Are Canadian Parents treating school as optional?
In this episode of The LeDrew Three Minute Interview, Stephen speaks with Dave McGinn, education reporter for The Globe and Mail, about the growing school attendance crisis in Ontario and across Canada.
McGinn recently reported on new provincial data showing that only around 40% of Ontario high school students meet attendance expectations — a dramatic shift from previous generations, where missing school was taken far more seriously.
The conversation explores how the pandemic changed attitudes toward attendance, online learning, and classroom expectations. With assignments increasingly posted digitally and many learning systems now accessible remotely, some students and parents no longer see physical attendance as essential.
Topics include:
LeDrew and McGinn also discuss the broader life lessons connected to attendance — including responsibility, structure, and learning how to “show up” in everyday life.
As concerns grow about student engagement and educational outcomes, this interview asks whether schools are adapting — or losing control of the classroom experience altogether.
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