Youth Development
Radical changes in Ontario’s public education foresee more troubles ahead in 2020
BY PAUL JUNOR
There is no doubt that the landscape of public education in Ontario is undergoing major changes and transformations as we get set in a few weeks to welcome the third decade of the 21st century. Since 1992, I have witnessed first-hand these major revisions. I am aware of the impact of the cancellation of programs, increase in class sizes, reduction of services, and the increased workload on teachers impacting their emotional, physical and mental health. Education has become a battlefield for many in the province. The Progressive Conservative, who ran the province from 1960s to 1985 under the leadership of Premier Bill Davis, made astounding educational gains. It is clear that the economic condition that prevailed in Ontario had a major impact on educational spending. The recession of the 1990s, under the New Democrat Party (NDP) austerity agenda of the PC under Mike Harris and Ernie Eves in 2000s, increased spending on social and energy programs under Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, and now decreased spending under Doug Ford all have had significant effects on public education.
There are many similarities that exist between the PC led government of Mike Harris who came into power in 1994, and the current government of Doug Ford who came into power in 2018. Mike Harris, who took over from the NDP under Bob Rae, saw the total debt increase from $35.4 billion in1989-1990 to $ 90.7 in 1994-1995. With a majority vote in May 1994, Mike Harris unleashed what was dubbed the “Common Sense Revolution” in 1997, and this was especially damaging on public education. The passing of Bill 160 by Education Minister, John Snobelen titled, “Education Quality Improvement Act” reconfigured: education funding, the delivery of programs, management of school boards and the collective bargaining process of teachers. With the introduction of province-wide testing and the elimination of grade 13, with the condensing of high schools from five years to four years led to a two-week full strike in 1997. The education system has not fully recovered from these changes.
In many ways the Doug Ford government with the introduction of Bill 124, struck at the heart of public education. It has cut $25 million in funding for specialized programs in elementary and secondary schools across the province for at-risk and indigenous students. By increasing class size from 22 to 28 and now 25 average students, and mandating four mandatory e-learning courses now reduced to two, the government expects to significantly reduce the costs of public education by eliminating high school teaching positions. This has led to the loss of hundreds of jobs across the province and thousands more are expected in the next few years. The teachers unions responded by staging strikes on December 4th, 11th and 18th at ten selected boards. The government mandated only a 1% increase, which would provide only $750 million towards teacher’s salaries. This increase has further incensed the unions by circumventing the collective bargaining process. Two teachers unions OSSTF and OECTA have filed legal challenges against Bill 124. This will no doubt take some days to resolve.
It is clear that in its austerity programs, the PC government is focused on significantly reducing expenditures on public education, by inflating the projected deficit to $15 billion, which has now been scaled back to approximately $12.2 billion according to Bonnie Lysk. As reported in the December 5th edition of the Toronto Star, the government is preaching fiscal prudence. In an education fact sheet from Uppekha Jain that was released on December 10th, according to the Ministry of Education, “The average OSSTF members make $92 000 per year (2003-2004 to 2017-2018), the total bill for teachers’ salaries increased by 12%. The fact that health and education accounts for more than 50% of Ontario’s spending of $61.3 billion out of $129.1 billion is a major concern to government. The impact of the loss of these teaching jobs will have a ripple effect across the system. Students will continue to suffer tremendously.”
Youth Development
Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System
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:
- Racialization
- Racism is about power
- Critical racial theory
- Our stories matter
- 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.”
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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