Common Ground | Terrain commun Lifelong Learning

Almost all of our high school graduates are functionally illiterate when it comes to finances. They do not know basic economics, are unaware of the causes of the industrial revolution and the incredible advances it brought, do not know the principles of wealth creation, cannot explain anything about our tax system, have no understanding of investments or insurance, could not explain anything about pension plans, employment... more »

While the OSAP free tuition policies have been a tremendous step in reducing financial barriers for post-secondary students, textbooks continue to present a significant cost for many students.

Ontario made a great first step in supporting eCampus Ontario's Open Textbook Library (https://openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/) that provides over 200 free, shareable, online textbooks for PSE students and faculty to use.

But... more »

Fees for so called professional programs need to be brought back down to earth. High fees for programs such as engineering, MBAs, and medical schools create accessibility barriers. Only the well off or those willing to take on enormous debts can participate in these programs.

It is time to get rid of this destructive vestige of the Harris government of the late 1990s. It was implemented to:
a) fool Ontarians into thinking that the government was "doing something to improve education". This is a red herring. A one day test does not improve education. In fact, this type of standardized testing has caused significant harm over the last two decades.
b) follow the path that had been set in... more »

There should be limit on how much education can cost - all these post-secondary educational organizations operate as non-for-profit, limit the fee in order for them to remain non-for-profit, if they need to raise the cost of program, it should be explained, e.g. engineering probably needs access to special equipment.

Tax educational organization as for-profit if fees exceed cost + certain percentage.

CPR training should be mandatory and AED's should be readily available and required in all schools.
In the case of cardiac arrest, every second counts. It's fatal if no quick actions are taken within minutes.
There's power in community—bystanders need to be ready to help save lives. Everyone should be trained to give effective chest compressions and know how to use an AED. About 60 per cent of cardiac arrests happen... more »

Mandate Consent Education in School Curriculum

A woman is sexually assaulted in Canada every 17 minutes. Ontario has the opportunity to develop and implement innovative curriculum that addresses the monstrous gaps in the health education of both boys and girls.

Got Consent? is a popular campaign on university campuses across Canada, but the average university freshman is 18-19 years of age upon entering university... more »

To bring future generation of Ontarians to the forefront of the world of technology and innovation, we need to rethink how to teach Math to our kids in elementary schools. When teaching math is mixed with simple coding and use of software, it helps bring life and excitement to the study of mathematics in a time when everyone of our kids holds a phone capable of just doing that. This will have upward positive effect in... more »

Offering a course, or series of courses, for students enroll in a Life Skills Math course during high school. The course could be offered as an option with content would covering such things as banking, budgeting , taxes , shopping credit cards , Loans, mortgages, rent, utilities, cooking, and so on. Presently the applied and academic courses that student take as part of their OSSD does not cover this type of content.... more »

The government has made strides in tuition support for students in low to middle income households. It is time to take the next step and make post secondary education totally free. Textbooks, tuition and on campus housing should be free to all students who are accepted to post secondary sites. we need to prepare for the post industrial society and the development of machine intelligence. If Ontario and Canada are to be... more »

It’s time to explore the possibilities of funding students who seek to upskill, develop professionally, and pursue higher education. The reasons for taking on school or training in a part-time basis are numerous and reasonable:
- Working while pursuing further studies can have a reciprocally powerful effect; one stays current in the research thereby becoming more effective in their work, and builds a critical lens for... more »

We need to bring in a new order in education. Our children are learning in a way that worked decades ago but does not work any longer. Critical thinking skills are vital. We need to stop teaching children memorization (you can look anything up now on Google). We need to teach them how to think as opposed to what to think. We need to stop dividing education into subjects but have one dynamic class in which kids learn... more »

When I was looking at post secondary school, it was implied that university was the next step in life. This was what was being promoted with in schools and at the home. University is known as higher education. While college is just that, college. This is a stigma in our society of hierarchy. While many students are attending university, with no life goals or carrier goals. The belief that university will guide you... more »

To align investment (capital and personnel) in the expansion of the trades pathways in education in order to:
a) assist student with making good career choices that will align with job availability
b) align with the needs in employment sectors
c) allow for salary and other supports such as retraining of older adults as businesses restructure to meet the changing local, national and international economic needs
d) allow... more »

The Ontario government has implemented many initiatives that have made post-secondary education more affordable and attainable for current students. However, those who have graduated with high debt as a result of these programs not being in effect during their post-secondary career are burden with significant financial burden. These graduates are now in a position to choose between paying down student debt and saving... more »