I wonder how many teachers will attend this event, since it is all about them.  What is discussed may impact the teachers in policy direction, and as well as parents who are interested in education policy.  Pricing it so high, tells me that they are not at all interested in having front line teachers and parents attending this event, that may put reality into the picture.

There’s a live stream here: http://www.livestream.com/premierofontario

I took the time to watch the opening address by the Premier of Ontario.

He had 8 lessons on education reform, that will lead to progress. Yet through it all, not a word on the failing students. Not a word on reform regarding better ways to improved the education for students who are failing, and for the most part are failing because of low literacy and numeracy skills.

His first lesson, is that drive in education, cannot be based on fads. Teachers smell a fad a mile away, and education must be enduring.  This could be the reason why, systematic reading approaches, the science of reading are not in the schools. Perhaps it is a fad.I have heard this reason once or twice when making suggestions to the school, of improving my child’s reading and writing, and it was called a fad.

Some of the other lessons, seem sensible enough until the 8th lesson. The best way to drive achievement is to keep it personal. I disagree with this statement, because often making it personal, education policy becomes a mixed bag of personal ideology and dogma, without the messy facts getting in the way.

But if the Premier of Ontario wants personal, perhaps the parents of SE children, and other parents can write to the Premier, describing their personal nightmare stories, or the costs associated, when the public educations fails to educate 30 % of the student population on the basics in reading, writing and numeracy. The 30 % figure comes from the Premier’s own words, where he cites the 70 % of students that are getting a B or higher. The 30 % figure, should be higher, since many parents have already taken action either to remedied at home, or hiring of tutors, to tend to the basics of an education, reading, writing and numeracy. The same basics that are in short supply in the public education system.

Seeing that all of this is being conducted during the school day I assume that the teachers and anyone else drawing a salary is being paid to attend this herding of the sheep, AND, we, the taxpayer are also paying to replace those teachers with supply-teachers while they’re off rallying the troops for next year’s election. Make no mistake folks this is EXACTLY what this is - not really to help students. I’m surprised they’re not selling souvenirs in the form of t-shirts and coffee mugs.

I would say the high price tag to attend the event, would put most, if not all teachers staying in front of the classroom. Even teachers’ unions would think twice on having anyone to attend, because of the costs. But you are probably right, Chuck, the start of planning for the next election, and education will be an important platform for the Liberals to hang their hat on.

If our ‘education’ premier, Dalton is so interested in getting our children a good education, then why is he pulling teachers out of the classroom?  Perhaps the teachers’ unions wouldn’t hear of doing such a thing in the summer—that is not without a hefty reimbursement for the teachers. 
Singapore and Finland have excellent educational systems; however they don’t have teachers’ unions to deal with.  Nothing they suggest will get past the unions, so we’ll be stuck with the same old, same old.  The only difference will be that the taxpayers will be a little poorer for funding this non-event.