Education Action: Toronto

At a time when Palestinians face yet another year of watching their homes bulldozed and their crops uprooted, when people of Gaza, under continuous blockade, attempt to rebuild houses, schools, places of worship and basic utilities destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces during Operation Cast Lead, when families grieve the loss of 1400 people including 350 children – at a time that marks a simple fact that Palestinians are not permitted the right to live at home and pursue their lives, we are to be condemned if we call this Apartheid.

Chris Spence had the bemused look of a running back who has just gained 40 yards for the wrong team. Things started out okay, but…

About 250 Jane and Finch parents and community members had come to an Area Review Committee (ARC) meeting at Brookview Middle School last Thursday night fearing the loss of a school in their already struggling neighbourhood. At least one of Shoreham, Driftwood, Gosford or Blacksmith Public Schools will be sold, while others in the group are renovated to accommodate children from Kindergarten to grade 8. Ten schools are slated to close across the TDSB duly processed through a series of ARC meetings.

It looks like TDSB Chair Bruce Davis and Trustee Josh Matlow have managed to settle their differences without blood or tears. Matlow has avoided possible censure from the board, but there are still some worthwhile questions to be asked now that seas have a calmed a bit.

Kids need to feel safe in school. And no matter what your perspective on education or the Ministry that runs it in this province, there won’t be much disagreement about the fact that adults who work in schools have a responsibility to do something when students don’t feel safe. Behavior like bullying, slurs against groups, harassment, and violence of any kind must be confronted.

The Student Achievement and School Board Governance Act that received Royal Assent on December 15 is not quite as bad as the original. But that’s a bit like saying losing your shoes isn’t as bad as losing your shirt.
Correction:In the original text of this article I wrote that “Under Section 218 of the amended Education Act trustees must still “ support the implementation of any board resolution after it is passed by the board, ” . This should have read uphold the implementation of any board resolution after it is passed by the board. My mistake and apologies.

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Someone needs to watch the watchers according to Hugh Mackenzie in the recently released report from Centre for Policy Alternatives “ No Time for Complacency – Education Funding Reality Check”. The Provincial Government has been so busy pointing the finger at schools, boards and educators as it demands accountability for just about everything, it has missed a key factor – provincial funding runs the system. The province just isn’t providing adequate funding and needs supervision – a new job perhaps for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).

Interest is growing in the potential role of schools as community hubs. At a time when neo-liberal education policy is dominating government thinking at all levels in Canada, the community hub model as an alternative to school closings in a time of declining enrolment merits close attention. But we shall have to revise our thinking on educational funding and governance if it is to make a real contribution to our society. Here is a slightly edited version of an article recently published by David Clandfield in Our Schools/Ourselves. .

We draw your attention to this presentation on the history and political meaning of the current obsession with high-stakes mass testing in the USA. It is a timely reminder of our duty to find alternative forms of assessment and accountability and provides, in our view, an excellent point of departure for the next round in the struggle to overturn this dehumanization of children’s learning in Ontario. Click here

There was a time when calling for a curriculum that emphasized critical literacies was thought of as progressive, radical, even subversive.

But these terms have been co-opted into mainstream educational policy. They are even used by governments and political parties that were once deeply hostile to these ideas.

How could this happen and what can we do about it?