Showing posts with label EDUCATION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EDUCATION. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Parents Love of Education and Philosophy
By: Ellen Roseman of the Toronto Star
How I honoured my parents’ love of education - thestar.com
"In my case, I was a liberal arts student who stumbled into a philosophy class and was entranced. After getting my BA, I left my home in Montreal to take a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Toronto...
"Today, philosophy classes fill up quickly at the university’s three campuses. Students want to learn how to think logically and analyze clearly – skills that will help them in any career they choose.
“We’re more popular than ever,” Ainslie tells me. “Philosophy is the ideal preparation for almost anything in the contemporary world. You learn how to make a persuasive case for your position.”......
How I honoured my parents’ love of education - thestar.com
"In my case, I was a liberal arts student who stumbled into a philosophy class and was entranced. After getting my BA, I left my home in Montreal to take a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Toronto...
"Today, philosophy classes fill up quickly at the university’s three campuses. Students want to learn how to think logically and analyze clearly – skills that will help them in any career they choose.
“We’re more popular than ever,” Ainslie tells me. “Philosophy is the ideal preparation for almost anything in the contemporary world. You learn how to make a persuasive case for your position.”......
Friday, September 17, 2010
Josh's struggles resonate with readers - Parentcentral.ca
One mother's lonely journey to help a son struggling through school was, it turns out, not so lonely after all.
March 14, 2009
Josh's struggles resonate with readers - Parentcentral.ca
March 14, 2009
Josh's struggles resonate with readers - Parentcentral.ca
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Top 200 Universities in the World
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html
University of Toronto is Rank 19
THE World University Rankings 2010 World Rank Institution Country Overall score change Teaching change International mix change Industry income change Research change Citations change
1 Harvard University United States 96.1 99.7 72.4 34.5 98.7 98.8
2 California Institute of Technology United States 96.0 97.7 54.6 83.7 98.0 99.9
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States 95.6 97.8 82.3 87.5 91.4 99.9
4 Stanford University United States 94.3 98.3 29.5 64.3 98.1 99.2
5 Princeton University United States 94.2 90.9 70.3 Data not supplied 95.4 99.9
6 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 91.2 90.5 77.7 57.0 94.1 94.0
6 University of Oxford United Kingdom 91.2 88.2 77.2 73.5 93.9 95.1
8 University of California Berkeley United States 91.1 84.2 39.6 Data not supplied 99.3 97.8
9 Imperial College London United Kingdom 90.6 89.2 90.0 92.9 94.5 88.3
10 Yale University United States 89.5 92.1 59.2 Data not supplied 89.7 91.5
11 University of California Los Angeles United States 87.7 83.0 48.1 Data not supplied 92.9 93.2
12 University of Chicago United States 86.9 79.1 62.8 Data not supplied 87.9 96.9
13 Johns Hopkins University United States 86.4 80.9 58.5 100.0 89.2 92.3
14 Cornell University United States 83.9 82.2 62.4 34.7 88.8 88.1
15 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Switzerland 83.4 77.5 93.7 Data not supplied 87.8 83.1
15 University of Michigan United States 83.4 83.9 53.3 59.6 89.1 84.1
17 University of Toronto Canada 82.0 75.8 Data not supplied Data not supplied 87.9 82.2
18 Columbia University United States 81.0 73.8 90.9 Data not supplied 73.8 92.6
19 University of Pennsylvania United States 79.5 71.8 32.9 43.7 82.7 93.6
20 Carnegie Mellon University United States 79.3 70.3 39.1 53.7 79.3 95.7
21 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 79.2 68.4 91.4 56.5 71.4 96.1
22 University College London United Kingdom 78.4 74.0 90.8 39.0 81.6 80.6
23 University of Washington United States 78.0 68.2 49.0 32.8 77.1 95.9
24 Duke University United States 76.5 66.8 49.4 100.0 71.5 92.3
25 Northwestern University United States 75.9 64.5 60.5 Data not supplied 68.8 95.3
26 University of Tokyo Japan 75.6 87.7 18.4 Data not supplied 91.9 58.1
27 Georgia Institute of Technology United States 75.3 67.9 73.2 95.1 72.6 83.2
28 Pohang University of Science and Technology Republic of Korea 75.1 69.5 32.6 100.0 62.5 96.5
29 University of California Santa Barbara United States 75.0 56.6 64.3 89.8 68.0 98.8
30 University of British Columbia Canada 73.8 65.1 93.3 42.6 74.8 80.3
30 University of North Carolina United States 73.8 70.9 21.5 50.2 75.1 85.0
32 University of California San Diego United States 73.2 59.8 31.6 51.8 76.3 90.8
33 University of Illinois - Urbana United States 73.0 68.1 55.9 Data not supplied 80.9 72.9
34 National University of Singapore Singapore 72.9 65.5 97.8 40.5 72.6 78.7
35 McGill University Canada 71.7 69.0 85.9 Data not supplied 74.9 69.0
36 University of Melbourne Australia 71.0 58.7 88.0 47.7 69.2 83.3
37 Peking University China 70.7 76.4 68.6 98.6 61.3 72.2
38 Washington University Saint Louis United States 69.9 58.9 56.4 Data not supplied 63.0 88.6
39 Ecole Polytechnic France 69.5 57.9 77.9 Data not supplied 56.1 91.4
40 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 69.2 59.9 67.3 42.2 61.9 86.8
41 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong 69.0 50.4 97.4 64.1 51.8 98.2
42 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris France 68.6 66.8 44.9 30.7 48.2 95.7
43 Australian National University Australia 67.0 51.9 93.9 Data not supplied 62.4 81.0
43 University of Göttingen Germany 67.0 57.3 44.5 31.7 55.9 92.5
43 Karolinska Institute Sweden 67.0 65.8 Data not supplied 73.3 72.7 62.3
43 University of Wisconsin United States 67.0 55.5 43.7 Data not supplied 64.6 83.4
47 Rice University United States 66.9 57.4 31.2 29.2 50.6 99.1
48 École Polytechnique Federale of Lausanne Switzerland 66.5 55.0 100.0 38.0 56.1 83.8
49 University of Science and Technology of China China 66.0 57.5 Data not supplied 30.3 48.6 92.7
49 University of California Irvine United States 66.0 49.4 66.3 Data not supplied 54.7 91.6
51 Vanderbilt University United States 65.9 64.9 22.1 84.2 59.5 78.1
52 University of Minnesota United States 65.6 57.6 23.0 Data not supplied 69.1 76.4
53 Tufts University United States 65.2 64.1 28.3 Data not supplied 52.3 83.9
54 University of California Davis United States 65.0 57.3 60.5 48.0 70.7 68.8
55 Brown University United States 64.9 59.7 60.5 Data not supplied 57.0 77.7
56 University of Massachusetts United States 64.7 61.3 22.6 53.9 72.6 67.9
57 Kyoto University Japan 64.6 78.9 18.4 67.1 77.7 46.3
58 Tsinghua University China 64.2 74.9 43.0 97.8 66.6 52.7
59 Boston University United States 64.0 53.6 38.1 29.6 51.9 91.4
60 New York University United States 63.9 62.0 31.8 Data not supplied 50.7 82.9
61 University of Munich Germany 63.0 59.1 43.1 40.4 57.5 76.4
61 Emory University United States 63.0 63.4 52.3 Data not supplied 48.4 77.8
63 University of Notre Dame United States 62.8 56.4 35.6 Data not supplied 45.1 89.1
64 University of Pittsburgh United States 62.7 58.5 25.2 37.9 58.3 78.3
65 Case Western Reserve University United States 62.2 67.2 56.5 Data not supplied 53.8 66.0
66 Ohio State University United States 62.1 63.5 64.0 Data not supplied 54.9 67.2
67 University of Colorado United States 61.6 46.4 31.7 Data not supplied 58.1 83.4
68 University of Bristol United Kingdom 61.4 49.6 67.2 36.2 53.1 80.9
68 University of California Santa Cruz United States 61.4 38.3 16.7 Data not supplied 50.4 99.6
68 Yeshiva University United States 61.4 63.5 53.3 Data not supplied 46.7 74.4
71 University of Sydney Australia 61.2 49.8 89.6 90.8 61.9 64.3
72 University of Virginia United States 61.1 62.0 42.2 Data not supplied 55.4 68.6
73 University of Adelaide Australia 60.7 46.5 87.5 52.7 38.8 90.5
73 University of Southern California United States 60.7 65.4 31.2 Data not supplied 48.7 71.9
75 William & Mary United States 60.4 53.1 20.9 Data not supplied 36.1 95.6
76 Trinity College Dublin Ireland 60.3 47.7 84.2 31.6 45.3 84.4
77 King's College London United Kingdom 59.7 48.5 85.9 44.1 54.5 72.1
78 Stony Brook University United States 59.6 48.5 52.2 Data not supplied 43.6 85.8
79 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Republic of Korea 59.5 71.3 36.7 100.0 63.4 45.5
79 University of Sussex United Kingdom 59.5 42.4 72.8 29.1 42.4 91.6
81 University of Queensland Australia Australia 59.1 51.8 74.2 57.1 53.4 69.0
81 University of York United Kingdom 59.1 47.9 66.6 36.2 46.2 81.9
83 Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg Germany 59.0 59.2 63.4 39.1 47.5 70.3
83 University of Utah United States 59.0 55.8 22.5 Data not supplied 54.2 72.0
85 Durham University United Kingdom 58.9 39.8 65.7 33.9 44.1 91.0
86 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom 58.3 62.4 99.5 38.4 56.2 51.6
87 University of Manchester United Kingdom 58.0 56.5 79.1 39.0 56.2 59.2
88 Royal Holloway, University of London United Kingdom 57.9 37.7 92.9 30.5 36.2 93.2
89 Lund University Sweden 57.8 46.3 56.8 33.2 60.8 67.6
90 University of Zurich Switzerland 57.7 56.6 87.9 43.8 47.0 65.0
90 University of Southampton United Kingdom 57.7 50.8 69.0 37.7 47.8 72.9
90 Wake Forest University United States 57.7 54.6 24.4 Data not supplied 42.9 79.2
93 McMaster University Canada 57.6 44.7 Data not supplied Data not supplied 58.7 68.5
94 University College Dublin Ireland 57.5 42.4 87.0 Data not supplied 36.6 86.3
95 University of Basel Switzerland 57.3 50.2 91.3 45.8 37.1 78.3
95 George Washington University United States 57.3 60.6 39.6 Data not supplied 43.1 70.2
95 University of Arizona United States 57.3 52.4 21.9 84.2 52.2 70.1
98 University of Maryland College Park United States 57.2 45.4 35.4 Data not supplied 48.6 79.2
99 Dartmouth College United States 57.1 44.7 31.0 Data not supplied 49.2 79.7
100 ENS De Lyon France 57.0 51.1 37.6 26.1 34.4 88.8
101 Technical University of Munich Germany 56.9 50.4 85.3 Data not supplied 43.2 71.2
102 University of Helsinki Finland 56.6 49.0 24.2 30.2 51.4 75.4
103 University of St. Andrews United Kingdom 56.5 44.8 85.7 32.6 47.7 72.9
104 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute United States 56.4 50.5 48.0 Data not supplied 54.6 64.9
105 Rutgers the State University of New Jersey United States 56.3 53.4 26.8 Data not supplied 64.7 55.7
106 Purdue University United States 56.2 57.0 62.6 Data not supplied 67.8 43.9
107 University of Cape Town South Africa 56.1 36.6 83.3 Data not supplied 42.1 82.8
107 National Tsing Hua University Taiwan 56.1 52.2 34.1 50.2 52.6 66.9
109 Seoul National University Republic of Korea 56.0 62.3 44.9 43.0 54.1 54.6
109 Pennsylvania State University United States 56.0 46.3 19.9 44.0 49.2 77.6
111 Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong 55.6 32.9 71.8 26.7 32.5 97.6
112 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan 55.4 62.9 24.8 60.5 63.4 45.5
112 Bilkent University Turkey 55.4 34.3 47.7 32.4 36.1 95.7
114 Eindhoven University of Technology Netherlands 55.3 55.4 44.9 99.8 51.7 56.9
115 National Taiwan University Taiwan 55.2 50.3 29.2 35.7 59.0 61.6
115 University of Hawaii United States 55.2 38.3 34.2 Data not supplied 47.6 81.0
117 University of California Riverside United States 55.1 38.6 63.0 30.5 47.4 78.3
118 University of Geneva Switzerland 55.0 46.6 95.7 32.7 49.7 63.1
119 Catholic University of Leuven Belgium 54.8 57.7 29.6 97.7 62.9 45.2
120 Nanjing University China 54.6 52.2 50.2 43.4 46.2 66.0
120 Queen Mary, University of London United Kingdom 54.6 39.7 91.0 38.9 44.1 73.5
122 Technical University of Denmark Denmark 54.5 46.2 64.0 95.5 46.9 64.6
122 Michigan State University United States 54.5 50.4 30.4 Data not supplied 52.7 63.7
124 Ghent University Belgium 54.4 52.8 24.7 97.1 59.1 52.8
124 Leiden University Netherlands 54.4 47.3 40.0 100.0 54.9 59.3
124 Lancaster University United Kingdom 54.4 43.5 73.8 28.8 41.9 74.9
127 University of Alberta Canada 54.3 53.7 71.6 44.5 58.0 49.7
128 University of Glasgow United Kingdom 54.2 45.6 55.1 61.0 50.3 65.1
129 Stockholm University Sweden 54.0 36.9 Data not supplied 31.7 49.2 75.9
130 University of Victoria Canada 53.4 32.9 Data not supplied 27.4 48.3 79.1
130 Osaka University Japan 53.4 61.7 20.1 73.4 63.4 40.0
132 University of Freiburg Germany 53.3 52.4 46.2 79.8 41.4 64.3
132 Tohoku University Japan 53.3 60.3 20.1 82.3 62.5 41.2
132 University of Iowa United States 53.3 48.6 31.7 Data not supplied 59.8 54.8
135 University of Bergen Norway 52.7 39.9 66.6 41.5 42.1 73.1
136 University of Lausanne Switzerland 52.6 43.1 84.1 42.5 50.5 59.1
137 University of Sheffield United Kingdom 52.5 48.9 62.7 40.3 49.2 58.4
138 University of Montreal Canada 52.4 56.1 Data not supplied Data not supplied 49.4 51.9
139 VU University Amsterdam Netherlands 52.3 47.6 30.6 81.4 51.6 58.5
140 Pierre and Marie Curie University France 52.2 51.9 30.7 26.4 37.2 71.5
140 University of Dundee United Kingdom 52.2 34.1 54.4 49.3 41.0 79.3
142 University of Barcelona Spain 52.1 34.1 22.3 30.0 33.7 91.9
143 Utrecht University Netherlands 52.0 43.4 52.6 55.3 53.0 58.8
144 Wageningen University and Research Center Netherlands 51.9 58.5 24.3 Data not supplied 48.8 53.0
145 University of Auckland New Zealand 51.8 34.8 94.3 61.1 39.2 71.8
145 University of Birmingham United Kingdom 51.8 50.3 73.8 34.8 50.7 52.1
147 Alexandria University Egypt 51.6 29.5 19.3 36.0 28.0 99.8
147 Uppsala University Sweden 51.6 49.6 77.9 39.5 62.2 40.7
149 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong 51.4 39.4 82.9 57.2 45.7 62.4
149 University of Aberdeen United Kingdom 51.4 37.8 86.1 47.0 45.2 64.6
151 Delft University of Technology Netherlands 51.3 55.5 47.4 99.4 67.7 29.0
152 University of New South Wales Australia 51.2 49.5 70.7 60.0 48.9 51.2
152 Birkbeck, University of London United Kingdom 51.2 41.2 88.5 27.4 35.8 70.6
152 Newcastle University United Kingdom 51.2 42.7 80.5 31.1 42.8 63.6
155 Pompeu Fabra University Spain 51.1 35.0 44.1 40.0 33.0 84.7
156 Indiana University United States 51.0 48.5 37.7 Data not supplied 42.5 63.2
156 Iowa State University United States 51.0 49.3 23.2 49.6 49.6 58.2
158 Medical College of Georgia United States 50.7 67.3 16.3 50.1 41.7 48.9
159 Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands 50.4 39.4 58.6 Data not supplied 43.6 65.5
159 University of Delaware United States 50.4 38.4 16.8 100.0 51.9 61.3
161 Arizona State University United States 50.3 43.0 24.1 Data not supplied 44.1 66.9
161 Boston College United States 50.3 40.1 31.6 Data not supplied 33.6 78.0
163 National Sun Yat-Sen University Taiwan 50.2 46.1 21.3 37.5 50.6 58.9
164 Georgetown University United States 50.1 65.1 24.7 Data not supplied 44.7 45.0
165 University of Amsterdam Netherlands 50.0 42.5 38.2 38.8 49.2 60.2
165 University of Liverpool United Kingdom 50.0 40.8 59.8 40.6 47.8 59.6
167 Aarhus University Denmark 49.9 38.1 33.4 61.5 55.6 57.3
168 University of Würzburg Germany 49.8 48.7 40.3 Data not supplied 40.9 60.4
168 University of Leeds United Kingdom 49.8 46.2 50.0 38.3 48.0 55.6
170 University of Groningen Netherlands 49.7 41.7 35.5 34.2 56.4 54.1
171 Sun Yat-sen University China 49.6 46.2 29.3 41.2 34.7 70.2
172 Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main Germany 49.4 39.2 56.1 41.6 37.3 69.5
173 Bielefeld University Germany 49.3 39.9 Data not supplied Data not supplied 35.7 70.4
174 Nanyang Technological University Singapore 49.0 43.6 96.3 40.0 51.7 45.0
174 University of East Anglia United Kingdom 49.0 42.1 62.8 29.7 40.4 62.8
174 University of Nottingham United Kingdom 49.0 46.8 74.8 38.4 44.1 52.5
177 University of Copenhagen Denmark 48.8 44.1 45.8 26.1 45.7 58.3
178 Monash University Australia 48.5 39.4 87.1 40.8 38.8 60.5
178 Humboldt University of Berlin Germany 48.5 50.9 46.1 27.8 44.5 52.0
178 University of Bonn Germany 48.5 46.8 46.8 29.4 33.8 65.3
181 National Chiao Tung University Taiwan 48.3 53.2 57.9 98.7 54.4 32.9
182 RWTH Aachen University Germany 48.2 50.0 63.8 56.6 42.5 48.9
183 Middle East Technical University Turkey 47.7 39.5 27.2 43.9 39.5 66.4
184 University of Exeter United Kingdom 47.6 40.4 62.8 32.2 42.5 57.9
185 University of Twente Netherlands 47.5 49.9 62.4 49.8 48.3 42.0
186 University of Konstanz Germany 47.3 42.7 93.6 Data not supplied 40.1 51.3
187 University of Innsbruck Austria 47.2 37.9 99.5 35.0 34.8 60.2
187 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany 47.2 45.0 47.3 40.0 35.4 60.7
189 Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen Germany 47.0 45.9 57.8 32.3 36.3 57.3
190 Yonsei University Republic of Korea 46.9 43.0 28.0 40.4 48.7 52.2
190 Drexel University United States 46.9 45.0 60.6 27.4 35.9 58.2
190 University of Cincinnati United States 46.9 43.6 18.9 32.5 40.4 61.5
193 Dalhousie University Canada 46.8 41.6 44.9 Data not supplied 50.2 48.8
193 Royal Institute of Technology Sweden 46.8 49.1 64.2 100.0 56.2 29.2
195 University of Vienna Austria 46.7 47.6 63.2 27.0 45.7 45.6
196 Kent State University United States 46.5 33.5 15.9 26.3 33.3 76.8
197 Zhejiang University China 46.4 54.6 29.6 70.3 41.3 44.3
197 University of Illinois - Chicago United States 46.4 57.8 51.8 Data not supplied 46.8 34.7
199 Simon Fraser University Canada 46.2 32.9 51.9 37.9 44.2 60.2
199 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Sweden 46.2 43.3 Data not supplied 99.9 49.5 41.7
Times Higher Education's World University Rankings for iPhone and iPod touch
University of Toronto is Rank 19
THE World University Rankings 2010 World Rank Institution Country Overall score change Teaching change International mix change Industry income change Research change Citations change
1 Harvard University United States 96.1 99.7 72.4 34.5 98.7 98.8
2 California Institute of Technology United States 96.0 97.7 54.6 83.7 98.0 99.9
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States 95.6 97.8 82.3 87.5 91.4 99.9
4 Stanford University United States 94.3 98.3 29.5 64.3 98.1 99.2
5 Princeton University United States 94.2 90.9 70.3 Data not supplied 95.4 99.9
6 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 91.2 90.5 77.7 57.0 94.1 94.0
6 University of Oxford United Kingdom 91.2 88.2 77.2 73.5 93.9 95.1
8 University of California Berkeley United States 91.1 84.2 39.6 Data not supplied 99.3 97.8
9 Imperial College London United Kingdom 90.6 89.2 90.0 92.9 94.5 88.3
10 Yale University United States 89.5 92.1 59.2 Data not supplied 89.7 91.5
11 University of California Los Angeles United States 87.7 83.0 48.1 Data not supplied 92.9 93.2
12 University of Chicago United States 86.9 79.1 62.8 Data not supplied 87.9 96.9
13 Johns Hopkins University United States 86.4 80.9 58.5 100.0 89.2 92.3
14 Cornell University United States 83.9 82.2 62.4 34.7 88.8 88.1
15 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Switzerland 83.4 77.5 93.7 Data not supplied 87.8 83.1
15 University of Michigan United States 83.4 83.9 53.3 59.6 89.1 84.1
17 University of Toronto Canada 82.0 75.8 Data not supplied Data not supplied 87.9 82.2
18 Columbia University United States 81.0 73.8 90.9 Data not supplied 73.8 92.6
19 University of Pennsylvania United States 79.5 71.8 32.9 43.7 82.7 93.6
20 Carnegie Mellon University United States 79.3 70.3 39.1 53.7 79.3 95.7
21 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 79.2 68.4 91.4 56.5 71.4 96.1
22 University College London United Kingdom 78.4 74.0 90.8 39.0 81.6 80.6
23 University of Washington United States 78.0 68.2 49.0 32.8 77.1 95.9
24 Duke University United States 76.5 66.8 49.4 100.0 71.5 92.3
25 Northwestern University United States 75.9 64.5 60.5 Data not supplied 68.8 95.3
26 University of Tokyo Japan 75.6 87.7 18.4 Data not supplied 91.9 58.1
27 Georgia Institute of Technology United States 75.3 67.9 73.2 95.1 72.6 83.2
28 Pohang University of Science and Technology Republic of Korea 75.1 69.5 32.6 100.0 62.5 96.5
29 University of California Santa Barbara United States 75.0 56.6 64.3 89.8 68.0 98.8
30 University of British Columbia Canada 73.8 65.1 93.3 42.6 74.8 80.3
30 University of North Carolina United States 73.8 70.9 21.5 50.2 75.1 85.0
32 University of California San Diego United States 73.2 59.8 31.6 51.8 76.3 90.8
33 University of Illinois - Urbana United States 73.0 68.1 55.9 Data not supplied 80.9 72.9
34 National University of Singapore Singapore 72.9 65.5 97.8 40.5 72.6 78.7
35 McGill University Canada 71.7 69.0 85.9 Data not supplied 74.9 69.0
36 University of Melbourne Australia 71.0 58.7 88.0 47.7 69.2 83.3
37 Peking University China 70.7 76.4 68.6 98.6 61.3 72.2
38 Washington University Saint Louis United States 69.9 58.9 56.4 Data not supplied 63.0 88.6
39 Ecole Polytechnic France 69.5 57.9 77.9 Data not supplied 56.1 91.4
40 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 69.2 59.9 67.3 42.2 61.9 86.8
41 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong 69.0 50.4 97.4 64.1 51.8 98.2
42 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris France 68.6 66.8 44.9 30.7 48.2 95.7
43 Australian National University Australia 67.0 51.9 93.9 Data not supplied 62.4 81.0
43 University of Göttingen Germany 67.0 57.3 44.5 31.7 55.9 92.5
43 Karolinska Institute Sweden 67.0 65.8 Data not supplied 73.3 72.7 62.3
43 University of Wisconsin United States 67.0 55.5 43.7 Data not supplied 64.6 83.4
47 Rice University United States 66.9 57.4 31.2 29.2 50.6 99.1
48 École Polytechnique Federale of Lausanne Switzerland 66.5 55.0 100.0 38.0 56.1 83.8
49 University of Science and Technology of China China 66.0 57.5 Data not supplied 30.3 48.6 92.7
49 University of California Irvine United States 66.0 49.4 66.3 Data not supplied 54.7 91.6
51 Vanderbilt University United States 65.9 64.9 22.1 84.2 59.5 78.1
52 University of Minnesota United States 65.6 57.6 23.0 Data not supplied 69.1 76.4
53 Tufts University United States 65.2 64.1 28.3 Data not supplied 52.3 83.9
54 University of California Davis United States 65.0 57.3 60.5 48.0 70.7 68.8
55 Brown University United States 64.9 59.7 60.5 Data not supplied 57.0 77.7
56 University of Massachusetts United States 64.7 61.3 22.6 53.9 72.6 67.9
57 Kyoto University Japan 64.6 78.9 18.4 67.1 77.7 46.3
58 Tsinghua University China 64.2 74.9 43.0 97.8 66.6 52.7
59 Boston University United States 64.0 53.6 38.1 29.6 51.9 91.4
60 New York University United States 63.9 62.0 31.8 Data not supplied 50.7 82.9
61 University of Munich Germany 63.0 59.1 43.1 40.4 57.5 76.4
61 Emory University United States 63.0 63.4 52.3 Data not supplied 48.4 77.8
63 University of Notre Dame United States 62.8 56.4 35.6 Data not supplied 45.1 89.1
64 University of Pittsburgh United States 62.7 58.5 25.2 37.9 58.3 78.3
65 Case Western Reserve University United States 62.2 67.2 56.5 Data not supplied 53.8 66.0
66 Ohio State University United States 62.1 63.5 64.0 Data not supplied 54.9 67.2
67 University of Colorado United States 61.6 46.4 31.7 Data not supplied 58.1 83.4
68 University of Bristol United Kingdom 61.4 49.6 67.2 36.2 53.1 80.9
68 University of California Santa Cruz United States 61.4 38.3 16.7 Data not supplied 50.4 99.6
68 Yeshiva University United States 61.4 63.5 53.3 Data not supplied 46.7 74.4
71 University of Sydney Australia 61.2 49.8 89.6 90.8 61.9 64.3
72 University of Virginia United States 61.1 62.0 42.2 Data not supplied 55.4 68.6
73 University of Adelaide Australia 60.7 46.5 87.5 52.7 38.8 90.5
73 University of Southern California United States 60.7 65.4 31.2 Data not supplied 48.7 71.9
75 William & Mary United States 60.4 53.1 20.9 Data not supplied 36.1 95.6
76 Trinity College Dublin Ireland 60.3 47.7 84.2 31.6 45.3 84.4
77 King's College London United Kingdom 59.7 48.5 85.9 44.1 54.5 72.1
78 Stony Brook University United States 59.6 48.5 52.2 Data not supplied 43.6 85.8
79 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Republic of Korea 59.5 71.3 36.7 100.0 63.4 45.5
79 University of Sussex United Kingdom 59.5 42.4 72.8 29.1 42.4 91.6
81 University of Queensland Australia Australia 59.1 51.8 74.2 57.1 53.4 69.0
81 University of York United Kingdom 59.1 47.9 66.6 36.2 46.2 81.9
83 Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg Germany 59.0 59.2 63.4 39.1 47.5 70.3
83 University of Utah United States 59.0 55.8 22.5 Data not supplied 54.2 72.0
85 Durham University United Kingdom 58.9 39.8 65.7 33.9 44.1 91.0
86 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom 58.3 62.4 99.5 38.4 56.2 51.6
87 University of Manchester United Kingdom 58.0 56.5 79.1 39.0 56.2 59.2
88 Royal Holloway, University of London United Kingdom 57.9 37.7 92.9 30.5 36.2 93.2
89 Lund University Sweden 57.8 46.3 56.8 33.2 60.8 67.6
90 University of Zurich Switzerland 57.7 56.6 87.9 43.8 47.0 65.0
90 University of Southampton United Kingdom 57.7 50.8 69.0 37.7 47.8 72.9
90 Wake Forest University United States 57.7 54.6 24.4 Data not supplied 42.9 79.2
93 McMaster University Canada 57.6 44.7 Data not supplied Data not supplied 58.7 68.5
94 University College Dublin Ireland 57.5 42.4 87.0 Data not supplied 36.6 86.3
95 University of Basel Switzerland 57.3 50.2 91.3 45.8 37.1 78.3
95 George Washington University United States 57.3 60.6 39.6 Data not supplied 43.1 70.2
95 University of Arizona United States 57.3 52.4 21.9 84.2 52.2 70.1
98 University of Maryland College Park United States 57.2 45.4 35.4 Data not supplied 48.6 79.2
99 Dartmouth College United States 57.1 44.7 31.0 Data not supplied 49.2 79.7
100 ENS De Lyon France 57.0 51.1 37.6 26.1 34.4 88.8
101 Technical University of Munich Germany 56.9 50.4 85.3 Data not supplied 43.2 71.2
102 University of Helsinki Finland 56.6 49.0 24.2 30.2 51.4 75.4
103 University of St. Andrews United Kingdom 56.5 44.8 85.7 32.6 47.7 72.9
104 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute United States 56.4 50.5 48.0 Data not supplied 54.6 64.9
105 Rutgers the State University of New Jersey United States 56.3 53.4 26.8 Data not supplied 64.7 55.7
106 Purdue University United States 56.2 57.0 62.6 Data not supplied 67.8 43.9
107 University of Cape Town South Africa 56.1 36.6 83.3 Data not supplied 42.1 82.8
107 National Tsing Hua University Taiwan 56.1 52.2 34.1 50.2 52.6 66.9
109 Seoul National University Republic of Korea 56.0 62.3 44.9 43.0 54.1 54.6
109 Pennsylvania State University United States 56.0 46.3 19.9 44.0 49.2 77.6
111 Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong 55.6 32.9 71.8 26.7 32.5 97.6
112 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan 55.4 62.9 24.8 60.5 63.4 45.5
112 Bilkent University Turkey 55.4 34.3 47.7 32.4 36.1 95.7
114 Eindhoven University of Technology Netherlands 55.3 55.4 44.9 99.8 51.7 56.9
115 National Taiwan University Taiwan 55.2 50.3 29.2 35.7 59.0 61.6
115 University of Hawaii United States 55.2 38.3 34.2 Data not supplied 47.6 81.0
117 University of California Riverside United States 55.1 38.6 63.0 30.5 47.4 78.3
118 University of Geneva Switzerland 55.0 46.6 95.7 32.7 49.7 63.1
119 Catholic University of Leuven Belgium 54.8 57.7 29.6 97.7 62.9 45.2
120 Nanjing University China 54.6 52.2 50.2 43.4 46.2 66.0
120 Queen Mary, University of London United Kingdom 54.6 39.7 91.0 38.9 44.1 73.5
122 Technical University of Denmark Denmark 54.5 46.2 64.0 95.5 46.9 64.6
122 Michigan State University United States 54.5 50.4 30.4 Data not supplied 52.7 63.7
124 Ghent University Belgium 54.4 52.8 24.7 97.1 59.1 52.8
124 Leiden University Netherlands 54.4 47.3 40.0 100.0 54.9 59.3
124 Lancaster University United Kingdom 54.4 43.5 73.8 28.8 41.9 74.9
127 University of Alberta Canada 54.3 53.7 71.6 44.5 58.0 49.7
128 University of Glasgow United Kingdom 54.2 45.6 55.1 61.0 50.3 65.1
129 Stockholm University Sweden 54.0 36.9 Data not supplied 31.7 49.2 75.9
130 University of Victoria Canada 53.4 32.9 Data not supplied 27.4 48.3 79.1
130 Osaka University Japan 53.4 61.7 20.1 73.4 63.4 40.0
132 University of Freiburg Germany 53.3 52.4 46.2 79.8 41.4 64.3
132 Tohoku University Japan 53.3 60.3 20.1 82.3 62.5 41.2
132 University of Iowa United States 53.3 48.6 31.7 Data not supplied 59.8 54.8
135 University of Bergen Norway 52.7 39.9 66.6 41.5 42.1 73.1
136 University of Lausanne Switzerland 52.6 43.1 84.1 42.5 50.5 59.1
137 University of Sheffield United Kingdom 52.5 48.9 62.7 40.3 49.2 58.4
138 University of Montreal Canada 52.4 56.1 Data not supplied Data not supplied 49.4 51.9
139 VU University Amsterdam Netherlands 52.3 47.6 30.6 81.4 51.6 58.5
140 Pierre and Marie Curie University France 52.2 51.9 30.7 26.4 37.2 71.5
140 University of Dundee United Kingdom 52.2 34.1 54.4 49.3 41.0 79.3
142 University of Barcelona Spain 52.1 34.1 22.3 30.0 33.7 91.9
143 Utrecht University Netherlands 52.0 43.4 52.6 55.3 53.0 58.8
144 Wageningen University and Research Center Netherlands 51.9 58.5 24.3 Data not supplied 48.8 53.0
145 University of Auckland New Zealand 51.8 34.8 94.3 61.1 39.2 71.8
145 University of Birmingham United Kingdom 51.8 50.3 73.8 34.8 50.7 52.1
147 Alexandria University Egypt 51.6 29.5 19.3 36.0 28.0 99.8
147 Uppsala University Sweden 51.6 49.6 77.9 39.5 62.2 40.7
149 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong 51.4 39.4 82.9 57.2 45.7 62.4
149 University of Aberdeen United Kingdom 51.4 37.8 86.1 47.0 45.2 64.6
151 Delft University of Technology Netherlands 51.3 55.5 47.4 99.4 67.7 29.0
152 University of New South Wales Australia 51.2 49.5 70.7 60.0 48.9 51.2
152 Birkbeck, University of London United Kingdom 51.2 41.2 88.5 27.4 35.8 70.6
152 Newcastle University United Kingdom 51.2 42.7 80.5 31.1 42.8 63.6
155 Pompeu Fabra University Spain 51.1 35.0 44.1 40.0 33.0 84.7
156 Indiana University United States 51.0 48.5 37.7 Data not supplied 42.5 63.2
156 Iowa State University United States 51.0 49.3 23.2 49.6 49.6 58.2
158 Medical College of Georgia United States 50.7 67.3 16.3 50.1 41.7 48.9
159 Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands 50.4 39.4 58.6 Data not supplied 43.6 65.5
159 University of Delaware United States 50.4 38.4 16.8 100.0 51.9 61.3
161 Arizona State University United States 50.3 43.0 24.1 Data not supplied 44.1 66.9
161 Boston College United States 50.3 40.1 31.6 Data not supplied 33.6 78.0
163 National Sun Yat-Sen University Taiwan 50.2 46.1 21.3 37.5 50.6 58.9
164 Georgetown University United States 50.1 65.1 24.7 Data not supplied 44.7 45.0
165 University of Amsterdam Netherlands 50.0 42.5 38.2 38.8 49.2 60.2
165 University of Liverpool United Kingdom 50.0 40.8 59.8 40.6 47.8 59.6
167 Aarhus University Denmark 49.9 38.1 33.4 61.5 55.6 57.3
168 University of Würzburg Germany 49.8 48.7 40.3 Data not supplied 40.9 60.4
168 University of Leeds United Kingdom 49.8 46.2 50.0 38.3 48.0 55.6
170 University of Groningen Netherlands 49.7 41.7 35.5 34.2 56.4 54.1
171 Sun Yat-sen University China 49.6 46.2 29.3 41.2 34.7 70.2
172 Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main Germany 49.4 39.2 56.1 41.6 37.3 69.5
173 Bielefeld University Germany 49.3 39.9 Data not supplied Data not supplied 35.7 70.4
174 Nanyang Technological University Singapore 49.0 43.6 96.3 40.0 51.7 45.0
174 University of East Anglia United Kingdom 49.0 42.1 62.8 29.7 40.4 62.8
174 University of Nottingham United Kingdom 49.0 46.8 74.8 38.4 44.1 52.5
177 University of Copenhagen Denmark 48.8 44.1 45.8 26.1 45.7 58.3
178 Monash University Australia 48.5 39.4 87.1 40.8 38.8 60.5
178 Humboldt University of Berlin Germany 48.5 50.9 46.1 27.8 44.5 52.0
178 University of Bonn Germany 48.5 46.8 46.8 29.4 33.8 65.3
181 National Chiao Tung University Taiwan 48.3 53.2 57.9 98.7 54.4 32.9
182 RWTH Aachen University Germany 48.2 50.0 63.8 56.6 42.5 48.9
183 Middle East Technical University Turkey 47.7 39.5 27.2 43.9 39.5 66.4
184 University of Exeter United Kingdom 47.6 40.4 62.8 32.2 42.5 57.9
185 University of Twente Netherlands 47.5 49.9 62.4 49.8 48.3 42.0
186 University of Konstanz Germany 47.3 42.7 93.6 Data not supplied 40.1 51.3
187 University of Innsbruck Austria 47.2 37.9 99.5 35.0 34.8 60.2
187 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany 47.2 45.0 47.3 40.0 35.4 60.7
189 Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen Germany 47.0 45.9 57.8 32.3 36.3 57.3
190 Yonsei University Republic of Korea 46.9 43.0 28.0 40.4 48.7 52.2
190 Drexel University United States 46.9 45.0 60.6 27.4 35.9 58.2
190 University of Cincinnati United States 46.9 43.6 18.9 32.5 40.4 61.5
193 Dalhousie University Canada 46.8 41.6 44.9 Data not supplied 50.2 48.8
193 Royal Institute of Technology Sweden 46.8 49.1 64.2 100.0 56.2 29.2
195 University of Vienna Austria 46.7 47.6 63.2 27.0 45.7 45.6
196 Kent State University United States 46.5 33.5 15.9 26.3 33.3 76.8
197 Zhejiang University China 46.4 54.6 29.6 70.3 41.3 44.3
197 University of Illinois - Chicago United States 46.4 57.8 51.8 Data not supplied 46.8 34.7
199 Simon Fraser University Canada 46.2 32.9 51.9 37.9 44.2 60.2
199 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Sweden 46.2 43.3 Data not supplied 99.9 49.5 41.7
Times Higher Education's World University Rankings for iPhone and iPod touch
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Secondary Schools Rank Ontario Canada - The Fraser Institute
Secondary Schools Rank Ontario Canada - The Fraser Institute
http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/secondary/SchoolsByArea.aspx
http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/secondary/SchoolsByArea.aspx
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Toronto teens are world-class debaters - thestar.com
Toronto teens are world-class debaters - thestar.com
"No matter where you end up in life, whether you’re a doctor or a teacher, being able to persuade those around you is a valuable tool,” said Adam Kovacs-Litman, an 18-year-old Grade 12 student at The York School who finished in second place"
Toronto teens are world-class debaters - thestar.com
"No matter where you end up in life, whether you’re a doctor or a teacher, being able to persuade those around you is a valuable tool,” said Adam Kovacs-Litman, an 18-year-old Grade 12 student at The York School who finished in second place"
Toronto teens are world-class debaters - thestar.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Shepherd’s Granddaughter
The Shepherd’s Granddaughter
Remove novel on Mideast conflict from elementary schools, trustees say - Parentcentral.ca
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
Remove novel on Mideast conflict from elementary schools, trustees say - Parentcentral.ca
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Plans to remove "To Kill a Mockingbird" from the school curriculum in Ontario.
Reasons:
- Some parents complained about the language in the book.
- Some suggested that books being used about African American people should be written by black people.
I don't think it should be removed. Its a great book.
Suggestions for replacements.
- "The book of negroes" by Lawrence Hill
- "Child of Dandelions" by Shehnaz Nanji
- "The Bite of the Mango" by Mariatu Kamara
Reasons:
- Some parents complained about the language in the book.
- Some suggested that books being used about African American people should be written by black people.
I don't think it should be removed. Its a great book.
Suggestions for replacements.
- "The book of negroes" by Lawrence Hill
- "Child of Dandelions" by Shehnaz Nanji
- "The Bite of the Mango" by Mariatu Kamara
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Atkinson Series - Alanna Mitchell - Nov 2009
Alanna Mitchell, a Toronto-based writer and journalist who specializes in global science issues, spent much of the past year investigating the controversial push to use brain science to improve education. She travelled to England, France, Australia and the U.S. as part of her 2008 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy
- "The message to teachers is that they need to be a bit of a scientist too," says Shanker. "What we want teachers to understand is that there's no such thing as a lazy child or a bad child. There's always a biological story. The key is to ask why, why, why?"
- As a society, we're forcing millions of teens to spend hours every day in a schooling system with methods we can't justify and ends we don't honestly comprehend for jobs we can't even conceive of, he says.
- And as others have documented, given the high rates of teen dropouts, addiction, violence, mental health issues and learning differences, the system we're forcing them to participate in is broken.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Teachers Ontario Schools - Oct 05, 2009
There is such a demand for good teachers in the Ontario public school system. The Ontario College of Teachers need to recognize immigrants skills. Many of of the immigrants may have valuable skills which could be an asset to the school system.
http://www.thestar.com/article/705382
http://www.thestar.com/article/705382
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
At-risk youth 'living the dream'
At-risk youth 'living the dream'
Regent Park student gets help from scholarship program to continue studies
Oct 29, 2008 04:31 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter
Of his group of friends growing up in Regent Park, four have died. Two are "into street life." Two went from high school straight to the workforce.
Ismail Aboobakker is the only one to go to university.
"We had dreams of doing great things together, and only one of us is doing it," said the 22-year-old in a recent interview. "I am living the dream for all of us."
Aboobakker is in his fourth year at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, studying math with plans to be a high school teacher. This is also the fourth year he has received a scholarship for teens who grew up at-risk.
The scholarship, from the Yonge Street Mission, will benefit 30 youths this year who either attend the Yonge Street Mission's Evergreen Centre for Street Youth or the community centre in Regent Park.
It provides them with a yearly stipend to help offset the cost of their studies and matches them with a volunteer mentor. The mission is holding a gala fundraiser for the scholarship at the Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday.
"University is a total change from high school," said Aboobakker, who volunteers at the mission and has himself been asked to be a mentor. "It either makes you or breaks you."
Strong family support helped get him through elementary and high school. But he had trouble adjusting to post-secondary life. He was skipping classes and in the first semester of his first year failed two courses. He was subsequently suspended from the campus's junior varsity basketball team.
When he appealed to one professor to bump his calculus mark from the high 40s to a 50 so he could pass, the professor told him that "just passing" wasn't good enough, that he should strive to be better.
That got his attention. "I pulled up my socks – to my waist," he said, adding he repeated the calculus course and earned an A-plus.
Domanique Grant is another scholarship recipient. She just started her first year at York University, studying theatre and psychology.
"The scholarship helps me put a lot more time into studying rather than worrying about work" and how to pay for school, says the singer and actress, who performed at the Luminato Festival last summer.
Barbara Walkden, the mission's director of development, says the scholarship program began back in 2003, with a group of supporters raising $150,000 and matching funds from the government. Then, in 2005, a donor gave $1 million to set up an endowment fund for teens from Regent Park or those who had lived on the streets, and since then the mission has given out 20 to 30 scholarships a year, ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. Students also receive a reconditioned laptop from Dell.
"The (students) are from struggling families in the Regent Park area, some are raised by their grandparents," she said. "For the street youth, so many have suffered abuse of one form or another that's led them to the street. I think we are able to take youth that might not otherwise have an interest in furthering their education."
Students can use the money to attend the post-secondary institution of their choice. George Brown is a popular option but students are spread out across the province and beyond: one is studying nursing at the University of Windsor, another international relations at Concordia, and another political science at the University of Toronto.
Walkden said, "The only way out of poverty is education."
http://www.thestar.com/article/526449
Regent Park student gets help from scholarship program to continue studies
Oct 29, 2008 04:31 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Kristin Rushowy
Education Reporter
Of his group of friends growing up in Regent Park, four have died. Two are "into street life." Two went from high school straight to the workforce.
Ismail Aboobakker is the only one to go to university.
"We had dreams of doing great things together, and only one of us is doing it," said the 22-year-old in a recent interview. "I am living the dream for all of us."
Aboobakker is in his fourth year at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, studying math with plans to be a high school teacher. This is also the fourth year he has received a scholarship for teens who grew up at-risk.
The scholarship, from the Yonge Street Mission, will benefit 30 youths this year who either attend the Yonge Street Mission's Evergreen Centre for Street Youth or the community centre in Regent Park.
It provides them with a yearly stipend to help offset the cost of their studies and matches them with a volunteer mentor. The mission is holding a gala fundraiser for the scholarship at the Royal Ontario Museum on Thursday.
"University is a total change from high school," said Aboobakker, who volunteers at the mission and has himself been asked to be a mentor. "It either makes you or breaks you."
Strong family support helped get him through elementary and high school. But he had trouble adjusting to post-secondary life. He was skipping classes and in the first semester of his first year failed two courses. He was subsequently suspended from the campus's junior varsity basketball team.
When he appealed to one professor to bump his calculus mark from the high 40s to a 50 so he could pass, the professor told him that "just passing" wasn't good enough, that he should strive to be better.
That got his attention. "I pulled up my socks – to my waist," he said, adding he repeated the calculus course and earned an A-plus.
Domanique Grant is another scholarship recipient. She just started her first year at York University, studying theatre and psychology.
"The scholarship helps me put a lot more time into studying rather than worrying about work" and how to pay for school, says the singer and actress, who performed at the Luminato Festival last summer.
Barbara Walkden, the mission's director of development, says the scholarship program began back in 2003, with a group of supporters raising $150,000 and matching funds from the government. Then, in 2005, a donor gave $1 million to set up an endowment fund for teens from Regent Park or those who had lived on the streets, and since then the mission has given out 20 to 30 scholarships a year, ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. Students also receive a reconditioned laptop from Dell.
"The (students) are from struggling families in the Regent Park area, some are raised by their grandparents," she said. "For the street youth, so many have suffered abuse of one form or another that's led them to the street. I think we are able to take youth that might not otherwise have an interest in furthering their education."
Students can use the money to attend the post-secondary institution of their choice. George Brown is a popular option but students are spread out across the province and beyond: one is studying nursing at the University of Windsor, another international relations at Concordia, and another political science at the University of Toronto.
Walkden said, "The only way out of poverty is education."
http://www.thestar.com/article/526449
Friday, October 31, 2008
Taking charge of the future
Taking charge of the future
This country depends more on what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks
This country depends more on what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks
Oct 31, 2008 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (7)
Annie Kidder
What is the role of schools in creating the Canada we want?
It's time to start thinking about what kind of country we want to live in.
That was the message of a forum this week sponsored by the Canadian Education Association and People for Education.
Do we want to live in a country of engaged citizens who feel they "belong" to something? Do we want to be a nation of innovators contributing to the rest of the world with our strong environmental policies, our dedication to global citizenship and our examples of social responsibility? Do we want to be able to harness the power of our population's diversity?
Or do we want to continue to lead the world in our rate of consumption? Do we want to watch passively as the gap between the rich and everyone else continues to grow, as we lose hundreds of species from our environment, and as fewer of us choose to vote?
According to Glen Murray, former mayor of Winnipeg, president of the Canadian Urban Institute and chair of the Canadian National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Canada is at a crossroads. Our population, our economy and our environment are being transformed.
So we have to decide what we want. Then we have to decide how we're going to get there.
Our best chance to influence our country's future may lie in our publicly funded schools. More than 90 per cent of Canada's young people go to public schools (in Ontario, that percentage is even higher) and those schools can be the leaders of the change. As Penny Milton of the Canadian Education Association put it, "Schools should condition social progress, rather than be conditioned by it."
Our schools are doing a pretty great job in their drive to improve students' literacy and numeracy – test scores are up, Canadian students are among the top 10 OECD countries in reading, writing, math and science, and our graduation rates are among the highest in the world. But is that enough? What kinds of students are we graduating? Do they have the right attributes to allow them to succeed? Are they really the creative thinkers and innovators that we need? Do they have a sense of citizenship and social responsibility? Do they all – rich, poor, newcomer, aboriginal, those who live in cities and those who live in rural areas and the North – feel they have an equitable chance for success? Probably not.
Our future is going to be determined much more by what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks. So what do we need to change?
Herveen Singh, one of the panellists at the forum, formerly a "student at risk" and now a graduate student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, says that first of all our education system has to acknowledge the change in the world around it. "We've got to listen to the voices of students, we've got to build more bridges between schools and the world, and we have to expand our notion of what equity means."
Glen Murray says we've got to do a much better job at breaking the pattern of mass marketing and mass consumption in this country. And he says the only place we can do that effectively is in our schools. We have to figure out how to instill the value of citizenship in our students. In the U.K., for example, citizenship is taught as a fundamental ideal. They challenge students to be critical thinkers; they get them to solve real problems and debate scary things like values and politics. They assume that young people can think independently and can participate in effecting change.
But in Canada these days, in their consumerism, people identify more with the economy than with their country, and our schools have shied away from challenging that.
At the forum, people wanted practical ideas about what needs to be done. Everyone agreed that our hope lies in our schools. And everyone agreed that schools have to lead. And everyone even agreed that the shift in our collective thinking about schools – from viewing them as something that was good for the country to something that was more a private good, focused on individuals' economic success – was part of the problem.
So what needs to be done? The school system itself has to do a much better job at making the connections between schools and the world around them. It has to be less afraid of tackling world issues and values. In fact, it has to see it as its responsibility.
If critical and creative thinkers are what we need in the 21st century, we have to rejig what has become a two-tiered curriculum, where we have relegated the kinds of courses that produce those very attributes to the bottom tier. We have to redefine success in education beyond simplistic targets for test scores, because they don't tell us much about the overall health of our education system. We have to look critically at our focus on literacy and numeracy and make sure that political targets haven't gotten in the way of truly educational ones.
And to answer one of the biggest questions asked at the forum: Why should anyone else (outside of parents and teachers) care about what happens in our schools? Because our country depends on it. Because our schools have the potential to lead the change and the potential to create a brighter future for all of us. But only if we demand it of them.
Annie Kidder is executive director of People for Education, an independent parent-led organization. Clips from the forum will be available on the websites of the CEA and People for Education: www.cea-ace.ca and www.peopleforeducation
http://www.thestar.com/article/527799
This country depends more on what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks
This country depends more on what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks
Oct 31, 2008 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (7)
Annie Kidder
What is the role of schools in creating the Canada we want?
It's time to start thinking about what kind of country we want to live in.
That was the message of a forum this week sponsored by the Canadian Education Association and People for Education.
Do we want to live in a country of engaged citizens who feel they "belong" to something? Do we want to be a nation of innovators contributing to the rest of the world with our strong environmental policies, our dedication to global citizenship and our examples of social responsibility? Do we want to be able to harness the power of our population's diversity?
Or do we want to continue to lead the world in our rate of consumption? Do we want to watch passively as the gap between the rich and everyone else continues to grow, as we lose hundreds of species from our environment, and as fewer of us choose to vote?
According to Glen Murray, former mayor of Winnipeg, president of the Canadian Urban Institute and chair of the Canadian National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Canada is at a crossroads. Our population, our economy and our environment are being transformed.
So we have to decide what we want. Then we have to decide how we're going to get there.
Our best chance to influence our country's future may lie in our publicly funded schools. More than 90 per cent of Canada's young people go to public schools (in Ontario, that percentage is even higher) and those schools can be the leaders of the change. As Penny Milton of the Canadian Education Association put it, "Schools should condition social progress, rather than be conditioned by it."
Our schools are doing a pretty great job in their drive to improve students' literacy and numeracy – test scores are up, Canadian students are among the top 10 OECD countries in reading, writing, math and science, and our graduation rates are among the highest in the world. But is that enough? What kinds of students are we graduating? Do they have the right attributes to allow them to succeed? Are they really the creative thinkers and innovators that we need? Do they have a sense of citizenship and social responsibility? Do they all – rich, poor, newcomer, aboriginal, those who live in cities and those who live in rural areas and the North – feel they have an equitable chance for success? Probably not.
Our future is going to be determined much more by what happens in our schools than what happens in our banks. So what do we need to change?
Herveen Singh, one of the panellists at the forum, formerly a "student at risk" and now a graduate student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, says that first of all our education system has to acknowledge the change in the world around it. "We've got to listen to the voices of students, we've got to build more bridges between schools and the world, and we have to expand our notion of what equity means."
Glen Murray says we've got to do a much better job at breaking the pattern of mass marketing and mass consumption in this country. And he says the only place we can do that effectively is in our schools. We have to figure out how to instill the value of citizenship in our students. In the U.K., for example, citizenship is taught as a fundamental ideal. They challenge students to be critical thinkers; they get them to solve real problems and debate scary things like values and politics. They assume that young people can think independently and can participate in effecting change.
But in Canada these days, in their consumerism, people identify more with the economy than with their country, and our schools have shied away from challenging that.
At the forum, people wanted practical ideas about what needs to be done. Everyone agreed that our hope lies in our schools. And everyone agreed that schools have to lead. And everyone even agreed that the shift in our collective thinking about schools – from viewing them as something that was good for the country to something that was more a private good, focused on individuals' economic success – was part of the problem.
So what needs to be done? The school system itself has to do a much better job at making the connections between schools and the world around them. It has to be less afraid of tackling world issues and values. In fact, it has to see it as its responsibility.
If critical and creative thinkers are what we need in the 21st century, we have to rejig what has become a two-tiered curriculum, where we have relegated the kinds of courses that produce those very attributes to the bottom tier. We have to redefine success in education beyond simplistic targets for test scores, because they don't tell us much about the overall health of our education system. We have to look critically at our focus on literacy and numeracy and make sure that political targets haven't gotten in the way of truly educational ones.
And to answer one of the biggest questions asked at the forum: Why should anyone else (outside of parents and teachers) care about what happens in our schools? Because our country depends on it. Because our schools have the potential to lead the change and the potential to create a brighter future for all of us. But only if we demand it of them.
Annie Kidder is executive director of People for Education, an independent parent-led organization. Clips from the forum will be available on the websites of the CEA and People for Education: www.cea-ace.ca and www.peopleforeducation
http://www.thestar.com/article/527799
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Proud graduate overcame brain injury
Proud graduate overcame brain injury
After massive damage caused in car accident,
York program assists woman to get degree
Oct 21, 2008 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Shabnam Janet Janani
Staff Reporter
After Rosanne Wong was in a horrific car accident 11 years ago, doctors said her brain was so badly damaged she would not be able to do anything for the rest of her life.
She was, according to them, in a persistent vegetative state.
Saturday, Wong stood on a podium at York University wearing a flowing black gown as she graduated with a B.A. in sociology. Her remarkable achievement was made possible with the help of York's Office for Persons with Disabilities.
"I never give up," said the 29-year-old east Toronto woman in a phone interview, her speech still slowed by the effects of the brain injury she suffered while living in Apopka, Fla.
Wong had just received a full scholarship from the University of Florida and dreamed of becoming a computer engineer.
Then, on Sept. 19, 1997, she was driving on her way to tutor underprivileged students when she made a wrong turn, into the path of a 16-wheel tractor-trailer.
Wong spent 10 days in a coma at the Orlando Regional Medical Centre in Florida.
Over the course of nine months, despite what doctors had said, she began to regain basic functions. She slowly started to breathe, eat, talk and walk on her own. She was released from the hospital, but it would be two years before her brain could do more complex things.
"Gradually, her ability to read came back," said her father, Ray Wong, "but she had to read a page more than 10 times to remember details."
As her insurance coverage ran out – and the company refused to renew her policy – bills for her medication that reached $6,000 a month prompted her family to return to Canada, where they had moved from Jamaica 30 years earlier.
She enrolled in York University's Information Technology program in 2001, still hoping to become a computer engineer.
"When disabled students register at the university, they meet with case counsellors first," said Karen Swartz, director at the Office for Persons with Disabilities at York. Case counsellors review the students' difficulties and then build a plan based on what kind of accommodations they need to proceed through their university career.
In the 2007-2008 academic year, 2,533 students were accommodated for their disabilities at York. Of these, about 50 had brain injuries, Schwartz said.
Students with disabilities are usually expected to write the same exams and assignments as other students.
After Wong failed courses in the Information Technology program, a neuropsychology assessment suggested that parts of her brain that process information related to math and science had been destroyed along with her short-term memory. That indicated she should change her major.
"She is very hard working and dedicated," said Annette Symanzik, a case counsellor at York.
But before her transition, Wong faced another shock when her mother died from a heart attack.
"She was so close to her mother and was so depressed that she wasn't able to do things properly," said her father.
She received therapy and was eventually able to recover from the grief."It was a big loss for me," she said. "My mother really wanted to see my graduation day."
Wong is independent now, and looks forward to starting a job in her field.
As for the doctor who told Wong's father his daughter would never do anything for the rest of her life, he is still annoyed but said, "We let it go."
http://www.thestar.com/article/520884
After massive damage caused in car accident,
York program assists woman to get degree
Oct 21, 2008 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (1)
Shabnam Janet Janani
Staff Reporter
After Rosanne Wong was in a horrific car accident 11 years ago, doctors said her brain was so badly damaged she would not be able to do anything for the rest of her life.
She was, according to them, in a persistent vegetative state.
Saturday, Wong stood on a podium at York University wearing a flowing black gown as she graduated with a B.A. in sociology. Her remarkable achievement was made possible with the help of York's Office for Persons with Disabilities.
"I never give up," said the 29-year-old east Toronto woman in a phone interview, her speech still slowed by the effects of the brain injury she suffered while living in Apopka, Fla.
Wong had just received a full scholarship from the University of Florida and dreamed of becoming a computer engineer.
Then, on Sept. 19, 1997, she was driving on her way to tutor underprivileged students when she made a wrong turn, into the path of a 16-wheel tractor-trailer.
Wong spent 10 days in a coma at the Orlando Regional Medical Centre in Florida.
Over the course of nine months, despite what doctors had said, she began to regain basic functions. She slowly started to breathe, eat, talk and walk on her own. She was released from the hospital, but it would be two years before her brain could do more complex things.
"Gradually, her ability to read came back," said her father, Ray Wong, "but she had to read a page more than 10 times to remember details."
As her insurance coverage ran out – and the company refused to renew her policy – bills for her medication that reached $6,000 a month prompted her family to return to Canada, where they had moved from Jamaica 30 years earlier.
She enrolled in York University's Information Technology program in 2001, still hoping to become a computer engineer.
"When disabled students register at the university, they meet with case counsellors first," said Karen Swartz, director at the Office for Persons with Disabilities at York. Case counsellors review the students' difficulties and then build a plan based on what kind of accommodations they need to proceed through their university career.
In the 2007-2008 academic year, 2,533 students were accommodated for their disabilities at York. Of these, about 50 had brain injuries, Schwartz said.
Students with disabilities are usually expected to write the same exams and assignments as other students.
After Wong failed courses in the Information Technology program, a neuropsychology assessment suggested that parts of her brain that process information related to math and science had been destroyed along with her short-term memory. That indicated she should change her major.
"She is very hard working and dedicated," said Annette Symanzik, a case counsellor at York.
But before her transition, Wong faced another shock when her mother died from a heart attack.
"She was so close to her mother and was so depressed that she wasn't able to do things properly," said her father.
She received therapy and was eventually able to recover from the grief."It was a big loss for me," she said. "My mother really wanted to see my graduation day."
Wong is independent now, and looks forward to starting a job in her field.
As for the doctor who told Wong's father his daughter would never do anything for the rest of her life, he is still annoyed but said, "We let it go."
http://www.thestar.com/article/520884
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