It’s been a chaotic year for public education in Ontario. And for all of us who benefit from a high quality and publicly-accountable system, the stakes are high—particularly for our youngest and most vulnerable. Given what we know about the tremendous societal and economic benefits of investment in public education,…
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When tracking who influences the political agenda, savvy journalists and community groups know to follow the money. Take Ontario Proud, for instance. The lobby group (“a who’s who of developers, anti-union groups and construction agencies”) knew its members stood to benefit from a PC government at Queen’s Park, and they…
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Divisive rhetoric dressed up with a teeth-bearing grin. Photo-op attempts to praise workers (“folks”) while dismissing and delegitimizing the elected bodies that speak on their behalf. A whipped-up climate of general distrust in schools and educators, complete with a “snitch line”, while pledging respect for taxpayers and parents. I may…
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Wait—a 10% tuition fee reduction, followed by a freeze. In [checks notes] Doug Ford’s Ontario? If you didn’t hear the record scratch after Tuesday’s sneak peek announcement, you weren’t paying close enough attention. Since assuming office, Doug Ford’s conservative government has made public funding for universities contingent on institutions adopting…
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From the beginning, Our Schools / Our Selves has taken seriously the feminist imperative that we must link the personal and the political. Students need to be given an opportunity, in the context of school curriculum, to make sense of their own lives through various forms of creative expression. What…
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How should we approach a rethink of our current public education system in Ontario? After all, there’s no question it’s high time for a review. One of Mordechai Rozanski’s recommendations from his report—released over 15 years ago—was to hold reviews every five years. This was about ensuring funding was sufficient…
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Family engagement is so important in a child’s education. But it’s much easier for some families than for others, for reasons that often, though not always, play out along socioeconomic lines. Which is why, if we’re taking outreach and engagement seriously—in a, you know, “for the people” kind of way—we…
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Kate came to work with us as a result of a very CCPA mashup of serendipity, optimism, and a leap of faith. But rarely have those ingredients produced such a fantastic result. The stage was set in the midst of a meeting of the Alternative Federal Budget steering committee in…
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Recently, CBC analyzed two years worth of financial statements for seven schools in the Halifax area to determine the degree to which fundraising was playing a part in school finances. The results were instructive, pointing to a significant disparity in the amounts raised between schools. Volunteers at one school—in a…
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As if we needed more evidence of growing workforce precarity, the 2016 census recently pointed to the “broader shift from full-time, full-year employment to part-time, part-year work. Overall, in 2015, less than half of all Canadian workers (49.8%) between the ages of 25 and 54 worked full time, all year.”…
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