Education festival hosts experts, student spectacle
Don’t panic on Friday morning if you see the police plane circling over Saskatoon schoolyards.
There’s no epidemic of recess brawls under investigation. City police are helping to document a spectacle at six city schools that is best appreciated from the air.
It’s a kickoff event for the Saskatoon Festival of Education, in which local teachers try to convince the rest of us we all have a stake in children’s education.
As part of that effort, hundreds of students should be out for a brisk February morning, standing in the shapes of letters to spell out “A Great School for Every Kid.”
The campaign is a new effort by the Saskatoon Teachers Association to spark more interest in K-12 schooling among those typically removed from it. The private sector and adults without school-age children are among the STA’s targets.
“What’s happening in our schools right now, there is nothing more important,” STA president John McGettigan says.
What’s the point of an education festival?
Basic education can’t simply be left to teachers, school boards, and taxpayers, McGettigan says.
Just look at meal programs popping up in many schools, and the labour market needs in a booming economy.
“The public expects more from schools than they ever have in the past,” he says. “We need more help to meet those demands.”
Where’s the party?
The gala event features a series of TED Talk-like presentations from people who will attempt to explain to the audience why they should care about what happens in schools.
Giving punchy seven-to10- minute presentations will be British education expert Ken Robinson. Author of the New York Times bestseller The Element, Robinson speaks around the world on the importance of creativity in education.
Also speaking is education policy expert Pasi Sahlberg, who can offer practical suggestions for improving schools based on Finland’s model.
A teaching assistant who moved his family to Saskatoon from Afghanistan will also tell the story of how his daughters, once denied an education in Afghanistan, are now thriving here.
“It’s just a really powerful story about being a new Saskatonian,” McGettigan said.
Saskatchewan’s treaty commissioner, pianist Thomas Yu, and the pediatrician who runs a clinic out of St. Mary’s Wellness and Education Centre, are also part of the show, which starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at TCU Place. Sign up for free tickets at saskedfest.ca.
What about parents?
They’re invited to Parent Power with Pasi, a questionand-answer town hall meeting with Sahlberg. School community councils from across the city posed questions for the Finnish expert, which he will answer during a light supper, starting at 5 p.m. Feb. 20 at TCU Place.
Free tickets are available online.
In case you didn’t catch that, there is free food.
I’m busy next week, but I think teachers are great. What else can I do?
Add your story to a growing collection of videos in which people say thank you to their favourite teachers. The Thank A Teacher” project has hockey players Luke and Brayden Schenn, the Saskatoon police chief and the province’s education minister giving a quick video shout-out to educators who inspired them.
The teachers association wants you to log on and record yours, too.
Why should non-parents or retirees be interested in schools?
McGettigan says the benefits of pumping money and attention into education are significantly delayed.
“If we get it wrong, it’s going to be much more expensive down the line,” McGettigan says. The uneducated end up using social services, health services, and correctional services, he says.
“If we get it right now, the potential is limitless.”