Lecture 3: Doing the Right Thing: Disability, Autism and Special Education

The third Session (January 12, 2021), is entitled: Doing the Right Thing: Disability, Autism and Special Education. Panelists include University of British Columbia Professor, Jason Ellis, author of A Class By Themselves: The Origins of Special Education in Toronto and Beyond; Natalie Spagnuolo from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and co-founder of Memory Witness and Hope: Sharing Stories About Surviving Institutions; Gillian Parekh, Canada Research Chair: Inclusion, Disability and Education at York University; and Margaret Spoelstra, President of Autism Ontario.

By law and custom, everyone in Canada attends school. Some two-thirds of Canadians have been to college or university, among the highest participation rates in the world. Yet the achievement of full and equal access to schooling is an ongoing and unfinished project.

How has the pursuit of wider educational opportunity evolved historically? How do educational experiences educational vary by race, gender, neighbourhoods, and special needs? What kinds of teaching and learning will best serve individuals and communities in the years ahead? How is the COVID-19 affecting access to schools and the experiences of students, teachers, and families?

These and other questions will be taken up in a four-part ZOOM series, sponsored by the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation, which begins in November 2020 and will continue in January 2021. The sessions feature presentations and panel discussions on a range of important educational themes. The series, free of charge, and accessible online, is designed for a broad audience interested in the past, present and future of Canadian education.

Speakers include academics, teachers, and community leaders whose work, writing, and public engagement have enhanced our understanding of the schooling world.

Through provocative questions and informed discussion, the series will probe the achievements, limitations and prospects of schooling and higher education in disquieting times.

Contacts:

• Paul Axelrod, series co-coordinator paxelrod@edu.yorku.ca
• Miriah Bough, Enoch Turner Foundation

Stay tuned for information on how to register for this free series.