CODE was pleased to attend the annual NRTEA Conference and Roundtable discussions in Ottawa this past May. This year's conversations and events centred around: Teacher Education in the Arts at a Crossroad - The Impact of demographic and social trends and structures. Discussions and events were held at Ottawa City Hall and the National Art Gallery hosted by CODE past president Michael Wilson, Madeleine Aubry and the steering committee. Please check the website www.nrtea.ca for more information and upcoming final report.
Sarah Papoff attended as a delegate and was pleased to engage in active discussions around the importance of arts education in all of the arts at the pre-service, undergraduate, graduate elementary and secondary levels with teacher-educators and artist-educators from across the country. Past President Kim Snider offered an international perspective on Global Arts Education trends after her year of travel and Drama studies abroad. Keynote Joel Westheimer spoke about the role of all of the arts in democratic engagement. We look forward to sharing the final report when it is released. Please stay tuned in this important year as faculties prepare to teach the new two year pre-service education program. How are dance, drama, music and visual arts being taught to teacher candidates? In our final task we envisioned the discussion as we discussed: "Re-wiring Teacher Education in the Arts."
It is also worth noting that it was impactful to be in Ottawa on the eve of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission releasing its report. www.trc.ca At City Hall the important Witness Blanket was on display. There are no words. CODE asks its members to take a moment to take in the www.witnessblanket.ca and to find out more about how we might be learning and sharing and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspective from Indigenous educators and Knowledge Keepers. Happy National Indigenous Peoples' Day!