CAIS in Point

A Case for Teaching Writing In a series of recent articles “What Should Colleges Teach” published in his New York Times blog http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/what-should-colleges-teach-part-3/, Stanley Fish argues that If “high schools and middle schools are not teaching writing in an effective way” as he claims the evidence demonstrates, then it falls to the colleges to do it. In the third of his articles (September 7, 2009) Mr. Fish describes what a composition course based on his method looks like. It boils down to a structured approach to engaging students in understanding the relationships among words, so that they can write “clean English sentences”, an ability with which many of them did not arrive with on their college campus. None of this is news for us who have taught in secondary schools. But, it does remind me of why in our independent schools we should ensure that our programs require of our students, across all disciplines (including public speaking and debate), rigorous training  in composing skills. We will have done our students a great service if we have spared them having to learn these skills at the university level in courses such as Mr. Fish’s. They will be free to engage in a more profound and sophisticated way in their post secondary studies. Furthermore, they will value the teaching they received at the hands of the independent school teachers, and the benefit will devolve both our students and our schools. Certainly, I recommend Mr. Fish’s series of articles for those interested in tackling one of the complex challenges we face in preparing our students. William Mitchell, Interim Executive Director

"ReThink IT, ReFresh IT" Conference

On November 12-13, Lower Canada College (LCC) in Montreal, Quebec is hosting the  “ReThink IT, ReFresh IT" conference. This event welcomes administrators, teachers, librarians, and IT personnel.

Join LCC in welcoming special guest speaker Alan November, and for the chance to collaborate on ideas, innovations, best practices, and inspiration on emerging technologies for teaching and learning.

Call for proposals:

E-mail a brief description of your original and inspiring presentation proposal to vjansen@lcc.ca or rilling@selwyn.ca along with a short bio of the presenter(s).

The deadline for proposal submissions is October 2, 2009.

A Panel Session:”Learning Beyond Technology” will be held on November 12 @ 6:30 pm.

Please see the attached flyer, and visit www.lcc.ca/it for more details as they become available.

Refresh_IT_Conference_Call_for_proposals.pdf

The Sterling Institute

The Sterling Institute is a centre of expertise in boys' education. Its goal is to share research and resources from around the globe that encourage excellence in the teaching of boys. It was founded by The Sterling Hall School in 2007.

In its pursuit of excellence in education, The Sterling Hall School has produced much of its own curriculum, tailored to the way boys learn best. This material is based on the best practices and studies of other educators and researchers, as well as the faculty's combined experience. It has proven to be effective in the SHS classrooms and at other schools. The curriculum is continually developed and refined, according to the response of the boys and the high academic demands of the school.

As interest in the work at The Sterling Hall School has spread, faculty have been invited to present at conferences across Canada, the U.S., and abroad. Through The Sterling Institute, we are now pleased to be able to share with a wider audience our proprietary, leading-edge curriculum and the extensive resource base we have cultivated in the area of boys' education. The Sterling Institute has also gathered an impressive selection of other related resources from around the world and links to these materials can be found on the Institute website.

Much of the information including reports, publications, workshops, and selected presentations, is available to view online free of charge. Members of The Sterling Institute also have access to proprietary curriculum and additional presentations that are not available to the general public. These resources may be downloaded and printed. Alternatively, customizable versions may be purchased for an additional fee.

For more information, please visit The Sterling Institute website at www.sterlinghall.com/institute, or contact Erica Sprules, Co-ordinator and Editor of the Institute at esprules@sterlinghall.com or by phone at (416) 785-3410.

Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (Canada) School Based Program

Teachers, here is an opportunity to get your students involved in a social action project that changes the way that children are treated.

The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (Canada) School Based Program, offers:
• Presentations through their Speaker’s Bureau which provides valuable insight into the life of Nelson Mandela, the history of apartheid and the global impact of lives affected by systemic injustices.
• Professional development for teachers demonstrating how to integrate an inclusive curriculum.
• Hands-on workshops.

The School-Based Program works in collaboration with schools to teach students about Nelson Mandela and his struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. Through the Speaker’s Bureau, students learn about the challenges facing orphans, vulnerable children and youth in South Africa and the impact of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (www.un.org/millenniumgoals) on our global communities.

Students in Canada are given the opportunity to respond to what they have learned by taking action through fundraising and making a difference in the lives of their peers in South Africa. 

NMCF (Canada) ensures that all funds donated are used to empower children and youth in South Africa and improve their quality of life.  The money raised in partnership with schools supports five programs in South Africa:
• Skills development - strengthens the family’s potential to provide the social and educational needs of young children; equips youth from poverty backgrounds with market-orientated skills;
• Well-being of the child - rehabilitates the lives of children living on the street by providing alternative models of care, such as healthy family and community environments. It also helps to build safe communities to prevent child abuse, and provides support for children in distress through court support and neighborhood victim support;
• Disability program- integrates and empowers disabled children by improving interaction between mainstream classrooms and those who are differently abled through unified activities in sports, arts, and cultural initiatives;
• Leadership and excellence - equips youth with life skills and entrepreneurial skills, to enable them to participate in the economy;
• Goelama (Sotho word that means to nurture and care for the vulnerable) improves the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS through education, and mobilizing communities to take responsibility for orphans and households headed by children.

For more information visit www.mandela-children.ca or contact: Ka’ren Feder, Program Outreach and Development Officer 
Tel: 416-496-8403 ext. 235 or 1-866-763-1453