Hard Work -- Still A Core Value in the Education of Youth

            The global Organization for Economic and Cultural Development (OECD) this week released the latest results of its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – a triennial survey of the academic performance of 15- year-olds in the areas of reading, mathematics and science. The PISA rankings have become a closely watched indicator of how successful the educational policies and practices of a particular nation are. Politicians and business leaders ascribe considerable weight to the PISA results.

            Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s deputy director for education and skills, was interviewed by the Globe and Mail and asked certain questions about what the PISA results reveal. Here are a couple of things worth noting.

1)        Schleicher stated that students in high-performing countries consistently say that achievement is primarily a product of hard work. For a small, independent school like PCA, this is affirming. We may not be able to compete with the mega dollars spent by the public system on facilities and resources, yet, hard work is a core value in our overall programming.  

            CNN reported on students from China, the nation that led the world in performance in mathematics: "In China and Shanghai, you have nine out of ten students telling you, 'It depends on me. If I invest the effort, my teachers are going to help me to be successful'." The same can be said by all of our PCA students. Those who are unwilling to apply themselves cannot expect to score well at PCA. While we give each student every opportunity to succeed, the highest success comes through hard work.

2)        Another observation that Schleicher makes is that it is the quality of teaching, not class size, which most strongly affects student performance.  While we have relatively small classes at PCA, we are more concerned with staffing those classes with the most qualified, energetic and committed teachers. We are thankful to God for the professional and spiritual depth of our current instructional team.

            Schleicher, in his comments, said that the best-performing countries may have high student-teacher ratios but they are careful to adequately pay teachers, ensuring that they attract the highest calibre educators. This is a critical question for PCA.  Three years ago I sat with a young innovative teacher who shared with me that, as a young parent, it was becoming increasingly difficult to bear the cost of teaching for a less than livable wage. We must find ways to increase revenues. To do this, we have to broaden our donor base while increasing our student population.

            This is an immense tension – maintaining academic excellence while keeping our tuition rates reachable for the average family.  For this reason we have come to our stakeholders for two years in a row now with our Firm Foundation appeal.  

            Give us the ability to position high-calibre teachers in our classrooms and we will continue to ensure that PCA student achievement rivals national and international norms.