ORLEANS – ” Ontario students can reap the rewards of a first-class education, but only if before and after-school activities that engage kids in the learning experience are secured”, PC Leader Tim Hudak and Education Critic Lisa MacLeod said today. “Our kids are not products on a 1950s assembly line,” Hudak said. “There should be no such thing as work-to-rule when it comes to our children’s education. Yet sports and clubs are being held hostage – and students with them”.
“So we will give boards and principals the flexibility to reward teachers for before-and-after school involvement through less supervisory time and relief from other duties.”
Ontario must also prevent union leaders from intimidating teachers with the threat of fines, MacLeod added: “It’s none of their business how our teaching professionals use their volunteer time. We will prohibit these bullying tactics in law.
“We also need to break down barriers to parental and community involvement in delivering these programs, if teachers can’t or won’t.”
Hudak tabled the proposals prior to Thursday’s launch of the next Paths to Prosperity focused on the K-12 education system. On Monday he called for a more realistic job description in the Education Act to ensure it reflects the full professional role and duties of teachers.
Through its inaction, Hudak said, the current government has reduced before-and-after-school activities to bargaining chips in labour disputes. “I take a different view: These programs enrich the learning experience – which doesn’t end with the last bell of the day.”
