Multilingual Education: a possibility in Ontario?
an event held at OISE/University of Toronto, Nexus Lounge, October 18, 2016, 6:30-9PM
Thank you all for coming out. Our inaugural event was a great success with around 80 people in attendance!
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Description:
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Ontario Multilingual Education (OME) is hosting an event at OISE to discuss legalizing multilingual education in Ontario.
At present, by law, the Ontario curriculum can only be taught in English or French. Other provinces, such as Alberta, have had legalized multilingual education for over 30 years to great success. Given that Ontario has one of the most multicultural populations in the country, limiting access to education in only two languages raises concerns about social justice and equity for all Ontarians.
OME is currently bringing forward a motion to the Ministry of Education to change the law about language education in Ontario and we would like to hear from researchers, parents, students, and public officials. Our panelists will address the impact of the current law on the lives of students and their families, as well as educational policy and practice.
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Moderator:
Stephen Vance is the co-founder and President of Ontario Multilingual Education. He is passionate about multilingualism and spent a year in China studying Mandarin. Though he trained in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo and worked as a software engineer at IBM, he is currently retraining as a psychotherapist and is involved in faith-based community work.
For those unable to join us in person, the event was Live Streamed on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/OntarioMultilingualEducation/
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​Event schedule:
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6:30-6:40 Registration
6:40-6:50 Opening remarks
6:50-7:30 Panelists’ talks
7:30-8:00 Snack & Chat
8:00-8:50 Questions from the floor and live tweet
8:50-9:00 Closing remarks
Panel Talks:
Dr. Jim Cummins is a world-renowned educational researcher and a strong advocate for multilingual education. His work, spanning four decades, has been instrumental in shaping the way teachers and policymakers think about language education, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Dr. Mary Jean Gallagher is a former Assistant Deputy Minister of the Student Acheivement Division at the Ministry of Education. Her work is visible in our education system's ongoing improvement and commitment to excellence for students as she provided leadership to our province's new vision for education, Acheiving Excellence.
Dr. Mary Jean Gallagher is a former Assistant Deputy Minister of the Student Acheivement Division at the Ministry of Education. Her work is visible in our education system's ongoing improvement and commitment to excellence for students as she provided leadership to our province's new vision for education, Acheiving Excellence.
Yollanda Zhang is the mom of a bilingual child and the Founder and Director of Panda Mandarin Language Programs, Inc in Toronto. She strongly believes in the importance of giving opportunities to all children to learn a second language, especially their heritage language.
Lisa Sung is a former student of the Mandarin bilingual program in Edmonton, Alberta. As a former teacher of the Edmonton Education Association, she also worked in the Edmonton Public School Board. Currently, she teaches music at the Mandarin Academy in California and substitutes in the Cupertino Language Immersion Program.
​For more information on the event, see our Executive Report​ (Community Talk Series no. 1).
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Our event organizers:
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The executive committee for OME would like to thank the panelists, volunteers, attendees and donors that supported our inaugural OME event Multilingual Education: a possibility in Ontario? on October 18, 2016. This event was made possible through the generous donation of your time, skills, ideas and resources to help us plan this event to great success!
Event organizers:
Tiffany Ng
Event volunteers:
Krystal Ng
Jeannie Larson
Tasneem Anjum
Shakina Rajendram
Event videographers:
Vanessa Jung
Bapujee Biswandan
Event Sponsor:
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OISE Graduate Student Association
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Event refreshments and food:
