Celebrating Teacher and Student Success (CTF Report)

The  Canadian Teachers’   Federation was honoured to  be  the  only organization to be granted a private audience with the Dalai Lama in  Montreal on Oct. 2.  Our group was taken backstage  to meet His Holiness after he spoke to more than 15,000 people at the Bell Centre. I introduced  him to Nova Scotia teacher Heather MacIsaac, designer of the 2009 World Teachers’ Day (WTD) poster, as well as to the three winners of  our student essay contest on peace: Daniel Jewson (whose teacher at Bertie Public School in  Ridgeway was ETFO  member  Sylvia Grieco); Emily Liston (whose teacher is a member  of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens); and Migguel Huard (whose teacher is a member of the Alberta Teachers’ Association).

We presented the Dalai Lama with a framed copy of the WTD poster and a bound copy of the student essays. The Dalai Lama’s message  of compas- sion and peace coincided with our World Teachers’ Day theme: Peace.  Live it. Teach it.  It was especially fitting that his public appearance  took place just before World Teachers’ Day, celebrated on October 5.

The Dalai Lama underlined  the importance of compassion in our dealings with  each other and emphasized  the  ethical nature of  that  compassion; acting compassionately  leads to happiness  and, ultimately, to world peace. It  is  through our understanding  of  our interdependence  as human beings that we may become  more compassionate.  It is through education  that we achieve that understanding. As  the Dalai Lama spoke, I was reminded  of teachers who bear this responsibility and who are compassionate  people. The Dalai Lama stressed the importance  of  education systems embracing ethics as part of the curriculum at every level, but recognized that this  goal was not being accomplished. Yet my experiences  in the  classroom,  as an administrator,  and as a teacher organization leader have made it clear that this compassion is evident  over and over again.

PRIME MINISTER’S  TEACHING AWARDS
CTF was also invited to take part in  the official procession of  the  Prime Minister’s  Awards for Teaching  Excellence  (PMAs) ceremony  in Ottawa. For the first time the event was held on October 5  to  coincide with  World Teachers’  Day.  I was honoured  to meet the award recipients  and Prime Minister Stephen  Harper, who attended the ceremony. He presented Certificates  of Excellence to the  27  teachers and early  childhood  educators in attendance.  In  addition, the PMAs recognized 35  teachers from  across Canada who  received Certificates  of Achievement from their respective members of Parliament. I would like to personally congratulate   ETFO member Katie Kemp, a grade 7 and 8 teacher at W.H. Day  Elementary  School in Bradford, who received a  prestigious Certificate of Achievement.
The teachers honoured on October 5 represent the thousands of teachers in Canada who provide our students with  the  best education they can give. Congratulations  to you all!

On behalf of CTF’s board  of directors, the best to  you  during this  festive  period. I wish  you continued  success  in your classrooms in the New Year!