Education is a provincial government responsibility in Canada. In Ontario, education is governed principally by the Education Act and its regulations which set out duties and responsibilities of the Minister of Education and of school boards, school board supervisory officers, principals, teachers, parents and students.

Education is paid for by Ontario's taxpayers through both property taxes and government grants. The amount of funding that each school board receives is based on a provincial funding formula which includes a range of factors that reflect the circumstances of each board. Education is the second largest portion (after Health) of the Ontario government's budget.

This conversation looked at issues that challenge change in education and focused on three F’s: Fear, Freedom, and Funding.

Tonight's panelists:

Evin Schwartz @EvinSchwartz
Crystal Darensbourg @cldarensbourg

On February 28, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released its report on its Right to Read public inquiry. Among other things, the report highlights how learning to read is not a privilege but a basic and essential human right. It provided suggestions on how to address systemic issues that affect the right to learn to read, and it emphasized the Science of Reading.

On tonight’s panel:

Dr. Todd Cunnigham @trcunningham
Diane Duff @_ReadingSchool
Kim Lockhart @MmeLockhartLDSB

How do we notice things of value and name them in order to enhance our pedagogical documentation and help early years learners move along the continuum, especially through play. What skills and tools does this require and how can early years educators improve in that area?

Tonight's panelists include:

Dr. Teri Rubinoff @TeriRubinoff
Klara Redford @kindyfriends
Michelle McKay @MsMichelleMcKay
Joe Persia @MrpStp

This episode gathers educators from Canada and the US to address questions that have come in from teacher candidates about what to do in the spaces in between graduation and landing a permanent job.

Tonight’s Panelists:

Jaclyn Barankin @JBarankin
Stephanie Amoruso @ms_amoruso
Dr. Sam Fecich @ SFecich

Teaching “soft skills” can feel so hard, and there are so many social emotional learning skills needed, especially as a result of the pandemic. Why should we make time for cultivating compassion in the classroom and what are some ways we can do that?

On tonight's panel:

Theresa Meikle @T_Meikle
Jessica Baird
Dana Geall @danageall
Jeff Kubiak @jeffreykubiak

In 2017, the United Nations officially recognized April 21 as the World Day of Creativity and Innovation to raise awareness of the role of creativity in all aspects of human development. There are many different tools to helps students foster their creativity, and we are exploring some of them with our panel on tonight’s episode of #OnEdMentors

This week’s panel:


Elisabeth Bostwick @elisabostwick
Erika Sandstrom @GreenScreenGal
Scott Nunes @MrNunesteach
Tina Zita @tina_zita

Many teachers face new experiences and challenges once they become parents. What are the benefits of being a parent while being a teacher and what are some of the drawbacks?

Tonight’s panelists:


Jen Giffen @VirtualGiff
Nicole Biscotti @BiscottiNicole
Jonathan So @MrSoClassroom

In Part 2, we revisit the conversation that we began on the Dec 9ths episode to dive deeper into the role that student agency and voice play in creating equitable assessments for our inquiry classrooms and the role assessment can play to build bridges and engage learners.

Panelists:

Trevor Mackenzie @trev_mackenzie
Nilmini Ratwatte @nratwatte
Elisa Waingort @elisaw5
Sayema Chowdhury @ChowdhurySayema

What is an essay and how did the essay become such an important medium in education. How does the almighty essay help students learn or demonstrate learning? Can other products help us gauge these same skills in our learners and why should we consider using them in our classrooms?

On this week’s panel:

Angela Stockman @angelastockman
Melanie White @whiteroomradio
Adrienne Coddett @3dreads
Tobi Hunt-McCoy @mccoytmh
Amanda Potts @ahpotts