COLUMN: View from the Legislature – Education option remains important right

I have always considered myself fortunate to have had, growing up in Steinbach, a mainly positive experience during my years in the K-12 public education system. As a student at Elmdale School, then at the Steinbach Junior high and graduating from the Steinbach Regional Secondary School, I was blessed with many great teachers and strong friendships. There was never any consideration either by my parents or myself to enrol in anything but the public education system and I am grateful for the experience I had.

Many years later, as a parent myself, my wife and I joined other nervous parents dropping off children for the first time at kindergarten. Our son attended his elementary school years at Woodlawn School, and the experience for him was tremendous. Like me, he benefited from excellent teachers and many great classmates. Yet, after leaving Woodlawn, we made the decision to enrol him in a local independent school.

We were often asked at that time whether that decision was based on some dissatisfaction with the public school system. That was far from being the case as our experience as a family was very positive, but we felt a few years at a faith-based school would also be a benefit to him. At that time, I believed it was likely that our son would return for his senior years to the SRSS. Ultimately, he loved his school and graduated from the Steinbach Christian School last year.

This personal family journey was at the forefront of my mind this past week as I attended the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools (MFIS) reception at the Manitoba legislature. There I had the chance to speak to parents and students attending various independent schools around the province and I was struck by how diverse their own education decisions were. Many students were new Canadians, some from very diverse faith backgrounds and some with no faith background at all. And each had different reasons for choosing to exercise a school option other than the public school system.

In fact, more than 15,000 students attend independent schools in Manitoba. Thousands more are homeschooled. These options have long been a right in Manitoba, with 50 percent public funding for independent schools having begun in 1996. And they are an important right as families have different experiences and values which can be expressed through education options such as independent schooling or homeschooling.

During my time as an MLA, I have been a strong advocate for protecting the right of the education choices in Manitoba. This has not been without criticism. MLAs in other political parties have in the past criticized my defense of the right to homeschool and they also publicly criticized the choice my wife and I made to have our son in an independent school for part of his K-12 learning.

The reality is that the parents right to choose different learning environments that best meet the needs of their family is important. For 50 years the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools (MFIS) has brought a unified voice for a very diverse group of independent schools. They are an important partner in the education system and parents who exercise those rights on behalf of their children deserve to be respected as well.

I want to congratulate the MFIS on a successful reception at the legislature this past week and on 50 years of advocating for parental choice in the Manitoba education system.