Helpingthose who were harmed
Opinion
It is encouraging to see the Evergreen school division moving to an approach, structured literacy, which scientific studies have shown is a more effective way for children to learn to read (A new read on literacy, Maggie Macintosh, Free Press, Jan. 31). It is also significant that their change appears to have been accomplished within their existing budget process.
However, it raises a question as to what can be done to help students who were taught in Manitoba schools using the previous approach and who not only struggled to learn to read, but also struggled to learn to write and do maths, and were traumatized by their school experience and are functionally illiterate as a result.
One such person is Marin.
She is the focus of an effort called 'Marin's Principle' which not only calls on the provincial government to show leadership in moving provincewide to better help students with learning disabilities including improved training of classroom teachers in this area, but the heart of it calls for attention to adults who were not helped as children in school, which led them to being functionally illiterate.
It is a general principle, that when a 'wrong' has occurred, and harm has been done — in this case by not giving adequate interventions to students with learning disabilities — that those who were harmed should be helped and compensated.
It is not acceptable that those who have been harmed are called 'casualties' of what happened in the past, as has happened with Marin, with nothing being done to address the mistakes.
As she grew up Marin, though highly intelligent, faced many obstacles with her dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and autism.
She only learned to read because her mother put in endless hours over many years helping her, however, she struggled to acquire knowledge and skills in maths and writing, and to be included in school. Her mental health suffered and she still struggles with the trauma from her school experiences.
There needs to be attention and help for those who did not receive the sort of education needed to learn literacy skills (reading, reading comprehension, spelling, written expression and maths).
As the Supreme Court said in 2012, public schools in Canada have a duty to provide the learning environment so that children can learn to read, including when a child has severe dyslexia.
What about adults whom the system failed when they were children in the period after the Supreme Court decision, and indeed before the Supreme Court Decision?
It is an issue which the Manitoba Human Rights Commission needs to consider in its deliberations related to literacy in Manitoba.
In Manitoba, too high a proportion of adults do not meet the literacy level needed for full participation in a knowledge-based economy.
This is a major burden on the province's economy (lack of skilled workers) as well as on the provincial social and justice support systems.
It is possible that those who were harmed by suboptimal instruction could bring forward a class-action lawsuit.
We have seen Manitoba governments make mistakes which led to costly (in the hundreds of millions of dollars) class-action lawsuits — including in relation to child welfare in Manitoba and more recently with regard to inaction to address algal blooms on Lake Winnipeg.
It would be far better for the province to acknowledge the issues considered in Marin's principle and address them now — by taking specific steps to recognize adults who were harmed by the province's education system, and to help them, rather than wait for a class action lawsuit to be filed.
I call on the province to act now — to address the needs of those who the province's education failed because the province failed to act quickly on the Supreme Court ruling of 2012.
It is not only important to address the needs of children learning to read today.
It is important to implement a plan to help children whom the system has failed when a child with dyslexia, dysgraphia or dyscalculia was not given the optimum help to learn to read, write and do math. Marin's principle needs to be widely recognized and action taken.
For more on Marin's principle, visit www.manitobaliberals.ca/post/marin-s-principle-petition.
Jon Gerrard is the former MLA for River Heights.
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