"Those are my principles. If you don't like them
I have others."
- Groucho Marx
Welcome
Welcome to the February issue
of Come Together, Investing in Children's monthly e-mailer.
In this issue, we
profile the upcoming Ontario's Promise conference, a look
at the newly released census data and what potential exists
to be mined in those numbers, and a look at a pair of new
studies offering interesting insights into boys and literacy.
We're always interested
in your feedback. If you have any ideas, concerns or suggestions,
please e-mail them to info@investinginchildren.on.ca.
Ontario's
Promise Conference
 Bringing
together all segments of the community, including the private,
public and service sectors is clearly the way of the future
when it comes to producing quality programs for children and
families. By joining the skills and assets of the business
world with the experience and resourcefulness of the not-for-profit
world, today’s children stand to benefit greatly from
innovative, cost-efficient opportunities.
Ontario’s Promis, a non-partisan
initiative was launched in November 2000 by then-Premier Mike
Harris, bringing together members of all sectors of the community,
including individuals, corporations, non-profit agencies,
service clubs, communities, professional associations, foundations
and the government. The program’s objective is to help
bring these diverse sectors together to forge the bonds and
partnerships necessary to provide the best opportunities for
children.
The program is built around five
fundamental elements that are “promised” to every
child in Ontario: a healthy start, an adult who cares, safe
places to learn and grow, the tools to succeed, and a chance
to make a difference. Each promise represents an important
aspect of healthy child development, and within each promise
are opportunities for any member of the community to become
involved.
At the beginning of 2003, Ontario’s
Promise has enrolled more than 450 corporations, non-profit
organizations and agencies, representing a broad spectrum
of the public and private sectors. Each of these groups can
contribute in their own unique ways and partner together to
achieve even more. Corporations are donating additional funds
and in-kind resources, non-profits are reaching out to more
children that ever before, municipalities are coming to the
fore in building community partnerships, while associations,
service clubs and individuals are working within their communities
to improve and support a wide range of opportunities.
Are you
eager to learn more about Ontario's Promise and the upcoming
conference? Click
here.
Pokémon
+ Wrestling + Super Mario = Literacy?
 Finally!
Science may be backing up what young boys have known for years:
video games, wrestling and collectible cards are important
to learning!
Crazy as it sounds, boys might
actually learn as much or more from surfing the internet,
playing video games or even watching professional wrestling
as they would from a traditional lesson. According to a new
study, during these activities, boys are developing literacy
skills, they are just learning through unconventional methods.
Generally, boys score lower than
girls in reading and writing tests, which measure literacy
based on the traditional literacy curriculum. However, the
findings of Morphing Literacy: Boys Reshaping Their Literacy
suggests that these tests might not accurately reflect the
level of literacy in boys, because it does not take into account
these unusual means that boys seem to greatly prefer.
The study, produced by Kathy
Sanford, an assistant professor of education at the University
of Victoria and Heather Blair, an assistant professor of education
at the University of Alberta, found that boy’s obsessions
with video games, Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards and sports boxscores
are helping them develop literacy skills and could provide
teachers with new techniques to educate their students.
Continue? Please
insert two quarters or Click
here.
Crunching the
Numbers
 The
2001 national census figures have been released to the public
by Statistics Canada, and the numbers show that the faces
of Canada, and London, are changing.
The biggest news to come out
of the census was that Canada’s cultural mosaic continues
to grow. In 1991, 16.1% of the population was born outside
Canada. By 2001, that number rose to 18.4%.
The last decade has also seen
a dramatic change in where the newest Canadians are coming
from. Before 1961, the overwhelming majority of new immigrants
came from Europe. In the 1990’s, a large majority of
new Canadians were arriving from Asia and the Middle East,
with sizable contingents from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean
and South and Central America.
The other interesting, and fast-growing,
trend is the number of citizens who identify themselves as
ethnically Canadian. More than 6.7 million people declared
themselves to be wholly Canadian, with another five million
reporting at least a part of their makeup as Canadian. This
figure of 39.4% identifying themselves as at least partially
Canadian is an increase over 31% in 1996, 4% in 1991 and less
than 1% in 1986.
On a practical level, the new
census results will greatly enhance Investing in Children’s
mapping efforts. Having the latest census numbers represents
a significant improvement over the 1996 set. This will allow
for the creation of an all-new set of maps, reflecting the
new face of the city, taking into account updated ethnic,
educational and financial demographics.
The most exciting possibilities
will arise when the new information is compared against the
1996 data. This will allow the creation of new maps that can
pinpoint how the makeup of each neighbourhood has changed.
Users will see how household incomes have changed in the past
five years, or how ethnic makeups have diversified and changed.
By understanding the makeup and
the changes happening throughout London, service providers
can gain a better idea of where to direct their resources
and efforts. The above
map demonstrates one of the many demographics that Investing
in Children has mapped from the 1996 data. Look in a future
of the issue of Come Together for a comparison between
the 1996 and 2001 maps.
If you are interested in learning
more about mapping, or the maps that are available for purchase,
or to request a customized map, contact Heather Cousins at
433-8996 ext. 224, or by e-mail at hmcousins@investinginchildren.on.ca.
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