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B.C. education newsmakers in 2011
The Vancouver Sun
January 2, 2012. 3:01 pm • Section: Report Card, STAFF
My picks for the top newsmakers in B.C. education 2011:
1. George Abbott. Re-appointed education minister in March, Abbott received a surprisingly warm reception from all stakeholder groups, including the BCTF. But relations with the union have cooled since then as a result of difficult contract talks and discussions at another table to settle thorny issues of class size and composition. His biggest accomplishment in 2011 was winning unanimous support in the legislature (and quiet acceptance everywhere else) for legislation creating a new B.C. Teachers’ Council to replace the dysfunctional B.C. College of Teachers. We should know later this year if he has found a winning formula. Eyes will also be on Abbott as he creates a plan for so-called 21st century learning in public schools. (Add your views: www.bcedplan.ca)
2. Susan Lambert. She was a force to be reckoned with in 2011 as BCTF president, but her real test will be this year as she continues efforts to win a wage increase for teachers despite the government’s firm commitment to its public-sector wage freeze. The union has been involved in a work-to-rule job action since September but that’s unlikely to be sufficient pressure to win the kind of deal her members are expecting. The question now is, when will the BCTF move to a Phase 2 job action? And will that be a full-scale walkout? Lambert is also facing a showdown with government over Bills 27 and 28, which ended the union’s ability to negotiate class size and composition. The court declared the bills unconstitutional and gave the Liberals until April to resolve the issue. Government and the union do not agree on what sort of action the court ruling requires.
3. Patti Bacchus. While she didn’t have the same profile in 2011 as she did in 2010 when she went head-to-head with former education minister Margaret MacDiarmid, Bacchus continues to be the most recognizable and outspoken trustee in B.C. Whether you like that or not, depends on your politics because she isn’t Liberal friendly. That said, Bacchus topped the polls in Vancouver during trustee elections in November, as she did in 2008, and was once again elected chairwoman. Her challenge this year will be the same as it was last year: leading the board as it cuts millions in spending without closing schools.
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Happy 2012 Open Access Movement! December 31, 2011 Dramatic Growth of Open Access
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2011
Imagine a world where anyone can instantly access all of the world’s scholarly knowledge – as profound a change as the invention of the printing press. Technically, this is within reach. All that is needed is a little imagination, to reconsider the economics of scholarly communications from a poetic viewpoint.
Highlights
There are over 7,000 peer-reviewed fully open access journals as listed in the DOAJ, still growing by 4 titles per day and over 6,000 of these are in English, as listed by Open J-Gate. Electronic Journals Library keeps track of more than 32,000 free journals. There are over 2,000 repositories, linking to more than 30 million items, growing at the rate of 21 thousand items per day, which can be searched through the snazzy new Bielefeld Academic Search Engine search options. PLoS ONE, having become the world’s largest journal last year, outdid themselves by doubling the number of articles published this year. PubMedCentral, arXiv, RePEC, and E-LIS growth was in the 10-15% range for the year. This issue of Dramatic Growth adds a new feature, a first attempt at comparing compliance rates with a few medical funders’ open access policies – so far, Wellcome Trust is looking good!
By Heather Morrison
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
A Great Quote from Eric Burns
“The library is not, as some would have it, a place for the retiring of disposition or faint of heart. It is not an ivory tower or a quiet room in a sanitarium facing away from the afternoon sun. It is, rather, a command center, a power base, a board room, a war room, an Oval Office for all who preside over their own destinies. One does not retreat from the world here; one prepares to join it at an advantage.”
Eric Burns – The Joy of Books: Confessions of a Lifelong Reader
Aboriginal culture focus of second agreement in Delta
5:00 PM 01/10/2012
DELTA – A feast was held today to celebrate the signing of a second Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement (AEEA) for Delta, with partners committing to support Aboriginal student success and bring a greater awareness of Aboriginal culture and history to all students.
Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreements are a commitment by school districts, local Aboriginal communities and the Ministry of Education to work together to support Aboriginal students. Delta’s first agreement was signed in 2005, and the initiative has proven to be successful. Over the past ten years, six-year completion rates have risen for Aboriginal students in the district from 37 to 60 per cent.
With the new AEEA, the commitment to Aboriginal students is being enhanced. During the past year, community members, students, parents and educators came together to develop this second AEEA for Delta. The new AEEA is based on information learned from the first agreement and answers to the question, “What would success look like for our students?”
Province of British Columbia Newsroom: BC’s Online News Source
Vancouver forum on child poverty: Jan. 25th
The Vancouver Sun January 11, 2012. 2:59 pm • Section: Report Card
A second public forum on child poverty will be held in Vancouver this month to discuss B.C.’s dismal performance on this front.
It’s a continuation of a discussion sparked in September by Seymour teacher Carrie Gelson when she wrote an open letter to the people of Vancouver on behalf of her disadvantaged students.
The forum will be held Jan. 25, 7-9:30 p.m. at Langara College. Panelists include Gelson, Clyde Hertzman of the Human Early Learning Partnership at UBC and Dr. Barbara Fitzgerald, a UBC pediatrician, among others.
Find full details here.
Fitzgerald is behind a movement called Mom-to-Mom, which sees professional women, mainly from the UBC area, helping mothers living in poverty. Read about that here.
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun