Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I hadn't expected this start for our discussion. It's an interesting issue. I know I have learned a lot about Grade 5 math this year.
---Laughter
And I know that my son is concerned that I am not home tonight helping with the science fair project. There is an awful lot of homework, but it's not the ministry that sets that. It's done by the individual school boards. That's local parents passing on what they think is important to the people who run the school system in their community.
No two school boards seem to have the exact same philosophy. I know there are some who say that by starting to send work home and start in Grade 1 usually with a very small amount coming home in the second half of the year, the theory is that they are setting up good study habits for the future, so the work that comes home isn't hard work, but is something that is designed to set the standards.
If there is a concern about the amount of homework that's coming home, the proper venue to deal with that is through the local DEA. They can discuss how much needs to come home and how much is being done because often it's being done as a philosophy. The schools and the boards often think it's important to set that example.
The Member talked about wanting to have schools and teachers work perhaps from 8:30 until 5:00. It would be impossible to accommodate the teaching and the prep and have the students there at the school for the same period of time. You couldn't have the teachers and students there for the same length of time each day or you couldn't possibly accommodate the preparation and the marking of the report cards unless we are going to substantially increase the numbers of teachers. That is, of course, an option, but you can't do it any other way. You would have to have more teachers, so the teachers who are in the classroom could take time out from the classroom to do their prep work, marking and report cards during the regular day.
We've got an awful lot of dedicated people in the education system in the Northwest Territories. I think that most teachers are there for the kids if they are needed, as late as 5:00, because most teachers take work home and do it in the evenings and on weekends. I think that in general, they are there for the kids.
In terms of the length of the day, our act doesn't stipulate how long the day has to be. Our act stipulates how many minutes or hours in a year that a child must receive education. So, again, it's the local DEA that can set the different length of day. There are some DEAs that have longer days and a shorter school year in order to accomplish local reasons for having more time out of school.
There would be a limiting factor through the Collective Agreement. That's something we have to work with through the negotiation process. You have to respect that.
I guess the bottom line, Mr. Chairman, is that some of what the Member is interested in discussing can be discussed first starting in a PAC with the school and then carrying on to the DEA. Those two agencies can have a significant impact on how the school day is structured throughout the year. That flexibility is there, but we do leave it up to local parents to control the school through the DEA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.