Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Diverse Learning Needs

6 Reasons to Say No to EQAO

testing_cartoon

Large scale assessments, like EQAO testing, were developed to support standards-based education reform on the premise of setting high standards and establishing measurable goals in order to improve learning outcomes in education.

This blog highlights how EQAO testing does not achieve its goals and, in fact, hinders learning outcomes, especially in marginalized student populations.

1. EQAO testing is unfair to students with special education or English language needs

In EQAO testing, all students are treated equally. This means that students with low intellectual levels or learning disabilities are made to write the test. Students who have low levels of English knowledge are made to take the test. There are some exemptions for students which are hard to obtain and when students are exempt, students’ tests scores of zero are counted in their school’s overall scores. These barriers to learning result in lowering school’s test scores.

Treating students all the same does not differentiate learning needs. Students who cannot read or write, due to an exceptional learning need are made to take the test. For example, I had one student, who was non-verbal, sit in front of a computer for three hours unable to complete any part of the grade 3 EQAO  test. I have also had students who just came to Canada from a non-English speaking country, sit in front of their EQAO test paper with a blank look. Schools with many special education classrooms or high levels of English language learners have lower school scores, as these students, due to their circumstance, cannot complete the EQAO tests.

The bottom line is that EQAO testing is unfair for many students.

2. EQAO testing is unfair to students with low socioeconomic factors

In EQAO results, there is a direct link between low test scores and low socioeconomic factors. Socioeconomic status impacts language development which results in decreases in vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and an overall ability to read and comprehend text (Perkins, Finegood, & Swain, 2013). In addition, “The family stress model connects poverty with parental emotional distress that affects parenting, whereas the parental investment model involves a focus on basic needs that affects children’s language (Perkins, Finegood, & Swain, 2013, p. 1). The result of this disadvantage of poverty is that schools in areas with low socioeconomic status tend to have low EQAO test scores (Langois, 2017). Schools in wealthier areas tend to have higher EQAO scores than schools in lower socioeconomic areas. 

This is why real estate agents use EQAO test scores to sell residential property – to assess the socioeconomic status of a neighbourhood.

The bottom line is that EQAO measures socioeconomic status. 

3. EQAO does not honour education policy

Through the Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119, Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools, it is stated that there is a need for our “publically funded education system to support and reflect the democratic values of fairness, equity, and respect for all” (Ministry of Education, 2013).

The bottom line is that EQAO testing procedures do not “reflect the democratic values of fairness, equity, and respect for all.”

4. EQAO diverts schools’ resources and energy away from meeting students’ learning needs

EQAO testing focuses schools’ resources and energy on doing everything to increase test scores. In my years as a teacher, I find that EQAO takes over schools and students’ learning. Grade 3 and 6 teachers become obsessed with cramming curriculum into the year before the test. Some administrators direct teachers to only teach math and language, while students miss out on social studies and science. Redirecting learning turns teaching into test focused, score based tunnel vision.

This test focused, score based tunnel vision has other impacts on school practices. There is a great deal of documentation in the Ontario College of Teachers citing teachers and principals who have changed students EQAO test answers so their school will receive more favourable test score rankings.

Why do educators cheat? 

Cheating is a big problem in government testing. Teachers and principals alter students’ answers to get better results. Cheating happens internationally. Low test scores in the US have caused teachers and principals to get fired. High stakes testing puts great pressure on educators to produce good EQAO scores.

The bottom line is that EQAO highjacks teachers’ teaching and students’ learning.

5. EQAO is not a standardized, statistically measured test format

EQAO test results are very difficult to decipher and it is often unclear how the test scores really inform educators about student learning.  

Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office, the source of the EQAO testing, does not cite any reliability or validity results that ensure the test questions are actually measuring the intended skills.  A test is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure. The EQAO website does not cite checks of Test-Retest Reliability, Cronbach’s alpha for measuring of internal consistency, Convergent reliability, or Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

I wonder about the consistency or reliability of EQAO test marking. Reliability in testing means that two identical student answers would be marked the same or in other words, test marking would be consistent. I wonder if EQAO has sufficient test procedures, checks, and tests in place to ensure reliability.

Further, I wonder how much EQAO test scores are used to inform teacher practice. Some schools use the results by breaking down specific areas of need but this takes time meaning in order to do a proper job of this analysis, teachers would need to be released from their teacher duties to do this work. Further, it would be beneficial for teachers to have some knowledge of statistics in order to assess their school’s results.

Ontario students do participate in international testing PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), TIMSS (the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), and PIRLS (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) and Canada usually does well, ranking in the top 10. Note that some of the scores in the Asian countries do not reflect all students as poorer students or students with disabilities do not participate in this testing for many reasons. Canada still does well compared to those countries.

Finally, I also wonder why a statistically minded organization like EQAO uses the words “standardized” tests to describe their testing. To be standardized, these tests would have to be statistically normalized on a bell curve like CAT (Canadian Achievement Test) and CCAT (Canadian Cognitive Ability Test) tests.

The bottom line is that the EQAO test structure is not statistically reliable or valid.

6. EQAO testing costs offers questionable return on investment

In considering the above points, EQAO offers questionable return on the public’s investment. EQAO testing cost $30,000,000 in 2014. That’s a lot of money that the province could be using to fix schools.

My question: Do the EQAO test results merit $30 million dollars worth of data?

Overall, I do not see the value of EQAO testing. As a teacher, I have never used the scores – sometimes I never get to see the scores.

Let’s put our education dollars into areas where the funds can improve learning. The real estate agents will have to think of another way to sell residential listings.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

Alphonso, A. (April 21, 2018). Government-commissioned report recommends Ontario should phase out Grade 3 EQAO test, Globe and Mail. Toronto. Downloaded from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-government-commissioned-report-recommends-ontario-should-phase-out/

Hassan, F. (February 6th, 2014). It’s time to scrap province-wide testing, Toronto Sun. Downloaded from https://torontosun.com/2014/02/06/its-time-to-scrap-province-wide-testing/wcm/dc995597-1dd0-4fa4-8afb-801a797611d3

Langois, H. (2017). Behind the Snapshot: Teachers’ Experiences of Preparing Students in Lower Socioeconomic Status Schools for the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. University of Toronto, Ontario.

Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office. (2013) Top Reasons Standardized Testing in Ontario and the United States Are Not Comparable, Education Quality and Accountability Office, Ontario. Downloaded from http://www.eqao.com/en/about_eqao/media_room/communication-docs/infographic-EQAO-US-Comparison-print-version.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (April 22, 2013). Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and implementing equity and inclusive education policies in Ontario Schools, Ontario Ministry of Education. Downloaded from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/119.pdf

Perkins, S. C., Finegood, E. D., & Swain, J. E. (2013). Poverty and language development: Roles of parenting and stress. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 10(4), 10.

Wong, A. (2016). Why would a teacher cheat? The Atlantic.

 

Kelly.McLaughlin Advocacy for change, Challenging Topics, Eco Heroes, Field Trips, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Questioning, Resources, Science, self reflection, Social Justice

David Suzuki’s message to us all

Today the grade seven and eights at our school were invited to attend the Eco Summit at Mohawk College. It was an exciting opportunity where we got to listen to motivated students from around Hamilton speak about the change they were making in their school community and beyond. Local poets, musicians and activists spoke as well about the changes we could be making and how the earth desperately needs our help.

I knew I had to prepare my students for in their mind what could have been a boring day listening to speakers. I needed to create an interest in them before they sat down in Mohawk’s auditorium. I shared with them a BBC article I had recently read about the key things we can do to keep the earth’s temperature from rising beyond what it can handle. I shared with them how we need to cut down and eliminate certain things or places such as Portugal (as I felt this summer) will be uninhabitable very soon.

I soon saw that this trip was a bit mature for some of our younger grade sevens and even for some of our eights. They did not quite have in them the interest in climate change. Only a few of our eights were brave enough to ask the student guest speakers some questions such as: how did you get your teachers or people in general to pay attention to your causes? How can we make a change? What is the most important issue facing us at the moment? Etc.

I did however find a few key takeaways in the main keynote address of the day. We were VERY fortunate to hear from David Suzuki via video conference. I wrote some notes regarding his message to our group today. Here are the main points:

  • we need to radically reduce our use of fossil fuels
  • we should research and read more about the blue dot agenda and we can do so by going onto bluedot.ca
    • once there, you can click take action
  • we can learn more by reading about the David Suzuki foundation
  • we can email the MP in our area and ask them to sign the MP pledge for environmental rights
  • anyone 18 or older needs to vote in the upcoming federal election for the most environmentally conscious leader
  • fight for the IPCC recommendation
  • it is important that we as educators offer solutions to our children without scaring them about the future
  • shift to what is called a biocentric view rather than what our world currently has, the human centric view
    • we need to see us a part of a web of living things
  • our students are the heroes of the future

 

That last point really stuck with me. Sure they may have been zoning off during David Suzuki’s talk or not listening to the inspirational music videos, but we cannot give up hope on our heroes of the future. Even if just a few of them take a stand, we can hope that they will be the change we need to see in this world. I encourage everyone to try to do some of the points as listed above. Also, a great read is this BBC article that challenges us to start making changes as well:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45775309
Also, here is an amazing message to get a conversation started with your class about doing their part to make the world a more liveable place
https://youtu.be/B-nEYsyRlYo

Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s NOT. -Dr Seuss

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Social Justice

Barriers to Student Learning – Black Youth

Barriers 2
Illustration downloaded from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/political-cartoon/about.html

 

Education is one of the foundations of Canadian society. If you are wondering why your board is addressing issues of equity and inclusion recently, a policy/program memorandum has impacted the way Ontario public school boards are conducting their business of education.

Through the Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119, Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools, it is stated that there is a need for our “publically funded education system to support and reflect the democratic values of fairness, equity, and respect for all” (Ministry of Education, 2013).

The Ministry of Education recognizes factors such as race, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, gender, and class can create barriers to learning. There is evident that some groups of students continue to encounter discriminatory barriers to learning. Research shows that when students feel connected to teachers and other students, they do better academically (Goleman, 2006).

Please refer to Barriers to Student Learning – An Overview for a more details outlined in Through Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119.

So what does this mean to teachers?

School boards must seek out barriers to learning for all students. Teachers therefore must also address barriers to learning due to factors such as race, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Through Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119, school boards, and teachers, must address barriers to learning that fall within prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in the Ontario Human Rights Code.

There is significant evidence to show that Black youth face significant barriers to learning within their schools. School boards such as the Toronto District School Board and the Peel District School Board have identified barriers to learning for Black youth who face systemic discrimination and who do not feel connected to their teachers or their school communities.

In developing and implementing equity and inclusive education to address Memorandum Number 119 (2009) education policy within Ontario, the Peel District Board of Education (PDSB) has identified a part of their student community who is experiencing systemic barriers to learning. These barriers to learning are supported through research that shows that black male students feel excluded, have fewer opportunities, and experienced an achievement gap in their learning. Further, research also shows that these barriers to learning are rooted in systemic biases and in negative teacher and peer perception of Black males identity and ability (Peel District School Board, 2018). These biases result in an over representation of levels of suspension and expulsions and lower levels of representation in gifted programs and high school completion (Maynard, 2017).

System-wide, cultural responsive pedagogy and practices are being put into place to have Black male students feel more included in meaningful curriculum and instruction. This curriculum should be reflective of Black voices and help students see themselves within the lessons. This curriculum should address Black culture from all over the world, and not just from “Jamaica” (Peel District School Board, 2018).

In order to integrate the experiences of Black Canadians into the curriculum, the PDSB is providing instructional resources to be embedded into core courses and through inquiry as well as classroom resources to reflect the student body (Peel District School Board, 2018). Teachers and teacher librarians will play a critical role in building culturally responsive schools. Further, purposeful assessment and student voice will to integrated into school practices. This action plan is also embedding equitable and inclusive practices in board policies and programs while identifying and removing discrimination, biases, and system barriers to the success of Black male students. There has been a system wide leadership commitment to this initiative thus changing the board’s climate and the prevention of discrimination and harassment of Black male students’ board wide. To ensure accountability, the PDBS will be tracking the impact on data of expulsion and suspension rates, gifted student numbers, and graduation rates in Black male students ensure accountability and transparency.

In the next few blogs, I will further address some of the barriers to learning that students face based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and socioeconomic status.

If you would like me to address barriers to learning for a specific student group, please provide a suggestion below.

Collaboratively yours,

Deb Weston

Note that, although I do not have any direct experience with the barriers to learning addressed in this blog, I do identify as an educator who advocates for equity and for all students, especially when it comes to breaking down barriers to learning.

References

Caton, M. (January 31, 20198). Ontario Black Youth Action Plan aims to break down barriers, Windsor Star. Downloaded from https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ontario-black-youth-action-plan-aims-to-break-down-barriers

Goleman, D. (2006). Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships.-New York, NY: Bantam Dell, A Division of Random House.

Gordon, A. (October 2, 2017). Summit on barriers faced by Black male students comes to Toronto, Toronto Star. Downloaded from https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2017/10/02/summit-on-barriers-faced-by-black-male-students-comes-to-toronto.html

Maynard, R. (2017). Canadian education is steeped in anti-black racism, The Walrus Magazine.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools, Government of Ontario. Toronto.

Peel District School Board. (2018). We Rise Together: The PDSB action plan to support Black male students. Peel District School Board of Education.

Will Gourley Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Equity, General, Start of the year, Weather

Building upon balance

I’m back. You’re back. They’re back. We’re back!!!!!
And it could not have come at a better time. Or could it?

While our transition from summer to school traditionally begins after Labour Day, there are more and more students starting back to class in August than ever before. This is known in edu-circles as a balanced or modified year. It offers quite a few upsides that benefit our learners and with some time for adjustment, for our profession. So I ask…

Imagine if we all started in August with a balanced school year that allowed the learning to be spread out over a longer period of time, but with a few week long breaks built in? What are the pros and cons of such a shift in a historically established calendar? Is it possible to change a 100+ year old practice?

Helping out on the farm

A balanced school year makes sense on a number of levels. Especially, when we consider that the original reason for a September start stemmed from the need for students to be available to work on the family farm. In some areas of the province, farming is still a factor, but it is very evident, that the majority of the nearly 2 million students from K to 12 live close to or in cities. Most are not feeding a herd, driving a combine, or mending fences in July and August.

However, a greater majority of students are left to swelter in concrete jungles trying to stay cool. There are few if any universally accessible programs that do not require a computer bot like skill in order to register on-line for limited spaces. So no swimming lessons, city camps, or classes for all. In fact, the City of Toronto announced that it will try to add 70 000 new program spaces just to accomodate current demand.

Which means, for the foreseeable future, most students will still be given a summer sentence stuck indoors. It is no secret, our cities lack adequate child care, recreation, youth programming, and social spaces. What if all school boards were able to offer a balanced school year and provide working families with an option that would ultimately save them money in conjunction with municipalities? A kind of multi-tiered approach to community and education.

Who will pay?

With government money used for creating and subsidizing child care spaces, an investment in a balanced school year would relieve, not remove, the pressure by allowing younger school aged children to be in the classroom rather than a daycare centre. This in itself could save families 3 to 4 weeks of childcare costs that could then be spread out over time through the year rather than in one expensive 9 week chunk. Granted, that there are extra weeks off throughout the year, but they are distributed over the school calendar.

The biggest obstacle to all of this is from a purely structural point of view and comes from having to retrofit hundreds, if not thousands of elementary schools with adequate climate controls, aka air conditioning. Recent returns to the classroom remind us all that our elementary schools are woefully equipped to deal with irratic temperature fluctuations and extreme heat. 2 fans per classroom do nothing to cut through the sweltering heat on the first or second floors of any ill-equipped building – even with the lights off.

The bigger question that comes to mind is why our province still chooses to provide air conditioning to students in high school, but not from JK to 8? This type of systemic disparity does not seem fair. Are elementary school students and staff expected to feel they are being treated fairly by the government’s funding model? I can see fingers pointing in all directions here, but not a one is doing a thing to acknowledge or remedy the problem. Students suffering from heat exhaustion do not make good learners. Perhaps it’s time for our grade 5 Social Studies classes to mount a letter writing campaign to ask our government to do its job and serve its future taxpayers. We’d better hurry before that curriculum gets changed. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/social-studies-history-geography-2018.pdf

I feel we are about to see bigger problems in our province if facilities equity cannot be guaranteed in all schools. Think of it like this; the province buys or leases 1000s of vehicles each year. After a few years they are traded in or replaced with newer models and the fleet stays rolling. If Ontario maintained its government auto fleet like its schools, some would have hand crank windows, some might have air-conditioning, some would have low mileage, while others would be up on blocks. Most would need to go to the body shop for repairs and others would have to be towed to the scrapyard. Nobody would want to drive in an unreliable vehicle. So why are our schools being left to deteriorate through underfunding and repair backlogs?

How is it fair to expect standardized results when there are no standard facilities? Is it a class thing? A neighbourhood thing?

As teachers, we take pride in our workspace. We have witnessed all that can be done each year despite the structural shortfalls and disparities from school to school and board to board. We also know that the current funding model for our schools cannot be a band-aid solution. The recent cuts by the new provincial government are leaving school boards with open wounds.

It’s not all bad (well the above part is, but below is all sunshine)

This year’s return to school was ushered in with all of the elation, excitement, and chaos of its predecessors. How could it not be so? At my school over 600 hope-filled students converged on the playground for a surreal moment of truth. Who was going to be their teacher? In which classroom? Main building sauna or luxurious portable? I loved the chaos that was the first day. It was perfect weather for a July day in September. Perhaps in the future you will be reading this message in August. In the meantime, welcome back.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/monthly/ontario/richmond-hill

In my next post I’ll discuss the aspects of greater knowledge retention that come from a more balanced school year. What do you think of the idea of the school year spread out over a longer period of time? Please share and comment to continue the conversation. Thank you for reading.

Further reading

Interesting blog post explaining how education is funded in Ontario.

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, English Language Learners (ELLs), Inspiring Teachers, Social Justice

Welcoming Refugees … by any other name

St Louis Jewish in Germany Refugee Ship 1939

Turned Away: Tale of St. Louis and the fate of its 907 German Jews.

Welcoming Refugees by any other name

While reading the Toronto Star, I came across an article by Martin Regg Cohn writing about his experience meeting refugees making their way through the Vermont forest into Canada. This made me think about black slaves coming to Canada through the Underground Railroad beginning in the late 1700s. This further got me thinking about all the people who have come to Canada seeking refuge after being forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, natural disaster or just to find a secure place to live and raise their family.

Canada (and its previous names of British North America, Upper and Lower Canada, and New France), has always been a destination for refuge. Today and before confederation in 1967, our nation would not have grown in population or diversity without the seekers of refuge. There’s been significant waves of refugee seekers over Canada’s last 250 years. I was surprised at the extend of the list!

This is a partial list from the Government of Canada’s Canada: A History of Refuge

1776: 3,000 Black Loyalists, among them freemen and slaves, fled the oppression of the American Revolution.

1783: Sir Guy Carleton, Governor of the British Province of Quebec, and later to become Lord Dorchester, safely transported 35,000 Loyalist refugees.

1789: Lord Dorchester, Governor-in-Chief of British North America, gave official recognition to the “First Loyalists” – those loyal to the Crown who fled the oppression of the American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec.

1793: Upper Canada became the first province in the British Empire to abolish slavery. In turn, over the course of the 19th century, thousands of black slaves escaped from the United States and came to Canada with the aid of the Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network.

Late 1700s: Scots Highlanders, refugees of the Highland Clearances during the modernization of Scotland, settled in Canada.

1830: Polish refugees fled to Canada to escape Russian oppression.

1845-1851: Irish refugees escaping the Great Potato Famine.

1880-1914: Italians escaped the ravages of Italy’s unification as farmers were driven off their land as a result of the new Italian state reforms.

1880-1914: Thousands of persecuted Jews, fleeing pogroms in the Pale of Settlement, sought refuge in Canada.

1891: The migration of 170,000 Ukrainians began, mainly to flee oppression from areas under Austro-Hungarian rule, marking the first wave of Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada. 1920-1939: The second wave of Ukrainians fled from Communism, civil war and Soviet occupation. 1945-1952: The third wave of Ukrainians fled Communist rule.

1947-1952: 250,000 displaced persons (DPs) from Central and Eastern Europe came to Canada, victims of both National Socialism (Nazism) and Communism, and Soviet occupation.

1950s: Canada admitted Palestinian Arabs, driven from their homeland by the Israeli-Arab war of 1948.

1950s-1970s: A significant influx of Middle Eastern and North African Jews fled to Canada.

1956: 37,000 Hungarians escaped Soviet tyranny and found refuge in Canada.

1960s: Chinese refugees fled the Communist violence of the Cultural Revolution.

1968-1969: 11,000 Czech refugees fled the Soviet and Warsaw Pact Communist invasion.

1970s: 7,000 Chilean and other Latin American refugees were allowed to stay in Canada after the violent overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government in 1973.

1970-1990: Deprived of political and religious freedom, 20,000 Soviet Jews settled in Canada.

1971: After decades of being denied adequate political representation in the central Pakistani government, thousands of Bengali Muslims came to Canada at the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

1971-1972: Canada admitted some 228 Tibetans. These refugees, along with their fellow countrymen, were fleeing their homeland after China occupied it in 1959.

1972-1973: Following Idi Amin’s expulsion of Ugandan Asians, 7,000 Ismaili Muslims fled and were brought to Canada.

1979 -1980: More than 60,000 Boat People found refuge in Canada after the Communist victory in the Vietnam War.

1980s: Khmer Cambodians, victims of the Communist regime and the aftershocks of Communist victory in the Vietnam War, fled to Canada.

1990s: By the 1990s, asylum seekers came to Canada from all over the world, particularly Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa.

1992: 5,000 Bosnian Muslims were admitted to Canada to escape the ethnic cleansing in the Yugoslav Civil War.

1999: Canada airlifted more than 5,000 Kosovars, most of whom were Muslim, to safety.

2006: Canada resettled over 3,900 Karen refugees from refugee camps in Thailand.

2008: Canada began the process of resettling more than 5,000 Bhutanese refugees over five years.

2015: Close to 6,600 Bhutanese refugees arrived in Canada. Canada completes a seven-year commitment and welcomes more than 23,000 Iraqi refugees. Canada commits to and begins resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees.

2017: Canada announces historical increases in multiyear resettled refugee admissions targets, as well as new commitments for resettling refugees from Africa and the Middle-East.

2018: Canada resettled more than 1,300 survivors of Daesh in 2017 and 2018.

If it were not for Canada’s generosity to refugees and immigrants, my mother’s family would not have made it to Canada. Her family consists of Scots Highlanders escaping the Highland Clearance in 1830, British Loyalists and Quakers refusing to participate in the War of 1812, and Irish refugee escaping the starvation of the Potato Famine between 1845-1851. My Northern Irish immigrant father, on the other hand, was escaping bad business deals.

Canada, as a place, has not always been generous to refugees. In 1939, the William Lyon Mackenzie King government turned away 900 Jews escaping Nazis rule in order “to keep this part of the continent free from unrest and from too great an intermixture of foreign strains of blood” (Prime Minister King, 1939). Note that a third of these Jewish refugees died in concentration camps. During World War 2, Canada allowed less than 5,000 Jews into the country – a small quantity considering the numbers for the United States (200,000), Great Britain (195,000), Argentina (50,000), and Brazil (27,000) welcoming Jews into their countries.

In what we now call Canada, British governments created their own refugees through the expulsion of the thriving community of Acadians in 1755 and the ongoing expulsion of indigenous peoples from their traditional lands.

Be aware, that once settled in Canada, people were not safe from human rights violations. In 1941, 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned in camps along with 660 Germans and 480 Italians. My very intelligent mother-in-law lost her opportunity to complete her high school education after being interned in Lemon Creek, B.C. Many of the internees were born in Canada but were treated as foreigners. The Chinese, who’s hands build Canada’s first national railroad, paid a Chinese only Head Tax for every person entering Canada between 1885 and 1923.

Given its history of welcoming refugees, why is there such a great debate about the current refugee crisis in Canada? If I look at the past refugees and immigrants, a great deal of immigrants could be classified as WASP – White Anglo Saxon Protestants who spoke English. Canada has opened its doors for non British, non English or French speaking refugees and immigrants. In the early 1950s, Canada welcomed my children’s grandparents from Yugoslavia. All the families and relatives lived in one house until each family could afford to buy their own house (this is not unlike what some families do today). The Yugoslavians did not speak English, but they were White.

As classroom teachers, we know who is coming into our country as it is evident from our classroom compositions. I often share that if it were not for refugees and immigrants, I would not have a job as a teacher. I have taught many refugees from all over the world including Africa, Bosnia, Kosovo, Thailand, Syria, Iraq and the Middle East. I have been honoured to teach them and to hear their stories.

I believe that the current refugees are receiving pushback from some Canadians (i.e. who’s families were also immigrants and refugees) because many of the refugees coming to Canada are not White. I believe that this pushback is solely due to racism.

Refugees and immigrants, regardless of place, time, or label, sacrifice everything for a chance at a better life when they set foot in Canada. When talking about human rights in my classroom, I always remind my students that if we do not stand up for the human rights of others, ours could be at risk.

If Canadians allow for the discrimination against our current refugees, we are setting ourselves up for a future of more discrimination, regardless of status in Canada. Do Canadians really want to repeat the tale of the St. Louis and the fate of its 907 German Jews? More recently, do Canadians want to see more children like 3 year old Syrian-Kurdish Alan Kurdi lose their lives while their families seek more secure places to live?

Alan_kurdi_smiling_playground

This blog is dedicated to the refugees I had the honour to support as a Red Cross volunteer this summer. I wish you all success in your new country, Canada.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/08/20/my-border-encounter-with-a-migrant-family.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/timeline.html

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1174272-canada-turned-away-jewish-refugees

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_head_tax_in_Canada

https://www.dummies.com/education/history/world-history/canadian-history-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Alan_Kurdi

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Learning in a Real Life Context, LGBTQ2S, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health

What’s up with Ontario’s Health Curriculum?

10 percent

What’s up with Ontario’s Health Curriculum? … 10% is what’s up!

It’s June 2018 and the newly elected Ontario Conservative government is planning to pull the most recently updated 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum. I interpret this statement as meaning that Ontario’s Ministry of Education will use the previous Health and Physical Education Curriculum which was released in 1998.

Up to this point, the Health and Physical Education Curriculum had not been updated since 1998 and in 2010 a revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum was in the works of being released. The addition of same-sex relationships in the specific Health Curriculum resulted in significant political backlash. The release of the revised 2010 Health and Physical Education Curriculum was dropped by the former premier, Dalton McGuinty, within hours after his education minister defended it in the legislature (CBC News, April 18th, 2018).

Up to 2015, the last Health and Physical Education Curriculum was 17 years old. With the impact of social media and an increased access to the Internet, students needed an updated curriculum that included information on online safety, healthy relationships, consent, mental health, and the risks of “sexting”. As an 11-year middle school teacher, I experienced schools already dealing with challenges around these issues. Ontario teachers needed tools to educate students to deal appropriately with the realities of school after 2000.

The 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum, reflects health, safety, and well-being faced in schools now. It was developed in consultation with the ministry, parents, students, teachers, faculties of education, university, colleges, and other organizations such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Ontario Public Health Association, and the Healthy Schools Coalition. Further, more than 70 health-related organizations submitted reports for consideration and thousands of people provided feedback (Government of Ontario, February 23, 2015, Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum). In 2014, more than 4000 parents were involved in the consultation process of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum (CBC News, April 18, 2018).

The now 20 year old Health and Physical Education Curriculum not only had to be updated to deal with the realities of the social media and instant access to information, it also addressed the changing realities of human development. The World Health Organization indicated that “girls are entering puberty as early as seven years old, which is significantly earlier than in previous generations” and “found that providing kids with comprehensive sexual health information helps prevent early sexual activity and negative health outcomes”. In addition, research documented that the majority of parents wanted schools to provide information on sexuality (Government of Ontario, April 2015, Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum)

What’s in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum?

The 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum has four main sections for each grade (Students also learn about mental health across the curriculum):

  • Living Skills: understanding themselves, communicating and interacting positively with others and learning to think critically and solve problems
  • Active Living: active participation, physical fitness and safety
  • Movement Competence: skills for moving properly and with confidence
  • Healthy Living: learning about health, making healthy choices, and understanding the connections to everyday life
Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/sex-education-ontario

Based on my experience as a teacher, parents usually have few concerns about Living Skills, Active Living, and Movement Competence sections of the Health and and Physical Education curriculum. The Healthy Living section includes topics about food, safety at home, school and in the community, alcohol and other substances, and a section on Human Development and Sexual Health. Some parents are specifically concerned with health education dealing with sexual activity and health. Note that the sexual health curriculum makes up only 10 per cent of the Health curriculum (Basian cited in CBC News, Apr 18, 2018).

Sexual Health Education By Grade

Even today, there continues to be many rumours spread about the Health curriculum. A few weeks ago a parent asked me if the grade 1 students were going to see videos about how to have sex. In May 2015, the Toronto Star Reporter, Robin Levin King, dealt with some of these uninformed claims (copied verbatim from May 2015, Robin Levin King, Toronto Star Reporter):

Uninformed Claims about the Ontario Health Curriculum

The chart below shows what students will learn in the Healthy Living portion of their Health and Physical Education classes. The Human Development and Sexual Health (i.e. sex ed.) component of the Health and Physical Education curriculum guides teachers to plan what they teach with the goal of establishing a foundation of mutual respect, and understanding for diverse perspectives in the classroom. This curriculum is not meant to ever replace the role of parents in educating their children about sexual health.

Chart of Human and Sexual Health by grade

 .

The Human Rights of Gender Equity and Gender Expression

Upholding human rights in Ontario is a fundamental principal of Ontario’s society and culture. In 2012, “gender identity” and “gender expression” were added to the Ontario Human Rights Code. Based on gender equity and gender expression, this made the discrimination and harassment of these persons against the law. This meant that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and have the same opportunities and benefits which includes persons who identify as “transgender, transsexual and intersex persons, cross-dressers, and other people whose gender identity or expression is, or is seen to be, different from their birth sex” (Government of Ontario, 2018, Gender Equity and Gender Expression).

Given that discrimination and harassment of people who identify as LGBTQ2S – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, and/or Two Spirited (i.e. gender identity or gender expression) is against the law, students need to know what these terms mean. Further, students need to know how to deal with harassment that is happening to them or others. These topics are part of the Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum and originate from the Ontario Human Rights Code. Eliminating these topics could result in fewer people being informed of gender based human rights and increased violations of these laws. The Ontario Human Rights Code was revised based on public consultation. To fully implement the new Code, significant legal decisions and policy changes were released in 2014. The Ontario Human Rights Code must be upheld in education curricula and in all Ontario schools.

Relevant Resources and Policies are listed below:

 .

Gender Identify within the Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum

(Source: Health and Physical Education Curriculum Grades 1 to 8, 2015)

When teachers are planning instruction and considering class groupings, they should be aware of and consider the needs of students who may not identify as “male” or “female”, who are transgender, or who are “gender-non-conforming”.

For more information about gender identity, gender expression, and human rights, see the website of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Understanding Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan: Parent Fact Sheet

Teachers should also acknowledge and respect individual differences regardless of sex or gender identity that will encourage student participation and help students learn to collaborate with and respect others. Strategies for encouraging understanding and mutual respect among students include:

  • creating an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere in the class and supporting all students to be active participants;
  • fostering authentic opportunities for students to provide input into learning activities and approaches;
  • providing opportunities for all students to assume leadership roles;
  • encouraging and respecting the interests and abilities of all students;
  • ensuring that responsibilities are shared equally by all students.

 Breakdown of Gender References in Health and Physical Education Curriculum

In 2018, Ontario and the world is a very different place dealing with a plethora of social and economic issues. Education curriculum needs to be updated on a regular basis to reflect society and its issues. Ontario cannot go back twenty years in any curriculum, especially in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum. So that means Ontario’s education curriculum can only move forward.

It took over 16 years to update and implement the last Health and Physical Education curriculum. Updating and revising curriculum takes a lot of people hours and multi-level consultation – this means it also costs lots money to make changes. Simply using a black marker to redact all the controversial parts isn’t going to cut it! My guess is that four years (i.e. a political government rein) is not enough time for the Health and Physical Education Curriculum to be updated.

And for my good friend and colleague @FAPareja,  here’s the curriculum download of all Ontario teachers to access:

Health and Physical Education Curriculum Grades 1 to 8, 2015

 

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

CBC News, (April 18, 2018). The facts about Ontario’s sex ed curriculum, Downloaded from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-sexual-education-curriculum-election-1.4624512

Government of Ontario, (2018). Gender Equity and Gender Expression) http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/code_grounds/gender_identity

Goverment of Ontario, (2018). Ontario Human Rights Code. Downloaded from Ontario Human Rights Commission at www.ohrc.on.ca/en/code_grounds/gender_identity.

Government of Ontario, (2015). Health and Physical Education Curriculum, Grades 1 to 8 Downloaded from www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health1to8.pdf

Government of Ontario, (February 23, 2015). News Release Ontario Releases Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum, Parent Resources: Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Students Downloaded from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2015/02/ontario-releases-updated-health-physical-education-curriculum-parent-resources.html

Government of Ontario, (April 2015). Ontario Releases Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum, Parent Resources, Downloaded from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2015/02/ontario-releases-updated-health-physical-education-curriculum-parent-resources.html

King, R. L., (May 4, 2015). Toronto Star, Downloaded from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/04/fact-checking-10-claims-made-by-parents-against-the-ontario-sex-ed-curriculum.htmlhighlights

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, agency, Building Inclusion, Making a Difference Through Education, Why unions matter

Why Ontario Teachers Need to be Political

Class sizes have concequences

According to The Washington Post’s Valarie Strauss “Teachers are often expected to remain politically neutral in class, not letting their students know which candidate they support or where they stand on controversial issues” (Strauss, 2016).

Parents may anticipate that teachers could “indoctrinate” students by expressing their own views in classrooms (Strauss, 2016) and as a result, so many teachers are tentative to discuss their political views.

Given that “teachers teach who they are” (Susan Drake, n.d.), it’s hard for teachers to be neutral in their passions for education and especially for the inclusion and equity of students.

I state that the act of teaching is a political act as classrooms hold future citizens and what teachers say and do matters.

Teachers teach children to become creative, collaborative communicators, critical thinkers, problem solvers, and global citizens. Teachers help their students become good citizens or as Dewey stated the “organization of the school, as it affects the mind of both teacher and pupil, [is a] growth and extension of the democratic principle in life beyond school doors” (Dewey, 1903).

The act of advocating for democracy and human rights in schools is a political action – so should teachers be political?  Former state and national U.S. Teachers of the Year wrote in an open letter “there are times when a moral imperative outweighs traditional social norms. There are times when silence is the voice of complicity” (cited in Strauss, 2016).

As teachers, we regularly espouse ideas of supporting human rights, through equity and inclusion. In the act of teaching, we are the political messengers of these ideas. Teachers are role models for students as we set the example through what we say and do. Our students watch our every move in our words and our actions. Teachers’ words and actions matter.

In Ontario politics, teachers’ voices matter and our representation and advocacy through our unions matter. Through the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, teachers represent almost 200,000 voices in Ontario. Teachers’ votes matter!

Results of Ontario political outcomes directly impact education funding for schools, staff, and students. In 1994, the election of Mike Harris cut billions of dollars from education (Martin, 2009). By the time I became a teacher in 2000, classrooms were void of resources – teachers ended up filling this gap directly with money out of their pockets. Teacher salaries are also directly regulated by provincial governments. Politics impacts teachers’ net income.

Teachers have built their advocacy for public education through their boards of education and their agency through their unions.

Should teachers talk about which political party they will vote for on this 2018 Provincial Election Day? Probably not, but teachers can just be who they are … advocates for public education, advocates for human rights, and advocates for the inclusion and equity of all students.

Above all, teachers can be advocates for democracy. The most impactful act a citizen can do to support democracy is to vote.

Teach who you are, be who you are. Vote.

Yours Collaboratively

Deb Weston

References

Dewey, J., (1903). Democracy in education. The elementary school teacher, 4(4), 193-204.

Drake, S., (n.d.) Professor (PhD), Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education,  Brock University, https://brocku.ca/education/faculty-and-staff/dr-susan-drake/

Martin, R., (October 20, 2009). What happened to Canada’s education advantage? The Toronto Star, Downloaded from https://www.thestar.com/opinion/2009/10/20/what_happened_to_canadas_education_advantage.html

Strauss, V., (October 14, 2016). Teachers are expected to remain politically neutral. These Teachers of the Year say they can’t., The Washington Post, Downloaded from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/10/14/teachers-are-expected-to-remain-politically-neutral-these-teachers-of-the-year-say-they-cant/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4ab93d6a23ed

Will Gourley Advocacy for change, Challenging Topics, General, Special Education

Decline(d)

https://pixabay.com/en/fracture-bone-xray-skeleton-2333164/ by Taokinesis
https://pixabay.com/en/fracture-bone-xray-skeleton-2333164/ by Taokinesis

Have you ever heard of a child breaking a limb only to have medical treatment declined by their parents/guardians because they didn’t want anyone to know the extent of the injuries? Of course not. There’d be a rush to the hospital and a cast applied within hours.

I’ve rarely, if ever, known of anyone to refuse medical care for their child. Religious choices aside, it is impossible to think of a time when medical treatment should ever be withheld or denied. In fact, child services might be called in to ensure an injured child is receiving proper care – if it ever was the case. We have seen this occasionally played out in the court system.

Yet, in our schools a parallel situation is happening year after year. Students are identified with academic or psychological needs which affect their education, emotional well being, and long term mental health only to have offers of support declined, ignored, or attacked.

Optional Support

Is there a stigma in the minds of some about an educational identification that is at the root of learners not getting the support that they need? Does access to Special Education support and resources fall into the optional only category at the peril and loss of our students? I wonder how education at all levels can change the perceptions around identifying students, their needs, and the importance that education plays in supporting them? Have you encountered this? I have.

Many who serve as SERTs/admin have worked alongside school staff to identify students at risk and proposed solid plans of action to help, only to have them abruptly halted/refused without consideration of the detriment it will have on the child. Thus leaving another learner unidentified and under-supported. How can we let students slip through the cracks based on the belief that they should be able to grow out of it or that there identification is perceived as a social shame or dirty secret? Why do people take exception to receiving support for exceptionalities?

A number of recent conversations with colleagues have all seemed to reflect on how some of our students still struggle. A common thread here being a reluctance to formally identify any academic or behavioural issues. To me it feels like put a bandaid on a compound fracture. As long as it’s kept covered up, it doesn’t exist despite the discomfort, quite convinced that it will get better on its own.

After 9 months of growth plans, ISTs, academic testing, IEPs, IPRCS, and countless meetings; many are working feverishly to support at risk learners for a successful start in September. Is there something else we can do? Are there any magic words that can convice a family that we are working hard to help their child succeed? I wonder how we can collectively share, support, and encourage one another in our practice and through professional conversations that will continue fighting for our students. If you have any stories and successful strategies to share please share them in the comments section below.  Wishing you all of the best of life’s breaks.

 

 

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, Special Education

Why It’s Time to End Publicly Funded Catholic Schools

school

What is the purpose of publicly funded schools?

According to the publication, Good Governance: A Guide for Trustees, School Boards, Directors of Education and Communities, the purpose of publicly funded Ontario schools is to “provide universally accessible education for all students, regardless of their ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds; social or economic status; gender; individual exceptionality; or religious preference.”

Further to this, Good Governance goes on to state that “English and French public systems are founded on the principle of equality of educational opportunity: every student deserves an opportunity to achieve to his or her fullest potential.”

How many school districts are publicly funded?

The Education Act provides for the establishment of four types of district school board systems in Ontario. Even though all schools districts do not have the “public” label, all four district school board systems are publicly funded.

According to Ontario Government in 2015-2015 (same numbers as 2013-2014) school board data:

48% Public School Boards (for 69 % of Ontario’s population)

  • 31 English Public School Boards
  • 4 French Public School Boards)

52% Catholic School Boards (for 31% of Ontario’s population)

  • 29 English Catholic School Boards
  • 8 French Catholic School Boards

According to the Statistics Canada 2011 Ontario data, Roman Catholics represented 3,948,975 out of 12,651,790 people or 31.2% of Ontario’s population (down from 34.3% Roman Catholic in 2001) with 69% of Ontario’s population identifying as non-Roman Catholic. This is evidence that students who identify as non-Roman Catholics attend publicly funded Catholic schools. According to Kelly Gallagher-Mackay, Toronto Star reporter, 8% of students attending Catholic schools are not Catholic.

Why does Ontario have so many school boards?

In 1867, the British North America Act (BNA) constituted funding for French and English schools as well as Protestant and Roman Catholic schools up to grade 10. In 1867, the majority of Upper Canada’s (now Ontario) population were Anglo-Protestant. The BNA mandated standardization and public funding for education. As Ontario’s populations grew, Protestant schools became more secular. Sometime in the mid 1970’s, as a student, I no longer had to repeat the Lord’s Prayer every morning. In 1989, required recitation of the Lord’s Prayer was held in violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Thus Protestant French and English public schools became French and English public schools with no religious affiliation. In 1984, Ontario’s Premier, William Davis, extended full funding for all secondary grades.

What’s the issue with publicly funded Catholic schools?

In 2012, Ontario’s Drummond Commission examined the reform of Ontario’s public services, which included education. The report identified areas of overlap and duplication (which could save taxpayer’s dollars) within Ontario’s four schools systems but did not ever consider the idea of ending public funding of the Catholic school system. According to the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods (2012), the reduction in multiple boards would reduce duplication, busing, and capital funding saving the Ontario government between $1.2 and $1.6 billion annually. In the 1990s, Quebec and Newfoundland ended funding of denominational, religious-based schools. But funding of Ontario’s Roman Catholic school system has been considered a constitutional obligation and a really big political football. Note that Jewish, Muslim, and non-Catholic Christian schools are currently not publicly funded.

Why public funding of Catholic schools is unfair?

Right to refuse admission – Even though Ontario’s Catholic schools are publically funded, they have the right to refuse admission to non-Catholic students until grade 9. But with declining enrollment, non-Catholic students are being admitted. My own children attended a Catholic elementary school and had several non-Catholic, (Muslim and Hindu) students in their class. As a middle school teacher, pressure was put upon me to give grade 8 students all “Good and Excellent” learning skills on report cards as parents were told that the local Catholic high school would not take students with “Satisfactory and Needs Improvement” learning skills.

Admission of “preferred” students – According to Kelly Gallagher-Mackay (Toronto Star), research from Scott Davies at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education showed that children attending Catholic schools are more likely to have parents with post-secondary educations. Further, EQAO data shows GTA Catholic school boards have fewer students with special education needs and significantly fewer students whose first language is not English as compared to English public schools. As a Special Education teacher, in a contained class, I have direct knowledge of Catholic students (who regularly attended Catholic church) being denied access to their local Catholic school as the school “could not accommodate the students due to their special education needs”. Based on my own anecdotal observations in three schools in which I taught multiple grades, the number of students with special education needs is increasing, every year, as a percentage of overall classroom composition.

Lack of acceptance of student diversity – Some Catholic schools ban student funding and clubs were they are “directly or indirectly” inconsistent with Catholic teachings. This means no student funding for the United Way which funds Planned Parenthood or students running Gay Straight Alliance clubs that embrace LGBTQ2S student identities. I’ve also been told that teachers who identify as LGBTQ2S are told to keep quiet about their identity.

Right to refuse employment to non-Catholic teachers – Even though Ontario’s Catholic schools are publicly funded, they have a right to refuse employment to non-Catholic teachers. This means that a large majority of non-Catholic teachers are ineligible for permanent teaching positions, advancement, or promotion. This also means that the non-Catholic students attending Catholic publicly funded schools do not have teachers who represent their religion. Further to this, sectarian Catholic education (Catholic religion classes) is not mandatory.

When my children went to the local Catholic public school, as a parent, I had to produce baptismal certificates for both children.  But as enrollment decreased, more non-Catholic students were admitted to the school. As a former Catholic, I was denied access to employment with the Catholic boards as I had to produce a letter from a priest, stating that I attended a Catholic church.

The current public funding of schools in Ontario does not honour the purpose to “provide universally accessible education for all students, regardless of their ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds; social or economic status; gender; individual exceptionality; or religious preference.”

Maybe we should draw school boundaries based on local neighbourhoods, instead of religion. Ontario could also consider having drawing lines in having a French and English only boards.

With Ontario’s great diversity of students from multiple backgrounds and religions, it’s time to make all of Ontario’s publically funded schools secular.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

Drummond Commission Report (2012) Downloaded from https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/reformcommission/

Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods (2012) Downloaded from https://urbanneighbourhoods.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/ingsfromthemergerofontariopublicandseparateschoolsystems.pdf

Good Governance: A Guide for Trustees, School Boards, Directors of Education and Communities © 2014 Ontario School Trustees Downloaded from http://cge.ontarioschooltrustees.org/en/an-overview-of-ontarios-publicly-funded-education-system.html

OneSchoolSystem.org Downloaded from http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/fast-facts.html

Statistics Canada (2011) Downloaded from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105399&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=

Kelly Gallagher-Mackay, Toronto Star, (Tuesday, March 13, 2018) Must end publically funded schooling in Ont. Downloaded from https://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20180313/281754154841725

 

Deb Weston Advocacy for change, agency, Equal Pay in Unions, Gender Equity, Gender stereotypes, Social Justice, Why unions matter, Women at Work

Gender Equity in 2018

 

women-clipart-at-work-6

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms outlines what gender equity should look like … but do women really have gender equity in 2018?

In education and workplace participation, gender equity has made some strides.

  • in 2015, women are almost as likely to have a high school (82.5% women vs. 89.3% men) or university degree (83.1% women vs. 89.9% men)
  • in 2015, 77.5% of women were employed compared to 85.3% of men, up from 21.6% in 1950 and 65.2% in 1983
  • in 2015, women are more likely to be away from work (30.0% women vs. 23.9% men) and more likely to be away for a full week of work (38.4% women vs. 24.8% men)
  • in 2015, women are more likely to work part-time (18.9% women vs. 5.5% men)
  • in 2015, women are more likely to do volunteer work (67.2% women vs. 53.0% men)
  • In 1976 – men had higher levels of employment based on the marital status
    • 1976 men – 78.0 % employed single/never married, 92.7% employed married/common-law, and 82.3% employed separated/divorced/widowed
  • In 2015 – women employment rates of women no longer differ based on marital status
    • 1976 women – 79.4% employed single/never married, 44.6% employed married/common-law, and 59.2% employed separated/divorced/widowed

Nevertheless, challenges remain:

Too few women are advancing into leadership roles.

  • Women make up just 21.6% of Financial Post 500* board member (2016)

Women are under-represented in politics in 2015.

  • 26% of those elected to the 42nd Parliament are women
  • women made up 28% of municipal councillors and only 18% of mayors

Women continue to be responsible for the majority of care giving and household unpaid work.

  • women vs. men still spend (25.7 hrs/week) more time caring for their children (in 2010 women 50.1 vs. 24.4 hours/week on unpaid child care)
  • women vs. men are twice as likely to spend more than 10 hours per week unpaid work caring for seniors (49% women vs. 25% men)
  • women vs. men spend 5.5 hours more on housework (13.8 hrs women vs. 8.3 hrs men per week)

Women in the workforce tend to earn less than men.

  • women earn $0.876 for every dollar men earn, largely as a result of inequity between women and men within occupations (2015)

Women continue to experience high rates of gender-based violence.

  • Women have a 20% higher risk of violent victimization than men (2015)
  • Women account for 87% of victims of sexual offences and 76% of victims of criminal harassment (2015)

Some groups are at particular risk for gender-based violence.

  • 10% of aboriginal women were about three times as likely to report being a victim of spousal violence as 3% of non-Aboriginal women (2015)

 

How does this impact ETFO members?

 

As 82% of elementary teachers identify as women, women’s issues directly impact elementary teachers.

 

  • With too few women (21.6%) in leadership roles, women’s voices are not heard.
  • With under-representation of women in politics, women’s needs and equality are not addressed.
  • With more women spending their time, away from work, on unpaid work (caring for children and seniors, housework, volunteer work) , this unpaid work is not valued.
  • With women taking more time off work than men, this means women pay for higher sick leaves and long term leaves (on a personal note, when my children were young, I used 15 days of vacation days, before teaching, to take care of sick children and had no vacation that year). Again, women’s time at work is not valued as much as men’s time at work – if it was, more men would be taking time off to deal with family responsibilities.

Further, our ETFO colleagues are 20% more likely to be victims of violence than men and 87% of victims of  sexual violence. Our aboriginal ETFO colleagues are 3 times more likely to be victims of spousal violence.

Fortunately, female and male ETFO members are paid equitably based on experience and qualifications.

How do we change this?

  • Advocate for women leaders and leadership
  • Advocate for men to take on more caregiving and household responsibilities
  • Advocate for better, more inexpensive and supplemented childcare
  • Start small by changing attitudes and behaviours of women’s paid and unpaid work
  • Challenge gender stereotypes and subtle sexism encountered every day
  • Challenge sexism and discrimination that allow gender inequality to exist
  • Go for leadership roles and run for office

How can you change this on a personal level?

  • Expect men to take as much responsibility as women to care for children and seniors
  • Expect men to take parental leave so women to go back to work
  • Expect men to take as much responsibility as women for household chores
  • Hire house cleaners to clean your house, even if they clean part of the house
  • Advocate for better, more affordable/supplemented childcare, where the childcare workers are fairly paid

 

In Canada, gender equity is exists but it’s not completely equal. Let’s hope women can make similar strides in improving stats in leadership, unpaid work, and gender violence that have happened in education and employment. Let’s hope in the next 10 years, the stats noted above will look more equal, more equitable, and less biased towards women.

Happy International Womens’ Day 2018

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

Interesting Resources:

http://interactive.unwomen.org/multimedia/timeline/womenunite/en/index.html#/1840

http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/multimedia/2018/2/infographic-rural-women

http://interactive.unwomen.org/multimedia/infographic/changingworldofwork/en/index.html

http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/International-Womens-Day/602161

https://www.teachstarter.com/blog/free-international-womens-day-resources-activities/

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/School-Resources

http://www.caaws.ca/gender-equity-101/what-is-gender-equity/

Sources:

*The Financial Post’s ranking of Canada’s largest companies by revenue.

all data from Stats Canada

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/commemoration/iwd-jif/equality-egalite-en.html

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2015001/article/14694-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170308/dq170308b-eng.htm

Weston, DPA, 2015. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10464/6191