Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
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Why old-school teaching fails new Canada
Saturday, April 9th, 2011
Apr 02 2011
From its 19th-century beginnings, public education here was a venture in equity — another way to say fairness. The public back then was mostly white and Protestant, with British or American roots. But the rich among them had their own private schools. Public schools arose to equalize access to schooling… The question is: What happens when the “public” in public education changes? It now includes these new “racialized” groups and it includes Canada’s first inhabitants… some of them are being ill-served in the public schools.
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario teachers OK $60 fee to fight PCs’ Tim Hudak
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Apr. 6, 2011
“This will not be telling people which party to vote for. It will purely be looking at an issues-based campaign promoting the educational rights of children and of students and of having a good educational system,” said Mr. Ryan in an interview. “I would love us to have a situation where we were remaining completely non-partisan … [but] we are very concerned about Mr. Hudak’s policies on education and in general on the funding of public services… “The Conservatives believe teacher unions have too much power with the McGuinty government and would move quickly to reduce that influence…
Tags: budget, ideology, participation
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7th graders go on field trip to protest with OCAP
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Apr 6, 2011
“… students had been discussing the issue of poverty and looking at the elements of the provincial budget that address poverty and hunger,”… the goal of the protest trip was “to teach students how they can make a difference… and part of that is how to engage our civic leaders in respectful ways.”… The west-end Toronto school… focuses on peace and social justice issues, with subjects taught “through the lens of race, class, gender, sexuality and ability,”… Each spring, students dedicate one week to volunteering for justice-based community and international organizations…
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Why old-school teaching fails new Canada
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
Apr 02 2011
Public education was never public enough. It was too narrow and WASPy, too “informed by Anglo-Christian values and deference to the ideals of British monarchy.” Yet it contained the seeds of diversity and equity. Egerton Ryerson, who created Ontario’s schools in the 19th century, might not recognize the results, or like them, but equity is what the system he launched was meant for. It’s good for all kids, not just the neediest, to get a more complex, messier sense of the messy world they’re part of. It’s more fun.
Tags: Indigenous, multiculturalism, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
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Brain strategy
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Mar. 25, 2011
As a practising child psychiatrist, I am acutely aware of the devastating consequences that result from a lack of national strategy on mental health and brain disorders. One out of five children has a diagnosable mental health problem, but only one out of six gets the help needed. The reasons include stigma, lack of resources, inadequate public education, caregiver burnout and lack of research to support new treatments. The biggest cause of “brain drain” is not doctors leaving Canada to practise elsewhere – it’s neglect of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Tags: child care, Health, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
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The Tories’ buried budget line: Funding for brain research
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Mar. 24, 2011
If our future prosperity lies in knowledge, we need to nurture our most precious natural resource – our brains. One way to do that is larger and smarter investments in education. But another key component is preventing and treating brain diseases, which are a $60-billion a year drain on the economy annually. An estimated 5.5 million Canadians live with a neurological condition. There is a broad spectrum of conditions… One in five people will also suffer from a mental health problem like depression some time in their life.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Better integration plan needed for special-needs students: coalition
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
March 10, 2011
… integration in its current framework isn’t working and is hindering the learning of other children. “We want the creation of special classes when we need them,” said St. Germain, acknowledging that means more than exist at present… The coalition’s position worries a group that represents the disabled, which fears it would result in less integration and more special classes… However, the alliance agrees with the coalition about the lack of resources, Colin said. “As long as we don’t have resources for the child, we risk derailing integration.”
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Ignatieff looks to education in election strategy
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Mar. 6, 2011
Mr. Ignatieff has painted only the broad strokes of his learning plan: ensuring post-secondary education is affordable and investing in early learning and child care, Aboriginal education, literacy programs, language training for immigrants and skills training. But he promises the plan will help create jobs, and he argues that the Conservative government should be investing more in education to boost Canada’s economic recovery instead of giving billions of dollars worth of tax breaks to businesses.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | 1 Comment »
Fund pathways to education, not to prison
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Mar. 05, 2011
For $5-million a year, the Conservative government has made an investment in young people that makes spectacular sense. It also undermines the logic of the government’s U.S.-style prison expansion, which will cost Ottawa nearly $1-billion a year, and the provinces about the same amount… Pathways to Education, which will receive $20-million over four years, is a remarkable program devised by a community health centre in Toronto’s inner city… Its results are astonishing. It cut the dropout rate among 700 students from 56 per cent to 12 per cent
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Education Debates | 1 Comment »
900 more Ontario schools to offer full-day kindergarten in 2012: McGuinty
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
March 2, 2011
The province has named the additional 900 Ontario schools that will offer full-day kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year… “We have enjoyed some very real successes — we have more teachers, smaller classes we have peace and stability and measurable improvements when it comes to results,” [Premier McGuinty] said in an election campaign-type announcement… The Progressive Conservatives say McGuinty can’t reach his goal of all young students in full-day by September 2014 and say a Tory government would look at what Ontario families can afford before agreeing to expand.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, participation, standard of living
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