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Inspire Welcome to InspireA Message from Dr. Avis Glaze
We know that teachers, principals and supervisory officers will find it a tremendous resource to continue to influence teaching and learning. As well, we look forward to sharing some of the literacy and numeracy work of students. Peter Drucker once said "We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn." Teaching people how to learn inevitably begins with literacy and numeracy, those basic building blocks of education. Strong literacy skills help us meet all of our commitments to a child's education. Mathematics, music, drama, art, geography, history, the humanitieseach of these subjects is unleashed in their fullness by our efforts in literacy. As Chief Student Achievement Officer for Ontario's new Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, my role is to lead our nine key strategies for success in the coming two years. The Secretariat will:
Given the importance of our mandate I believe we have a particular obligation to be transparent in our efforts. We see Inspire, primarily, as a resource for teachers, principals and supervisory officers, so that they might share successful practices and catalyze new ones. Ultimately, we hope parents will also discover this journal's resources, with articles written in an accessible style so that all may benefit from the sharing. This level of transparency will serve everyone as we look to gather what is working and ensure that successes are shared. While many local boards of education have engaged in similar goals in the past, the Secretariat invites educators to recommit to these goals with a new sense of urgency. Our students cannot wait. Knowing our teachers the way I do, I am buoyant and energized by the knowledge that we will succeed because there is so much talent to draw upon at the very time when there is so much at stake. As I have always said, we have the will and skill to achieve our goals. We are fortunate to have this combination. We specifically invite supervisory officers to continue to help lay the groundwork for successful literacy and numeracy practices in their daily interactions with schools. We invite principals to build on that groundwork, to inspire and empower their teams of teachers to do the great things they are capable of doing. Teachers are facilitators of destinies, capable of inspiring students to new and great heights. Please continue to convey to our parents that their support and good will for public education shall not be squandered by any lack of vision or any lack of effort. We are all in this together, inspired and motivated to improve literacy, numeracy and the academic achievement of our students. Dr. Glaze is currently Chief Student Achievement Officer of Ontario, and CEO of The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat for the Ontario Ministry of Education. |
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the inaugural edition of Inspire: The Journal of Literacy and Numeracy for Ontario. Inspire is an online journal that will publish monthly to inform and share successful practices from Ontario classrooms from a literacy and numeracy perspective for Kindergarten through Grade 6. Inspire will also be a quarterly, hard copy journal, mailed to every school board and school in Ontario for maximum reach.