Support specialized programs & schools made possible by optional attendance!
2,353 Comments
N
Natalia
8 years ago
Everybody different. Some of us need more, some less.
S
Samuel
8 years ago
The Specialized Programs are so special to this generation and the next because many students have their own unique education paths that can lead to anything in the arts like dance, music and drama. We need to keep these programs so that we can accommodate every student and teacher.
S
scott good
8 years ago
please tell this task group that many of us are livid. I'm so upset reading this I hardly know what to say. Toronto is growing you fools' don't destroy-build.
K
Karen
8 years ago
Unbelievable proposal. This will put the next generation into a way less competitive situation comparing to other regions or globally.
L
Lyndon Than
8 years ago
I'm grateful for for the good fortune of having had not only myself, but also my wife and children go through the Claude Watson Arts program. It was a wonderful program for all of us, and we wish it could be available to everyone who wants it - and I think to a large extent, it is. The report appears to target specialized programs such as this one, and it also targets the optional attendance that is a part and parcel of coming to a program like this. I believe the TDSB are trying to expand the equity with which they offer specialized programs, but this report seems to get things wrong, at the very least, from a messaging point of view. Whats obvious to me is that these programs do expand the equity and inclusiveness of the education programming the TDSB offers. These ARE the programs that allow both the under privileged and the privileged to attend schools that meet their needs often far better than their local school could. In so many cases, it was teachers that recognized these potentials and recommended to their students to apply for a special program. We need to keep these programs and learn from them, and grow them
J
Jeanne Yuen
8 years ago
I am a student of an enriched arts program. It gave me a chance to really work in a medium that I felt capable, and really brought me from being an academically mediocre student to being a skilled musician in the workforce today.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
Please keep Gifted Program as well.
A
Ayesha Madden
8 years ago
I was a drama major in the Claude Watson program at Earl Haig. It was the most amazing experience because I got to study something I loved with students who were just as passionate. I also was learned strong soft skills because of this program. Taking programs like this out will be a huge hit on students!
E
Eusis Dougan-McKenzie
8 years ago
Equity means giving people the access they need. We need support arts, stem, International Baccalaureate.
Y
Yoosun Kim
8 years ago
What our kids need is more specialized, art and sports enriched programs to help them to figure out their full potential.
E
Elizabeth Kurtz
8 years ago
If you proport to have top level arts educators in the board, perhaps you want to think twice about removing the very programs that trained them.
E
Erika Willaert
8 years ago
Phasing specialized programs is the not the answer to building equity among students. It is our moral responsibility to respond to the individual needs of all learners, not lower the standards to make mediocrity feel more comfortable. Please be transparent about your so-called intentions. TDSB Is a conglomerate organization and needs to recognize that equality is not synonymous with equity, and uniformity does not necessarily lead to unity. Education is not a business. When you make accountability and finance the bottom line, you lose sight of the purpose of teaching and learning.
S
Siena Armstrong
8 years ago
The specialized programs in the TDSB were so important to me when I was in them, and they were a huge part of how I discovered myself, and my skills in the arts. Phasing these programs out would only reduce opportunities for everyone, rather that giving them more equally to all.
M
Maria Novalen
8 years ago
Equality does not come from removing programs but from having more access to specialized education.
N
Narinder Cadeau
8 years ago
Education needs to be prioritized, and be given more attention and funding. Taking programs away that are beneficial for our youth is short-sighted and detrimental
F
Fionnuala
8 years ago
More programs are required to meet the needs of all our students, not less
D
Danielle Gardner
8 years ago
As an alumni of Claude Watson School for the Arts, I would not be where I am today without that program. I am a professional artist and visual arts teacher, and I love bringing the fine art background I received to my students and summer students in Killarney Provincial Park. Art is for everyone who wants to enjoy it and specialized programming enriches the lives of all who take it to develop their full potential. All of our society’s creativity comes out of this school and and schools like it. We must not allow these programs to come to an end. My peers were from different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds and when I visited Claude Watson to speak with them as a guest artist recently, I spoke with the current Art Majors, who still exemplified the same amazing multicultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and they still produce excellent work. Keep these programs alive and allow them to flourish.
B
Bonnie
8 years ago
Please do not phase out these specialized programs. Our children need these options.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
I am OPPOSED to this proposal of phasing out our precious specialized programs. This is not going to give equity. It will just make everyone learn at the same rate and that is far from equity. Without the specialized programs, everyone will be learning at the same level no matter what abilities they have. The specialized programs such as IB and TOPS allow these talented and hardworking students to reach their potentials; otherwise they will be bored in a regular school and get into troubles. These students are willing to travel far to attend these specialized programs because they are getting the education that match their needs. I believe the best thing to do is to expend these specialized programs so that more students can get access to them and have their potential realized. Shutting down these specialized programs will not help with creating equity in the education system. It would only create an inferior education system which would not be able to compete in this world. Canadian students will lag behind those from other countries.
A
Anya Laskin
8 years ago
TDSB should step into the 21st century, and offer more specialized programming to our children! We need to invest in education and help the next generation develop their skills and hone their unique abilities, rather than limiting opportunities and offer the same basic programs to everybody!
We should strive to do more, expand and not scale down.
More art, more music, more STEM, more special education, more gifted programs, more special education.
EETF is going in the wrong direction, wake up! Kids deserve better, not worse!
Everybody different. Some of us need more, some less.
The Specialized Programs are so special to this generation and the next because many students have their own unique education paths that can lead to anything in the arts like dance, music and drama. We need to keep these programs so that we can accommodate every student and teacher.
please tell this task group that many of us are livid. I'm so upset reading this I hardly know what to say. Toronto is growing you fools' don't destroy-build.
Unbelievable proposal. This will put the next generation into a way less competitive situation comparing to other regions or globally.
I'm grateful for for the good fortune of having had not only myself, but also my wife and children go through the Claude Watson Arts program. It was a wonderful program for all of us, and we wish it could be available to everyone who wants it - and I think to a large extent, it is. The report appears to target specialized programs such as this one, and it also targets the optional attendance that is a part and parcel of coming to a program like this. I believe the TDSB are trying to expand the equity with which they offer specialized programs, but this report seems to get things wrong, at the very least, from a messaging point of view. Whats obvious to me is that these programs do expand the equity and inclusiveness of the education programming the TDSB offers. These ARE the programs that allow both the under privileged and the privileged to attend schools that meet their needs often far better than their local school could. In so many cases, it was teachers that recognized these potentials and recommended to their students to apply for a special program. We need to keep these programs and learn from them, and grow them
I am a student of an enriched arts program. It gave me a chance to really work in a medium that I felt capable, and really brought me from being an academically mediocre student to being a skilled musician in the workforce today.
Please keep Gifted Program as well.
I was a drama major in the Claude Watson program at Earl Haig. It was the most amazing experience because I got to study something I loved with students who were just as passionate. I also was learned strong soft skills because of this program. Taking programs like this out will be a huge hit on students!
Equity means giving people the access they need. We need support arts, stem, International Baccalaureate.
What our kids need is more specialized, art and sports enriched programs to help them to figure out their full potential.
If you proport to have top level arts educators in the board, perhaps you want to think twice about removing the very programs that trained them.
Phasing specialized programs is the not the answer to building equity among students. It is our moral responsibility to respond to the individual needs of all learners, not lower the standards to make mediocrity feel more comfortable. Please be transparent about your so-called intentions. TDSB Is a conglomerate organization and needs to recognize that equality is not synonymous with equity, and uniformity does not necessarily lead to unity. Education is not a business. When you make accountability and finance the bottom line, you lose sight of the purpose of teaching and learning.
The specialized programs in the TDSB were so important to me when I was in them, and they were a huge part of how I discovered myself, and my skills in the arts. Phasing these programs out would only reduce opportunities for everyone, rather that giving them more equally to all.
Equality does not come from removing programs but from having more access to specialized education.
Education needs to be prioritized, and be given more attention and funding. Taking programs away that are beneficial for our youth is short-sighted and detrimental
More programs are required to meet the needs of all our students, not less
As an alumni of Claude Watson School for the Arts, I would not be where I am today without that program. I am a professional artist and visual arts teacher, and I love bringing the fine art background I received to my students and summer students in Killarney Provincial Park. Art is for everyone who wants to enjoy it and specialized programming enriches the lives of all who take it to develop their full potential. All of our society’s creativity comes out of this school and and schools like it. We must not allow these programs to come to an end. My peers were from different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds and when I visited Claude Watson to speak with them as a guest artist recently, I spoke with the current Art Majors, who still exemplified the same amazing multicultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and they still produce excellent work. Keep these programs alive and allow them to flourish.
Please do not phase out these specialized programs. Our children need these options.
I am OPPOSED to this proposal of phasing out our precious specialized programs. This is not going to give equity. It will just make everyone learn at the same rate and that is far from equity. Without the specialized programs, everyone will be learning at the same level no matter what abilities they have. The specialized programs such as IB and TOPS allow these talented and hardworking students to reach their potentials; otherwise they will be bored in a regular school and get into troubles. These students are willing to travel far to attend these specialized programs because they are getting the education that match their needs. I believe the best thing to do is to expend these specialized programs so that more students can get access to them and have their potential realized. Shutting down these specialized programs will not help with creating equity in the education system. It would only create an inferior education system which would not be able to compete in this world. Canadian students will lag behind those from other countries.
TDSB should step into the 21st century, and offer more specialized programming to our children! We need to invest in education and help the next generation develop their skills and hone their unique abilities, rather than limiting opportunities and offer the same basic programs to everybody! We should strive to do more, expand and not scale down. More art, more music, more STEM, more special education, more gifted programs, more special education. EETF is going in the wrong direction, wake up! Kids deserve better, not worse!