Features

The 2006 ETFO Annual Meeting was the first without elections.

Last year delegates decided to elect leaders for two-year terms;this year they spent four days focusing on Federation business.

It’s spring and the playground at Chatham’s Queen Elizabeth II School is alive with the steady beat of jump ropes slapping the asphalt and the sounds of kids repeating age-old chants: “One potato, two potato, three potato, four…”

“Those young people just don’t understand what we fought to achieve.”

“Those experienced teachers just want to talk about ‘the good old days.”

That’s the sound of generations colliding.

They were deeply involved in the federal election. They met the candidates. They researched party platforms and positions. They argued and debated.

Chaque élève qui se présente dans une classe de français langue seconde arrive avec un riche bagage culturel, prêt à être partagé avec la communauté scolaire. Il s’agit pour l’enseignante ou l’enseignant de puiser dans cette richesse culturelle que représentent ses élèves et de les motiver afin d’enrichir leurs interactions avec leurs camarades.

The academic achievement of boys has long been a worrisome issue for educators. The most recent EQAO assessment of Ontario’s grade 3 and 6 students (released last November) does nothing to lessen concern.

Teaching for Deep Understanding is a call for curriculum reform in Ontario. It is our response to the concerns of our members about the Ontario curriculum. We hope our work provokes deep and thoughtful discussion about the Ontario curriculum that we need.

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?”