Introducing CTF’s New President (CTF Report)
Greetings from the Canadian Teachers’ Federation executive committee and board of directors. As I begin my two- year term as your new president, I am filled with a mixture of excitement and anticipation. It is an honour to serve my profession in this capacity, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. It is my goal to continue the work accomplished by your former president, Emily Noble, now the federation’s past president. I had the opportunity to meet many of you at the ETFO annual meeting in August and appreciated hearing your comments, feedback, and support. Over the next two years, I look forward to working with your leadership as well as those of all CTF member organizations.
This fall we are launching an online survey tool to allow CTF to check with teachers on new and arising issues that affect teaching and learning in Canadian classrooms. The first survey topic is the H1N1 virus. The survey will allow us to determine the degree to which teachers are satisfied with the level of preparedness in their board or school. We will share the survey results with the ETFO leadership as well as with all our member organizations.
By the time you receive this issue of Voice, Canada’s will be marking its fourth annual Media Literacy Week, November 2–6. The week is organized annually by the Media Awareness Network (MNet) in cooperation with CTF. This year’s theme, “Media Literacy in the Digital Age,” emphasizes the multiple literacy skills today’s youth need when they create, access, evaluate, repurpose, and distribute media content. A variety of activities – from classroom-based projects to large- scale public events – take place throughout the week in support of media literacy. However, ideas for activities and other resources are available on the Media Literacy Week website, medialiteracy. ca, and can be used throughout the year.
On behalf of all of us at CTF, I would like to wish you a safe, healthy, and successful school year.
Marilies Rettig, ETFO deputy general secretary, was honoured with a Special Recognition Award at CTF’s annual meeting in July. The awards recognize the contributions teacher leaders make in promoting the profession and public education.
“Great leaders combine vision with courageous action while setting the path for positive change in the world around them,” CTF President Emily Noble said in presenting the award. As president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Rettig led her federation in fighting the Harris government’s efforts to subvert publicly funded education in Ontario and provided the impetus for a 37,000-strong rally at Queen’s Park. As CTF president from 1999 to 2001, she put the spotlight on the National Children’s Agenda and supported teachers engaged in collective action across Canada. She served on the executive of Education International for seven years, and as OTF president in 2005-2006. Rettig became ETFO DGS in 2008.