Insights West poll<\/a> two months before Clark\u2019s coding declaration found that though a majority of respondents thought education should be low on the government\u2019s priority list, they also believed that the Liberals had done a poor job handling the file.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Tableau Issues” disabled=”off”]<iframe src=”https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/views\/ImportantIssuesBC\/Dashboard1?:embed=y&:display_count=yess&:showVizHome=no” width=”1205″ height=”450″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” valign=”top”><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code admin_label=”Tableau Education” disabled=”off”]<iframe src=”https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/views\/ChristyClarkEducation\/Dashboard1?:embed=y&:display_count=yes&:showVizHome=no” width=”1205″ height=”300″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” valign=”top”><\/iframe><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
At the time, Patti Bacchus was a Vancouver School Board (VSB) trustee, on the front lines of what was already a tenuous relationship between the board and Minister of Education Mike Bernier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the government came out with its announcement, it was a bit of a surprise to a lot of school boards,\u201d says Bacchus. \u201cWhile everyone supports students having the access to that kind of instruction and experience, a lot of schools \u2014 a lot of teachers \u2014 aren\u2019t really equipped to do that. So we have schools where technology is out of date, where the bandwidth is limited, where students are sharing out-of-date technology. When they did announce funding, I think it worked out to about nine dollars a student or something, a fairly modest sum, at the same time as a new curriculum was being implemented right across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October 2016, about nine months after the coding announcement,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>all nine VSB trustees were fired by Bernier for failing to produce a balanced budget. Bacchus attributes part of this to the government trying to institute coding in less than a year with a limited amount of funds available.<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Patti Bacchus” position=”Vision Vancouver Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/Bacchus2.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” background_color=”#ffffff” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#0c71c3″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a073,551<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Allan Wong” position=”Vision Vancouver Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/AllanWong.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#0c71c3″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a065,342<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Janet Fraser” position=”Green Party Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/JanetFraser.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#7cda24″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes: 59,218<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Joy Alexander” position=”Vision Vancouver Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/JoyAlexander.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#0c71c3″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a068,264<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Mike Lombardi” position=”Vision Vancouver Chair ” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/MikeLombardi.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#0c71c3″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a061,523<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Stacy Robertson” position=”Non-Partisan Association Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/StacyRobertson.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#8300e9″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a058,314<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Fraser Ballantyne” position=”Non-Partisan Association Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/FraserBallantyne-1.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#8300e9″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a065,659<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Penny Noble” position=”Non-Partisan Association Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/PennyNoble.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#8300e9″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a060,964<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_team_member admin_label=”Person” name=”Christopher Richardson” position=”Non-Partisan Association Trustee” image_url=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/ChristopherRichardson.jpg” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”on” border_color=”#8300e9″ border_width=”10px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
Votes:\u00a058,081<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
\u201c(The) Government in B.C., and probably in other provinces, tends to jump on new things without necessarily thinking these things through,\u201d says Bacchus.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few years ago it was a big push on trades \u2026 and a lot of pushing kids toward trades careers. And they\u2019ve kind of moved away from that and now everyone\u2019s excited about coding \u2026 they had a lot of announcements and photo ops, but there wasn\u2019t a lot of substance there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) \u2014 a government-established public school with a focus on trades \u2014 had seen enrolment steadily increase since the early 2000\u2019s. In recent years, enrolment in the school has only marginally increased, with the number of students growing by about 1,500 from 2011 to 2016.<\/p>\n
When Clark unveiled the plan for computer coding in schools in the middle of January, she did it by asserting that all kindergarten to Grade 12 students would \u201chave a chance to learn coding.\u201d She added that she hopes that coding \u201cdoesn\u2019t just become an opportunity for every child to take part in, but to ultimately make it mandatory for every child from kindergarten to Grade 12 to learn about coding and how it works.\u201d This led to another statement, at the #BCTech Summit on March 14, 2016, in which she projected that \u201cevery secondary school boy and girl will speak code in 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark and the government also pointed to studies to support the new initiative, pointing to both the aforementioned research by the Sectoral Initiatives Program and a survey of just under 10,000 students that was administered between 2013 and 2016. In that questionnaire, B.C. secondary students in their graduating year of public school were asked whether or not they thought school was preparing them for the future. Fewer than a quarter of those surveyed answered in the affirmative, according to an analysis of the government\u2019s open data site. A similar question was asked to parents about their kids, and, while the rate of positive answers was higher than that from the students, it still hovered around 38 per cent.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Tableau Satisfaction” disabled=”off”]<div class=’tableauPlaceholder’ id=’viz1492209790062′ style=’position: relative’><noscript><a href=’#’><img alt=’B.C. Grade 12 students from 2013-2016 were asked: "Do you think your education has prepared you for the workforce?" ‘ src=’https://public.tableau.com/static/images/B_/B_C_EducationSatisfaction/Bar/1_rss.png’ style=’border: none’ \/><\/a><\/noscript><object class=’tableauViz’ style=’display:none;’><param name=’host_url’ value=’https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F’ \/> <param name=’site_root’ value=” \/><param name=’name’ value=’B_C_EducationSatisfaction/Bar’ \/><param name=’tabs’ value=’no’ \/><param name=’toolbar’ value=’yes’ \/><param name=’static_image’ value=’https://public.tableau.com/static/images/B_/B_C_EducationSatisfaction/Bar/1.png’ \/> <param name=’animate_transition’ value=’yes’ \/><param name=’display_static_image’ value=’yes’ \/><param name=’display_spinner’ value=’yes’ \/><param name=’display_overlay’ value=’yes’ \/><param name=’display_count’ value=’yes’ \/><\/object><\/div> <script type=’text\/javascript’> var divElement = document.getElementById(‘viz1492209790062’); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName(‘object’)[0]; vizElement.style.width=’100%’;vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’; var scriptElement = document.createElement(‘script’); scriptElement.src = ‘https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/javascripts\/api\/viz_v1.js’; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); <\/script>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” border_color=”#ffffff”]<\/p>\n
The government says it took the feedback seriously. \u201cThe world is changing and parents expect us to make sure kids get the skills they need to succeed in that changing world,\u201d said the education minister in an emailed statement. \u201cEvery student is going to have the opportunity to experience basic coding by the end of Grade 9 under the new curriculum. This gives young people a head start and helps open up a path to the tech sector through post-secondary education and the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to implement coding had been in the works months before Clark\u2019s announcement. In a letter to school superintendents in November 2015, deputy education minister Dave Byng noted that the government was moving towards introducing coding into schools. But the informal process had started before then. In June 2015, Tim Winklemans, in charge of Custom Programs for the Ministry of Education, was at the forefront of designing a questionnaire to provide guidelines as to what that curriculum would look like.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Document Cloud1″ disabled=”off”]<div class=”DC-embed DC-embed-page” data-version=”1.1″><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <div style=”font-size:10pt;line-height:14pt;”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> Page 97 of <a class=”DC-embed-resource” href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911-Coding-FOI-1.html#document\/p97″ title=”View entire Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>Coding FOI 1<\/a><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <img src=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p97-normal.gif?1491501452″ srcset=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p97-normal.gif?1491501452 700w, \/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p97-large.gif?1491501452 1000w” alt=”Page 97 of Coding FOI 1″ style=”max-width:100%;height:auto;margin:0.5em 0;border:1px solid #ccc;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <div style=”font-size:8pt;line-height:12pt;text-align:center”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> Contributed to<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/” title=”Go to DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank” style=”font-weight:700;font-family:Gotham,inherit,sans-serif;color:inherit;text-decoration:none”>DocumentCloud<\/a> by<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/public\/search\/Account:13385-nathan-caddell” title=”View documents contributed to DocumentCloud by Nathan Caddell in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>Nathan Caddell<\/a> of<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/public\/search\/Group:researchmethods” title=”View documents contributed to DocumentCloud by David McKie’s Research Methods in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>David McKie’s Research Methods<\/a> \u2022<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911-Coding-FOI-1.html#document\/p97″ title=”View entire Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>View document<\/a> or<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p97.txt” title=”Read the text of page 97 of Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>read text<\/a><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –><\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –><script src=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/embed\/loader\/enhance.js”><\/script><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
According to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the questionnaire was designed like a FAQ section of a website, asking and answering questions as to what coding education would look like to give ministry officials a guideline in handling questions from the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow have ICT and technical skills been integrated into the curriculum?\u201d asks the first question. The answer provided is long-winded, and doesn\u2019t accurately depict the strategy that was mapped out by the government, or how the new curriculum was actually applied.<\/p>\n
The actual answer about how the information has been put into practice in B.C. will be attempted in the third chapter, but further emails in the FOI document show the steps Winklemans and the government took in attempting to bring the curriculum to schools.<\/p>\n
When the Ministry of Education was deciding whom to put on an advisory board to work on the coding curriculum initiative, David Morel, assistant deputy minister to the ministry of technology, innovation and citizen services, emailed two men with government ties.<\/p>\n
Morel reached out to Greg Caws, then president and CEO of the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC), a Crown-controlled organization, and John Jacobson, himself the former president and CEO of the BCIC.<\/p>\n
In an email reply to Morel, Caws noted four traits a representative would need to satisfy:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
They need to have coded;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n- \n
They need to be raising or have raised kids in B.C.;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n- \n
They need to know about training or teaching; and<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n- \n
It would be preferred if they knew about how to teach instructors.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nCaws then listed companies to consider for a government contract in order of preference: BCIC; MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates; Hootsuite; Slack; Global Relay; and Bench.<\/p>\n
A search on the federal government\u2019s\u00a0website defines the BCIC as a\u00a0\u201cprogram or service that provides support to a wide range of firms, with no specific emphasis on innovation or technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caws recently left his position at the BCIC and, as of Aug. 1, holds the title of technology and innovation advisor for the B.C. government.<\/p>\n
An interview request to Caws, and the BCIC garnered no response, while a request to speak to Winklemans was not approved by the government.<\/p>\n
In the months that followed the emails, BCIC emerged as a main partner in delivering coding curriculum to B.C. No public statement on whether the BCIC received a contract from the government to help implement was made. However, the company\u2019s 2014\/2015 financial statement reported revenues of just over $8 million, exactly two million more than what was projected at the start of the fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The next two years have remained steady at just over $8 million, while 2017\/2018 is forecast to come in at $21.5 million.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced plans to introduce computer coding to the public school curriculum on Jan. 18, 2016, public support in her Liberal Party\u2019s education platform was low.\u00a0 An Insights West poll two months before Clark\u2019s coding declaration found that though a majority of respondents thought education should be low on the government\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
[et_pb_section admin_label=\"section\"][et_pb_row admin_label=\"row\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Text\" background_layout=\"light\" text_orientation=\"left\" use_border_color=\"off\" border_color=\"#ffffff\" border_style=\"solid\"]<\/p>
With the upcoming provincial election on May 9, incentives put in place by Premier Christy Clark and her B.C. Liberal Party for voters have been unravelled in the last few months. Clark has announced a major initiative in each of the first three months of 2017, announcing an interest-free, 25-year loan for first-time home buyers\u00a0\u00a0 in January; a cut to the unpopular MSP premiums in February; and a panel to investigate political fundraising in March.<\/p>
It could be argued though, that the government\u2019s habit of surprise proclamations to sway public opinion started a year before the concession to first-time home buyers, when Clark announced plans to introduce computer coding to the public school curriculum. An Insights West poll two months before Clark\u2019s coding declaration had her party\u2019s support at 34 per cent, with 61 per cent of respondents opining that the government had done a \u201cbad\u201d job handling education.<\/p>
At the time, Patti Bacchus was a Vancouver School Board Trustee, on the front lines of what was already a tenuous relationship with Education Minister Mike Bernier and the VSB.<\/p>
\u201cWhen the government came out with its announcement, it was a bit of a surprise to a lot of school boards,\u201d says Bacchus. \u201cWhile everyone supports students having the access to that kind of instruction and experience, a lot of schools, a lot of teachers, aren\u2019t really equipped to do that. So we have schools where technology is out of date, where the bandwidth is limited, where students are sharing out of date technology. When they did announce funding, I think it worked out to about nine dollars a student or something, a fairly modest sum, at the same time as new curriculum was being implemented right across the board.\u201d<\/p>
In October of 2016, all nine VSB trustees were fired by Bernier for failing to produce a balanced budget. Bacchus attributes part of this to the government trying to institute coding in less than a year with a limited amount of funds available.<\/p>
\u201cGovernment in BC and probably in other provinces tends to jump on new things without necessarily thinking these things through. A few years ago it was a big push on trades, on going into the trades and a lot of pushing kids toward LNG trades careers. And they\u2019ve kind of moved away from that and everyone\u2019s excited about coding\u2026they had a lot of announcements and photo opps, but there wasn\u2019t a lot of substance there. Like, what do you mean? How are we going to do this? There really wasn\u2019t much there. And that\u2019s not so surprising with this government, they tend to love the announcements and photo opps, they\u2019re not so big on substance.\u201d<\/p>
When Clark unveiled the plan for computer coding in schools, she did it by asserting that all kindergarten to grade 12 students would \u201chave a chance to learn coding.\u201d She later said that her goal is that it \u201cdoesn\u2019t just become an opportunity for every child to take part in, but to ultimately make it mandatory for every child from kindergarten to grade 12 to learn about coding and how it works.\u201d This led to another statement, in which she projected that \u201cevery secondary school boy and girl will speak code in 2022.\u201d<\/p>
Clark and the government also pointed to studies to support the new initiative, pointing to both the aforementioned research by the Sectoral Initiatives Program and a survey of just under 10,000 students that took place from 2013 to 2016. In that questionnaire, B.C. secondary students in their graduating year of public school were asked whether or not they thought school was preparing them for the future. Less than a third of those surveyed answered in the affirmative, according to an analysis of the government\u2019s open data site. A similar question was asked to parents about their kids, and, again, less than a third were satisfied.<\/p>
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Chapter 2: B.C.'s Decision - Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chapter 2: B.C.'s Decision - Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced plans to introduce computer coding to the public school curriculum on Jan. 18, 2016, public support in her Liberal Party\u2019s education platform was low.\u00a0 An Insights West poll two months before Clark\u2019s coding declaration found that though a majority of respondents thought education should be low on the government\u2019s […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-14T22:43:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\\\/\",\"name\":\"Chapter 2: B.C.'s Decision - Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-08T16:14:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-14T22:43:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chapter 2: B.C.’s Decision\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/\",\"name\":\"Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cusjc.ca\\\/mrp\\\/code\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chapter 2: B.C.'s Decision - Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/chapter-2-bcs-decision\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chapter 2: B.C.'s Decision - Learning a new language: Should Ontario embrace computer coding education","og_description":"When B.C. 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