January 27 was Family Literacy Day and the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) had the opportunity to speak to Sheree Fitch, award-winning Canadian children’s author, about what the learning journey means to her.
Posted: January 20, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Alison Konrad, professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ont., says reverse mentoring can re-energize older employees, keep younger workers engaged and improve relationships between the different generations in the workplace.
A new web-based resource lets parents and teachers better help children who demonstrate unusual or worrisome emotions and behaviour, providing guidance as to whether they are a normal part of development or a potential mental health problem.
Posted: January 19, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Playing hooky from work is one thing. Avoiding the boss after he's found out about it is a whole different matter.
Posted: January 19, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Forget the increased productivity, the flexibility and the fewer interruptions that may result from working at home. You may get more responsibilities and duties than you bargained for.
McDonald’s UK is handing out around nine million popular children’s books with its Happy Meals, as part of a new partnership with publishing house HarperCollins. The promotion aims to get books into the hands of families and support parents in reading with their children.
Posted: January 18, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
What sets the New Grad Career Expo apart is that the exhibitors have all been recognized as award-winning employers by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers. "For young people, it's an exceptional opportunity to connect with the very best employers in the nation," says Mediacorp Publisher Tony Meehan. "Why not start your career at an organization that leads its industry in providing forward-thinking benefits and progressive human resources policies?"
Posted: January 18, 2012 |

Category: Learning
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia staged a 24-hour blackout on January 18 in response to proposed American legislation that many top websites claim will reshape the web.
The Hershey Centre in Mississauga is the place to be on Family Literacy Day as the Mississauga Majors and Peterborough Petes battle on the ice on Friday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the name of literacy and learning.
Posted: January 18, 2012 |

Category: Learning
ABC Life Literacy Canada is proud to announce 10 sponsors have already purchased their letters from the 2012 Letters for Literacy campaign. Currently in its third year, Letters for Literacy is seeking new literacy champions to make a commitment and support ABC’s work in creating programs and resources for the literacy community.
Posted: January 18, 2012 |

Category: Learning
British Columbia may have one of the largest Aboriginal populations in Canada but it isn’t the only province whose first peoples are struggling to reconcile the history of colonialism, forced assimilation and abuse found in the residential school system with the need to educate and prepare their children for life in the 21st century.
Family Literacy Week is a week-long community celebration of storytelling, art, reading and learning in Comox Valley that culminates in Family Literacy Day on January 27. While Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak takes main stage, this year's celebration also includes local celebrities, art shows, roving storytellers and a chance to explore the community.
Posted: January 17, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Lisa Raitt, Canada’s minister of labour, hosted a roundtable with key stakeholders on the issue of women in the workforce. The roundtable was held as a follow-up to a series of meetings conducted by the minister last summer.
Posted: January 16, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Do you have a clear plan for your career goals? In other words, do you have a good idea of where you want to be five, 10 or 25 years from now?
Posted: January 16, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Any job hunter who is scouring online job postings and expects to land a position simply by responding to advertised openings may not hit pay dirt. The competition is simply too fierce.
Posted: January 16, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
What do you want to accomplish? Why? What could hold you back? These are some of the key inner dynamics to clarify on your path to achieving your goals.
Posted: January 16, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
If you need to have things a certain way at work or you become anxious, or you hold yourself to impossible standards, you may have a problem with perfectionism. Here are some tips for making some important workplace changes in 2012.
Posted: January 16, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
As a valued employee on the job, time is your most precious resource. Guard it well if you want to succeed and get noticed because nobody else will.
The evidence about the benefits of parents being involved in their children’s education in general, and their children’s literacy activities in particular, is overwhelming.
Posted: January 13, 2012 |

Category: Learning
More than 120 of Toronto's best known literary figures have signed an open letter to Mayor Rob Ford and City Council to express their concern that proposed cuts to the Toronto Public Library will do "grievous harm to one of the leading public libraries in the world and the people who use it."
Posted: January 13, 2012 |

Categories: Essential skills, Learning
Literacy for Life is the second report from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. It presents additional results on the nature and magnitude of the literacy gaps faced by OECD countries and how these gaps have evolved over the medium term.
Posted: January 13, 2012 |

Category: Learning
Reporting to the director of development, the development officer will be responsible for building and maintaining funding relationships with Foundation & Corporate Partnerships and including community groups and service clubs to support Frontier College’s literacy programs across Canada. Applications must be submitted by February 10.
Posted: January 10, 2012 |

Category: Learning
"Haiti's free public schooling is a humble triumph in the face of extreme adversity. Our own development work in Haiti and our belief that education holds the key to eradicating poverty long predates the earthquake. Disaster underscored our belief." -- commentary
Young Inuit children are growing up with fast-evolving technology but some parents fear their traditional language skills just can't keep up. That's what inspired one Iqaluit father to create educational software for children in the Inuit language.
Beyond reading, homework, educational games and visiting the library, the poll identified different activities that might be helpful with literacy and numeracy - such as involving kids in chores and cooking. Only 14 per cent said they always use paying their bills as a learning opportunity, with 19 per cent using the sorting and matching potential of laundry.
For Liam St. John and teens like him all across Ottawa, spoken word poetry is helping them find their voice and express how they feel about difficult things they face in their lives or the world around them. The weekly sessions are also teaching them some literary devices and performance techniques, and giving them each a chance to perform something they’ve written.
Posted: January 9, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
Sit on the sidelines of a child's soccer or baseball game and you will see both men and women handling work issues from their cellphones or iPads while cheering from the bleachers. Today, the workplace goes wherever we go, and these parents are trying to juggle it all.
Posted: January 9, 2012 |

Category: Essential skills
A joint initiative by the governments of Canada and Ontario will help 179 unemployed older workers in Windsor improve their skills and get job experience to help make the transition into new careers.
Posted: January 9, 2012 |

Category: Learning
A First Nations Education Act could arrive before Parliament this year, aimed at breaking the cycle of failure on reserve schools and representing one of the most important and unexpected priorities for the Harper government.
The new year is here and with it come promises of change – eating healthier foods, going to the gym, getting a new job. But beyond the traditional resolutions, improving your literacy skills can help you make the ultimate change.