Cristina De Simone, a Ph.D. student in Mathematics Education at 91亚色, Canada, and Tori Trajanovski, a Ph.D. student in Education at 91亚色 U, write about teachers who are now moving beyond traditional ways of teaching math and shifting towards evidence-based equitable teaching and assessment practices.

Families might be wondering why in school.

Why aren鈥檛 teachers putting students on the spot and getting them to prove that they know the math? Why are teachers letting students solve problems in lots of different ways instead of just telling them how to do it?

Teachers are moving beyond and shifting towards more evidence-based equitable teaching and assessment practices. This means every student is provided with what they need as opposed to being provided with the exact same resources and assessment practices.

For example, instead of giving all students in the classroom the exact same test, a student with test anxiety will be given an alternative format to showcase their learning.

Read the in .

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Professor and Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora, Carl E. James, writes about a recent Toronto Star investigation into grade inflation聽and whether it's聽holding top students back and setting others up to fail. James analyzed top scholar media coverage, STEM study, and teacher-student relations to understand this upward trend.

Schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are 鈥�.鈥�

This is according to a recent Toronto Star investigation into grade inflation. It asked: 鈥淚s runaway grade inflation holding top students back and setting others up to fail?鈥�

The Star found that data indicate 鈥淕rade 12 averages are on a steady slope upwards and the number of kids entering university with a 95+ average has exploded.鈥�

This question had me recalling with average grades of 100 per cent.

Understandably, what accounts for the upward trend in grade averages is difficult to determine, since there are many complicated and nuanced reasons.

Nevertheless, among the reasons the Star investigation identifies is 鈥渢he popularity of STEM courses鈥� to boost averages.

When I examined reporting about the 鈥渢op scholars鈥� who received grades of 100 per cent, they were mainly taking science courses.

I wonder about the effects such media narratives have on youth who tend not to see their stories celebrated as 鈥渢op scholars.鈥�

Read the full article authored by Carl E. James on .

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The number of international students in Canada has over the last decade, contributing approximately , and an estimated in annual revenues to Canadian universities.

Pegged by the federal government as a key source of talent for the growth and sustenance of the Canadian economy, international students are sought to relieve our national demographic imbalance created by an .

颁补苍补诲补鈥檚 also seeks international students to address our skilled labour shortages.

The question, however, is not whether international students are needed, but rather if they are valued.

Read the full article written by PhD candidate Isaac Garcia-Sitton on .

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Recently there has been a resurgence of movements across North America resisting anti-racist reforms such as the .

These movements are often organized covertly,  and describing themselves 

Groups that oppose the teaching of critical race theory and 2SLGBTQ+ supports in schools often position themselves as truly or more accurately in favour of social justice by co-opting social justice language, alleging . School boards have been at the centre of these attacks.

As Ontario residents prepare to go to the polls in municipal elections on Oct. 24, CBC reports that 鈥�, part of a concerted effort by conservative lobby groups to undo policies aimed at addressing systemic discrimination.鈥�

Currently, school boards are bearing the brunt of backlash because their role in the public education system is the most accessible for members of the public to voice their concerns and try to have direct influence over policy and practice.

Read the full article co-authored by Assistant Professor Vidya Shah (91亚色) Assistant Professor Stephanie Tuters (University of Toronto) and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Sachin Maharaj (University of Ottawa) in .

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Housing affordability and homelessness are hot topics in municipal politics these days. But ironically, unhoused citizens are left out of the civic debate that most impacts their lives.

As Ontario approaches municipal elections in October, our concept of 鈥渢he public鈥� is needed to remind us of our commitment not only to the  but to one another.

Toronto City Council has engaged in several heated debates this year ,   in the city. The same is true in many Canadian cities.

What comes up, again and again, are comments about 鈥渃itizens鈥� or 鈥渞esidents鈥� of our cities. Much of the time, councillors, media pundits and journalists use these words to refer to people with adequate housing. Emergency shelter-hotels were unfair to  Encampments disrupt the lives of 

In a speech given during one of these debates in April 2022, Toronto Coun. Shelley Carroll asked the question: 鈥淲ho is the public?鈥�

Read the full article authored by 91亚色 Graduate Program in Education Ph.D. candidate Timothy Martin in .

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Nostalgia made a comeback under COVID-19. In the context of enforced lockdowns, there was an increase in nostalgic activities such as watching classic films, baking and reminiscing with family and friends.

Nostalgia can be defined as a feeling of .

When it isn鈥檛 excessive, nostalgia can be a productive feeling that provides a sense of .

As writer Danielle Campoamor explains, 鈥渘ostalgia serves as a kind of emotional pacifier, helping us to become accustomed to a new reality that is jarring, stressful and traumatic.鈥�

But nostalgia can create an overly simplistic picture of the past that hinders attention to the present and limits the imagination of a different future.

Read the full article co-authored by Associate Professor Lisa Farley (Faculty of Education, 91亚色) in .

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Critical race theory has a lot of people upset. In the United States, some parents are calling for schools to ban critical race theory. They claim it distorts reality and invokes shame for white students.

This is not a new battle in the U.S. or Canada (remember when Prime Minister Harper said 鈥�?鈥� or when President Trump chastised ?). But it has picked up steam recently. Since January 2021,  and 17 states have given in to these demands.

But critical race theory is not an abstract concept 鈥� it is actually simply a reflection of us: of our unequal laws and systems already in place. It points out the history of our society and its ongoing inequalities. And asks us to look at issues as systemic instead of as individual problems.

Today we explore how applying critical race theory in classrooms across Canada helps both students and teachers.

Listen to the full podcast with guest, Ph.D. student Dwayne Brown (Faculty of Education, 91亚色) in .

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Jermaine Brown became Toronto鈥檚 15th homicide victim of 2006. His murderers shot him five times 鈥� once in each of his legs, twice in his torso; the final bullet maliciously tunnelled through his neck and out of his side.

Jermaine Brown was my older brother.

I often imagine how he felt, as he laid on the cold concrete, motionless as the life left his body. The pain. The fear. The loneliness.

It always brings me back to the profound sadness and anger I felt when I was 15. The restless nights where my mind would do nothing but wander and cogitate revenge. That was a word I fixated on 鈥� revenge 鈥� a word that began to govern each of my breaths. I was slipping down an emotional slide from which a return could be impossible.

This emotional slide is not unique to me. It is a commonplace narrative of despondency among youth in the  of Toronto 鈥� a neighbourhood where nearly a quarter of residents are on social assistance and high school graduation rates are low.

Mental health and emotional intelligence must be a focus in communities like this 鈥� communities that are home to marginalized Black youth.

If it wasn鈥檛 for basketball, a few caring mentors and teachers, family and my brother鈥檚 constant reminder to, 鈥渇ocus on ball and school鈥� be the best,鈥� .

As a teacher with the Toronto District School Board and a Ph.D. candidate in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education, I now focus my research on mental health and its influence on the success of Black youth throughout our education system.

I am also the co-founder of a program called .

Read the full article written by Ph.D. student Dwayne Brown (Faculty of Education, 91亚色) in .

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The political right鈥檚 current strategy for fighting against LGBTQ+ equality is to frame discussions about sexuality and gender in school as an infringement on parents鈥� rights.

In 2020, far-right Australian MP Mark Latham introduced a . The bill prohibited teachers from addressing any topic that veered close to 鈥渃ore values鈥�  鈥� including LGBTQ+ gender and sexuality.

While  concerned with well-being and  have rejected the bill, the focus on parental rights isn鈥檛 limited to Australia.

Parents, as a group, represent diverse concerns. The group includes LGBTQ+ parents, parents of queer and trans children and young people, pregnant and parenting teens and politically progressive activist parents 鈥� and all of the above have diverse educational, religious, economic, racialized and political experiences. However, the conservative description of parents often neglects this reality.

Read the full article written by Professor Jen Gilbert in .

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Schools and school boards struggle to respond to racism - and continue to fail to dismantle systemic barriers that affect Indigenous, Black and racialized students and families.

These barriers affect not only student learning, but student, family and staff well-being and sense of belonging.

Amid debates about school board effectiveness, Canada have abolished or changed public governing structures overseeing school boards, or are debating doing so: for example, and . In April, New Brunswick鈥檚 minister of education and replace these with a provincial board and regional councils.

But school boards matter if they are places where parents and community members can engage in democratic discussion and decision-making, and .

Read the full article written by Assistant Professor Vidya Shah (Faculty of Education, 91亚色), Nada Aoudeh (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, 91亚色) and Gisele Cuglievan Mindreau (PhD Candidate, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto) in .

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