Teachers Institute Round Up

Before getting back to library, literacy, and tech topics, I'd like to summarize the last week in Ottawa at the Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy: who I met, what I saw, what I did...

I met 70 educators from across the country who were passionate and enthusiastic about teaching and learning. We were organized into groups by province so I had a teacher in my group from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, our facilitators were from Prince Edward Island and the Yukon - great for discussions about what's happening regionally.

With fellow participants, we toured Center Block and East Block and had meetings in West Block . We toured the Library of Parliament - an amazing building - it has been called "the most beautiful room in Canada - I agree! Rich in architecture and history - it was the only part of the building that survived the fire in 1916 - there were iron doors on the entrance to the library.

We had a tour of Rideau Hall, the residence of our Governor General Michaelle Jean. What a beautiful building, inside and out! We went on a tour of the Supreme Court of Canada, sat in a courtroom, met a supreme court judge, and watched a mock trial.

I sat at an MP's desk in the House of Commons and at a Senator's desk in the Senate while the Speaker of the House, the Honorable Peter Milliken, and the Speaker of the Senate, the Honorable Noel Kinsella, addressed us. We also observed a question period.

I witnessed a mock committee in action - excellent to understanding parliamentary procedure.

I listened to non-partisan panel discussions by MPs about Minority Governments and Senators about Senate Reform. There was also a Media panel of Parliament Hill Journalists, Julie Van Dusen CBC, Bob Fife CTV, and Kady O'Mally Macleans. Kady writes a live blog of happenings on Parliament Hill Inside the Queensway. The last panel was a bear-pit question/answer session with Parliamentary clerks. The panels were the most informative and incredibly interesting way to learn about parliamentary procedure.

Each day we had lunch with a different government related group: lobbyists, bureaucrats, and parliament staff. It was very interesting hearing about their respective jobs on the hill.

We had dinner at the Chateau Laurier with our provincial MP's. I met our MP Andrew Saxton, very hospitable.

I was honoured to give a little thank you speech to Dr. William Young, the Library of Parliament librarian in our two official languages, at a breakfast in the MP's restaurant.

John Ralston Saul was on a panel on the last day. He spoke about his new book and talked about his views on education. He said when he visits a school, his first stop is the school library. He asks whether there is a full-time teacher librarian, whether he or she is bilingual, what the budget is, and how it is spent. Saul says he can trace the literacy skills in an area to the elements of a library program in place in the school. I was cheering inside!!!

It was a jam-packed, inspiring week! This was the most well-organized and enriching professional development opportunity I have had the privilege of being involved and have participated in in 20 years - I encourage you to apply!

By the way, on my last day in Ottawa, they were preparing for President Obama's first visit, hence the picture with all the flags.

Ottawa Meanderings...

So, have you ever wondered when you would use your high school French again other than a trip to France? Here I am, 26 years after high school, giving a speech that is required to be a mix of our two official languages. I did need some help with the grammar, but the words and the pronunciation were not foreign to me! Yesterday I was asked to thank the Parliamentary Librarian for his hospitality - an incredible honor! We were hosted to breakfast in the MP's restaurant, after which we sat in the MP's chairs in the House of Commons and learned about the Legislative Process. In the afternoon we attended Question Period. In the evening we had dinner with MP's. I met our MP Andrew Saxton - very hospitable.

Yesterday we met the Speaker of the House, today we met the Speaker of the Senate. Yesterday we observed a mock committee in action. Today we visited the Supreme Court of Canada.

Our days have been starting at 7 am and ending at 10 pm. Tomorrow is another early day...

P.S. Yes, there are books in the House of Commons, picture evidence above!

Teachers Institute Meetings et al

All our meetings are in the West Block. You go through security when you enter any building on Parliament Hill - the buckles on my boots were not so helpful for a speedy exit;)

We've had interesting guest speakers and Non-Partisan Panel discussions on government topics. Guest speakers have thus far spoken on the Constitution, Elections, the Executive, and Democratic Reform.

The Non-Partisan Panel discussions have focused on Minority Governments and Parliamentarians' Perspectives. A question posed to the minority government panel was what is the greatest asset and what is the greatest liability in a minority government? Answer - In a minority government there is an opportunity to be more inclusive in policy making, to listen to others ideas and opinions, and engage in a consultation process across party lines. The greatest liability is the short term focus; no long term investments in our country are made because the threat of an election that looms in a minority government. An interesting conversation arose about the benefits of a Coalition Government and the lack of knowledge the Canadians really have about what this means.

We toured Rideau Hall, the residence of our Governor General Michaelle Jean - what an amazing building - again heaps of history and heraldry! I'll write about that later this week!

Tomorrow we get to sit in the House of Commons, not just in the gallery, but physically in MP's chairs. I have been asked to speak for the Institute and thank the Parliamentary Librarian, Dr. Young, for his hospitality - I'm off to write a speech.

By the way, this is a picture of Sir John A MacDonald's desk, located in East Block, very cool!

Teachers Institute on Parliamentary Democracy

I'm in Ottawa, from February 8 to February 13, to participate in a Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy. A very cool opportunity. After quite an application process, 70 educators from across Canada were chosen to participate in a week long, intensive professional development workshop about our government. I am looking forwarding to learning with like-minded individuals about our parliamentary system. I have never been to our Nation's capital before so I am also looking forward to having a look around Ottawa and visiting museums.

Yesterday was a "get your bearings" day. We had a tour of the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings which included the House of Commons chamber, the Memorial Chamber, the Peace Tower, and the Library of Parliament. So much history! The House of Commons carpet and chair upholstery are green - symbolic of the commons, the green commons ground, and the common people who are served by our parliament. I could have spent heaps more time in the Library of Parliament, but we weren't allowed to go into the shelves - what an amazing room! The library is the only part of the orginial Parliament building that survived the fire in 1916, ironically on my birthday, February 3rd.

In the afternoon we went to the Canadian War Museum - a must-see when you come to Ottawa. Very well done! The details are amazing! In one particular corridor you can see the Peace Tower through the windows. The light shining on the wall in the corridor from little windows says "Lest We Forget" in Morse Code. A lot to see - I skimmed through part of it to spend most of my time in the World War II section because Dad was a 2nd Lieutenant in the tanks and the South Africa section because my Aussie Grandpa fought there.

We also met our working group for the week - grouped with teachers from other provinces and territories - arranged by colour - I'm in the purple group - no, I did not plan this!