In this issue of the magazine, you see one of the most important products of their work
the Standards of Practice for the Teaching
Profession. Denys Gigučres article
describes the enormous amount of work that went into developing these standards. Of
course, the work on these standards is not over by any means. They have been approved in
principle and presented for your feedback over the next few months.
I hope you will take the time to reflect on the standards and share your views with
your professional colleagues.
The standards are our professions answer to the question, "What does it mean
to be a teacher?" They have already become an important part of the way we look at
the future of teaching. The five themes that underlie the standards: Commitment to Student
Learning; Professional Knowledge; Teaching Practice; Leadership and Community; and Ongoing
Professional Learning will be key components of the accreditation process as we review the
pre-service programs at three Ontario universities this year Ottawa University,
both English and French faculties, Windsor and York.
The educators who will be reviewing for the Colleges Accreditation Committee have
spent a lot of time discussing how the pre-service programs at each of these universities
must reflect the themes that teachers across the province have identified as the core of
our profession.
COLLEGE SPURS ACTION
The Colleges concerns about the shortage of
teachers and the data that we provided to the Ministry of Education and
Training has alerted the public to our provinces very real shortage of teachers. All
of the stakeholders in education are concerned and anxious to resolve this crisis. The
ministry has established a task force that is looking at the issue. The profession is well
represented on this panel and I hope positive results will be forthcoming.
For teachers, one important aspect of the Colleges report is the very real need
to encourage young people to enter the profession. Initial reports are that the widespread
media coverage of the College study has generated a flurry of applications to faculties of
education. In future issues of Professionally Speaking, the College will be
looking at other jurisdictions that have faced teacher shortages and how they have dealt
with the problem.
REMARKABLE PURPOSE, PASSION AND HOPE
Looking back at past issues of Professionally
Speaking, I realize that the feature on remarkable
teachers is an important one for all of us. In all of the reflections
provided by well-known Canadians, we find common characteristics
in those remarkable teachers. Each one had a passion for the profession
and for the subject matter they taught, each demonstrated a special
interest in the students they dealt with and believed that their
students could succeed.
I believe these teachers intuitively knew the importance of the "emotional
intelligence" that Fullan and Hargreaves have found to be an essential component of
teaching. As Rick Chamberss article on the Quest
Conference suggests, each one of those teachers had purpose, passion and
hope.