Summer 2006 - The member magazine of the Elementary Teachers

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Final article in a 3-part series.Our schools for sale?“On the importance of education generally we may remark, it is asnecessary as the light – it should be as common as water, and as freeas air.”Egerton Ryerson, 1829.by Pat McAdieEquity and universal accessibility are two of theobjectives of our public education system. Yetthese goals can be undermined by the increasingcommercialism in our schools.The national survey on commercialism 1 that Iwrote about in previous issues of Voice identifiedthe ways in which private money funds activitiesand programs in public schools. The surveylooked at the extent of fundraising (see VoiceWinter 06) and the extent to which corporationshave a presence in our schools (see Voice Spring06). Topping up public school budgets withprivate fundraising and other sources of privatemoney has been described as providing a privateschool education within our public system, particularlyin wealthy neighbourhoods.Pat McAdie is an ETFO research officer.These activities can and do change the nature of our public educationsystem. Here are some of potential impacts:• Inequity: The amount of money schools raise ranges from a low of$180 to a high of $250,000 per year. Generally, schools in wealthierneighbourhoods can raise more money.• What is – and is not – funded: An increasing number of itemsdefined as “frills,” fall outside of government funding includingplayground equipment, field trips, and even some classroom andlearning resources. This is less of a problem for schools in wealthyneighbourhoods that can raise funds and provide a richer variety ofexperiences for students.• Competition for funding: Programs and schools relying on privatedonors may all be competing for the same sources of funds. Howdoes this detract time and energy from other activities?• Lack of educational quality control: Who ensures that thecurriculum/classroom materials provided by corporate sources areunbiased, complete, and accurate?• Targeted funding: When private interests decide which schools orprograms are more “worthy” of support, they are making decisionsabout programming that ought to be made by schools and schoolboards.• Requirements for receiving funding: Some private corporationsor organizations may require advertising or the use of specificcurriculum or other materials.• Instability of funding: Many private sources of funding do not makecommitments to provide resources over an extended period. Asparents and corporations go through challenging economic conditions,support for public education may not be as attractive or feasible.Many of these issues go to the purpose of our public education system.Whose interests are being served and who is left out of the discussions anddecisions?How do we provide support for public education if our governments won’tprovide it? We need to reaffirm the purpose of public education – to benefitnot just individuals, but our communities and our whole society.1 This survey was conducted by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives,and the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement.38 etfo voice SUMMER 2006
BOOKS • CDS • GAMESreviewsBeginnings:Stories of Canada’s PastEdited by Ann WalshVancouver: Ronsdale Press,2001228 pgs., $12.95Reviewed by Adrienne JohnsonBeginnings is a collection of storiesabout young people fromCanada’s past who did somethingfor the first time.These gripping stories haveboth factual and fictional, maleand female main characters. Theyoung characters tell their ownpowerful stories. Extensive historicalnotes provide context foreach story.They include the story of theyoungest person – an eight yearold boy! – to be imprisoned inthe Kingston Penitentiary, andthe story of the young womanwho went against her father’swishes so she could participate inthe first election in which womencould vote.Much has been written inCanadian history about the lastspike in the Canadian PacificRailroad. Laura Morgan tells thestory of “The First Spike.” Anotherstory of Aboriginal origin, “Gift ofthe Old Wives,” describes how afew Cree women elders sacrificedtheir lives to save their peoplefrom a battle to death with theBlackfoot tribe.This book would be a greatread-a-loud, and fits well withmany aspects of the grade 7 and8 history curriculum. Beginningscould inspire young people tofurther investigate the colourfulhistory of Canada.My only hesitation in notassigning five stars to this collectionof stories is that thereare several ‘suggestive’ referencesthat I would edit out if Iwere reading the stories aloud toyounger children.Adrienne Johnson is a formerteacher-librarian who is nowthe special education advisorycommittee liaison for the TorontoDistrict School Board.Core Learning: CalculationSkillsA Four-Volume CD SeriesVol 1 - Addition & Subtraction,Basic LevelVol 2 - Multiplication & Division,Basic LevelVol 3 - Addition & Subtraction,Advanced LevelVol 4 - Multiplication & Division,Advanced LevelReviewed by Wayne RockelThis set of four CDs is a greatway to help students learn andreinforce basic calculation skills.Divided by operations and skilllevel, it works well not only withstudents needing extra support,but also helps extend basicnumeration skills and higherlevel calculation skills for juniorand intermediate students.Right now, the software (whichis easy to install and run) is availableonly for Windows® platforms.The interface is easy to masterfor students from about grades2 or 3, and the teacher trackingtools are extremely simpleto use. Questions can initially beset for a specific level of difficultyand, as mastery develops, thequestions get increasingly morechallenging. Each section beginswith a cheat sheet, or review,to help students understand theconcepts it covers.While the questions involvedrills rather than problem solving,they allow for good reviewand consolidation of skills. It’s anovel approach and allows allages to easily understand anduse it with enthusiasm. Thesection on money questions isenjoyable for students who likeworking through the questionsboth individually and in teams.While not provincially licenced,a demo CD can be ordered onlinefrom Core Learning’s website,core-learning.com. Consideringthe material covered in one program,the full programs are reasonablypriced both for singleworkstations, five-packs and sitelicences.Wayne Rockel teaches Grades5–8 and Information Technologyat Billy Green School in theHamilton-Wentworth DistrictSchool Board.etfo voice SUMMER 2006 39
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2006Vol. 8 • No. 4X, Y, Bo
Page 4 and 5: 2 etfo voice SUMMER 2006
Page 6 and 7: FROM THE PRESIDENTCollege governanc
Page 8 and 9: YOUR FEDERATIONA ROUNDUP OF FEDERAT
Page 10 and 11: YOUR FEDERATIONA ROUNDUP OF FEDERAT
Page 12 and 13: Peel workshopstackle culturalbarrie
Page 14 and 15: y Sam HammondI have always believed
Page 16 and 17: X, Y, BOOM!Generations at work14 et
Page 18 and 19: Boomers grew up in a society that w
Page 20 and 21: LEARN ON-LINE OR IN CLASS.THE CHOIC
Page 22 and 23: There are not a lot of children com
Page 24 and 25: Every Ontario elementary teacher an
Page 26 and 27: Keep it CleanDivision: PrimarySpace
Page 28 and 29: The process for resolving supervisi
Page 30 and 31: EQUITY & WOMEN’S SERVICESETFO Adv
Page 32 and 33: Les devoirs dansla classe de franç
Page 34 and 35: Sharing Personal Information Wit- W
Page 36 and 37: Phones startingfrom $0 *LG 6200 Sam
Page 38 and 39: OTF R EPORTReforming the College of
Page 42 and 43: Jivin’ Johnny’s Let’s Talk!Mi
Page 44 and 45: calendarclassifiedsJune 25 - 27, Va
Page 46 and 47: Now only $25See etfo.ca for details
Page 48: Secure, no hassleHome and Auto insu

Summer 2006 - The member magazine of the Elementary Teachers

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?