My First Thread: A Novella

My biggest safety concern w/ starting back to school in September isn't COVID.

It's that Stephen Lecce is our Minister of Education.

He will be the one making decisions about our kids' safety and education. And we should all be very concerned.

1/

When it comes to implementing a plan that will ensure safety of students & staff, while also serving ALL students & not just a few, we can't trust a person who...

2/

has no experience attending a public school (which would be okay if he actually believed in quality publicly-funded education that helps bridge the gaps between the haves and have-nots but he doesn't so...)

3/

hasn't visited a public elementary or secondary school since becoming Minister of Ed last summer, despite numerous invitations from teachers all over Ontario (unless I missed something, he has only visited private schools & Catholic schools in well-to-do neighbourhoods)

4/

does not collaborate with educators to discuss and implement education-related initiatives (let alone safety measures that should be taken)

5/

has no problem leaving vulnerable & marginalized students behind (through funding cuts, plans to privatize e-learning, increased class size avgs resulting in reduced course choices and education pathways, including tech, ESL, special education and essential-level classes)

6/

caters to the privileged and has no interest in learning about equity/inclusion (his insistence on "synchronous learning", the pictures on his posts showing white kids working quietly at their own computer, opt-out e-learning)

7/

implements and promotes mandatory, opt-out e-learning as sound pedagogy in spite of public opposition and all evidence against this (even in Alabama, his model for compulsory e-learning credits)

8/

takes credit for initiatives that have been in existence for years (credit rescue, "Learn At Home" materials, the updated Careers and Health Education curricula)

cancelled valuable initiatives (like writing for the refreshed curriculum incorporating Indigenous content)

9/

doesn't seem to know some basic requirements of his job (especially concerning assessment/evaluation and Growing Success, bargaining in good faith, being an advocate for and improving the education system)

10/

because he doesn't know his job, mandates things that teachers are already doing (like making sure Grade 12s have a graduation at some point)

11/

withholds critical funding from school boards required for students to be successful at emergency pandemic remote learning (and to recoup costs incurred to give students the required tech after announcing the province has a new partnership with tech giants)

12/

ignores and refuses to address concerns surrounding synchronous learning and professional risk (of course, he also publicly posted a Zoom picture of 30 elementary-aged school kids with their full names and schools visible on-screen, without apology)

13/

also ignores basic evidence-based education pedagogy due to the mistaken belief that he knows better (for example, EVERYTHING!)

publicly disparages teachers, who will be the ones to drive continued learning and hold all of this together

14/

seems to intentionally try to exhaust & disorient teachers through constantly changing directives and mandates (in the middle of emergency pandemic teaching, no less!), which usually come out late on Friday afternoons (he'll be happy to know it's working...)

15/

informs teachers of everything they're doing wrong and ways they must improve their practice through impromptu televised conferences and social media (often featuring self-promoting selfies and outdoor walks)

16/

is condescending, self-important, unapologetic, narcissistic, lacking in empathy, and says "our kids" way too often (even though he is not a teacher, a parent, or even someone who cares about kids) (okay, this is just my own biased opinion!)

17/

is basically every kid who sits down to write a ten-page essay, learns a bunch of somewhat relevant & fancy-sounding words, drops them in random places without really knowing what they mean, and ends up saying absolutely nothing.

18/

It is more apparent than ever that Stephen Lecce has no interest in the public system and, instead, seems to be using it as a stepping stone to advance his own political career.

He needs to go. The sooner the better.

#FireLecce

19/

Let me repeat that, just two make this thread an even 20.

Stephen Lecce needs to go. The sooner the better.

We deserve a Minister of Education that *cares* about public education.

#FireLecce #onted #onpoli

20/

Damn!! *to make this thread, not *two!!