By Donna Marie Kennedy
This will be my last column for Professionally
Speaking. In October, a new Council will be elected and the inaugural Council will
have completed a term of three and a half years. I don’t think any of the 31 members
of Council knew exactly what was ahead of them on that first meeting held on May 1, 1997.
Although the past three years have been filled with many challenges, they have proven to
be a tremendous experience.
From the very beginning, College staff
and Council members were committed to consultation with the public, parents, the ministry,
education partners and, most importantly, members of the profession. Our consultation has
always been based on sound research. Our commitment to consultation and research has
served us well. It has allowed us to act in the best interests of the public and to
represent the profession. I want to thank all those teachers who have responded to our
requests for feedback through focus or work groups, through filling in questionnaires or
contributing to the magazine. I hope you continue to provide input to the College.
COMMITTEES LEAD THE WAY
The College committee structure is a
credit to the commitment of Council members and the tremendous support provided by staff.
In the September 97 issue of Professionally Speaking, one of the headlines read,
"Committees Lead the Way." And they have. They are responsible for the
inordinate amount of work that we have been able to accomplish, including the standards of
practice, the ethical standards, the professional learning framework, the misconduct
regulation, the accreditation handbook, the accreditation regulation, alternative dispute
resolution guidelines, rules and procedures for hearings, the language proficiency
regulation, the labour mobility agreement for teachers and the list goes on. The in-depth
work done at committee level has allowed Council to deal with issues in an informed,
methodical and expeditious manner.
During its first three years of
existence, the College has worked with three ministers of Education – John Snobelen,
Dave Johnson and Janet Ecker. In March 1997, Margaret Wilson urged Council to be prepared
to say, "Minister, if you want to do that, this is what it will take to make it
work."
I believe we have provided all three
ministers with blueprints for making things work, from insisting that qualified teachers
be in our classrooms during the Bill 160 discussions through to our recommendations on
teacher testing, including language proficiency.
VETO COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
The College is an independent
self-regulating body that must act in the best interests of the public and the profession.
While I recognize that the College and the ministry may disagree, I am concerned that the
Minister of Education has invoked section 12(1)(c) of the Ontario College of Teachers
Act. The Minister has overruled the recommendations of the Council on the election
regulation and the language proficiency regulation. While the Minister has every right to
do so, invoking veto power is counterproductive. I believe dialogue and problem solving is
a much better way of doing business. I know that this Council was committed to open
dialogue and discussions with the ministry. This area must be addressed by the new
Council.
FINAL THANKS
Finally, on a personal note, I have
many people to thank. I have had the privilege to work with Council members, both elected
and appointed, who are professional, committed and vocal defenders of the teaching
profession and the public interest. Debate at the committee level and the Council table
has often been heated, sometimes humorous, more often than not insightful and informative,
yet always productive. To each member of the Council – thanks for the education. To
every staff member of the College, you are incredibly professional, dedicated to your work
and the work of the profession; on behalf of the members of the College – thank you.
And to Margaret Wilson, one of Ontario’s truly "Remarkable Teachers" –
thanks for your commitment to the profession.
