A new
school year is upon us. As with every new beginning
there are new challenges. This year, elementary
teachers will have a particular challenge –
implementing the new Grades 1 to 8 curriculum. There
is no doubt in my mind that as professionals we will
cope with the late announcement, immediate
implementation and new expectations. We will do it
and we will do it well. We always have.
The
Ministry of Education and Training’s work to
develop the new elementary curriculum in language and
mathematics was nearly complete when the College
officially took over responsibility for teacher
certification and standards of teaching practice in
late May.
Teachers’ Career
Prospects Are Much Brighter as the New Century Dawns
We’re about to enter the best
years in a long time for teachers to begin or advance
their careers in Ontario. Ironically, the doom and
gloom of recent years about job prospects may be
driving many of the province’s best students
away from the profession just when prospects are
brightest.
First Council Meeting
Focuses on Finance, History
The Governing
Council and guests celebrated the founding of the
College of Teachers with speeches and congratulations
at the College’s first Council meeting May 1 and
2. But Council members quickly turned their attention
to business with an in-depth review of College
finances.
Let's Talk Science
Our children will be facing a
world that is significantly different than the one in
which we grew up. We don’t even know the names
of the jobs or the nature of the work that will be
created in the next 10 years. How do we prepare our
young people to thrive in this unknown environment?
It’s not an easy question to answer, nor is it
clear there is a single answer or a single direction
in which to move.
Capturing the Art of
Teaching
How do you
capture the art of teaching?" Margaret Dempsey
put the job facing the College’s Standards of
Practice and Education Committee in a nutshell during
their first meeting in May. Dempsey is principal of
Hopewell Avenue Public School in Ottawa and a member
of the College’s Governing Council. She answered
her own question with a story about a group of
children who came across a grass snake hiding in the
school playground. The children were fascinated with
their discovery. Where did it come from? Where was it
going? What did it eat? How old was it? Did it lay
eggs? Could they keep it as a pet?
On a hot Friday afternoon in
Stratford, Cynthia Dale thinks back 20 years to high
school in Etobicoke. This is her day off from
performing. On Thursday, she played Guenevere in
Camelot and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew,
performances she will repeat on Saturday. Dale has
two teachers she wants to talk about, both from one
of her senior years at Michael Powers/St. Joseph.
"My English teacher, Mrs. Smart. It was my first
Canadian Lit course and it changed everything for
me."
Math for an Information
Age
Five Grade 1 students are playing
a game. They’re delivering letters in a
neighbourhood that consists of a line of 40 cardboard
rowhouses. The houses all have numbers on their
doors, from 1 to 40. The first 10 houses have the
same colour doors. The second 10 doors are a
different colour. The even-numbered roofs are flat.
The odd-numbered roofs are pointed. The kids are
finding different ways to get to house 34 from house
15. They’re having fun, and they’re
learning math.
The Blue Pages
| Letter to John
Snobelen, Minister of Education and Training |
| Committee
Responsibilities |
| New Teachers
Qualifications Regulations |
| Election Review
Committee |
| 1996 Financial
Statements |
Investigations and
Hearings:
Striking a Fine Balance
Investigations and Hearings
co-ordinator Patrick O’Neill is very careful
when he explains how the Ontario College of Teachers
will deal with complaints against teachers – a
reflection of how the department intends to do
business. O’Neill, a veteran of 28 years on the
senior staff of the Ontario, English, Catholic
Teachers Association, stresses that success for the
department is striking the fine balance that will
make both the public and teachers feel confident
about the College’s investigation and hearing
process.
Ontario College Riding
the Wave of the Future for Teachers Around the World
The inaugural
meeting of the Council of the Ontario College of
Teachers marks the beginning of a new era for the
teaching profession in the province. The
establishment of the College offers an opportunity
for the profession to extend its authority and
influence into areas of professional life which in
the past have been dominated by others. Teachers in
Ontario will now be in a position to take control of
their own professional affairs.
Etobicoke Students Get
the Mobile Edge
The idea behind
a distributed learning environment is nothing new.
For centuries, teachers have been urging students to
go out and explore the world around them. What is new
is the technology making it possible for modern
students to take the information they encounter
around them and integrate it directly and instantly
with the core classroom curriculum.
Thirty Students, One
Computer,
Always Busy!
Many teachers find it a challenge
to make full use of just one or two computers in the
classroom. But experience shows that there are some
tried and true ideas that work in the one-computer
classroom.
The new
elementary curriculum highlights expectations for
students in Media Communication Skills. Viewing,
reading and listening to "media works to obtain
information" are goals set for Grades 1 and 2.
By the end of Grade 8, students are expected to
evaluate the effectiveness of a particular medium in
communicating information.
