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Youth Development

EQAO an Assessment of Learning

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BY: KATHY MCDONALD

The EQAO is practically here. This year the exams are expected to take place between

May 23rd and May 30th. EQAO is the acronym for Education Quality and Accountability Office. The agency while it reports to the Ministry of Education “is an independent agency that creates and administers large-scale assessments to measure Ontario students’ achievement in reading, writing, and math at key stages of their education. All EQAO assessments are developed by Ontario educators to align with the Ontario curriculum. The assessments evaluate student achievement objectively and in relation to a common provincial standard”.

I wanted to share some of the information that I received at their EQAO information night that I found quite useful as well as thank the dedicated grade three team at Agnes Taylor Public School in Brampton. The team went over the vocabulary that is often encountered during these exams. Words like: compare, describe, explain, list, show your work, predict, define, summarize, use your own words, support or prove, relate, identify, purpose, total. Reviewing what these terms indicate when situated in a question will help students to improve their understanding of the requirements of the questions.

The specific test strategies were discussed. They included: read and understand the whole passage; read all information, for example, all captions; labeled diagrams, glossary etc.; highlight keywords in the questions; go back to the text and find relevant information; answer in complete sentences; give as much detail as possible; proofread; check for spelling, grammatical errors, and punctuation. When doing a multiple choice question, it is recommended that students solve the question before looking at the answers. Read all possible answers then eliminate the obviously incorrect answers. If in doubt go with your first instinct but never leave an answer blank.

Teachers help students prepare for these exams. In the classroom, students are tested on a subject matter that has been covered in a lesson. Students must be able to make cross curricular connections and not see the information they learn in a particular lesson as siloed information. They also encourage students to demonstrate their thinking and use relevant information to support their answers. Reading comprehension strategies are reinforced. The EQAO comprehension analyzes the student’s ability to make connections and predictions as well as examines the student’s ability to retell visualize and understand a passage. Teachers empower students by developing their ability to edit and proofread their work. Students are also taught how to organize their thoughts before writing with the aid of graphic organizers.

Parents are encouraged to read with their children and challenge their children’s thinking about the text, within the text, and beyond the text. Bloom’s taxonomy which was created in 1956 still holds true today. It promotes a higher level of thinking in education. Students go from remembering or memorizing, understanding, applying, analyzing and evaluating to creating new or original work. When reading with your child ask pertinent questions such as: “What is the text about? What might happen next?, How are the characters feeling?, What is another word for ____?, Is the text fiction or nonfiction?, Do you like this book?, What is the purpose of this text? What is the main idea?, Why is there an exclamation mark?, Why would someone read this book?, How does the picture help me understand what the text is about?”. These questions should always be followed up by asking “Why do you say that?” or “How do you know this?”. Promoting critical thinking is key.

It is important to be SMART. By this I mean: S leep, M otivate, A ttend, R eview, & T ickle the taste buds with healthy foods. This acrostic poem is useful in helping parents to ensure their child is mentally capable of writing the test. Adequate sleep is highly recommended for each child the night before they write this or any exam. Many children are anxious and would benefit from positive encouragement. Try to avoid scheduling appointments or holidays during this period and ensure that your children arrive on time each day. By visiting the website www.eqao.com parents can access test that your children can review. Eating healthy foods, exercising and proper hydration is important to help students stay focused and perform at an optimum.

Many students and others often refer to the acronym EQAO as Evil Questions Attacking Ontario. However, whether or not you subscribe to the relevance or validity of the EQAO test it is clear that the information garnered from these exams can yield very useful information when utilized properly. When reviewing various interpretations of the EQAO results it’s important to understand what the result actually reveal. Do you know that in some instances kids that don’t write the test or kids that are incapable due to, for example, being a newcomer or refugee that does not speak English are given an exemption but recorded as getting a zero? If a school that has 100 students writing the EQAO and of this cohort 30 are refugees and none of them write the test they are given a zero and included in the calculations for the school’s performance.

The same is true if a student is sick or is exempt for example if they are mentally incapable of writing the test. The bottom line is that Ontario students are excelling in all areas and they are more than a single test score. So, breathe and help your children to confidently go forward to the EQAO. Walk Good Belle Marché

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Youth Development

Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The work of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has made a significant and revolutionary difference by bringing issues to the forefront that help Black families at all levels.

For over two years now, it has organized events, workshops and initiatives that have provided important information to the Black community to bring empowerment, knowledge and deep understanding of the multiple layers of the complex dynamics involved in navigating education spaces.

There are five core principles that underlie PoBC understanding of racism:

  1. Racialization
  2. Racism is about power
  3. Critical racial theory
  4. Our stories matter
  5. Racism is founded on White supremacy

On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, they launched the document Navigating the Education System,” which was a very empowering, enriching and inspiring tool for diverse Black families. Kearie Daniels, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author of the document, moderated the launch. Furthermore, Claudette Rutherford, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author gave an extensive presentation of the details of the document, sharing useful insights, practical knowledge and interesting information.

PoBC shared a pdf document subsequent to the launch, which provided additional details in a fifty-three-page package. It contained relevant, contextual and vital resources. PoBC’s Advocacy Team supported the document, which includes Charline Grant and Xavier McLaughin.

In the introduction to the document the mission of PoBC is to “Provide support to parents of Black children across Canada and the United States. We advocate and work towards change and concrete action in our education system and adjacent systems such child welfare and the justice system.”

The launch of this vital document is a culmination of all the advocacy and activist work that PoBC has been extensively involved in. It serves to remind members of the Black community that there are resources, tools and supports available to ensure that Black children are able to thrive academically, excel mentally and flourish intellectually in spaces that may not be welcoming to their presence.

The document states that the navigate guide is “Geared towards families in Ontario, but the information can be applied to any jurisdiction where there are Black children and families.”

The document “Table of Contents” is useful and helpful. There is vital information on:

  • School board terms you need to know
  • Education organization you need to know in Ontario
  • Black families and the Child Welfare System
  • Black families and the education system
  • Black students and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
  • Black students in High School.
  • Developmental delays in learning exceptionalities
  • Supporting students with learning exceptionalities
  • Selecting a school system
  • System abuse

PoBC presented a webinar on “System Abuse”. The document states,

“The system is not neutral. These systems were designed as part of a colonial framework that must be dismantled.” Furthermore, the document “Serves as a means to demystify the pitfalls within the education system and light a path towards a decolonized education system.”

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Youth Development

Toronto prepares families for COVID-19 vaccination of children

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Photo by Charles Deluvio Library on Unsplash

BY PAUL JUNOR

There have been concerns, fears and anxieties as parents, caregivers and guardians anticipate the possibility of having their children under twelve vaccinated.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday, October 29th, 2021, that the FDA approved the administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of five to eleven. These children will receive one-third of the dose administered to teens and adults.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention met on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, in order to finalize details with respect to which children should be vaccinated first. In anticipation of these developments, Team Toronto has initiated a series of outreach and education sessions, as well as town halls in order to inform the Toronto community.

Parents of children between the ages of five to eleven who attend public schools will be receiving an email and an invitation to respond to a survey to “Support vaccine planning.”  This invitation will also be extended to parents whose children attend private independent schools as well. The survey will be administered by Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the City of Toronto VaxTO in order to “Better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain critical information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.”

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is optimistic and positive about this development. He states in the press release, “While our work to get 90% of eligible residents vaccinated is continuing, we are also readying for when the vaccine will be available to protect kids five to eleven. We want to hear from parents, so we made sure we designed a vaccination program that works for kids and their families. This is just one more example of the outreach we are doing to prepare for this effort. This work is so important and will help us get kids vaccinated so they have the best protection against COVID-19 and so our schools can be as safe and as open as possible.”

Councillor Joe Cressy, Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health who has been at the forefront of advocating for the vaccination of margnizalied and at-risk communities is supportive of this campaign. He states, “At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children aged five to eleven, we’re committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids.”

In addition, Dr Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is a strong proponent of this campaign. She states,” When vaccines are approved for use and when we have supply we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”

The survey will be available as of Sunday, November 7th, 2021. It consists of fifteen questions that will be available online at s.tphsurvey.chkmkt.com in multiple languages. Parents and guardians will receive them from their children’s public school boards. In addition, there will be town halls for specified multilingual communities as well as neighbourhood-based telephone halls to ensure that the public has access to timely, necessary and relevant information for informed decision-making.

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Youth Development

Act as if what you do makes a difference. IT DOES

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BY SABRINA S. – 12 YEARS OLD

The school year is coming to an end, I’m sure that this year was hectic for everyone. Last year, we had a pandemic strike in the middle of the year and the world was sent into lockdown.

We didn’t get to go to school for the rest of the year.

Many students got to choose if they wanted to do school in-person or online, I chose online since I didn’t feel safe.

First day of school was very weird, most people don’t turn their cameras on, don’t even get me started on the wifi issues. I would lag out of the google meet many times and miss most of the instructions on the assignment. That is when friends come in handy, though I don’t get to see my friends that often, we still connect with some online games and phone calls through snap chat.

I don’t know where the time went, it just flew by. Last month was September and suddenly, I feel like we skipped eight months. I only have a week of school left! Because it is the last week of school, I have a lot of homework and final assignments to do but I know I’ll get through them and finish the school year.

I haven’t had time to go outside as well, I’ve been too busy with my assignments.

If my school year was this hectic, imagine the teacher’s year. I’m very grateful for everything my teachers have done for me and my classmates this year, they definitely deserve the three-month summer break. I’m sure my teachers doubted teaching online, but everything went okay and I learned lots.

“No matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets. I’m going to make it!”

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