[Fwd: CanLit in BC secondary schools]

[Glen F. Nichols]

Thank you for forwarding this initiative, Kathy. I hope many contribute.
I have written  a note to Jean Baird applauding the initiative but also
encouraging her to considering including Canadian DRAMA in the list of
genres to be included in secondary school reading lists....
 
Glen
 
President, CATR/ACRT
Département d'anglais
Université de Moncton
Moncton, N.-B.   E1A 3E9
Tél: (506) 863-2017; Fax: (506) 858-4166


>>> Kathy Chung <kchung at CHASS.UTORONTO.CA> 2007-12-13 01:33 >>>
Hello All,

Thought you might like to see this. It's a request for the support for
a change in the English Language Arts curriculum in BC high schools to
include more Canadian literature (see details below). I checked with
Jean Baird and she is collecting messages of support from individuals
and organizations both within and outside BC. 

IMPORTANT: If you are interested in supporting the initiative, please
send your replies to Ms Baird, not to me or the discussion list.

cheers, 

Kathy Chung

-------- Original Message -------- 

Subject: CanLit in BC secondary schools
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:50:59 -0800
From: Jean Baird <jeanbaird at SHAW.CA> ( mailto:jeanbaird at SHAW.CA )
Reply-To: Canadian Literature / Litterature canadienne
<CANLIT-L at INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA> ( mailto:CANLIT-L at INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA
)
To: CANLIT-L at INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA 


This initiative may be of interest (and concern) to those listserve
members living in BC 

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT FOR A CHANGE TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
CURRICULUM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Reply requested by December 21, 2007
Over the past few years several national research studies have
documented thelack of attention paid to Canadian literature in Canadian
schools. Currently our classrooms are dominated by some British but
predominately American novels. 
A report for The Writers’ Trust of Canada that was commissioned by the
Canada Council made a series of recommendations about what could be done
to improve the situation.[1] ( #_ftn1 )Through ArtStarts for Schools, a
project is being developed and a group of stakeholders has been
identified and has met to address these recommendations.
Part of the work has included a survey to BC teachers of English
Language Arts. In that survey completed at the end of October 2007,
97.8% of responding teachers indicated that they think it is important
to teach Canadian literature in secondary schools. 88.9% indicated
thatthey think more Canadian literature needs to be taught.
Both the teachers and the stakeholders noted that a key to achieving a
higher presence for CanLit in the classroom is clear direction from the
provincial curriculum. Currently only Saskatchewan has a mandated CanLit
course, the grade 12 course. Elsewhere in the country it is possible,
and often probable, that a student can graduate having never studied a
Canadian novel during high school. 


The BC Ministry of Education has posted a draft of the new English
Language Arts Curriculum for grades 8 to 12. We will be taking the
opportunity to respond to the new curriculum and have suggested that in
each year from grade 8 to 12 each student should “read, both
collaboratively and independently, to comprehend a variety of literary
texts, including one or more significant works of Canadian
literature.”The proposed amendment allows for the study of a
play, several short stories, a collection of poetry or poetry by three
or four different poets, one or two novels, or work by Canadian literary
critics.
We believe the Ministry needs to know that the publishing and writing
community, parents, and educators are concerned about the decline of
Canadian literature in our schools. This is your chance to voice that
opinion by replying with your support.
Please respond indicating your support (to Jean Baird, email address
below) with the following information:
Name
Contact information
Position (i.e., writer, publisher, educator, parent)
A formal response to the draft with the above recommendation will be
send to the Ministry of Education and also to Premier Campbell and
Shirley Bond, Minister of Education.
Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested in supporting
this curriculum change
Thanks
Jean Baird
Consultant, ArtStarts in Schools
CanLit in BC Schools Project

[1] ( #_ftnref1 ) The executive summary of the report is posted on the
Canada Council website at
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/publications_e/research/aud_access/di127234254927656250.htm



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://artsservices.uwaterloo.ca/pipermail/candrama/attachments/20071213/9f3cde5d/attachment.html>