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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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.”…
Read more
The recent minimum wage increase in Ontario has underscored business sector fear-mongering and mainstream media’s misreporting of the projected economic impacts. But, interestingly, the increase has received significant public support, according to a survey from Forum Research. And while one would expect those currently earning below $15/hr to be enthusiastic,…
Read more
Apparently, it’s not just prospective homebuyers being priced out of the GTA. How many young families can easily come up with an extra $14,455 a year, on top of other expenses? Why $14,455? That’s the median annual cost of a preschool child care space in Toronto, according to our recent…
Read more
Education data nerds, are you ready? Statistics Canada has released their 2017 tuition fee figures. So, I checked. And guess what? They’ve gone up. Again. Tuition for undergraduate programs for Canadian full-time students was, on average, $6,571 in 2017/2018, up 3.1% from the previous academic year. The average cost for…
Read more
We recently received our first school email of the year – the list of required school supplies. It’s the precursor to the “other” email that parents anticipate with irritation at best and real anxiety at worst. I’m talking about the fundraising email that suggests a sum and, for those who…
Read more