Malkin,

I thing that Doug’s post is on the money in terms of the give and take between school boards, unions, and the ministry.  It is the same dance that all large sophisticated organizations dance.

OQE was an organization that purported to support and improvement of the edu-paradigm and positions itself as an agent of change there are bits critical/obvious bits missing. 

You repeatedly miss the soft spots where change/progress can and does happen. 

~The Department Head advocating for a purchase of a textbook for a curriculum that is 4 years old and the board keeps crying poor. 

~ The principal that keeps the program staff in for many hours after everyone has left to deliver the best experience for students by placing the best professionals a stewards of specific courses.

I had the privilege of being part of these teams but I have also been part of teams lead by self-serving self promoting middle managers that seldom consider the burden of supporting “a year in the life of a child”.

I have followed your group for twelve years and you really have not *evolved*  to get beyond the vitriol of unions.  The vitriol paralyzes progress in a incredibly progressive country .  You skew your conversations by giving links and examples developed by the republicans in the US.  The republicans are barely relevant in the US -see the last two presidential elections.  They have no place in a serious conversation on education in Ontario or Canada.  Where are the positive examples from Europe? Do we want change that matters?  Then the social democracies in Europe is where the lens needs to focus.

At some point this group needs to ask itself if they are truly vested in progress in Canada?  I the answer is yes then the conversation cannot be only about the US and the unions. 

25 years of making a real difference in the field with real children….

Mirka