Cdn EdWire – Short Term Labour Peace for Long Term Labour Strife?
The pundits and educators are mulling over the long term bargaining table ramifications from teacher labour deals struck in Ontario and B.C.
Ontario Catholic teachers reach deal with province; agree to wage freeze – Toronto Star
Ontario Catholic teachers reach deal with province; agree to wage freeze – Toronto Star
Dwight Duncan urges other unions to follow Catholics teachers’ lead – Toronto Star
Ontario cut school boards out to reach deal with Catholic teachers – Globe and Mail
B.C. teachers accept new contract, bringing labour peace – Globe and Mail
B.C. teachers and province reach tentative net-zero deal – Vancouver Sun
RELATED BLOG/EDITORIAL COMMENTARY
On McGuinty’s negotiation with teachers, the jury is still out – Globe and Mail
Scott Stinson: Ontario throws down the gauntlet, and more, at its teachers unions – National Post
Is this negotiation? – doug — off the record
The big news in Ontario Education today came to me via the Globe and Mail but media throughout the province was quick to report as well. It was a story announcing that the Provincial Government had reached an agreement with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, OECTA.
The government pulled no punches earlier this spring when it announced its financial difficulties and flew ideas about how it was going to resolve them. It came as no surprise that it would be partially solved on the backs of the teachers of the province. Previously, the government had frozen principal salaries. I recall mentioning at the time that that wasn’t going to be enough; a salary freeze had to go much further than that and the biggest group of salaries in education belong to the teachers ...Read more
Provincial Agreement with Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association Diminishes the Importance of Professional Learning – Teaching out Loud
The first thing that jumps out at me as I read the terms of the deal struck between OECTA and the Ontario Ministry of Education: the importance of professional learning is not very highly regarded—by folks on either side of the bargaining table.
Not only has the province stepped back from its intent to maintain an annual grant to school boards that offered funding for additional professional learning opportunities for elementary teachers, but the 3 unpaid days that all OECTA members will be required to take during the 2013/14 school year are to be taken from the already limited number of PD days. The argument, of course, is that these are non-instructional days and, as a result, the direct impact on students will be minimized. Really?...Read more
OTHER NEWS
Reject gay-straight alliances, parents group tells Catholic trustees – London Free Press
Transgender student named prom queen at Ontario high school – National Post
Catholic? Step away from the ballot box: ‘Antiquated’ law undermining Alberta’s public schools, critics charge – National Post
Fired Cowichan Valley school board ‘playing politics’ – Vancouver Province
Canadian parents give report cards a failing grade – Globe and Mail
Is bilingualism still relevant in Canada? – Globe and Mail
Swimming classes to be offered: Education Minister – Montreal Gazette
Courchesne tells Radio-Canada that “Nager pour Survivre” program to be available in January
INTERNATIONAL
Michael Gove plan to replace GCSEs with O-levels savaged as ‘madness’ – Metro UK
EDUBLOG HIGHLIGHTS
Confronting a Cliché – Stager-to-go
Just returned home from speaking at another large international conference where meaningless clichés filled the air and rolled off of people’s tongues. Aside from being boring, clichés oversimplify complex issues and distract us from making forward progress. Clichés are a tranquilizer that retard our thinking and decision-making. Clichés amplify the superficial and form of a vapor barrier around powerful ideas.
Sometimes, the clichés are not even true. Yet, they still manage to become a community standard.
- One particularly pernicious cliché goes something like this.
- “We all have so much to learn from our students.”
- Variations on this theme include:
- “The kids are so much smarter than us.”
- “My students know so much more than me.”
- “They are the digital natives. We are digital immigrants.”
The motivation behind uttering such banalities is likely positive. It acknowledges that children are competent and encourages adults to learn with them.
However, these clichés suggest a power relationship in which all adults (particularly teachers) are resigned to the role of bumbling TV dad while the kids rule the roost. In education, this often serves as a justification for why teachers irrationally fear computers and modernity or appear to have stopped learning…Read more
Meet the Expert(s)
Max Cooke
CEO
Max Cooke is the CEO of the EdCan Network.
Max Cooke est le directeur général du Réseau ÉdCan.
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