On August 29, 2021 Education is a Right Podcast held a virtual forum to
discuss what is on the minds of educators, parents and students across
Canada with the opening of school amidst a fourth wave of the pandemic
and ongoing vaccine rollouts. Participants attended from Alberta,
Ontario and Quebec and included
elementary, secondary and post-secondary educators, students and
parents.
The
main theme was how to take up social responsibility in the schools and
communities as schools re-open. Participants received a presentation on
the guidelines for safe schools being put forward by Health Canada and
then discussed the situation in their parts of the country and how they
are planning to deal with the reality in the class. This
was followed by a session on how to ensure that Orange Shirt Day 2021
(September 30) is made an important project for the youth in every
class so that they are part of truth and reconciliation, and it is not
left up to chance.
The forum ended with discussion on the federal election and the
importance of involving the youth in getting their own experience with
the political process despite the terrible timing of the election.
A key thread throughout the three-hour plenary was the importance of
educators taking their own initiatives to involve themselves and their
students in working out how to uphold the health and safety of their
class and their families and by extension their community. This was
also the case with Orange Shirt Day and the federal election: it is
important to take up our own organizing and initiative so that the
pandemic doesn't lead to either nothing being organized or things that
just come from on high without the participation of the people.
Three decisions were taken by those in attendance:
1) that the proceedings of the conference be published as podcasts in the months of September and October
2) that in September episodes be dedicated to Orange Shirt Day
3)
that participants get back together virtually over the December break
to review what has taken place and prepare for the next phase of the
school year.
The opening presentation on guidelines for the re-opening of schools
and the discussion have now been published as podcasts here:
Episode 108: Planning for the 2021-22 school year in the context of the fourth wave
Episode 109: Discussion on a Safe September
This article was published in
September 13, 2021 - No. 82
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08824.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
