The Role of Schools in Creating Lifelong Readers

Some students start school knowing how to read. Others may never have held a book before. Some students come from homes that are full of books, magazines, and newspapers while others may be living with adults who cannot read themselves. And some students cope with disabilities while others are simply too tired or too hungry to pay attention. Schools in Canada today have become preoccupied with testing and literacy in only the most utilitarian sense. Advocates within the school system Elisa Bonilla, the former director of reading materials in Mexico’s Ministry of Education and organizer of the Ministry’s ambitious school library project, Professor Emeritus and Scholar in Residence of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education David Booth, and Annie Kidder, founder and director of People for Education and recipient of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation Public Education Advocacy Award, will address the challenges and present strategies and programs that have made a difference in school systems. Chris Spence, Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board, will chair this panel.