Pursuing Change

Follow-up to June 7th Delegation

Last night OPERI presented its proposal to the Committee of the Whole of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. The trustees gave us a good hearing and were generous with the time they allowed for our answers to their three questions. After the presentation, trustee Shawn Menard emailed me saying that he thought it made a difference.

Today we followed-up with a message to the trustees, the board director and three superintendents. The contents of the message are provided here for your information.

Sent: Wednesday, June 8, 2016 10:41 AM
Subject: A matter of an urgent nature

Dear Trustees,

As (OCDSB director) Jennifer Adams noted, I had a couple of brief meetings with (superintendent) Pino Buffone with respect to what I presented to the Committee of the Whole last night, but I’m comfortable saying that what OPERI is proposing was never given more than a cursory look. The potential of our proposal to rekindle the joy of learning, address bullying, dispense with problems of equity, nurture a sense of wellbeing among students and teachers, cultivate strong communities, give parents a genuine sense of inclusiveness and help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in today’s world must not be taken lightly or underestimated. It demands meticulous consideration.

We request that the Board of Trustees require staff to do a thorough study of what OPERI proposes, and we ask that the study be done expeditiously with a view to undertaking pilot programs commencing in September 2017.

We ask also that the staff assigned to do the study reflect the open-mindedness needed to properly perform the task. Two superintendents we would recommend are (superintendent) Peter Gamwell, for obvious reasons, and  (superintendent) Dorothy Baker. Dorothy was a student in the Faculty of Education Model 2 program at the University of Ottawa when I was teaching there. That program was designed to train teachers for the kinds of learning environments OPERI is promoting. This experience of hers, plus the fact that she had the inclination to enroll in Model 2, suggest that she would be an ideal person to help with the study. I can also recommend other superintendents, secondary school principals and secondary school teachers who would make good members of the recommended study group. I cannot emphasize enough that the group needs to be comprised of people who can think outside the box.

There is urgency in our request. Delays delay correcting wrongs being done to students. Please put this matter at the top of your priorities and let us know as soon as possible where you stand.

Respectfully,

Richard
OPERI spokesperson

*****

Open-mindedness is the “active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give heed to the facts from whatever source they come; to give full attention to alternative possibilities, and to recognize the possibility of error even in the beliefs that are dearest to us.”     – John Dewey

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