Stay up to date on news, events and special features.
Make words count: Encouraging reading at home is the best way to raise literacy levels
Reading at home is the best way to turn around Canada’s poor literacy levels, says reading expert Jan Dupuis.
With four out of every 10 adult Canadians struggling with a sub-standard literacy level, according to a 2005 survey, the most effective way to make sure literacy becomes more widespread is to encourage it in the home, in the family and with children, said Dupuis, literacy outreach co-ordinator with the Victoria Literacy Task Force.
“Their reading levels aren’t good enough, their writing skills aren’t good enough, their computer skills, they might not even have any, and their math skills are very low,” Dupuis said in the lead-up to today’s Family Literacy Day.
The statistics from the 2005 survey are daunting – 900,000 men and women, aged 16 to 65, have a literacy level below that defined as the bare minimum for the modern workplace, Level 3 out of 5 – but the problem can be overcome, Dupuis said.
Just 15 minutes a day spent with a child in an activity to stimulate or encourage reading or literacy can prepare a child for a successful adulthood.
Source: ABC Life Literacy
By Richard Watts, Times Colonist January 27, 2012
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
The Black History in Canada Education Guide: A Message to Teachers
In honour of Black History Month, the Education Library would like to feature the Historica-Dominion Institute’s online Black History in Canada Education Guide:
A Message to Teachers
The largest independent organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity and citizenship, The Historica-Dominion Institute is committed to bringing the stories and experiences of Canada into the classroom. This innovative Education Guide explores seminal events and personalities in Black Canadian history through engaging discussion and interactive activities. It was made possible with the generous support of TD Bank Group, whose commitment to Black history and culture has been celebrated.
The purpose of this Guide is to enhance your students’ knowledge and appreciation of the Black Canadian experience, drawing from Lawrence Hill”s award-winning historical fiction, The Book of Negroes, the remarkable journey of Aminata Diallo and the historic British document known as the Book of Negroes. Structured around themes of journey, slavery, human rights, passage to Canada and contemporary culture, this Guide asks students to examine issues of identity, equality, community, and nation-building in both a historical and contemporary context. The tools provided here are supplemented with additional activities and resources at the Black History Portal. We hope this Guide will assist you in teaching this important aspect of Canadian history in your English, Social Studies, History or Law classroom.
~From the Black History Canada website
Three applicants for every K-12 teaching job in B.C.
January 30, 2012. 11:52 am • Section: Report Card
By Janet Steffenhagen
Young people interested in a teaching career need to know there are three applicants in British Columbia for every one position that becomes available in the K-12 school system, says Education Minister George Abbott.
“We need to be honest with students … about where their opportunities in the future may lie,” the minister said in an interview after a stalemate in teacher bargaining raised questions about whether B.C. needs to match higher salaries in other provinces to retain teachers.
Abbott says that’s not a concern because there are 2,700 to 2,800 teachers looking for work in any given year but only about 800 job openings in schools. The over-abundance of teachers is an issue Abbott said he intends to raise with the Association of B.C. Deans of Education (ABCDE) during a meeting set for spring.
The teaching pool includes new graduates from B.C.’s nine teacher education programs as well as teachers who have moved to B.C. from other jurisdictions. According to the most recent statistics available, the former B.C. College of Teachers certified 824 teachers who moved to B.C. from out-of-province in 2009-10 and issued 475 statements of standing for B.C. teachers relocating to other jurisdictions.
Abbott acknowledged that an education degree provides students with skills that can be used for other types of work but said it’s important for students to have the facts about job opportunities, given labour shortages in other fields.
Until he discusses his concerns with education deans, Abbott declined to comment on whether his government would consider a cap on enrolments in teacher education programs. “It would be premature for me to form any conclusion,” he stated.
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Authorfest February 2
Join us at Authorfest on Thursday February 2, 2012 Hebb Theatre, 2045 East Mall, UBC Campus, Vancouver 4:30-6:00 pm.
This year’s Authorfest features BC children’s authors Linda Bailey, Robert Heidbreder and Ellen Schwartz. You will also meet other wonderful BC children’s writers Tanya Kyi, Kathryn Shoemaker and Julie Burtinshaw.
It promises to be a wonderful event. Come and bring a friend!
~from the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable website.
Education and Social Media in British Columbia
January 15, 2012
– by Chris Kennedy – Author of cultureofyes blog
I have used the above slide in a number of presentations to make the point that British Columbia is leading Canada (perhaps even the world) in the professional use of social media in K-12 education. I freely admit I don’t have the statistics to back up the claim – there are simply more teachers, administrators, parents, trustees, and others here, who are logging into their blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts in the name of professional learning, than any other jurisdiction.
In the past year we have moved from several dozen blogs around K-12 education, to numbers in the hundreds, with representation in every area of the education system. The #bced tag on Twitter is one of the most engaged with conversations about the ever-changing education profession, and there are many other social sites having these conversations as well.
The conversations around the profession itself are very interesting. In social media, ‘role’ becomes less important; there is a flattening of society and it is ‘ideas’ that have increased value. There are also incredible opportunities to reflect, share, and learn without the limitations of geography. I could go on, and there have been many others who have covered the ground about the value of social media for educators, and how Twitter and blogging can be extremely powerful in professional development. This is true for those interested in education in BC, but it is also true of other professionals around the world.
So why has BC moved so quickly and taken such leadership in this area? As mentioned, I have no statistical proof, but a series of ideas as to why BC is the leading jurisdiction using social media to engage in the profession of education.