Lecce puts lid on wacko speakers
‘All guest speakers must directly connect with the Ontario curriculum’
Tired of playing whack-amole with wacko teachers and school administrators, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce is getting proactive.
Lecce has issued a directive to boards requiring transparency with parents and the public on several fronts, but perhaps most importantly, publishing who is speaking to students and at Professional Activity Days for teachers ahead of time.
In a memo to school boards and administrators, Lecce details that starting in the 2024-25 school year, the three mandatory P.A. Days will need to align with the provincial priority of boosting reading, writing, math and STEM skills. Details on guest speakers, including giveaways, material or literature being presented to students will need to be communicated to parents or guardians ahead of time.
“is policy is designed to respond to parents who feel that communication between schools and homes is not robust enough, with information often being shared with families only after parents inquire.
“e government believes strongly that all guest speakers must directly connect with the Ontario curriculum,” Lecce said.
at isn’t always the case and too often, Lecce is left playing clean-up on controversies stemming from decisions made at the school or board level that don’t align with provincial priorities.
“is will provide more information to parents and guardians as to what their children are learning and experiencing during the regular school day, including connections to the curriculum and/or purpose of the activity,” Lecce said.
Dealing with activist groups, teachers and administrators trying to push their own political agenda has been a constant task for Lecce, who took over the education portfolio in
2019. He’s had to deal with math educators who claim 2+2=racism, that math is a tool of white supremacy and that education itself is a colonial structure.
In a particularly egregious example from outside of the province, a presentation by Planned Parenthood in a Regina school saw material distributed to students that would make open and experienced adults blush.
When Premier Scott Moe moved to impose similar controls on what is distributed to students, he faced a backlash, with people claiming he was censoring.
But if I can’t describe the contents of that material in a newspaper, is it suitable for students to be handed without context or guidance?
is is what Lecce and education ministries across the country are dealing with. While most teachers and administrators just want to go to work each day and teach kids, others want to impose their own personal political agendas.
It’s the same for PA
Days which teachers are required to go to even though many complain they don’t get value from the day, just a political agenda.
Going forward, the mandatory
P.A. Days will focus on literacy, math and STEM skills along with how to talk to students about issues like mental health, vaping, controlling cellphone use and bullying at school. ese are the skills students need and these are the areas that teachers, like all of us, need help in guiding them in a changing world.
School boards will be required to submit a plan for the required
P.A. Days by Aug. 15 of the coming school year. Boards must also give at least two weeks notice of the date, timing, topic and format of the activities as well as details on which individuals or groups are presenting.
Lecce even told school boards to ensure diversity of opinion.
“School boards must also ensure they respect intellectual diversity and open dialogue of sta, designed to create school environments that advance freedom of expression, respect for our dierences, and the safety of every child from every walk of life,” Lecce said.
ese moves should be welcomed by parents, teachers and administrators alike. ey won’t end the constant whacka-mole of ghting back against the activists, but they will put some controls in place.