A province-wide induction program is something ETFO has long been advocating for. This new system of supports replaces the Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test, the much-reviled teacher testing program brought in by the Mike Harris government.
How do you demonstrate the power of language to students weaned on a diet of dramatic and engaging visuals? I have them close their eyes and picture an image to accompany the famous words of British poet, Robert Browning: "A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
It was when he was reviewing his school’s reading scores in September 2002 that the light went on for Wayne Copp, principal of Toronto’s Baycrest Public School.
Last fall, Teviah Moro, a reporter for the Timmins Daily Press wrote a series of articles on a desperate situation in Attawapiskat, a First Nations community on the James Bay coast. I shared these stories with my Grade 5/6 class at Iroquois Falls Public School. They immediately decided that they needed to do something to help.
Last summer I attended a three-day workshop in Hamilton. It was the best professional development opportunity I have had in my 20-year teaching career.
Anita Dhawan showed spunk as a girl of 11 when she broke an ancient taboo by embracing a low-caste woman in her native India. Later, she challenged the patriarchal society of her hometown, who mistreated her widowed mother because in their eyes a woman merited no dignity after losing her husband. As an adult, the iconoclastic Anita smashed yet another barrier by forcing York University to recognize her foreign credentials, paving the way for her teaching career in Canada.
Two years ago, I became aware of an organization in the US named "Kids Voting USA." The operation aimed to build a habit of electoral participation among youth under the voting age in preparation for the time when they can vote. I was startled by the results. In some areas, student participation drove adult voting rates upwards of seven percent. Schools partnered with community newspapers, teachers invited community leaders into the classroom, and students became engaged.
Spelling is one topic that never seems to leave the educational scene. Our attitudes toward the teaching of spelling shift back and forth depending on the prevailing educational philosophy of the day. As a result, there has been very little consistency in our instructional practices related to spelling.
Le travail en groupes dans la classe de fran cais langue seconde est une stratégie qui permet aux eleves de mettre en pratique le but premier de I'app ren tissa ge d'une langue : la comm un icatio . Tout comme le jeune enfant qui apprend chez a parler, la comm un ication orale est evidemment ce qui prime. Viennent ensuite les autres formes de commun ication sous la forme de lecture et d'écriture.