by Manon van Mil
This year, every Ontarian should be asking their candidates for trustee how they intend to protect students’ human rights: Our provincial government changed Ontario’s Health & Physical Education (H&PE) curriculum for Grades 1- 8, removing content about consent, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, cyberbullying, and sexting, amongst other topics. Many have argued that this action violates the Ontario Human Rights Code, which protects people from discrimination on the basis of their gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
From The Canadian Encyclopedia: “There is some shared authority with the province in many other areas, eg, curriculum, textbook selection and courses of study. In curriculum, for example, guidelines are produced by the provincial authorities. Within these guidelines, however, the boards can exercise wide discretionary powers. Sometimes provincial rules, regulations and statutes are ignored, sometimes they are interpreted liberally.”
Uniting for Children and Youth – UCY invited two OCDSB students to ask a question to all candidates on the theme of Youth Empowerment. Below is Charlotte and Ny’s introduction, their question on the theme of Youth Empowerment, and candidates’ responses, organized by zone. Candidates who declined to answer this question from local youth are also indicated.
Introduction from Charlotte & Ny
“We recently organized Nepean High School’s successful walkout against Ford’s changes to the curriculum. Some of these changes include reverting the newly updated health curriculum (2015) to one taught in 1998, which will see topics such as cyber-safety, sexuality, gender identity and consent left out of elementary classrooms. This government has also deprioritized Truth and Reconciliation by cancelling a working group that aimed to improve Indigenous education in Ontario schools. We deserve better than this. We have to say, for a lot of us, it felt super scary and dark when Ford was first elected. Although the walkout gave us hope, and cemented the fact that almost all students our age are willing to fight for our rights in regards to our curriculum – we still need a sense of validation and commitment from adults. We want to know that they are helping us assert our rights, and giving us the knowledge and encouragement we need to continue this fight.”
Their Question
What steps are you going to take to ensure that students feel they are heard in regards to their involvement in THEIR curriculum?
Zone 1 Responses, West Carleton-March/Stittsville/Rideau-Goulbourn
Jon Flemming: Schools and administrators have to find ways to incorporate student opinions, in effect to partner with students as stakeholders in their own learning, especially in high school. Studies show when this happens academic outcomes improve, and that’s the entire thrust of my candidacy. I think there are several things the OCDSB can and should do to this end. They include:
- Regularly soliciting students’ input and feedback
- Engaging students in assessing their schools and teachers
- Include authentic student representation on leadership teams that make decisions on curriculum.
Students have a voice and we should be listening to it.
Lynn Scott: From my time as mentor to some of our student trustees, and my time spent with the OCDSB’s Student Senate, I know that we need to pay attention to what students are telling us, because they offer us straightforward advice and insights into many of the issues the school board must address. When visiting secondary schools, I appreciate my occasional opportunities for face-to-face in-depth conversations with individual students on specific topics. However, the OCDSB needs to improve its mechanisms and processes for ensuring that the student voice is heard in the right places and at the crucial times. Despite great efforts in the past four or five years on the part of the Student Senate, the role of the Student Senators is still not as well known to other students in their schools as it should be. I would encourage our school administrators and teacher advisors to consider ways to help raise the profile of Student Senators and Student Trustees in their schools. The role of student representative in school councils is also underutilized, and school councils can be encouraged to be more proactive in seeking student representation and making student voice a key part of their mandate in providing advice to the school and the board.
In the classroom, we’re still in a slow process of culture change, where the nature of dialogue between students and teachers and among students is evolving to give students more opportunities for self-advocacy, more choices in how to learn, what to learn and how to demonstrate that learning. Again, however, we need to ensure that this evolution continues, and provide students better ways to bring general concerns about curriculum to the attention of the school administration and to trustees. For example, many schools have clubs oriented towards environmental issues, but there is currently no clear mechanism to connect concerned students school-to-school or to coordinate input on these issues to the senior staff and trustees of the board or to other levels of government. Similarly, the variety of student clubs that deal with social justice issues, gender identity, etc. could be better coordinated to provide input on school board policy decisions. We need to find the right mechanisms for this to happen.
I would like to see the Civics curriculum improved, to give students a better understanding not just of how government (large or small) works, but also of ways through which their voices can be heard. I would also like to do more to encourage students to participate in public consultations, such as the provincial consultation on education that is just beginning — more information at https://www.ontario.ca/page/for-the-parents — (and perhaps it’s telling, that this provincial consultation is billed as “for the parents” when it really needs to be for the students).
Brandon Rabideau declined to respond to this question.
Guprit Kindra and Ken Lumsden had suspended their campaigns.
Zone 2 Responses, Kanata North/Kanata South
Waleed Qirbi: I am a believer in the active involvement of students with their curriculum. In terms of having students feeling that they are involved, I feel that by allowing teachers the ability to actively provide courses with opportunities for creativity, and the ability to work independently, the students will benefit greatly. A more modern approach to education, rather than a stringent, traditional approach, has been proven to result in greater student interest and involvement.
I will propose that by establishing an “open learning model” Program with at least three schools in the School Board, we could “pilot” this model, and test the results of the open learning model with a random group of students starting in Grade 5. Through a scientific review of the results after 3 years, we could compare results with other students not in the program, and confirm the model with real data. The key is to determine what will lead to better results for our Children and their future.
Christine Boothby and Adam Grodinsky declined to respond to this question.
Zone 3 Responses, Barrhaven/Knoxdale-Merivale
Alex Sivasambu: First of all I like to say that I am deeply moved and impressed by Charlotte and Ny for taking the initiative in organizing the walkouts and finding ways to bring forward their opinions and showing that they care about their school education system and their peers future.
To answer your question,
One of my main mandates is transparency within the school board system and making sure parents’ and students’ voices are heard every step of the way.
Sex curriculum change is one of the major issue that’s troubling many at this stage, when I am elected, as one of my first project, I will form a committee, along with other fellow trustees, for revisiting this curriculum change, what studies were done during the 2015 curriculum change and why they were given precedence then and what changed now.
Normally school boards and government go through numerous researches from experts and thousands of dollars spend in doing these, and I will, along with the committee, study what studies are supporting the reverting back to 1998 curriculum and why this government didn’t take public/students’ opinion before changing this. I will bring forward a petition to the provincial government on behalf of the public and try my best to request a revision to this curriculum change.
I definitely feel that including the indigenous studies and truth and reconciliation council is an eye opener to our youth, and it should continue to be part of the curriculum. I also like to have students’ voices and their current problems heard on a continuous basis, to achieve that, I will organize a student/trustee council meeting set up periodically and have discussions about troubling issues, and see how we can tackle issues arising at school levels. When there is a problem, I believe in reaching out to the sources, my main goal is to integrate students from 10 schools of Zone 3 and listening to their problems and even have them come up with solutions for this. This will help them feel like a community and have standardized system among schools.I believe that students can have very valuable input in resolving problems and issues within their schools.
Donna Blackburn, Patricia Kmeic, Amanda Purdy, and Amy Wellings declined to respond to this question.
Zone 4 Responses, Bay
Wendy Hough: I would like to thank the UCY for once again bringing another important topic to the discussion table. I am heartily impressed by efforts of Charlotte and Ny to engage with the candidates on this issue. I am going to take liberties with this question and start with my ideas about the abandonment of the updated health curriculum and then I will return to the issue of student input into curriculum decisions.
I want to start by saying that I unequivocally believe that an egregious mistake has been made by the provincial government in its decision to put the kibosh on the newly developed health curriculum and revert to the 1998 content. As the mother of two teenagers, I am appalled that the government thinks that the previous curriculum is even remotely adequate to meet the needs of our children growing up in today’s world.
Furthermore, as a tax payer, I am beyond angry that we hired professionals who are experts in the field and in curriculum development to bring us into the next century and they produced their deliverable and the government just chucked it in the bin. We, the tax paying citizens, coughed up for that. This does not make me happy. But, what makes me even less happy is that the Ontario government has chosen to use the safety and well being of our children as pawns in a political game. I don’t believe that there is any concern about the actual content of the curriculum by the sitting government; what we have is a leader who made a promise to eliminate this progressive and appropriate curriculum to secure votes. I would like to see a full reversal of this decision and the subsequent reinstatement of the revised curriculum. I feel very strongly that the Board will need to provide guidance to our teachers as to their interpretation of the curriculum options available to them.
Given its size and geographical positioning, the OCDSB sits well poised to play a leadership role relative to other school boards in this process. I will also add that I spent more than a decade doing research and teaching in First Nations communities in Northern Quebec and I feel a very strong personal connection to indigenous education. I am deeply saddened by the apparent lack of concern by the Ontario government for this issue especially when we have finally, as a society, started to take meaningful strides towards truth and reconciliation. I am pleased to see that this issue is actually on the student radar.
Now that I am done ranting, I can turn to your question pertaining to student involvement in curriculum decisions. My platform for this election is probably best captured by the term collaborative education. I believe that the collaboration of all potential stakeholders in any process is the key to success – involving students and teachers in the decision making process will undoubtedly facilitate the development of an end product that is relevant and conducive to uptake by both groups. I would like to move well beyond the current level of student participation in Board decisions that is limited to the input of the sitting student representatives. I would like to see the use of student (and parent and teacher) focus groups as a matter of course on virtually all issues as we progress from the earliest ideational phase through to implementation and follow-up. I feel strongly that the the OCDSB should embrace the 4 Cs of 21st century learning – critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity – by incorporating them into our operating paradigm. In a nutshell, I want to hear what students have to say because I think it matters. Talk to me.
Thank you again for this opportunity to speak to an issue of interest to you and undoubtedly many Ottawa voters.
Dragos Popa: Students’ access to evidence-based information and meaningful engagement with the curriculum are critically important to their education and overall development as young people and responsible citizens.
It is very disappointing and unfortunate that the conversation relating to the health curriculum, Indigenous education, math scores or standardized testing has become highly politicized.
I am hopeful that the upcoming consultations on the education system in Ontario will be comprehensive and conducted in good faith, and allow all key stakeholders (including students, parents, and educational experts) to provide their views and influence the final outcome.
Regarding the health and physical education curriculum specifically, I support a return to the 2015 content, and I am also supportive of an updated version that builds on the latest research and evidence-based approaches in the field (regarding sexual health education, mental health, and substance use).
And once the new health and physical education curriculum is finalized we need to make sure that the content is taught properly and consistently across the district. I’ve heard it many times, that some health teachers were uncomfortable teaching some of the subjects – which made the curriculum itself irrelevant, unfortunately.
Personally I promote no-nonsense solutions, which are evidence-based and free of ideological agendas. I encourage all to participate actively in the new provincial consultations, share their perspectives, and help identify appropriate approaches to our educational system. Above all, I am interested in hearing people’s views on the subject, and commit to being their strong voice at the school board.
Fraser Anderson declined to respond to this question.
CJ Blake: I will work with the Student Senate to ensure my voice compounds theirs. Two student trustees is not enough and I want students to have dedicated support from at least one other trustee. Being a young candidate, I am acutely aware of the realities students are facing in school and when becoming new graduates. I will listen to students through coming into schools, setting up a table over the lunch period to gather student opinion on a range of issues. Making information accessible is key to having an informed and engaged youth, which we have (the walkout is a testament) and would be a board asset to maintain, so reaching out is a worthwhile endeavor, both for students to find their voice and be heard as well as for the board to conduct proper consultation with those affected by policy.
Rob Campbell: First, congratulations to Charlotte & Ny and all of the other participating students and their allies who made the walkout such an amazing success, here in Ottawa schools and elsewhere provincially. I was thrilled by it as it means at least many students feel empowered enough to do this, the government’s actions have not been allowed to pass by with an OCDSB yawn after all (official school board actions to date have been muted), and a new generation of media-savvy student activists could actually make a difference going forward.
I have been an education activist for many years now myself, co-founded or participated my fair share of grassroots education or municipal action groups, and marched and advocated variously. It can seem sometimes like the world just shrugs, so events like the walkout do truly make one hopeful. Just around the corner now as well, I think we can all expect and predict, will be important funding cuts to school boards, affecting needed supports to vulnerable students and other ‘extras’, so we all need to prepare and be ready to react as we can. Anyway, so a big thumbs up.
It’s a bit lengthy, so apologies for that, but I have a lot to say or to suggest on these topics and want to be thorough. I have broken my reply down into three sections: HPE curriculum, Indigenous curriculum, and Supporting Student Voice on the noted curricula, and in other ways.
HPE curriculum
With the HPE rollback, the new Provincial government is shamefully politicizing education and curriculum, to create a wedge issue to motivate their base, and so for crass political gain, regardless of the disruption or hurt caused. I hope they get all of the blowback they deserve. They already seem to be skating, and burying HPE parent consultation now in other fig leaf consultations. Continued pushback may be making a difference – we’ll see.
The problem here is not only of course that education is getting politicized, students going forward will be somewhat less prepared to assert themselves or less accurately informed, but that it sends a powerful exclusionary message to LGBTQ students, staff, and parents, and by implication invites others to do so also.
I’ve compared 1998, 2010, 2015, and the temp 2018, and 2015 in my view is clearly the best version as it has more and clearer respect statements generally, and many more dialogue and teaching examples to help teachers, and makes some other adjustments. It doesn’t seem to me that there is a large essential difference between 2010 and 2015, but 2010 is paler, less specific, less useful, and less insistent perhaps. What the temp 2018 does of course is two things: returns us to the generally less useful and less forceful 2010 version, and then whites-out the Growth and Development strand within it and pastes in that strand from 1998. The HS curriculum is of course left unchanged (for the moment anyway), and the government has targeted the elementary panel’s HPE.
The entire 1998 HPE not only misses out on online dangers, consent, strong respect messaging for different ways of being, and trusted information on other topics, but explicitly requires some material to be taught in grades later than 2015. The child development and pedagogical experts who designed 2015 I’m sure are on the mark though as to the best age to teach certain concepts and to provide certain information.
Any curriculum should be left to educational and child development experts to design: politics should play no role in this. What’s next, creationism? The whole idea of the modern HPE was to equip children and youth with information, respectful outlook, ability to assert themselves, and trusted information, *before* they needed it or are potentially placed into a situation or confronted with prejudices they are not yet equipped to handle. And, it should be a key part of a general strategy to ensure that all student, families, and staff know they are embraced and respected by their school communities and broader society. It therefore makes no sense whatsoever for parents at large to comment as to the appropriate age they feel comfortable with teaching different elements of any curriculum. And, any license for intolerance of any kind is right out of bounds.
Since the government announcement, I have called for: (a) stronger repudiation of the government action than the Board has issued to date, (b) a motion to support our teachers, directly bullied by the government with threats of a snitch line, and (c) spending some money on release time for teachers union and senior OCDSB staff to together design a progressive response and guidance for ODCSB teachers to follow, so that we won’t have a crazy quilt of responses and confusion. I have also called (d) for supplementing the temp 2018 curriculum to the 2015 standard, on the basis that for all curricula it has always been possible for teachers, and Boards, to provide extra material as long as the basic material was taught, including reach-ahead information, etc. Such developed guidance could be shared with other Boards in Ontario. Unless there is a clear legal impediment here some place – and I think it is likely there is not – the ODCSB could provide leadership in resistance advocacy Provincially.
I also oppose the government’s consultation with parents at large on the 2015 curriculum, which they are now hiding with the fig leaf of other consultations (mostly equally silly), given the blowback they have been getting. It would be shameful to consult on whether or not intolerance is a good or a bad thing, and it is inappropriate for parents at large to comment in areas of pedagogical or child development expertise. I do see a possible role for consultation with parents and parent groups around how best to demystify the 2015 curriculum, ensure a fair reading of it – it is not a scary document by any stretch of the imagination, how best to accommodate when what is taught conflicts too painfully with traditional values that orthodox or traditionalist religious families may defend and hold dear, and how best to engage with them and provide advice on creating dialogue and understanding. This might be worth consulting on, but the curriculum itself, no.
I’m confident however that the OCDSB and most other School Boards will continue to champion respect for LGBTQ students, staff, and families, and indeed, in light of 2015 related developments may well amp them up this coming year and mandate. The OCDSB annually hosts a Rainbow students conference for LGBTQ youth and their allies, its community and civil society rep-based Equity Advisory Committee (on which I have been active in the past as an appointed Trustee rep) routinely reviews such concerns, and generally the OCDSB tries to make every school a welcoming school for everyone of all faiths, ethnicities, orientations, and abilities. I’ve heard some reports that not all HS are equally welcoming however, and this is another bring forward item for me for the coming mandate, should I find that I have been provided a role.
My campaign web site www.CampbellOCDSB.ca carries a draft motion I wrote some weeks ago on this topic (under Motions on the ‘Resources’ tab), as well as links to the various HPE versions (scrubbed now from the Ministry web site). Please also note the general social justice focus of the rest of my ‘Policy’ tab platform elements – especially poverty and spec ed supports. These are the core issues which motivate me.
Indigenous curriculum
The introduction of this new curriculum, heavily influenced by the Truth and Reconciliation Final Report, and the broad participation of professional educators and elders and others, was to have been a joyful moment … so one form of true reconciliation with people working together in partnership (a) to ensure awareness of and respect for indigenous history, culture and governance, including increased pride amongst indigenous students and communities, (b) to help ensure that an at least fuller and more explicit understanding of the cultural evisceration and economic appropriation which has occurred, recently with residential schools, but continuing with atrocious inequity and lack of adequate funding to schools on reserves by the federal government today, and (c) to ensure a continuing partnership by writing in elders and traditional knowledge as explicit sources of key enrichment for indigenous curriculum studies.
Again, the new government’s move to axe the big final conference to review, help finalize, and endorse the new curriculum, planned for a long time as an integral part of the TRC-inspired development partnership, and which was to have hosted respects indigenous educators and elders and others, was so idiotically stupid and destructive it makes one’s head spin. In order to save a relative pittance, they axed one of the crowning glories of the agreed curriculum development process, and something which sought hard to establish a new level of enduring trust and respect, and itself in a small way to help with healing.
It appears that the new curriculum will go ahead with out this important final major review and endorsement. I know that it has been worked on for a long time by a lot of indigenous and non-indigenous people of good will, and certainly it will be a lot better than what went before, and will be embraced and leveraged by the OCDSB (see below), which has been anxious to seriously move forward in closing the education outcome gap (maybe not in one generation per the Final Report but we’ll see), and acting to help heal in ways that it can.
However, because the conference was cancelled, we will never know what further improvements could have come out of it in terms of tweaks and understandings. We will never have that conference’s endorsement, and the new curriculum will be rightly met with some suspicion, and without the joyfulness and celebration it merited. And, we all will labour now under the cloud of an official representative government declaration in effect stating that indigenous community voices and endorsement does *not* matter. What has been built has been irretrievably soured. It is such colossal idiocy.
So, a decent foundation, but I want to hear what our new IEAC advisory committee has to say about the now mandated annual indigenous education action plan. IEAC reps to date have been explicit that they need student voices to be heard and to be involved with IEAC as well as the directly affected indigenous adults of the future.
The OCDSB’s Board of Trustees recently passed a motion calling on its Provincial association (the Ontario Public School Boards Association, or OPSBA) to advocate to accept alternate educator credentials for otherwise uncredentialed elders and others with traditional knowledge who might then be able to teach certain courses in our schools. I fully endorse this effort. The OCDSB this past Spring set up a dedicated Indigenous Education Advisory Committee to advise and advocate on behalf of indigenous students within the OCDSBB, with the committee’s governance largely determined by indigenous community reps. And, the OCDSB is following the Provincial lead (emanating from the past government), to disaggregate some education outcome stats by indigenous status. Again, I fully support this, and have been pushing for disaggregated outcome stats by marginalized population for years – the only way in the end to really get sustained additional resources or new thinking where its needed and force accountability for improvements in my view. In recent years, the OCDSB has also developed a pilot after-4 care program in partnership with the Inuit community (little known fact – Ottawa is the 2nd largest Canadian Inuit municipality in Canada), and had HS youth programming for indigenous youth in partnership with Wabano.
I’d also be willing to support an Indigenous Students Forum or Conference, if the interest existed, similar to the Rainbow one. I am interested in disaggregated outcomes information (academics and also meaningful well-being metrics) by ethnicity, poverty, special education need, and in other ways which might be actionable in terms of policy changes or resources allocation. I have other ideas also, including a central sweat lodge (only one now is out East at Gloucester HS I believe), possible indigenous heritage language classes to add to our existing after-school language classes for communities, I could see locally developed HS courses in indigenous history to supplement what is available now, etc. However, I want to respect the brand new IEAC group and others as well, and hear what their views are and what they have to say in their first year of operation.
Supporting Student Voice on the noted curricula, and in other ways
First, I need to caution (see above), that I’m not terribly keen on non-experts meddling with the curriculum, though my concern is more about limiting what is taught or biases in what is taught. I think it is entirely appropriate and welcome that those served by the curriculum – students – step up and voice their concerns about inadequacies in any curriculum, additional material needed, material relevance to their lives or the world today, and possible slants or biases or omissions in the material which they are concerned may have been imposed as a result of political interference (see above).
As well however, the OCDSB may both create locally-developed HS courses to meet local needs and interests (but requiring Ministry blessing), and/or supplement existing curricula – teachers often do this themselves. I would love to see more optional Civics courses in OCDSB and Ontario HS (Alberta has a strong set of Civics courses I believe). OSTA-AECO, the Ontario Student Trustees Association, maybe 6 years ago now (?), did a survey of HS students asking them directly what they thought the worst HS courses were. The Civics course apparently came out tops as the very worst course in terms of perceived irrelevance and dreariness. OSTA-AECO had meetings with Ministry staff in Toronto in order to improve this course offering. I’m not sure where it stands today and want to find out, but this is a fantastic example of students asserting and declaring themselves and affecting curriculum Province-wide. I wish more of it were done, on a regular basis, and perhaps not having to rely on largely volunteer and under-resourced OSTA-AECO to do it. However, within the scope of the OCDSB, I’d be very willing to speak with the Student Senate, Trustees, student councils, students, and others, and determine if the OCDSB should be providing more funding and support than it does to student organizing within the OCDSB, including at the Intermediate level where interest exists. Indeed, what about an OCDSB-funded student news channel or newspaper? – universities have them. I’m open to ideas.
I believe especially that the Civics course should include something about the educational governance structure that students work within themselves for perhaps 15 years of their lives. What is the history of public ed in Ontario? How is it organized now, why, what are the pros and cons, etc? Locally, what are our options to assert ourselves politically or with respect to technical or policy changes? What is the jurisdictional authority of the principal and school admin, their bosses the superintendents, the role of Trustees, and other players in the system? How are decisions made, etc? This goes to student empowerment where they live, work, and play. At least in the past, the Civics curriculum itself, which some teachers have supplemented, had nicely avoided any mention of School Board governance internally and externally, and focused instead on federal and provincial structures and such. I hope that it is has been updated as a result of OSTA-AECO efforts over the last 6 years or so, but I’m not sure and mean to find out.
I also am generally a fan of student-determined and teacher-coached education, and I personally resist the notion that knowledge can actually be very neatly separated into different siloed curricula. Education can be integrated meaningfully across subject areas and students become really engaged if they are themselves interested in a subject. They can do a deep dive then if they wish, and with teacher coaching to consider cross-subject intersects they may not have considered and to monitor for quality, I see this as a preferred method of ‘instruction’. No school board is very close to this ideal however. The OCDSB does have some specialty alternate HS programs for those for whom the system has not worked, indeed such as Elizabeth Wynwood (in Zone 5 – College), and this is good to have, but it should not be an after-thought, or second-best option tried after standardized education has failed. Within the OCDSB we have a few Alternative elementary programs (to Gr8), where students are encouraged to explore subjects themselves and the teacher coach model is an ideal, however the program is not well understood or well advertised, and struggles to work within the confines of Ministry curriculum dictates required by law. This program’s numbers have been dwindling as French Immersion continues to take off, and I’d support a pilot French Immersion Elementary Alternative program as well as a pilot HS program that was an extension of what we have now in the elementary panel. However, merely keeping quality high in the Alternative program is a challenge, and I will be taking advice from the parent councils-based Alternative Schools Advisory Committee, and others, as to how to best nourish this thinking and approach within the OCDSB. Students, and student organizations themselves could advocate for more of this in regular classrooms and as additional program offerings. My goal though would be to spread what I consider to be a best approach to all students and classrooms, and I’m not that interested in a small insular community of true alternative education for a few.
Happy to continue to dialogue or to follow-up if there are any questions with respect to any of the above.
Nicholas Lapierre declined to respond to this question.
Zone 6 Responses, Rideau-Rockcliffe/Alta Vista
Tanya Dasilva: To get a broad view of diverse students’ voices and opinions, I would obtain feedback through multiple channels such as:
- Hold in-person “town hall” style open meetings
- Use social media and mobile apps to gather input (i.e. Facebook Live, Twitter Live, Instagram, SnapChat, Discord and WhatsApp)
- Website with email, phone number, chatbox and online feedback form
- Ensure these methods are accessible and available in different languages so all students can fully participate
I respect personal privacy, so students may leave feedback with their details or anonymously.
Once all student feedback is received, it would be complied and presented to the concerned parties. An action plan and timeframe with deadlines would be included. A follow-up plan would also be initiated to ensure accountability and transparency.
In this context, student engagement and empowerment should be an ongoing practice to facilitate continuous improvement. I strongly believe in student-centred approaches which foster student leadership and encourage positive student experiences.
Chris Ellis: It is important to have student voices not only in regards to curriculum but on how that curriculum is delivered, student services such as mental health support and extracurricular opportunities, and in consultations that the school board holds.
Curriculum is the responsibility of the Province but school boards do have the right to supplement the standard ministry curriculum. I have stated my support for the 2015 Health Curriculum and am sure that the information that is being lost by reverting back to the 1998 Health Curriculum will still be accessible to students as the OCDSB respects human rights legislation around gender identity. I very much appreciate the students of the OCDSB and across the province in taking direct action to let us know that they also support the more relevant 2015 Health Curriculum.
I have and will continue to advocate for students to have space to advocate for themselves. An example is that during recent school closures I brought an amendment to the policy covering who would be on the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) that students would be members. It did not pass but I will bring it forward again if that policy needs to be updated as expected.
The OCDSB has as all school boards in Ontario a student senate with representatives from all high schools. I have been the trustee appointed to that group and listened to the issues that were raised from there monthly meetings. One of the initiatives that the student senate supported along with other student senates was the right for student trustees to have a binding vote on school board policy and budgets. When the student trustees brought this to the OCDSB Board of Trustees I supported them. I will continue to support student trustee to have a binding vote at school boards.
In addition I will encourage students to participate at OCDSB advisory committees so they can add their voices in that venue. When the OCDSB ratified the policy creating the Indigenous Education Advisory Council (IEAC) I brought the amendment to add a second student to the membership of that committee.
There is still much work to be done to broaden student voices. Annual events such as the Rainbow Forum, Day of Diversity, Indigenous Day, and Students of Colour Conference where students come together with their peers and discuss issues relevant to them in a safe and supportive setting is important and I will continue to support them. These events have resulted in advice from students that have been very insightful. One piece of advice that I have heard repeatedly is to have curriculum that is more relevant to students year round, not taught only in the one month or on specific weeks. Curriculum that is less euro-concentric.
Marty Carr declined to respond to this question.
Zone 7 Responses, Gloucester-South Nepean/Osgoode
Kim Woods: If I am the successful candidate, I am committed to making an investment in youth and believe it will pay dividends because as they mature, they will be in leadership positions, making decisions. I would rather position myself as a positive influencer in their personal growth now, than stand by and let other determinants influence them (quite possibly in negative ways). Ultimately human beings have an innate desire to be part of something, to belong. As a positive player in the social arena, we have the opportunity to create the conditions of belonging to foster positive personal development, and we must seize every opportunity possible.
Youth engagement is relationship-based and rooted in young people’s right to have opportunities to share their ideas, ask questions, and be involved with designing and implementing educational plans and I would support this concept at the board level. Their engagement should be sustained over time so they can take action on their ideas and see the results of their contributions.
Jennifer Jennekens declined to respond to this question.
Zone 8 Responses, Orleans-Cumberland
John Hewitt and Keith Penny declined to respond to this question.
Zone 9 Responses, Rideau-Vanier/Capital
Rose LaBrèche: ‘First of all, I would like to congratulate Charlotte and Ny for organizing such an important event for your school. You two are trailblazers, and it’s heartening to see that students care so deeply about their education and rights.
It is vital that students are heard and listened to. They truly are the future of our nation. We need to figure out better ways to involve students in discussions on curriculum and other decisions as their perspectives are irreplaceable. They are those, in addition to education workers and administrative staff, who are experiencing school life first-hand, every day. We have two student trustees at the Board table which is a good start, but I think we can better utilize student councils and other forums (e.g. consultation through social media) to ensure that concerns and ideas from the student population are heard and considered.
As a public servant who currently works in Indigenous stakeholder relations with the Government of Canada, I am extremely supportive of teaching (and celebrating) the history and culture of Indigenous peoples, along with other cultures. The Calls to Action of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission should certainly be considered during decision making as a number of them implicate education and youth. I would also like to see the reinstatement of the teaching of consent, cyber bullying issues, sexuality, and gender expression as per the 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum. I encourage everyone, all stakeholders including youth, to partake in the curriculum consultations that are ongoing until December 2018: https://www.ontario.ca/page/for-the-parents.’
Lyra Evans declined to respond to this question.
Zone 10 Responses, Somerset/Kitchisippi
Erica Braunovan: Student voice is extremely important. I am proud to be the Trustee member on the Student Senate and the Mentor for Student Trustees. These roles put me in contact with student leadership and let me hear directly from students in our district.
I was proud to see students across the OCDSB join students across the province and ensure their voices are heard.
Wesley Campbell: I think it’s great this question comes from students themselves. I was not a fan of this government’s position to roll back the curriculum. The great thing about time and education is we generally learn more the longer we go so it rarely makes sense to go back.
As to how to make sure students feel heard I would encourage student input on both an individual school level and a district wide level, much like a union with demand setting when they go to a bargaining table I would encourage students to put forth wants/needs based on the votes of the students. I would gladly bring this to the board to try and put forth constructive change annually.
This level of education is going to set our students on full lifetimes of achievements and I feel that students should be involved in making it a better place of study, a better place to create community, and a better place to learn how to affect positive change around them.
Justin Laku Sr.: The 2015 curriculum about the Ontario Health and Physical Education is great for students as well as it supports each student to reach his/ her’s academic potential.
Absolutely, history is an important part of the learning process and is vital in student’s lives. To understand the future, history is very important in shaping one’s mind and views about the country he/she lives in. Yes, I fully support the introduction of Indigenous peoples and Afro-Canadians histories into Ontario education curriculum.
Furthermore, Truth and Reconciliation which aimed to improve Indigenous education in Ontario schools is an excellent program for students to learn about the dark history of our country, specially our brothers and sisters who suffered inhuman treating in the residential schools.
I would like to propose basic conflict resolution tools be introduce in school curriculum. These tools are helpful for students and school administrations to resolve and prevent conflicts in learning environment as well as to engage students to be part of solutions.
Yes, it your right to be heard and it is a duty of care for us to listen to today’s students, because you are tomorrow’s leaders.
My strategy to bring about changes to old mindset (lack of effective listening to students) is to involve and engage, students, parents and community leaders in any matters related to students’ wellbeing and education.
Additionally, student should be consulted from the initial stage of policy development and should have input in the process of design to end, because, it is their future. I believe students have creative ideas and theirs new mindset will produce positive results that will effect changes in school system.
In nutshell, I wouldn’t support any changes that would endanger the wellbeing of our students in Ontario.
Please, rest assure if elected, I will do my best to put a motion to support student’s input and participation in school policy development.
Once again, thanks for very much for reaching out to me as well as shared your views on these important issues-keep the good work.
Should you have questions and concerns about education system in Ontario, please, feel free to write back.
David Thomas Humphries declined to respond to this question.
Zone 11 Responses, River/Cloucester-Southgate
Travis Croken: Thank you for sending in this vital question. You are correct when you say that these are stressful times for students and that students and adults must work together for change. It is the passion and courage of students like you that make me feel encouraged for the future of our communities, cities, and country as a whole.
If elected I will commit to transparency and follow-up. I will make myself available to hear the concerns of students and will follow-up with responses. If an item is rejected, I will discuss why it was denied and work students to find ways around the obstacles. If there is no fix, I will explain why and ensure there is proper understanding.
I will also commit to holding a monthly roundtable open to community members, students, and staff to ensure I am offering the best representation possible. The meetings will entail a brief catch up on past issues, as well as discussion of current or new problems. Our education system should be producing educated, civic-minded people. The only way we can achieve this is if we all work in unison.
In addition to the steps as mentioned above, I am planning on having student volunteers work with me to understand “the other side of the coin.” Students should have a better understanding of how politics work and what goes into running a school system. Again, thank you for your question and your passion regarding our education system. Please let me know if there is anything else.
Mark Fisher declined to respond to this question.
Elaine Hayles had suspended her campaign and endorsed Travis Croken.
Zone 12 Responses, Innes/Beacon Hill-Cyrville
Rawlson King: I believe in the inclusion and empowerment of students in decision-making processes in our schools. I am committed to the belief that we need to provide students with more sufficient opportunities to provide input to teachers and the school administration concerning new initiatives and selected areas for improvement, especially concerning curricula.
Students recently walked out of class to protest the roll back of the updated sex-ed curriculum and the exclusion of an Indigenous curriculum because they felt that they did not have a sufficient say or a voice in the process. I believe we need to respect the opinion of students, and listen to the “student voice”.
Student voice has been defined as “any expression of any learner regarding anything related to education” and describes the distinct perspectives and actions of young people throughout schools focused on education. I believe we need a more formalized process to listen to the student voice and actually incorporate student opinions into policy concerning how our schools operate.
Consequently, the School Board needs additional mechanisms that allow students to meaningfully share their ideas with the Board of Trustees, in order to strengthen student participation and engagement, that goes beyond the limited input of Student Trustees.
We should engage with students directly, on an on going basis, to ask for student opinions, by way of providing more resources to the the Student Senate to engage in wider student fact finding throughout the district. More detailed reports directly from the Student Senate should be generated and relayed to the Board of Trustees, and more deputations by students in front of the Board of Trustees should be encouraged, to share student opinions and viewpoints.
In terms of curricula, School Board staff should explore the possibility of piloting more democratic forms of learning in the classroom, where students are involved in the decision-making process that affects how and what they learn. Democratic learning models often have meetings open to all stakeholders, where everyone present can have a voice and can provide meaningful input concerning the learning in the classroom. Working together as partners under such a model, students, teachers, parents and school administrators can all participate in decisions affecting curricula and the learning environment. By opening up dialogue, I believe we can respect the opinion of students and provide a platform for their meaningful participation in their education.
Sandra Schwartz: We need to listen to students and provide them with more opportunities to contribute their views on their education. I’m always inspired by the depth and breadth of comments and questions that come from our Student Trustees at the Board table.
On a personal note, I try to spend time in the classroom and always appreciate the insights students provide in terms of the issues they care about. I have attended several Civics classes as a guest speaker, both at the elementary and the secondary schools in my Zone, and have always focused my remarks on how government works, but more importantly, how their voices can be heard. A few weeks ago, I was so proud of the youth of the OCDSB who joined students from across the province on their “walk-out” ensuring the provincial government was made aware of their concerns with the rollback of the health and physical education curriculum.
