Minister speaks to fifth Council

Minister lauds College for its work and commits to further analysis of early-learning report

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne gave kudos to the College for its work on labour mobility, fair registration practices and Additional Qualification regulations during her address at the inaugural meeting of the fifth Council in July.

But on direct questioning in reference to the Pascal report on early learning, With Our Best Future in Mind, the Minister would not commit to ensuring that four- and five-year-olds in Ontario classrooms would continue to be taught by certified, qualified teachers.

“What we’ll commit to doing is analyzing exactly what the implications of Dr. Pascal’s report are,” Wynne said. “There’s a very large appetite in the public for better integration of the early learning that happens outside of school and the early learning in our schools. What [Pascal] is saying is there needs to be a focused connection between those things.”

Borrowing an expression overheard from an Irish educator, Wynne said that Ontario is trying to build the best education system not only in the world, but for the world. She said that Ontario’s focus on student achievement and enabling all students to reach the necessary milestones to live up to their potential is important in a global context. Many students who emigrate here to learn return to their countries of origin to work. Others travel extensively and work where they land.

“The more we can do to create an equitable and excellent education system, the more that spreads to the world,” she said.

From left:Council Chair Liz Papadopoulos, OCT, with Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne and Registrar Michael Salvatori, OCT, prior to the Minister's annual address to Council on July 2nd

Regarding the future of learning in Ontario, Wynne called the Pascal report a “very positive, exciting endeavour.” She also acknowledged that it was complicated.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s perfectly straightforward.” For example, there are implications for space considerations within schools and the relationship of childcare workers to the school. That’s the conversation over the next weeks and months.

“I’m very happy and positive with the direction he’s taken. We need to reflect on the report. There are a lot of implications.

“There’s no question for any of us in our government that we must move to create that solid foundation for early learning in the province,” Wynne said. “It is absolutely fundamental to our economic future.”

She said that the government has committed $200 million to implementing the report beginning in September 2010 and $300 million the year after. “It may take longer than three years, but it’s a full-system program,” she said. “We have to figure out what’s best for Ontario.”

Wynne said she enjoyed working with the College and its Council.

“One of the most important things we’ve done in government is to rebuild the natural partnership between the government and teachers. That is something I want to preserve and build upon. We don’t always agree, we know that, but we’ve been able to talk about issues as they come along because we share a common goal.”

She praised the College for its work on fair registration practices to ensure that internationally educated teachers are treated in a fair and equitable way when applying to teach in Ontario. She also lauded the College for its efforts to improve labour mobility and teacher qualification regulations.

“Some of the changes that you’ve already recommended will support compliance with the AIT (Agreement on Internal Trade), and that’s very valuable work, so thank you,” Wynne said.

Wynne acknowledged that there were differences in teacher preparedness across the country, but said that her government was addressing a “common-sense notion” held by the public that a teacher educated in one province should be able to teach in another without need of further training.

“We’ve got to get to a place where we can accept teachers from other provinces and vice versa without requiring more courses,” she said.

The Minister expressed appreciation for the way the College staff has been working with her Ministry on the issues and said, “We’ll keep working with you on the areas that are outstanding.”