With just a few more weeks of summer, Canadian parents are left with a tough decision: send their kids back to school during the coronavirus pandemic or attempt to homeschool.
Although the latter may not be economically feasible for all families, some parents are exploring taking homeschooling one step further by creating “pandemic pods.”
The idea is to have a small group of children — a pod — learning together. The parents, on rotation, can educate the children, or they can pool together funds to hire a tutor or teacher.
Rachael Marmer lives in Toronto with her husband and four children. She started the Learning Pods Ontario Facebook group to find like-minded families who may not be comfortable sending their children to school and are looking for other options.
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“I started this group because I was looking for alternative learning arrangements for my kids in September,” Marmer said. “There are so many unknowns, and I wanted to create stability for my children and their education. But that’s me, personally — everyone has their reasons.
1:57 B.C. teachers still concerned about back to school
B.C. teachers still concerned about back to school
“The response has been insane. I’ve received hundreds of messages of parents interested in it, and have had so much positive feedback.”
Marmer is still trying to iron out the details but explained the group hopes to pair children by matching families in the same neighbourhood, and then grouping by age.
The planning of the pods is still in the early stages, Marmer explained, adding that she’s been in discussions with parents, teachers and homeschoolers to ensure the group creates a “sensible and reasonable plan for families.”
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“We hope to be able to structure it so that each pod can be customized to best suit the individuals within it,” she said. “There is, however, still some groundwork to lay, and details we are sorting out.”
Schools across Canada closed when the pandemic started and offered online learning instead. But as schools get set to reopen, educators, parents and school boards have to figure out ways to safely let kids back into the classrooms.
Most provinces and territories have released plans for reopening schools that include safety measures like physically distanced desks, face masks or shields for staff and staggered pickup and drop-off times.
For parents who choose not to send their child back, some school boards offer remote education.
But the idea is not without criticism, as the solution is only for families that can afford it.
Why are pandemic pods sparking debate?
“What is particularly troubling about these pandemic pods is what it means for public education more broadly. It’s a shift away from the public to the private,” said Agata Soroko, a professor in the faculty of education at the University of Ottawa.
“Public schools are one of the few places where students can learn in a socioeconomically and racially diverse context … There is more chance of encountering people who are not like you in the public school system. So when you create these types of pods, certainly you are going to end up with a more similar socioeconomic status, if not race. This is the opposite of what should be happening in a healthy democracy.”
Soroko explained that although the idea of “opportunity hoarding” in the education system is nothing new, the coronavirus has exacerbated existing inequalities.
She said that even before COVID-19, affluent families have been in the position to buy more of an education, whether it’s extra tutoring or extracurricular activities, while low-income families may not have the financial means.
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“The pandemic is highlighting that not all families are struggling the same way. Learning pods can contribute to larger inequities and people need to be aware of the social and ethical implications,” she said.
Marmer said she acknowledges that having the option of a “homeschooling pod” is a privilege. She and her husband pulled their kids out of school because it was the best option for her family, but she also wants to help families who may not be able to afford this option.
1:04 Will school closures impact my child’s development?
Will school closures impact my child’s development?
“I put together a survey for parents, and in the survey, I put in the option of, ‘Are you willing to help another family,’ and I have been hearing from quite a few people who are willing to help financially with other families,” she said.
“It was important for me to include that in the survey as I know there are those who cannot afford it.”
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Marmer said once the organization of the pods takes shape, she plans to offer a spot to families who cannot afford it.
“For some families, it could mean paying nothing at all, for others it could mean paying on a sliding scale to suit their monetary restrictions,” she said.
Are pandemic pods effective?
Pandemic pods are only as safe as their weakest link, said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.
“The smaller the congregation, the less the risk. That means that if COVID turns up in a pod, it’s unlikely to spread beyond and, of course, the pod is less likely to become infected because of fewer contacts,” he said.
But Furness warned that the safety of these pods depends on the group’s vigilance. If families stay within their bubbles and keep their social interaction to a minimum, then there is less chance of contracting coronavirus.
“For the 18 hours per day that children aren’t in school, what is the effective bubble? Are parents being careful? Are kids playing with others outside the bubble? How many people are coming to the house/apartment?” he said, adding that it’s important for parents to be mindful of these questions.
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3:52 Helping kids ‘spread their wings’ to social-distance
Helping kids ‘spread their wings’ to social-distance
Furness stressed the importance of opening public schools, as children need social development. There is also emerging evidence that children under the age of 10 are not particularly contagious when it comes to COVID-19, he said.
“But I am also in favour of giving parents choice and supporting home or pod schooling as best as we can,” he said. “That will reduce parental stress where it is needed, and it will also reduce crowding in schools.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
