September 2008
Index of Articles:
- Bargaining achievements
- Health & Safety Conference
- Pension deadline approaching
- Casebook Diary
- Awards
- Science options for aboriginal students
- OECTA honours Paul Cavalluzzo
- New look, new design
- Cyberbullying in schools
- G8 must try harder
- Centres support early learning
- Fight climate change and poverty
- Support for copyright proposals
- EI launches the education and solidarity network
- Class size reduction
- How teachers can help stuttering students
In every issue:
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With a framework agreement in place, bargaining between
OECTA units and school boards is underway across the province. The framework
offers OECTA, school boards and school authorities incentives if four-year
agreements are achieved before December 1, 2008.
As of September 10 the following settlements are in place:
• Brant Haldimand Norfolk Secondary
• Halton Elementary
• Huron-Perth Occasionals
• Huron-Superior
• Toronto Secondary
• York
• York Occasionals
• Wellington
• Wellington Occasionals
All agreements for statutory teachers provide salary increases of 3 per
cent each year for four years, while contracts for Occasional Teachers
also provide an additional 3.5 per cent, that boards will apply to daily
rates or other improvements. Boards have also agreed to create new local
committees that include teacher representation to address job-embedded,
teacher directed professional learning.
The framework sets out guidelines to support the bargaining process by
ensuring that, before December 1, boards will not change the terms and
conditions of collective agreements or lock-out bargaining units, nor
will OECTA take any job actions or strikes. It also establishes an additional
process to resolve issues that arise during the term of the agreements
to help sustain labour peace and progress. Incentives address compensation
and identified teaching and learning issues.
For updates on local negotiations, contact your unit president www.oecta.on.ca/units/unitsindex.htm
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| Labour Day Parade 2008 Once again OECTA members joined thousands of other workers for 2008 Labour Day Parades across Ontario held this year on September 1. The theme of this year’s celebrations was “Equality! Once and For All!” as part of the year-long campaign launched by the Canadian Labour Congress to raise women’s wages and close the growing income gap between women and men. |
Health
& Safety Conference: The Way Forward: Putting the ACT into ACTion
A catalyst for improvements
More than 150 OECTA members, including classroom teachers, unit executives
and members of local health and safety committees gathered August 13-15
for OECTA’s biennial conference on health, safety and the environment
– The Way Forward: Putting the ACT into ACTion.
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| The Way Forward: Putting the ACT into ACTion |
“Dangerous work is a reality for many workers
and all too often health and safety is not a concern until a tragedy occurs,”
OECTA president, Elaine Mac Neil said in her welcoming
remarks to delegates.
“OECTA is proud to support teacher advocates who promote and work
for health and safety in our workplaces. This conference should be a catalyst
for improvements in your schools.”
In addition to the 27 certificate, awareness/knowledge and personal development
workshops, the conference offered the Level 1 Workers’ Compensation
Workshop, which is the first course in the Ontario Federation of Labour’s
Occupational Disability Response Team Training project.
Making activism work
Cathy Walker, the former director of the Health and Safety
department of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) urges OECTA members to keep
using their hard won status, power and influence to make workplaces safe.
Activism works, she says. Here’s how:
1. Think big
Mould, indoor air quality, harassment, ergonomics are issues shared by
other workplaces, other provinces, other countries. By taking action in
your school, you are acting in solidarity to protect the world.
2. Name the problem
Remember when smoking was permitted in staff rooms, when schools were
built with asbestos, and when there were no health and safety committees?
Putting an end to these hazards began when they were identified as risks.
3. Use your power
Teachers have high status in the community and have many allies: parents,
fellow unionists in both the private and public sector, and ordinary citizens.
If you need to expand your struggle beyond the school itself, you have
ready allies – use them.
4. Protect Yourself
Monitor implementation and application of your collective agreements and
the rights you bargained for, such as limits to class size or accommodations
for teachers with disabilities.
5. Speak out
Protesting is a protected right. In 1997 teachers won against an injunction
that would have stopped them from closing schools to protest against the
governments’ regressive, damaging actions that gutted the common
good.
6. Get things going
Be an “effective insister.” Activism works when you know the
issue and when you know what you want. Establish your priorities before
you meet with administrators. Focus on finding solutions and insist on
timelines. Don’t accept “no answer” or “not in
the budget.”
7. Keep raising issues
The extent of Health and Safety committee’s power to “recommend
to the employer” can be discouraging, but never give up. Keeping
issues out front makes it easier to get action.
For information about the issues being scrutinized by the Occupational
Health and Safety Committee at your school, contact your unit office.
See the complete list on OECTA’s website,
www.oecta.on.ca/units/unitsindex.htm
Healthy work environments produce better student outcomes
Front line workers who provide service are the heart of the organizations
for which they work – placing those that create teaching and learning
environments for students at the front line for school boards and the
education system.
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| Dr. John Yardley |
Dr. John Yardley, the Managing Director Workplace Health Research laboratory at Brock University, believes that making schools great places to work, contributes to better student outcomes. Consequently, teachers, support and custodial staff, principals and other education professionals should be the focus of more “people management attention” than is currently the case.
In his keynote address to delegates to OECTA’s
2008 Heath and Safety Conference, Yardley described how poor workplace
environments in schools damage learning, by undermining the front-line
workers.
Dr. Yardley said that research and practice focus on safety and injury
prevention, most particularly as it relates to noise, chemicals, and human
interaction with machinery. But recently an awareness of the importance
of the psychosocial environment in the workplace has come to the fore.
Chronic yelling, put downs, withholding work information, devaluing work,
ignoring or isolating individuals are behaviours that create a toxic psycho-social
environment and are as devastating as a crippling physical injury, he
says. Dr Yardley’s research shows strong connections between poor
workplace social environment and reduced productivity and illness.
Prevention depends on the right understanding of leadership and employing
the right practices to engage and align the power of employees. Team oriented,
distributed and dynamic forms of leadership that focus on trust, respect
and fairness will more successfully develop a positive workplace he said.
“Focus less on the individual and more on the community which is
charged with carrying out the work. Great teams can do great work when
everyone in the team contributes with integrity as whole persons and team
members choose to influence each other in positive rather than negative
ways.
Towards safer schools
“Our schools are great places to learn, and Focus on Youth gives
our students the opportunity to also use them for safe places to be active,
productive and grow as individuals over the summer months,” Minister
of Education, Kathleen Wynne told delegates to OECTA’s
2008 Health and Safety Conference.
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| Kathleen Wynne Minister of Education |
Focus on Youth helps families who have limited access
to learning and recreation opportunities during vacations.
This year, school space was offered free to more than 40 community groups
that successfully applied to their local school boards, Wynne said. “The
more we can engage our communities and provide opportunities for children
and youth, the safer our communities are going to be, and of course, this
means that schools are going to be safer,” she said.
Ontario launched Focus on Youth in over 100 Toronto schools in 2007. The
program was extended to Hamilton and Ottawa and funding for the program
was increased by 50 per cent to $6 million this year. Hamilton received
$765,000 to give local youth fun summer learning opportunities. Focus
on Youth builds on the province’s community use of schools initiative
that encourages use of schools as hubs for learning, being active and
volunteering after school hours.
“Providing support and programs to students at risk is the whole
point of the changes made to Bill 212, An Act to amend the Education Act
in respect of behaviour, discipline and safety,” Kathleen
Wynne, Education Minister said. Progressive discipline must be
the norm when dealing with students with behaviour problems, she said,
and remedies must fit the incident.
Acknowledging that safe schools for students requires safe working environments
for teachers, Wynne highlighted the government’s $500 million investments
to improve health and safety in schools, including cameras and refitting
front offices for better sight lines. Teachers, support staff and administrators,
need more training, OECTA recommends in its brief to the government on
Bill 212 in May 2007.
During a Q & A session with the Minister, OECTA members expressed
their support for progressive discipline in dealing with students, but
stressed that suspension must remain an option for school administrators.
Resolve issues through Joint Health &
Safety Committee
When a teacher believes his or her rights to a safe and healthy work environment
have been violated, it’s important to know the best mechanism available
to ensure a speedy and effective remedy, says Sheilagh Turkington,
a lawyer with Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish, who specializes
in education law.
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| Sheilagh Turkington |
Teachers’ rights to a safe work environment
are regulated through a combination of provincial legislation in health
and safety, education and labour relations: The Occupational Health &
Safety Act sets outs responsibilities of the employer to provide a safe
work environment and to take every precaution available to protect the
worker; the Education Act outlines the duties of the principal in section
265; the Safe Schools Act contains a range of provisions, including the
conduct of students towards teachers.
“The most common and expeditious way to resolve health and safety
concerns in the workplace is through your joint health and safety committee,”
Turkington advises, “since most problems that teachers experience
require immediate action.” Committee members are more able to address
a situation quickly. Worker representatives on the committee will investigate
and gather information on the issue, and follow up with the school board
for further information or remediation. If the issue is not resolved,
the school board may be subject to criticism from an arbitrator for ignoring
the recommendations of the joint committee and the teacher.
Contact the association representative in your school for information
about the health and safety committee in your school.
Safe and healthy workplace requires teamwork
When work makes you sick, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
(OHCOW) is there to help, says Cheryl Rook, an occupational
health nurse.
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| Cheryl Rook |
OHCOW offers a team of nurses, hygienists, ergonomists
and physicians, who see patients and identify work-related illness and
injuries, promote awareness of health and safety issues, and develop prevention
strategies.
Services are free, paid for by employers through their premiums to the
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), at five clinics in Ontario:
Hamilton, London, Sarnia, Sudbury, Toronto and Windsor.
Each clinic provides:
• An inquiry service to answer work-related health and safety questions
• Medical diagnostic services for workers who may have work-related
health problems
• Group service for workplace health and safety committees and groups
of workers
• Outreach and education to increase awareness of health and safety
issues, and promote prevention strategies.
• A research service to investigate and report on illnesses and
injuries.
Visit www.ohcow.on.ca for the OHCOW clinic
nearest you.
One rule for garbage: separate
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| Rod Muir |
The biggest contribution to reducing climate change
an ordinary individual can make, is to separate garbage for recycling
at home, work and school, says Rod Muir of Waste Diversion
Canada, www.wastediversion.ca. He
says landfill sites are the biggest producers of methane, which is a substantial
component of greenhouse gases, yet most garbage in landfill sites can
be recycled.
To illustrate that it makes no more sense to dispose of these items together
than to consume or use them together, Muir glued together a banana, a
cell phone and a coffee can. Organics, electronics, metals, paper, plastics
and glass should be re-cycled separately. His presentation “Environmental
Issues at Schools” was one of more than 27 workshops presented at
this year’s Conference.
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| Summer Program 2008 Teachers at St. James Catholic School in Oakville in the Full Day Kindergarten course (above), were among hundreds of OECTA members who enrolled in OECTA’s Summer Program of workshops in July and August. Videoconferencing of workshops such as Literacy Centres – Hands-on Minds-on, from Timmins to teachers in New Liskeard and Kapuskasing made it possible for OECTA to expand professional development opportunities for members in the northern communities. |
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| Math Learning Turned On With
Technology, and Surviving the Teen Volcano: Mediating Classroom Conflict,
were just two of the more than 30 workshops OECTA offered this summer.
Photography 101 participants, above, learned the basics of picture
taking, studio lighting, special effects and digital techniques. |
|
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| Participants enjoyed dabbling in Pointillism
and Cubism in the visual arts component of the Arts in the Classroom:
You Can Do It! workshop, which also included drama and music. |
Story telling, giving students candies
before a test, and jigsaw puzzle breaks are a few practical examples
shared in the workshop Using the Five Senses to Create a Positive
Classroom. |
Pension
deadline approaching
Pension legislation requires
that valuations be filed at least every three years. The last filed valuation
was January 1, 2005. The deadline for filing the 2008 valuation of the
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (the Plan) is September 30.
By then, the Partners must agree on conditions that will allow the Plan
to file a balanced valuation with Ontario’s pension regulator –
the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). Throughout the past
year, and with increasing frequency over the summer months, your OTF representatives
have been meeting with our Government partner and representatives of the
Plan to accomplish this task.
A sub-committee of the OTF Executive (under Executive direction) has been
involved in these meetings. Once the Pension Partners – OTF and
the Government – have tentatively agreed with the Plan on the components
of the 2008 Valuation, the OTF Executive, with representatives of the
four Affiliates, will be asked to endorse the agreement.
The OTF Board of Governors – ten members elected from each Affiliate
– will get the details at a special Board meeting.
Following the special Board meeting, the Affiliates will have some time
to consider the proposal.
Shortly thereafter, the OTF Board will meet again to vote on the agreement.
The exact timing for these steps cannot be determined as the parties have
not yet reached agreement but must do so prior to September 30, 2008 to
allow the independent actuary time to complete the valuation for filing.
As soon as further information becomes available, it will be shared.
Teachers are advised to check for updates through Communiqué on
the OTF website at .www.otffeo.on.ca/en/newsroom/communique.php
and to watch for OTF updates that are posted as news items on OECTA's
home page at www.oecta.on.ca
Anything else you hear is rumour and speculation. If you have any questions
contact OTF’s Director of Pension and Economic Affairs or OECTA’s
pension officer, Marshall Jarvis.
Casebook
Diary
Discipline over email content
Case: The principal notifies a member that a disciplinary
meeting has been scheduled for the next day with the board’s Superintendent
of Human Resources. The member is the author of an email message that
contains derogatory opinions about another employee. This is in contravention
of a school board policy that governs employee use of electronic communications.
All employees at this board, including the member, sign a document agreeing
to abide by the school board policy.
Advice: The member is advised to
seek assistance and support throughout the process from the OECTA Unit
President. The principal is advised that the member will attend the meeting
subject to the availability of the Unit President.
Discussion: This case illustrates two issues: inappropriate
use of board email systems and attendance at disciplinary meetings.
Most school board policies make it clear that the email system is to be
used for professional purposes only. These policies prohibit attacks on
personnel, use of foul or inappropriate language or comments and forbid
exchanges of confidential information about students or personnel. When
such material is widely broadcast by the sender or recipient, the damage
is compounded. Disapproval about an individual, decision or board action,
should not be aired through the school board email system. Contact OECTA
for advice about appropriate ways to voice concerns, disagree with or
oppose actions made by others.
When members are called to meet with a board Superintendent for a disciplinary
meeting, they are entitled to be accompanied by an OECTA representative.
Jurisprudence is clear that any discipline the employer might impose could
be jeopardized in arbitration if the employer denies this request. Members
should insist upon rights to representation because enlightened employers
will be willing to accommodate.
Awards
Public Education Advocacy Award
Ontario’s Former Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy is one of
this year’s recipients of CTFs Public Education Advocacy Award that
is presented to groups or individuals outside the teaching profession
who have made major contributions to promote and support public education
in Canada. Previous recipients include His Excellency John Ralston Saul,
Kathy LeGrow, Canadian School Boards Association, Annie Kidder, People
for Education in Ontario, Denise Pike, President of the Newfoundland and
Labrador Federation of School Councils, and author Alfie Kohn, Saskatchewan.
Outstanding Aboriginal Educator Award
Edwina Wetzel, a Micmac teacher from Newfoundland who has made great strides
for Aboriginal education in Canada has received the inaugural Outstanding
Aboriginal Educator Award presented by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation
(CTF). Ms. Wetzel has shown a lifelong passion and commitment to Aboriginal
education in her province.
Prime Minister’s Awards
Two OECTA members have received Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence.
Thomas St. Amand, a secondary teacher at St. Christopher Catholic Secondary
School in Sarnia and Brenda Collins, an elementary teacher at St. Jude
Catholic School in London, received Ontario Certificates of Achievement.
A total of 95 Prime Minister's Awards were presented to educators from
across Canada. The recipients represent Canadian teaching excellence in
a wide range of subjects at all grade levels, from preschool through secondary
school.
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2008 OTF Fellowship
Recipients Back Row (Left to Right): Larry Trafford, retired Department Head, Professional Development OECTA; Maureen Davis, OTF President; Ed Chudak, Contract Maintenance Department, OECTA Front Row (Left to Right): Sam Hammond, ETFO; Claude Lamoureux, OTPP; Jan Moxey, ETFO; Ken Thurston, ETFO; Carmaine Hall, AEFO; Bill Reith OSSTF; and Ken Coran, OSSTF. Fellowships are awarded for outstanding service to education and/or to the Federation and achievement in affirmative action. |
Science
options for aboriginal students
Twenty young aboriginal students in the Hamilton area received an introduction
to engineering, science and mathematics this summer.
The students who range in age from seven to 12 are enrolled in the youth
program run by the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre and attended the popular
Venture Engineering and Science Camp at McMaster University.
“Aboriginal youth tend to shy away from math and science when pursuing
further studies,” says Christine General, special projects coordinator
for the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster. “Introducing these
subjects at a younger age gives these students insight into careers they
can pursue and the skills they’ll need.”
“These children would never be given the opportunity to participate
in an engineering, science and math camp of this quality without this
support,” said Ashley Hill, the Akwe:go program coordinator, Hamilton
Regional Indian Centre. “This is an opportunity that could be life
altering for them and we thank everyone who made it happen.”
Akwe:go is a program for urban aboriginal children that seeks to improve
their quality of life. The Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres
operates the program.
New
look, new design
You will notice that AGENDA has a new look. Our previous design dated
from 1991 so we were more than due for a change. The redesign was spearheaded
by Daphne Hart who has been associated with OECTA as a freelance graphic
design consultant since 1986. Daphne has been a graphic designer in Toronto
since 1984. She received her design education at Central St. Martins College
of Art and Design in London, England.
Daphne worked with Aleda O'Connor and Delia Tavares of OECTA's Communications
Department to develop the new design.
To celebrate AGENDA’s 20th anniversary, their goal was to make the
paper look current and serious. The typeface used in a publication goes
a long way towards establishing its personality. AGENDA will now be set
in Zine, a font designed in 2001 by German freelance type designer Ole
Schafer.
The Zine font family offers an exceptionally wide range of weights and
styles, which is ideal for a paper such as AGENDA because it allows for
the use of one type family throughout, ensuring unity of design.
The right of individual members to receive AGENDA is an important benefit
of membership in the Association.
Cyberbullying
in schools: national poll shows growing awareness
A national poll commissioned by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation
(CTF) shows that 75 per cent of Canadians are aware of cyberbullying.
This heightened public awareness strengthens teachers’ resolve to
address this issue which is becoming an increasingly serious problem in
Canadian schools and society, says CTF President Emily Noble.
The poll shows that 34 per cent of Canadians surveyed knew of students
in their community who had been targeted by cyberbullying in the past
year while one in five was aware of teachers who had been cyberbullied.
The poll also shows that almost one in 10 knew someone close to them who
had been cyberbullied.
“We want to reverse this growing trend, and support measures and
education programs that promote proper cyberconduct,” says Noble.
“Cyberbullying and harassment on the Web doesn’t just affect
kids. Many teachers have been targeted by cyberbullying or harassment
on the Internet. This is why more has to be done to educate youth and
the wider community about this growing societal problem.”
According to the CTF policy proposal, cyberbullying is the use of information
and communication technologies to bully, embarrass, threaten or harass
another. It also includes the use of these technologies to engage in conduct
or behaviour that is derogatory, defamatory, degrading, illegal or abusive.
Other key findings of the CTF poll:
• 9 in 10 Canadians believe that an effective measure to prevent
cyberbullying by students is for parents to become more knowledgeable
and more responsible in monitoring their child's activities with the Internet
and electronic communication devices;
• 86 per cent believe that an effective measure to prevent cyberbullying
by students is to have teachers trained to respond to cyberbullying when
it impacts them or their students;
• 96 per cent believe that school boards should develop and enforce
policies that hold students accountable when they are identified as cyberbullies;
• About 7 in 10 Canadians think that school boards should hold students
accountable when the cyberbullying originates outside the school, such
as from the student’s home.
“When it comes to instilling proper cyberconduct and preventing
cyberbullying in schools, we all have a role to play,” explains
CTF President Emily Noble.
G8 must try
harder
The Global Campaign for Education (CGE), to which OECTA is affiliated,
argues that a commitment of $1 billion from the G8 summit of the world’s
richest and most influential nations to fill the 2008 financing gap for
countries endorsed through the Education Fast Track Initiative, delivers
little, if any, progress from previous positions.
While welcoming the contribution announced earlier this year, Global Campaign
for Education says it provides less than 10 per cent of what the G8 owes
to meet its collective fair share of the $16 billion required to fund
the initiative. The G8 communiqué about the spending omitted the
pledge that “no country seriously committed to EFA shall fail for
lack of resources,” a worrying retreat from previous communiqués.
The Global Campaign for Education promotes education as a basic human
right, and mobilizes public pressure on governments and the international
community to fulfill their promises to provide free, compulsory, public
education for all people; in particular for children, women and all disadvantaged,
deprived sections of society. Canadian teachers are represented in the
Campaign through the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.
“African governments need predictable, long-term, substantial and
sustained aid to invest in building schools, hiring teachers and offering
literacy programs, to give everyone a chance not just of survival, but
success,” said Gorgui Sow, GCE Board Member of Africa Network Campaigns
on Education for all. “The $1 billion pledged recently will cover
a fraction of the costs of what the poor countries need to invest in all
levels of education.”
The Africa and Development statement calls attention to the need for qualified
teachers, inclusion of disadvantaged and the marginalized children, especially
in fragile and conflict-affect states.
Primary education should be prioritized as part of a holistic approach
that includes post-primary education and lifelong learning, the document
says. Unfortunately the G8 wording stops short of a commitment to action
on any of these issues.
Centres support early learning
The Global Campaign for Education (CGE), to which OECTA is affiliated,
argues that a commitment of $1 billion from the G8 summit of the world’s
richest and most influential nations to fill the 2008 financing gap for
countries endorsed through the Education Fast Track Initiative, delivers
little, if any, progress from previous positions.
While welcoming the contribution announced earlier this year, Global Campaign
for Education says it provides less than 10 per cent of what the G8 owes
to meet its collective fair share of the $16 billion required to fund
the initiative. The G8 communiqué about the spending omitted the
pledge that “no country seriously committed to EFA shall fail for
lack of resources,” a worrying retreat from previous communiqués.
The Global Campaign for Education promotes education as a basic human
right, and mobilizes public pressure on governments and the international
community to fulfill their promises to provide free, compulsory, public
education for all people; in particular for children, women and all disadvantaged,
deprived sections of society. Canadian teachers are represented in the
Campaign through the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.
“African governments need predictable, long-term, substantial and
sustained aid to invest in building schools, hiring teachers and offering
literacy programs, to give everyone a chance not just of survival, but
success,” said Gorgui Sow, GCE Board Member of Africa Network Campaigns
on Education for all. “The $1 billion pledged recently will cover
a fraction of the costs of what the poor countries need to invest in all
levels of education.”
The Africa and Development statement calls attention to the need for qualified
teachers, inclusion of disadvantaged and the marginalized children, especially
in fragile and conflict-affect states.
Primary education should be prioritized as part of a holistic approach
that includes post-primary education and lifelong learning, the document
says. Unfortunately the G8 wording stops short of a commitment to action
on any of these issues.
Fight
climate change and poverty
Gerard Kennedy, former Minister of education is appealing to Canada’s
teachers to take a leadership role in resolving the urgent issues of climate
change and poverty.
“Teachers have an enormous role to play as leaders in education,
both in the class-room and for society at large.” Kennedy addressed
teachers at the annual meeting of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation
(CTF) where he was presented with its national Public Education Advocacy
Award.
“Canada has been stuck in a left-right blame game for far too long.
We need to drive to consensus with labour, business, not-for-profits and
government to arrive at important challenges or the children we are teaching
will pay the price. We (government, teachers and other groups) made a
lot of progress in Ontario education once we were able to focus together
on solutions,” Kennedy said.
“I know teachers and your students are already ahead of the curve
when it comes to understanding the need for action on climate change in
particular. What I am saying is that there is now a social and political
opportunity that teachers should not miss. You must use your voice, both
as individuals and as organizations, to ensure that climate change and
poverty are acted upon, not just talked about.” Kennedy said.
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| Leadership Training: August 2008 •
Provincial Office OECTA members that take on new positions of responsibility, such as unit presidents and committee chairs, participate in special workshops at OECTA’s provincial office during August. The sessions provide orientation for those who provide services, introduce them to key issues and processes as well as an opportunity to meet colleagues and share ideas. |
Support for copyright proposals
Amended copyright legislation is among the bills that have died as a consequence
of the federal election. This is the second time that copyright legislation
has died on the order paper at the dissolution of Parliament. The Liberals
had tabled copyright legislation in 2005 but it was killed when they lost
power in early 2006.
Now teachers, artists, copyright reformers, lawyers and others face another
attempt at legislation that balances the rights of creators with the rights
of users in a process that has already lasted ten years.
Teachers across Canada had supported proposed amendments to the Copyright
Act that were tabled in the House of Commons in June. Specific provisions
concerning education would have gone a long way toward helping teachers,
students, schools and school libraries take greater advantage of the internet,
says the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF). The Bill contained
exceptions that would have permitted educators to use material that has
been posted on the Internet by copyright owners who do not expect to be
compensated for its use.
Education ministers across Canada had also endorsed the proposal. The
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) Copyright Consortium
argues that new legislation must clearly state that students and teachers
have fair and reasonable access to publicly available Internet materials
in their educational pursuits.
EI
launches the education and solidarity network
EI has launched a new education and solidarity network to help strengthen
and develop solidarity-based social protection systems by mobilizing professionals
from the education sector around the world. This project is being implemented
in partnership with the Mutuelle Générale de l’Education
Nationale (MGEN), the Association Internationale de la Mutualité
(AIM) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Professionals in the education sector have a role to play in the development
of solidarity-based welfare systems. The support of EI member organizations
is essential in the implementation of this network, the aim of which is
to promote exchanges of best practices in the area of social protection,
the sharing of expertise, help in creating mutual structures, and the
dissemination of training modules devoted to solidarity-based mutual support
systems.
An international conference will be organized in Paris, France on May
14-15, 2009 for the official launch of the network, and a dedicated website
has also been created, www.educationsolidarity.org
Class
size reduction
Canadians still rank reducing class size as their number one spending
priority for education, a national public opinion poll shows. The National
Issues in Education Poll, commissioned by CTF every two years, examines
the public’s views and opinions on public education in Canada.
Smaller classes have been high on the public agenda since 1995. “Parents
believe small classes give better opportunities for success, allowing
teachers to give more personal attention to students and improved student
performance.”
The poll also shows greater than ever demand for more government funding
for public education. When asked whether they would favour or oppose increased
funding for public elementary and secondary schools, 9 out of 10 Canadians
said they would support increased government funding.
Details can be found at:
www.ctf-fce.ca/e/news/2008/Factsheet-HighestPrioritySpendingAreasinPublicEducation.pdf
How
teachers can help stuttering students
The Stuttering Foundation www.stutteringhelp.org offers these eight tips:
1. Don’t tell the child to “slow down” or “just
relax.”
2. The Stuttering Foundation recommends that teachers not complete words
for the child or talk for him or her.
3. Help all members of the class learn to take turns talking and listening.
All children — and especially those who stutter — find it
much easier to talk when there are few interruptions and they have the
listener’s attention.
4. Expect the same quality and quantity of work from the student who stutters
as the one who doesn’t.
5. Speak with the student in an unhurried way, pausing frequently.
6. Convey that you are listening to the content of the message, not how
it is said.
7. Have a one-on-one conversation with the student who stutters about
needed accommodations in the classroom. Respect the student’s needs,
but do not be enabling.
8. Don’t make stuttering something to be ashamed of. Talk about
stuttering just like any other matter.
Hot
Topic
A message from Elaine Mac Neil,
President, OECTA
As you settle in for the new school year and contemplate
the challenges and joys that the classroom will offer over the next months,
spare a thought and a prayer for the teachers and students of Georgia
and South Ossetia, many of whom face a bleak future after the violent
conflict that ravaged their villages, towns and cities in August. Education
International (EI), of which OECTA is an affiliate through its membership
in the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), reports that teachers
and their families have been displaced by the conflict. Many schools were
destroyed or are being used to house refugees.
Tens of thousands of students face an uncertain future as their education
is disrupted by the violence. As it launched an urgent appeal for financial
assistance for education workers who are members of its Georgian trade
union affiliate, EI also asked that the authorities give priority to the
re-establishment of the school system as soon as peaceful conditions are
restored. EI is urging the international community to provide assistance
in these efforts and OECTA will certainly rise to the occasion.
Much closer to home, students and teachers in the remote Cree community
of Attawapiskat, on the banks of James Bay, face a school year in portables,
eight years after their elementary school, which was built on contaminated
ground, was judged unsafe and closed. The portables’ doors and windows
do not seal, the only washroom is in a classroom and 400 children must
go outdoors, even in sub-zero temperatures to change rooms, often getting
sick. And yet the federal government’s answer to the students, who
travelled to Ottawa in May to publicize their plea for a new school, was
that there is no money and other communities are worse off. Delegates
to the CTF annual meeting in July adopted a motion proposed by OECTA that
the federation lobby the federal government to provide funds to build
a new school in Attawapiskat. Over the coming months, the Association
will work to ensure the community’s educational needs receive the
attention they so deserve.
There’s also trouble in the broader labour community. I returned
from vacation to find a request from the president of the Canadian Union
of Postal Workers (CUPW) to support their campaign against the federal
government’s plans to privatize postal services under the guise
of deregulation – a move condemned by the Canadian Labour Congress
(CLC) at its convention in May. OECTA supports the campaign and encourages
members to download the protest postcard from the CUPW website www.cupw.ca,
and send it to the Strategic Review that is expected to propose privatization.
Solidarity and education – two words that sum up OECTA.
The
world is your classroom
Experience the personal and professional growth that comes from a year
of living and working in another country! The Canadian Education Exchange
Foundation facilitates reciprocal teacher exchanges for the teachers of
BC, NB, NS, ON, and PEI as mandated by each provincial Ministry of Education.
Destinations include the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and some U.S. states. Catholic
teachers are particularly in demand in Australia. Applications are now
being accepted for the 2009/2010 school year.
Visit www.ceef.ca
E mail: cwilk@ceef.ca
705-739-7596
Learning for a sustainable future (LSF)
LSF is a non-profit Canadian organization whose mission is to promote
the knowledge, skills, perspectives, and practices needed to ensure a
sustainable future. LSF provides free resources that have been reviewed
by experienced educators from across Canada at resources4rethinking.caresources4rethinking.ca
Ophea’s Kids’ Health Conference
Join elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, public health
professionals and recreation leaders at Ophea’s Kids’ Health
Conference – Building Active Healthy School Communities, for an
unforgettable experience in professional learning and networking. Participate
in workshops on innovative creative strategies for health and physical
education, sport and intramural activities, a selection of health promotion
topics, and assessment and evaluation tools. The conference runs October
16-18, 2008 at Nottawasaga Inn, Alliston, Ontario. For more information
and to register visit www.ophea.net/khc
New Catholic times Census Fidelium
This is a Canadian online forum for conversation that focuses on the Catholic
principles of solidarity with the poor, the common good, the dignity of
the human person and the presence of God in all creation. Appearing bi-monthly
it was created in this new format after the New Catholic Times ceased
publication. For information and subscriptions, visit
www.newcatholictimes.com
The Lucy Maud Montgomery Symposium
A two-day symposium running October 23-26, 2008 at the University of Guelph,
Explore newly launched collections website, archival collections first-hand
and view an exhibit at the University's art gallery. The exhibit remains
open until January.
www.lmmrc.ca/exhibit/educational_modules/
Resource showcases French culture in Canada
French teachers can find a kit to help their students reflect on the variety
of ways to be a Francophone or Francophile in Canada, Variations francophones,
at www.caslt.org/index_en.php
This is a series of documentary television vignettes featuring interesting
Canadian French speakers along with accompanying teacher materials for
class discussion. Television vignettes and teaching materials take students
on a cross-country tour into francophone cultures to increase student
awareness and appreciation of the many different facets French life can
take in Canada.
Books for children and teens
Best Books for Kids & Teens 2008 contains over 425 recommended books
for kids and teens ages 0-18 to help parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers
and children’s literature enthusiasts stock their bookshelves with
the very best books Canada has to offer. All of the titles have been selected
by committees of educators, booksellers, school and public librarians
from across Canada.
The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not-for-profit
organization, founded in 1976, dedicated to encouraging, promoting and
supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for
young readers. www.bookcentre.ca
Online teaching tools feature Ontario’s
natural and cultural heritage
The Friends of Bonnechere Parks website at www.bonnecherepark.on.ca offers
cross-curricular lesson plans, and interactive activities and games for
JK-Grade 12 Ontario curriculums. Topics include Animal Habitats, Species
at Risk, First Nations, Early Settlers and Archaeology. Saving Ontario
Turtles: A Race Against Time, examines the issues that put six of these
species at risk. Land of the Spirits, invites students to participate
in a simulated archaeological dig based on actual historic excavations
along the Little Bonnechere River, in the Ottawa Valley. Step back in
time in Feed the Frontier – Food in Early Canada, to learn how Canadian
pioneers of the 1800s raised and grew crops, hunted and fished, preserved,
cooked and served food.
National Media Education Week
National Education Week takes place November 3-7, 2008. The Canadian Teachers'
Federation (CTF) to which OECTA is affiliated and Media Awareness Network
have partnered for the week to promote media education and encourage media
literacy activities throughout Canada. www.mediaeducationweek.ca
Under the theme Think Critically, Act Ethically: Inside and Outside the
Classroom, this year's events aim to encourage young people to become
thoughtful, informed and empowered cyber citizens.