"In order to have an impact on the decision-making process that affects
technological education, existing associations must come together," insisted
departing OTEA president John Fredette. "We must build on partnerships with
stakeholders in education who play an important role in determining policy and regulations
that affect us as teachers, and technological education in Ontario."
The long list of speakers included College Registrar Margaret Wilson who stressed the
shortage of technological teachers and the need to find ways to attract new teachers.
"Over the next five years, the College estimates that 1,525 technology teachers
will retire," said College Registrar Margaret Wilson. "Yet, last year, only 77
candidates were enrolled in technological studies at Ontario’s faculties of
education.
"I am not sure that the solution is as simple as throwing a lot of money at it.
Creative solutions must be sought in order to recruit the best and the brightest."
For more information on OTEA, contact otea@becon.org.
Publication Communicates New Curriculum to Teachers, Parents
Curriculum Update is now on-line. The Implementation Partnership, in co-operation with
the Ministry of Education, has developed a print and on-line publication to address
questions on the implementation of elementary and secondary school curriculum.
As the new four-year secondary school program is launched with the introduction of the
new Grade 9 curriculum, the first issue – available in English and French –
features information on teacher support, school teams and training opportunities. Plans
for future issues include articles about assessment, evaluation and the new secondary
school curriculum, best implementation practices from school boards and schools, and
informative web sites.
To access Curriculum Update On-line, go to http://www.edu.gov. on.ca/eng/document/curricul/
update/spring99/.
Canadian Nominated for Singapore’s Top Teaching Honour
Canadian teacher John Patrick Mascoe has been nominated for Singapore’s top
teaching award. Mascoe, an Ottawa native and College member, has been teaching in
Singapore for almost three years.
The President’s Award is Singapore’s most prestigious teaching honour. If
Mascoe should win, he would be the first non-Singaporean to do so.
When Mascoe joined Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, colleagues didn’t hold out much
hope for him staying long. The teacher he replaced, after all, was a 20-year teaching
veteran from England – and he only lasted a few months before quitting.
"For Mascoe, who is the only Caucasian teacher at our school, to not only adapt,
but excel in a teaching system that is incredibly stressful says a lot about his
perseverant attitude," says colleague Tan Su Ting.
Mascoe, who penned a "College Members Abroad" column in the June ’99
edition of Professionally Speaking, is also a local hero in Singapore, after he fought off
three thugs who were beating a man outside a plaza last summer. The story was widely
reported in the city’s media.
Mascoe hopes to resume his Ontario teaching career this January when he returns from
his stint abroad.
Ontario Teachers Shine at 1998 Prime Minister’s Teaching Awards
Twenty-nine teachers from Ontario were recipients of the 1998 Prime
Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence, handed out last May. Five Ontario
educators received a Certificate of Excellence, while 24 received Certificates of
Achievement.
"The teachers we honour today are true heroes," said Prime Minister Jean
Chrétien. "Because they have inspired a love of learning in their students, a gift
that will stay with them the rest of their lives. They have helped open doors of
opportunity that might have been closed and helped set young Canadians on the path to a
successful future."
Stephen MacKinnon of Athens District High School in Athens, Michael Zanibbi of Queen
Elizabeth Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Kingston, and a team of teachers –
George Brasovan, Allan Molnar and Mary Lou Sicoly – from Dante Alighieri Academy in
Toronto (and featured in the March 1998 issue of Professionally Speaking) were the
Certificate of Excellence recipients from Ontario.
Ontario recipients of the Certificate of Achievement were: Suzanne Fortin –
Blezard Valley, École Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire; Charles Lamarche – Cornwall, École
secondaire l'Héritage; Colin Williamson – Kanata, Bridlewood Community Elementary
School; Carol Adam – Kingston, Lord Strathcona Public School; Rod Rychliski, Kate
Vanderhorst – Kitchener, Driftwood Park Public School (see the December ’97
Professionally Speaking); Louisa Howerow – London, Jeanne Sauvé French Immersion
Public School; Michael Milhausen – London, Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School;
Sholom Eisenstat, Tito Faria – Toronto, Don Mills Collegiate Institute; David Boyd
– Oakville, Appleby College; Carolyn Humphrey, Jo-Anne LaForty, Lucia Sharp –
Oshawa, O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute; Donald Jones – Peterborough,
Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute; Kendall Taylor – Peterborough, Thomas A.
Stewart Secondary School; William Costiniuk – Timmins, Timmins High and Vocational
School; Wendy Maxwell – Toronto, Bishop Strachan School; Peter Joong – Toronto,
Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute; Brian Taylor – Toronto Horizon
Alternative Senior School; Frank Mustoe – Toronto, University of Toronto Schools;
Elaine Vine – Toronto, Vaughan Road Academy; Rick Hay – Toronto Whitney Public
School; Anne Hobbs – Waterdown, Waterdown District High School.
Congratulations to one and all from the Ontario College of Teachers. For a complete
list of award recipients across Canada, visit the SchoolNet web site at www.schoolnet.ca.
Canadian Education Journals Profiled in Brock Study
Educators looking for the right journal to publish their work will find all the
information they need in a recent study conducted by Brock University graduate student
Greg Hamelin, under the direction of Brock’s Susan Drake and Cecilia Reynolds from
OISE/UT.
Several useful tables provide details on circulation, frequency, the acceptance rate of
submissions and the preferred editorial style for 70 Canadian publications, ranging from
Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession (by far the largest) to Paideusis: Journal
of the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society.
The study also profiles the publication requirements of peer-reviewed journals and
classifies them by the type of review that articles must pass to be published.
To read the full report and view the tables, visit the College web site at
www.oct.ca/english/ps10/journal_study.htm or the Brock University library web site at
www.brocku.ca/library.
Lab Life
The College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario wants to teach
students about life in the lab. The 9,000-member College is sponsoring the "Life in
the Lab Campaign," designed to teach students more about medical laboratories and
health.
With the vast array of information about health issues on the Internet – both good
and bad – the campaign allows students to become more familiar with on-line
information related to heart, stroke and cancer prevention, medical laboratories and
medical information in general.
For example, on the lab techs’ college web site (www.cmlto.com), students are invited to find and note 10
facts on the prevention of cancer, what the differences are between a regulated and
unregulated medical lab, and what you need to consider when reading medical information
gleaned from a web site. The site also imparts information on what cytology and molecular
genetics are.
Web site visitors also have an opportunity to vote on entries in a photo contest of lab
specimens "best" photograph. Voting participants have a chance to win a Palm
Pilot.
