ARTICLE
Your Federation
- Representative Council Representative Council brings together local leaders three times a year. In October First Vice-President Susan Swackhammer chaired the first meeting of 2009-10. Participants elected representatives to Representative Council committees: selection committee for standing committees, steering committee, and the ETFO budget committee.
Dr. David Williams, associate chief medical officer of health for Ontario, provided Representative Council delegates with an update on the status of preparations for the H1N1 flu pandemic. He outlined the infection prevention and control practices key in helping to prevent or reduce the spread of influenza, and he answered questions.
In anticipation of the province’s announcement of its plans for full- day kindergarten ETFO President Sam Hammond outlined what the federation had done to focus attention on the need to have full-day pro- grams staffed by certified teachers. Hammond said ETFO had developed a variety of publications (available online at etfo.ca) that provide infor- mation about the federation’s position for members, the public and government. As well, he and ETFO staff had met with the Minister of Education and with senior staff in the Premier’s office to deliver ETFO’s message first-hand. He added: “I have also met with representatives of the ECE community … I have also been very clear that we would welcome ECE personnel in kindergarten classrooms. However, I have made it very clear that their role is not equal to nor should it be considered a replacement for a qualified teacher.” When the province made its announcement later in October, full-time teachers were part of the plan. - Leadership
Craig Kielberger was the keynote speaker at the annual ETFO leadership conference. In 1995, when he was 12 years old, Kielberger founded Free the Children. This international development organization has built more than 500 schools that provide daily education to more than 50,000 children in marginalized regions worldwide. It has become the world’s leading youth-driven charity. In highlighting what teachers can do to motivate students, Kielberger spoke about the role one of his teachers played in supporting him when he wanted to take action on the issue of child labour. He is the author of Free The Children and the co-author of several bestsellers. including the recently released The World Needs Your Kid: How to Raise Children Who Care andContribute. The annual leadership conference provides leadership skills training in a variety of areas to ETFO local activists. - Leaders for Tomorrow
Twenty women members from diverse back- grounds are taking part in the sixth Leaders for Tomorrow program. The program is geared to those who commit to becoming active in their local or in the provincial federation. The participants take part in five face-to-face sessions that provide opportunities to learn about leadership from a variety of perspectives. Among the presenters at the opening session was Dr. Avis Glaze. She provided insights into the role of leaders and asked the participants to become the leaders they most admired to attain. She modelled leadership qualities that all participants said they strive and appreciated. - Let’s Talk About It
Gender violence continues to plague our society. Every minute of every day a woman or child in Canada is being sexually assaulted, according to the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. Let’s Talk About It is a step-by-step guide designed to help educators and federation leaders plan and organize conferences for boys and young men to educate them about healthy choices they can make for their own lives and relationships. The guide includes an overview of issues, conference planning ideas, resources, suggested topics for workshops and sample workshop activities. The guide is a joint project of ETFO and the White Ribbon Campaign. For more information visit whiteribbon.com. - Postcard campaign
Each year, women across the country commemorate the 14 young women who were killed on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique in Montreal and all the other women who have died as a result of male violence. This year ETFO participated in a postcard campaign intended to pressure the federal government to take action to end violence against women. Every day between November 16 and December 6 participants sent a postcard to Prime Minister Stephen Harper highlighting an area of federal policy where meaningful action would increase women’s safety, equality, and well-being (e.g., housing, employment insurance, social assistance, postsecondary education, childcare, etc.). The campaign was initiated by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). - The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of
In October ETFO funding made it possible for 600 elementary school students to attend a symphony concert given by the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar of Venezuela. This 250-member youth orchestra was founded by José Abreu, who came to Toronto (with the orchestra) to receive the Glenn Gould prize. Orchestra membership gives children and youth from poor families an opportunity to train as classical musicians. For more information, visit fesnojiv.gob.ve. - Teachers Learning Together
Almost 200 ETFO members who participated in Teachers Learning Together met in Toronto in November to celebrate the conclusion of the project. During the 2008-09 school year these teachers worked in teams on an action research project focused on a mathematics topic. The 40 teams were supported with release time, resources, and guidance and facilitation by faculty from five Ontario faculties of education. At the concluding symposium, participants shared the results of their research. They also spent one day working with Dr. Catherine Twomey Fosnot, a professor of education at City College of New York and the director of Mathematics in the City. The project was made possible by professional learning funds provided by the Ministry of Education. - Curriculum writers In recognition of the twentieth anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, ETFO members Daniela Lombardo, Adrianna Knight, and Michael Gill have written lesson plans that teachers can use in the classroom. The lessons are available at etfo.ca >Resources >ForTeachers.
