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Peace, joy and love of the season

As I write this, the landscape is hastily preparing itself for winter; the most obvious is the trees saying good-bye for the long winter’s sleep. But, despite the snow which may or may not cover the ground in your area, the cold, and the early darkness, we are entering a few weeks of light and warmth with families and friends as we celebrate the Christmas season.

As you also have probably experienced, the fall has passed quickly and busily. OTF’s first major event was the OTIP Teaching Awards in late September, followed closely by World Teachers’ Day, Word on the Street and the Books of Life conference in October.

And, of course, Ontario had the provincial election which ended with a minority government. OTF has worked with the Liberal Government over the past eight years to bring publicly funded education in Ontario to being one of the best in the world. We hope that the Liberal Minority Government and the opposition parties will continue to improve our system.

As President, I have had a very positive talk with the new Minister of Education,
Laurel Broten and look forward to working with Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, concerning the faculties of education and the pre-service programs for the faculties.

A highlight this fall was the Free The Children’s We Day in Toronto in September. This gathering of more than 18,000 youth as well as adults was an inspiration and impetus to play a role in local and global change. I was very impressed by the sense of togetherness and common purpose. We Day is a program of Free the Children, co-founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger.  We Day and Me to We, a related program, have much to offer to educators and young people. Check out the November 2001 issue of Interaction for more information on these projects.

As has been the custom, OTF is not sending cards this year but is making a donation to the North South Partnership for Children, a union between philanthropic organizations, universities, and private citizens in southern Ontario and 30 remote First Nations communities in north-western Ontario. The objective is to find out what’s needed and to provide pathways of hope for the young people.

Finally, but most importantly, I wish you, your family and friends all the peace, joy and love of the season and may your new year be one of happiness in a world of peace.

Francine LeBlanc-Lebel
President, OTF