April 2008
April 2008, Issue 39
Your College and You
Thank you for your interest in receiving breaking news and professional information from the Ontario College of Teachers.
In this Issue:
The College releases its advisory
Additional Qualifications: Extending Professional Learning.
Professional Advisory on Additional Qualifications
We're giving you an advance look at advice the College will be sending to all its members on the profession's regulated system of additional qualifications.
Council has approved Additional Qualifications: Extending Professional Learning, a professional advisory that explains the purpose of additional qualifications, including the principal's and supervisory officer's programs, and the important role they play in a teacher’s ongoing professional learning.
The advisory will be distributed to all members with the June issue of Professionally Speaking.
Each year more than 20,000 members enroll in courses and programs that earn them qualifications that are added to their certificates. The College has conducted a review of the additional qualifications, which has led to retiring some courses, revising others and creating dozens of new courses to be offered beginning in September to prepare members to work in a changing teaching environment.
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CBC's Fifth Estate - We are doing it right
Ontario's teaching profession received credit from The Fifth Estate for doing a good job when it comes to informing the public about problem teachers in a documentary aired January 9.
The Fifth Estate's Hana Gartner said: "If you want to find out about your child's teacher, the only information that is readily available in most provinces is whether or not that teacher is certified. The most up front teacher's college is the one in Ontario."
The College's online Find a Teacher provides information about members' statuses and qualificatons. The College enhances the protection of students by posting summaries of public disciplinary hearings online at www.oct.ca for the information of teaching colleagues and the public.
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French-language Services Report
We have made many improvements in our bilingual capacity over the past 12 months in areas such as services to members, information technology and French-language publications.
The College has released its second annual report on French-language services highlighting the achievements of 2007.
Francine Dutrisac, Director of French-Language Services, commented, "Members of the College, the various French-language education partners and our staff have demonstrated exemplary commitment. The positive contribution made by everyone is encouraging for the future and for the enhanced quality of French-language services within the College."
We have improved the francophone character of our French-language publications, which reflect the distinctiveness, challenges and realities of the Franco-Ontarian education community. We also continue to participate in career fairs in Ontario and Québec to remedy the shortage of French-speaking teachers. As well, the annual Transition to Teaching study has raised awareness of the need for more teachers of French and French as a Second Language.
In 2008, we will continue to develop bilingual materials as well as French-language capacity in various College departments.
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Your membership card can provide you with discounts at stores and attractions throughout Ontario.
Member Discounts Keep Growing
Heads up all members who have been planning a free trip to the Royal Ontario Museum - the ROM will no longer offer teachers free admission as of May 1. You can still attend free open houses throughout the year - the next one is April 21 - and visit the museum before a class trip. See our Member Discount page for details.
However, the list of organizations offering free admission and discounts across Ontario keeps growing.
A number of recent examples among the growing list offering teacher discounts include:
Your membership card provides proof of your membership in the teaching profession and that you hold a current licence to teach in Ontario's publicly funded schools.
Be sure to show your card when you're purchasing supplies or visiting major attractions. Many book sellers, museums, zoos and office supply stores provide discounts to teachers.
For a complete list of organizations that offer discounts to members, see the College web site.
If you visit an attraction that's not on our discount list, you might ask them to consider participating in our discount program. Organizations can e-mail lscarrow@oct.ca for more information.
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