Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 28, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A13 Winnipeg free press focus monday june 28, 2004. Education students need a level playing Field Low socioeconomic status has a devastating Impact the lower the ses of a Region the higher the likelihood that its children wont . By r. J. Currie s Tay in school. Its a familiar refrain. Most of us have heard about How important it is to Complete High school ? More opportunities better jobs better life. But what May come As a sur prise is that dropping out of school could shorten your life. In fact a male from say Point Douglas ? where incompletion rates Are highest ? can expect to live almost eight years less than a male from East Saint Paul ? where incompletion rates Are lowest. To put this in perspective if we could wipe out cancer it would add less than three years to our life expectancy. Of course other factors besides quitting school also contribute to Shorter life fac tors such As Low income inadequate hous ing and bad nutrition. But research shows that education strongly influences the relationship Between socioeconomic Sta Tus ses and health. People with More education live longer lives. And it in to just a problem for the poor. Students from lower Middle ses neighbourhoods such As St. Boniface West or St. Vital North do less Well in school than their Peers from High ses Neighbour hoods like East Saint Paul or Tuxedo Charleswood and the males have lives More than three years Shorter. So what Are we doing to get Back those years of life lost for our lower and Middle income citizens difficulties its not new that children from poorer neighbourhoods Are More Likely to have difficulties in school. But what do we really know about the differences in educational achievement Between Low Middle and High ses students and when do these kids Start falling behind High school elementary school Grade 1? what Are the implications what can be done to change this trend of the entire population of Winnipeg roughly 160,000 Are aged 0 to 19. These youths were divided into 25 Winnipeg neighbourhoods which were grouped by socioeconomic status Low Low Middle Middle or High. On Grade 12 standards tests in language arts students who live in High ses areas had a 92 per cent pass rate those from Low ses neighbourhoods Only 75 per cent. But that a not the whole Story. These numbers Only Tell us about Stu dents who Are still in school in Grade 12 to write the tests. What happens when we focus on those who should be writing the test when we look at youths who were born in Manitoba in 1984, raised Here and Liv ing in Winnipeg in 2002 who should have letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters from readers. They must include the authors name address and Telephone number. Letters May be edited. Letters to the editor 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Fax 697-7412. Email eliminate barriers to medical education your june 17 editorial doctor shortage suggested bringing More local Stu dents and More foreign trained graduates into medical practice As a solution to this serious problem one of Many complications arising from the vague provisions of the Canada health act. However there Are alternative solutions that Are perhaps less costly and More efficient. Why not work instead to eliminate the entry barriers to med ical education faced by health care professionals who already work Side by Side with physicians and possess years of expertise in patient assess ment path physiology pharmacology and patient care the 10,800 registered nurses in Manitoba in fact it is time to eliminate Barri ers that All health care workers face upgrading their education in Manitoba. It is difficult for health care aides to become licensed practical nurses or registered nurses for lpns or rns to acquire a Bachelor of nursing degree or for bus to become midwives or physicians even though each May pos sess prerequisite knowledge to Advance. Aside from the University of Manitoba which provides a program for diploma nurses to upgrade to a Bache Lor degree opportunities for other types of health care workers to Advance Are limited. Barriers include credential granting bodies requiring redundant prerequisite courses instruction geared to full time Stu dents shift work student loan exclusion criteria and educational institutions vying for budgets and territory. Requiring the stakeholders funded by the province to integrate health education in our province would use scarce tax dollars More efficiently. A world class curriculum continuum with coordinated Midstream entry and exit Points will increase Supply of professionals at All Levels fill shortages faster provide enhanced career opportunities and attract or retain experts in Manitoba. Fostering such a skilled workforce is one Way of enabling All Manitoban to increase health live longer or live with less disability. After Allisn to the ultimate goal of our health care Educa Tion to improve the health of citizens rather than maintain credential ism with a fresh approach to health Educa Tion Manitoba is quite capable of solv ing its staffing shortages without looking outside her Borders. Gregory Kilbri nursing student year Iii University of Manitoba sending kids to War of but not euthanasia it seems highly ironic that it is All right to Send Young people to fight wars in been writing the test Only 27 per cent of Low ses youths passed. Almost 36 per cent were behind at least one year while almost 20 per cent had already quit school had not been enrolled for at least two years the Bottom line for lower ses kids is they Are far less Likely to pass standardized tests and far More Likely to fail at least one Grade and to quit school. The truth is these children Start falling behind Well before High school. In Provin Cial language arts tests in Grade 3, Low ses kids had a pass rate almost 12 per cent lower than High ses kids. And again that in to the whole Story. When we include All the children who should have been writing the test at that age Only 50 per cent of Low ses kids passed compared to 84 per cent of High ses kids. And it gets worse. Studies in Vancouver suggest that Low ses kids begin school less prepared for school learning than their higher ses Peers. So in effect these students Start out behind. Poor nutrition now some would argue that these learn ing difficulties Are there from birth. Arent pregnant women in poorer neighbourhoods More Likely to smoke have poor nutrition and inadequate prenatal care does to this mean More babies with Low birth weights and therefore at greater risk of cognitive difficulties but in fact the percentage of Normal birth weights in Low ses areas is the same As it is in Middle or High ses areas ? about 80 per cent. So by that argument newborns from say the Core area Are Nei ther More nor less predisposed to learn ing difficulties than newborns from St. Boniface Tuxedo or anywhere else in Winnipeg. The lower the ses of a Region the higher the likelihood that its children wont graduate High school. They Start school already behind their Peers. Most of them never catch up. So what can be done first of All we can help All Manitoba children to Start school on equal educational footing. More pre school initiatives would be a Good Start followed by Moni Toring to figure out which Are the most effective. Helpful that a where something like the Edi Early development instrument might prove very helpful. Developed by the Offord Centre for child studies its a set of questions completed by the teacher designed specifically to measure school readiness of children during kindergarten ? in other words just before entering Grade 1. With funding from healthy child Manitoba Over half the school divisions in the province began using the Edi in 2003 ? which is Good. If the Edi could be used throughout the province it would be even better. This would provide As Broad a base of information As possible on How Well Early childhood initiatives Are preparing our children for school. High Quality child care could also help disadvantaged children get a better Start at school. Its been shown to improve Chil Drens cognitive language and social skills. According to our most recent information distribution of licensed child care varies across Winnipeg neighbourhoods from five spaces to 263 per 1,000 Chil Dren. Unfortunately distribution has nothing to do with ses. What a needed is More spaces per child in poorer neighbourhoods. Which Many of them get killed or wounded and yet if people happen to live to an old age and Are in perpetual agonizing pain the Law does not allow them the availability of euthanasia. Robina Lapp Winnipeg bus solves parking problems i would like to respond briefly to a let Ter from a University of Winnipeg Stu Dent parking a problem for u of w students Page a15, june 25. Doonesbury Stop complaining and take the bus this will save you Money and stress. From someone who owns a car yet chooses to ride Winnipeg transit. Lindsay Storie Winnipeg Stop painting bus windows As a frequent Patron of transit i resent the fact that some bus windows Are covered up with advertising. This practice is not Only annoying but Early development programs for preschoolers that take place within primary schools should also be supported. Such programs not Only enhance Early learn ing but also help connect children and their families to their local schools. These programs would be beneficial to All Chil Dren but especially those at risk of poor educational achievement. Meanwhile Over the past few years several projects aimed at improving out comes for children already in Early grades have been initiated. It will be interesting and important to Monitor these initiatives to see How effective they Are at leveling the playing Field. In conclusion while the focus Here is on the children of Winnipeg we have seen similar patterns across Manitoba. And it is Likely the same for children across Canada. Understanding the insidious nature of Low socioeconomic status and its devas Tating Impact on school performance is a necessary first step toward bringing about change. Its time to Start developing More policies and programs aimed at helping All Manitoba a children improve their school experiences and outcomes. Its time to make education the truly equal Opportunity it was meant to be. Written by . Currie based on the report by Marni Brownell Nora Lou Roos Randy Fransoso and Anne Guevremont titled How do educational outcomes vary with socioeconomic status key findings from the Manitoba child health Atlas 2004. . Currie is a freelance writer in Winnipeg Marni Brownell Nora Lou Roos Randy Fransoso and Anne Guevremont Are with the Manitoba Centre for health policy. Downright unfair to riders who want to see where they Are going. If Winnipeg citizens Are to be encouraged to take the bus and leave the car at Home this is no Way to convince them that Riding the bus is better. There Are too Many great sights to see around town. This practice of covering up bus win Dows with advertising is particularly damaging to tourism especially on the Winnipeg spirit buses bringing tourists to the Forks. If the advertising Revenue is so important by All Means paint the bus but leave the windows Clear Albert Lafreniere Winnipeg by Garry Trudeau ;