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Posts Tagged ‘CEA’

A National Conversation?

Posted in Change, Personalized Learning, Technology, tagged , , , , , on November 27, 2012 | 15 Comments »

In reading the Programme for International Students (PISA) results, Canada is broken up by province, while all other nations report as countries.  Of course, this speaks to the responsibility of education in Canada as a provincial matter while in most countries, it has some Federal coordination.  While it is a provincial matter in Canada, there are times where some national engagement is important.

We often look to Finland (guilty as charged with these posts 1 and 2) as a possible model for the way forward, and look to the United States as a model we dare not, or want to, emulate (Many in Canada worry that Texas curriculum or online learning from Florida will make its way north). Yet, we spend very little time learning from other provinces.  We know far more about reform in New York than we do in Winnipeg, and about improvements in Helsinki rather than Ottawa. It is quite interesting how we look outside of BC (and I think across Canada) for learning partners, examples to follow or avoid, without fully engaging in conversations across this country.

There are some efforts and organizations trying to bridge this gap.  The Canadian Education Association (CEA) has been in existence since 1891, bringing together educators from a variety of roles across the country and advancing ideas for greater student and teacher engagement. This past week CEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Ron Canuel, launched a challenge around Why Do We Need Innovation in Education?  The CEA has a series of projects to link jurisdictions across the country including several awards programs and a series of national research reports.

Other nationals include C21 Canada, shaped somewhat after the P21 Organization in the United States, is a not-for-profit organization advocating for the 21st Century models of learning in education, and has recently released Shifting Minds:  A Vision and Framework for 21st Century Learning in Canada.  Another organization, is  The Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization dedicated to championing a strong public education system in Canada through innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement. Two of their more recognizable programs include Take Your Kid to Work Day in November and Welcome to Kindergarten.

There are also a number of other national organizations including the Canadian School Board Association (who will host their national conference this coming July in Vancouver),  Canadian Association of Principals,  the Canadian Teachers Federation, the Canadian Home and School Federation and the Canadian Association of School Administrators.  Clearly, there are no shortage of education organizations working at a national level.

So, returning to my original question, and my interest in writing this — somehow, we need to have more conversations linking education work across the country. There are huge learning opportunities from other jurisdictions and while there is value in learning from Finland, Singapore, or New Zealand, there are also great possibilities in learning from our fellow provinces, many of which join BC at the top of the PISA scales.  Whether it is the Inspiring Education efforts in Alberta, the work in assessment and evaluation coming out of Manitoba or the early learning lessons from Ontario, among many others, there is a lot to share.

I have also noticed another shift in the BC Education mindset in recent years –our schools are becoming less competitive with one another, and I also think the same holds true for our districts. There is no pride taken when one community in BC struggles, while others flourish; we do need to move this to a national conversation and a real sense of national ownership.  This is more challenging, but is a laudable goal.

We should/will keep learning and networking with countries around the world, because that is what one needs to do as part of a global conversation, but this should be alongside rich, national conversations on the same topics.

I am part of a free event this coming Friday morning (November 30), that will try to view education through a national lens.  The Action Canada Public Dialogue:  Challenges and Change in Canada’s Education Systems is at the Work Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver.  The event, moderated by Tom Clark, Chief Political Correspondent, and Host of the West Block on Global TV, hosts three panels:  Standardized Testing in Canada:  Real Accountability or an Illusion of Success?, Teaching Questions Not Answers:  Adapting Canada’s Education System for the 21st Century, and Who Cares About Young Caregivers:  Children’s Rights and Education.  I will be part of a five-member panel on the 21st century system question.  Full details are available here including registration information.

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Engaging the Passion of Teachers

Posted in Change, Personalized Learning, tagged , , , , on August 27, 2012 | 9 Comments »

“Mischievous Apple” by fernando.

In my conversations with education groups last year, I would often quip, “It is a great time to be a teacher, just maybe not the best year to be a teacher.”  Public education in British Columbia — in fact, across Canada, North America and around the world — has become increasingly challenged.  I am concerned about what I am beginning to hear from friends and colleagues who entered into the profession full of hope, passion, with the dream of bettering their community, but who are becoming disillusioned about teaching.

A new report presented by the Canadian Education Association and the Canadian Teachers Federation — Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach:  Now and in the Future, is a key document with a Canadian perspective on the aspirations of our teachers.  With much attention paid to reports on the pivotal role teachers play, like John Hattie’s Teachers Make a Difference, it is crucial that conversations around education change (reform, transformation, or whatever word might best describe what we are currently undergoing), is not only about engaging students, but is also about engaging the passion of teachers.

The Canadian view is important, because it is easy to be influenced by some of the deeply concerning directions in some parts of the United States, and assume they are also happening here.

The 25-page report is well worth the read whether you are a student, teacher, policy maker or engaged citizen.

Three Highlights in the Research:

1) A signficant proportion of teachers have experienced teaching the way they aspire to teach, at least occasionally

2) Although teachers are able to teach the way they aspire to teach on occasion, this does not always happen on a consistent and system-wide basis

3) There was significant agreement among teachers around the personal attributes of teachers that are the most important.  They are:

  • passion for teaching and a commitment to students
  • caring for children
  • knowing their students, and
  • flexibility to use one’s professional judgment and expertise to make sound pedagogical decisions in the interest of students

An important area of interest was the elements of an ideal teaching environment (click on graph below to enlarge):

While there is nothing on the list that would be stunning to any of us in the education system,  in many cases, a huge financial investment in the system is not required.  It was also reassuring to read that the “alienated teacher does not appear to be a common feature of education in Canada.”  That said, there is no doubt we have work to do.

A quote from Sam M. Intrator (in the report) led me to reading his 2002 book Stories of the Courage to Teach:  Honoring the Teacher’s Heart.  As someone who comes from a family of teachers (my mother continues to teach in the BC public education system, having started in 1968), so much of what he said resonated with me:

 . . . . if schools are to be places that promote academic, social, and personal development for students, everything hinges on the presence of intelligent, passionate, caring teachers working day after day in our nation’s classrooms. Teachers have a colossal influence on what happens in our schools, because day after day, they are the ultimate decision makers and tone setters. They shape the world of the classroom by the activities they plan, the focus they attend to, and the relationships they nurture.

If we want to attract and retain intelligent, passionate, caring teachers, we had better figure out what will sustain their vitality and faith in teaching. Education depends on what teachers do in their classrooms, and what teachers do in their classrooms is shaped by who they are, what they believe, and how vital and alive they are when they step before their students.

I am saddened when I see comments from teachers that if they had it to do over, would select a different profession, or would never encourage others to follow them into teaching.  And, at times, our profession is our worst enemy — we do a better job of dividing ourselves than others might – we label each other by the level we teach, our employee affiliation, the community we work in, or a variety of other markers which fragment the far more powerful unifying features we share like improving the quality of public education to increase the life chances and opportunities for the young men and women we are so fortunate to work with each day.

Hopefully this report will help stimulate some important discussions.

Full Disclosure - While I did not participate in the creation of the CTF/CEA Report I serve as a member of the Advisory Council for the CEA.

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How to Stop Good Ideas from Getting Shot Down

Posted in Book Club, Change, tagged , , , on October 27, 2011 | 15 Comments »

I was listening to Canadian Education Association CEO, Ron Canuel, recently and he referenced John Kotter, a professor at the Harvard Business School. It was a name I knew, but I hadn’t previously been exposed to his work. Canuel shared Kotter’s list of the four strategies people use to help kill good ideas.

  • Fear mongering involves creating infectious anxiety, scaring others into believing a good idea is far too risky to pursue
  • Death by Delay entails stalling an idea with never-ending questions, straw polls, and meetings—until the idea eventually loses momentum and fizzles out
  • Confusion consists of peppering a conversation with a stream of irrelevant facts and convoluted questions, making it near impossible for the innovator to keep the discussion on track
  • Ridicule is a direct attack on the character of the person who proposed the idea, creating indirect doubts about the idea itself
I am sure this list can be applied to many professions, but for me, it definitely does apply in education — and I admit I am guilty of at least one of them, having suggested my share of committees to delay ideas in the past.  In looking at any of the major educational initiatives, both past and current, they all seem to suffer from those roadblocks on Kotter’s list.
Kotter’s suggestions on how to deal with these challenges:
  • Invite the opposition in — “bring in the lions” — which is often counter intuitive since it focusses attention on the idea, which creates attention and engagement and can help win over hearts and minds; critics can be helpful
  • Keep ideas clear, simple and full of common sense and don’t allow yourself to get lost in the details
  • Treat the audience with respect – don’t try to beat people into submission. This just makes you look bad. Let the crowd come to understand and sympathize with your view
  •  Pay attention to the masses, and don’t obsess over the very few.  In the end, it is about the majority, not the minority
  • Preparation is really what it is all about
Kotter’s ideas are part of a book he has co-written with UBC professor, Lorne Whitehead,  Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down.
Here is a short video interview that summarizes many of the key notions:
A good reminder that sometimes a good idea is not good enough.

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Some Gender Observations

Posted in Change, tagged , , , on January 17, 2011 | 18 Comments »

I was about to sit down to write a post on some recent observations about the increasing gender gap at teacher leadership events, when the latest edition of Education Canada from the Canadian Education Association landed on my desk.  The headline on their Winter 2010-11 issue reads ”Where are the Male Teachers?”

The growing gap between the number of male and female teachers has been well-documented.

In this magazine’s editorial, Paula Dunning comments:

Just as we bemoan the paucity of women in positions of economic and political power, we should bemoan the paucity of men in positions that provide nurturing and guidance for young people of both genders.

In the feature article (which largely addresses the issue of the fear of false accusations against male teachers), Jon Bradley writes:

Male role models are becoming increasingly scarce in Canadian classrooms, and the demographics indicate that the current low numbers will continue to decline. While general statistics are open to flux and are often several years behind reality, it is clear that male teachers in elementary and middle schools will soon be a thing of the past.  Secondary schools fair a tad better, but males are an increasing minority within the teaching ranks at all levels.

So, back to my observations — I was struck, recently, when I quietly snuck into the back of the West Vancouver Teachers’ Association Professional Development training session and realized I was the only male in the room.  In fact, in several different sessions and meetings I have recently attended, I have noticed the male/female gap is quite pronounced.

Some recent observations and data:

In West Vancouver, we have recently started a teacher leadership series open to all teachers K-12;  19 of 24 teachers in our Leading Learning Teacher Leadership Series (K-12) are female.

This year I have become a board member for Learning Forward BC (formerly the Staff Development Council of BC).  This group is one of the primary cross-role professional development organizations in the province;  9 of the 11 board members for Learning Forward BC are female.

Of our professional development representatives in West Vancouver, 26 of the 28 are female (as of last fall).

Of our school-based administrators, 21 of our 34 administrators are female.

Before one concludes that the gender gap is consistent through all aspects of professional development, it is interesting to look online.  What I am seeing there is quite different:

Just prior to Christmas, I compiled a list of the edu-bloggers in BC — teachers, administrators and other professionals who were regularly blogging about K-12 education.  At that point, I found 29 of 36 edu-bloggers were male.

I also did a quick count of those following me on Twitter and the male/female split is exactly even.

This is the first year I have really noticed the gender gap at teacher leadership events.  It has really shifted quite quickly.  Just 15 years ago, it was almost unheard of for female secondary school principals — in many ways we have made huge, positive strides.

As I started to think about this topic, I saw it through the lens of the changing face of leadership, it is really just that the leadership is becoming more reflective of the changing face of our profession.

For interest, here is the provincial 2009-10 gender statistics (teachers):

2009/10 total teachers (FTE) 33053.7: 22508.2 (female),  10545.6 (male).

Here is the link to the full data from the BC Ministry of Education.

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