By Yana Berardini
The Ontario government’s proposed legislation to make attendance worth 15 percent of a student’s grade is intended to improve engagement in classrooms. Yet, for many students, showing up is not a matter of motivation, it is a matter of circumstance.
There are over a million young caregivers in Canada, and the proposed legislation, if passed, would make the educational journeys of these students worse.
A Toronto high school student said 15 percent is too much to grade for attendance, based on his lived experience as a young caregiver for his uncle. Many young caregivers will similarly feel that this legislation is a hefty penalty to pay for what they do.
Young caregivers are children and youth who provide care for a family member with illness, disability, aging-related needs, substance use, and mental health needs. They provide daily, if not hourly, informal caregiving to the people they love. In that role, they can have anything from household responsibilities to nursing, physical, and emotional care, and much more.
Currently, there are no systematic ways in which Canada, as a country, supports their needs, including in our educational system, which is not designed with young caregivers in mind. When a child helps, it is because there is a gap in the family, there is a need for this support, and without these helping hands, families can collapse.
As a professor in Child and Youth Studies at Trent University, I understand just how much we all want our classes full, with students who show up, present and engaged. However, we also need to pay attention to those who are missing school and understand those who skip because they must.
Mental health crises are on the rise in Canada, which means our students are vulnerable. They remain hidden in plain sight and our systems are not yet providing the relief they need. Adding this regulation may add more pressure if we don’t take measures to identify and support struggling students, some of whom may be young caregivers.
Consider this quote from a young caregiver in high school from my recent research: “When I was in Grade 8, I would miss a lot of school, whether because I got really sick, or I had to take care of somebody … I would miss a lot of the curriculum.” Or another elementary student who said they were “missing a lot of school because of mom not feeling great.”
Are we going to penalize these students because they are caregivers? Are we going to grade them less because they are needed in the family? Are we really going to penalize their educational trajectories even more, when we know that young carers sacrifice their own education for their loved ones—often at the expense of their own futures, as these youth typically end up with lower paying jobs than non-carers and may even develop lower overall career aspirations?
Instead of penalizing what they do, let’s ask students what they think of a “one size fits all” model for attendance before implementing it on their behalf.
Researchers like myself are assessing young caregivers’ needs and ideas for supports across different life domains in order to build a young caregiving strategy.
We collected data from five focus groups and one interview with Canadian young carers and found that, among other things, the education of young caregivers was severely impacted. Consistently these carers voiced a desire for people to better understand them and their caregiving role. They also expressed a need for non-judgemental teachers who would offer flexible, individualized supports.
One young carer from high school said it best: “I know when people have autism or dyslexia, they tend to get IEPs which state, you know, ‘I might need help in a test with an extra cheat sheet or something.’ I feel like maybe [it would help to] get some kind of IEP for somebody who is a young caregiver, so they can also say they need a little extra something too.”
Further tips included better teacher education, so educators could more clearly identify young caregivers.
Without first assessing for and considering young carers’ needs and implementing some supports, this legislation will only further fail them. Even youth know that.
The author would like to thank Celia Ernst, Trent Media Manager, for her support in publishing this piece.
Yana Berardini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Trent University. Her research explores the mental health and well-being of equity-seeking children and youth, specifically young caregivers in Canada.
