That means it takes longer for her to mark assignments and we can’t get very much one-on-one attention with her. So that’s harder for the kids who need more help on an assignment.

Our class is also very loud. Less people can focus on their work and people get distracted more easily. People cannot learn if the classroom is too loud so they cannot concentrate properly. The entire point of a school is to teach students. 

I think the government should not cut budgets for education. Education is one of the most important services. It should be getting a lot of money and donations. Not much less money and more kids in one class.

I also think that the classes should stay small and the government should not move up the average number of students. Kids would only have a harder time learning, and as the minister of education, you should want what is best for the students. So I think you take into account what the students want as well.

Sincerely,
Kate Thompson
Kincardine