Budget cuts target education and the arts.

    The recent Ontario budget announcements have some disturbing, if not surprising targets: education and the arts.

    This article from The Star identifies some of the major cuts to the Toronto Public and Catholic and Peel Boards. It is very disturbing that special education and inner city schools seem to be affected the most, along with the loss of hundreds of classroom teachers and VPs.

    Of course the arts will be hit, with the Luminato festival getting the worst of it, as discussed in this article. The A.G.O., the R.O.M. and other Toronto art institutions will be affected as well.

TDSB and AGO working together

    The T.D.S.B. and the A.G.O. are working together to enhance art education! This collaboration makes sense in so many ways and is based around the Weston Family Learning Centre. Find out more at the A.G.O. site, here. I am thrilled to hear about this great development in art education and look forward to seeing what the partnership brings.

    The A.G.O. is such a fantastic resource and can help educators make the curriculum more engaging and interactive for students. As a former gallery guide at the A.G.O., I have witnessed this first-hand and have always felt that more students deserve to benefit from what the gallery has to offer.

School for low-income kids in Niagara region

The Toronto Star featured this article about a new low-income school in the Niagara region. Kids will only be admitted if their parents have not gone to college or university. Is segregation the answer to poverty? Should this deficit mentality be encouraged? Can't any potential resources that this school might receive be effectively used in inclusive schools? Separating these kids from their peers will only alienate and stigmatize them more. Strength and resiliency come from diversity even though it may be the more challenging alternative.

The TDSB offers a better solution. Extra classes with relevant goals are being offered on weekends for kids who need the help. This way specific areas can be addressed without the labelling and separating that the Niagara region is resorting to. Saying that this approach has worked in the States is not a valid justification. We can't keep comparing ourselves to a different country with different strengths and challenges. We're better than that, lets come up with our own solutions.

AGO and TDSB negotiating art collection

The TDSB may be lending the AGO a substantial collection of Canadian art. Negotiations are currently underway. Here is the article from the Globe.