Toronto, Wednesday, January 18, 2012

 

Thank you for your warm welcome and for inviting me to speak before you get underway this morning. I was thrilled to learn of this initiative chaired by my old friend and partner Amit Chakma to develop an international education strategy for Canada.

This kind of collaborative thinking on education is the way forward for our country. Already, you have committed to working together, and you are thinking globally—by looking, Janus-like, outward to the international arena, and inward by considering the full spectrum of education here at home, from early childhood education all the way through to post-graduate studies, lifelong learning and research, as well as the school-to-work transition.

I have a deep love of learning, and I strongly believe in the power of education to change lives for the better. As you may know, prior to becoming governor general, I spent the bulk of my life in school, as a student, an educator and, most recently, as a university administrator for almost 27 years. Throughout my life, I have sought out teachers and mentors and endeavoured to share my learning with others. As I said during my installation speech a little over a year ago, “If you remember nothing else of what I say today, remember this: cherish our teachers.”

As with so much that is learning- and knowledge-related, one aspect of our success is tied to another. We need to “see things whole,” as E.B. White put it, in crafting a strategy for international education.

Our challenge is simply this: to seek out and develop those networks of people within our schools, our communities, our country and the world who together can help make Canada a smarter and wiser nation and an international beacon of learning for the 21st century.

In several key respects, we are already well on our way. Jurisdictions including Quebec, Ontario, Prince Edward Island have made important investments in early learning. And thanks to innovative approaches to elementary and secondary school education in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, all of which place in the top one-third of performers in OECD testing, more students are thriving in our high school classrooms today. In fact, Ontario is now considered to have one of the strongest secondary school systems in the English-speaking world. And Canada’s post-secondary participation rates continue to shine in the global context.

But we can do better. And as I hope to explain in my remarks today, we must do better.

Of course, this is no simple task. But the good news is that we already know who the key people are who comprise the networks so critical to our success.

In three words: all of us.

And by that I mean, all Canadians, and all those at home and abroad who have a stake in strengthening our country and in bringing about the fairer, more just world of which we dream.

It is difficult to overstate the significance of education in our lives today. As many of us know from personal experience, it is the great social and economic equalizer. And there is an abundance of data to reinforce the link between education and human development.

Human development is at its core about expanding the choices available to people so that they may lead lives that they value. And education is the primary means by which we can increase our choices and thrive as human beings. Canada understands this more than most. And while the world is rightly preoccupied with economic and fiscal challenges, we must remember that human capital is, and will continue to be, the key to our ability to adapt and thrive in a complex world—as a society and as individuals.

Which brings me back to education.

Let me cite just three quick statistics to drive home the importance of education in expanding our horizons.

1. During the economic downturn in 2008–09, young people aged 20–24 who lacked a high school diploma were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their peers who graduated.

2. Statistics Canada reports that, in 2009, the employment rate for adults without a high school diploma was 55%. The rate for college and university graduates was 82%. The trend is clear: employment rises with education.

3. And why do we need a holistic and integrated learning approach from early childhood to and beyond post-secondary education? Because about 25% of children in Canada show up in first grade well behind their peers in terms of their development, and too many of these children will never catch up.

And because it is such a dramatic weakness in an otherwise good and improving Canadian picture, we must also confront the state of Aboriginal education. It is tragic and cries out for bold improvements and innovative collaboration with First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.

Education can’t provide a guarantee of success; but a lack of education almost certainly limits us from achieving our full potential. 

Let me tell you the story of Joan Downey, a single mother of two young girls, aged five and seven. She was the daughter of a British war widow, who settled in Sault Ste. Marie after the loss of her husband and son.

In 1947, Joan became separated from her husband, and set about building a better life for herself and her two daughters. The men of the neighbourhood in which she lived—hard-working, middle class fathers themselves—learned of her situation and showed extraordinary care and compassion in pledging to set up a trust to support the new arrivals. Joan Downey told them she just wanted a job. But she had no skills, so over the next two years they supported her going to school to become a social worker. She became a fixture in Sault Ste. Marie, spending much of her career flying into remote Northern Ontario communities and ending her career as head of department.

At age 50, Joan went to the University of Toronto to do a Masters in Social Work, and returned to Sault Ste. Marie to start the first welfare-to-work program in Northern Ontario. Of the first 10 welfare mothers who she mentored into post-secondary education, 9 became gainfully employed and left welfare behind forever.

Joan Downey was my mother-in-law, and education transformed her life. It also transformed the lives of her daughters, one of whom became a nurse and the other—my wife Sharon—a physiotherapist with a PhD in physiology. And education also transformed the lives of many of her social work clients.

When we are at our best, our most open-minded, energetic and imaginative, we are all students and teachers. We should strive to approach every day, every conversation and indeed every moment as an opportunity to share, to use our insights and experiences, and to learn.

William Osler, Canada’s most renowned physician and a founder of the modern medical school, once said:

“The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner is that the education upon which he is engaged is not a college course, not a medical course, but a life course.”

It bears repeating: learning is one of the most important things we do, throughout our lives as individuals and as a society. It is not only about getting a ticket to earn a living, but equally about obtaining a passport to learn how to live.

Each of you understands so well the power of education—of learning—to change peoples’ lives, and our society, for the better.

In fact, I believe the principle of human development applies to whole societies, and that the vitality and well-being of our country in this rapidly changing world hinges upon our ability to renew and deepen our collective commitment to learning.

This is the best time in our history for us to rededicate ourselves to learning, because the cause is so compelling and Canada has such a clear opportunity to excel and share. I am convinced Canada can be the 21st century leader in learning. I can think of no more worthy—and necessary—goal for our country.

No nation has worked harder than ours to provide equality of opportunity. And Canada’s public education system has been the key driver in making that happen.

Indeed, throughout our history, the fundamental promise of Canada has been the opportunity for people to improve their life situation. Hugh MacLennan once called us a nation of “losers”. By that he meant many of us came to Canada from abroad, most fleeing oppression or hunger or constraint in the homeland with one firm determination: to make a better life for one’s children. And the single most important avenue of success has been accessible, quality education—not just for ourselves and our own children, but for everyone. 

That remains our goal, and our challenge: to ensure that each individual has the chance to develop his or her talents to the fullest, regardless of wealth, status, religion, race or gender. And we must have equality of opportunity and excellence too, not as competing but as complimentary objectives.

Our goal, then, is the same, but the same cannot be said of our circumstances, which have changed considerably in the past century—particularly since the rise of the Internet and the ensuing communications revolution reaching a majority of the world. The scale of globalization, the speed of change and the complexity of our world mean that we must deepen our commitment to education and extend our learning beyond our communities and borders. And above all, we must guard against complacency.

I sometimes fear that we are taking our achievements in education for granted, and becoming too complacent towards learning.

Let me explain the best way I know how: with a story.

Some of you may recall that, a few years ago, something remarkable happened in high school education in Ontario. After a prolonged and concerted effort working with students, parents, teachers and administrators, the province succeeded in raising the high school graduation rate from 68 per cent to 81 per cent, in the space of just six years.

Stop and think for a moment about what that means in terms of human potential.

Today, there are tens of thousands more Ontarians who have a high school diploma than otherwise would have, thanks to that 13 per cent jump in the graduation rate. Think of how much better their chances are today—or, if you prefer, how much dimmer their prospects would be without a diploma—thanks to that broadly shared commitment to changing and improving our classrooms and schools.

Think of what that means to our society as a whole.

When these numbers were released, I was delighted and inspired. And I looked for the headline newspaper stories. Alas, 3 of the 4 Toronto daily newspapers ignored the story. The fourth buried it in a few paragraphs on page 8. So what did I do? I wrote an op-ed piece and submitted it in turn to two of the newspapers.

But the article was rejected by both—deemed “not newsworthy.”

Now, let me be clear. I understand the publishing and financial pressures that newspapers and other media face. I also have great respect for the journalism profession, which is an essential component of a democratic society.

I share this story with you not to take aim at the media but rather to suggest that the mentality that deems a 13 percentage jump in the high school graduation rate in 6 years “not newsworthy” is the cloistered product not just of a single profession, but of a whole society that is in danger of becoming complacent about the critical importance of a high school education.

To be sure, we know that a high school education is no longer the automatic end of our formal learning, but rather is often one stage on the way to college or university and lifelong learning. Many of the jobs of today and tomorrow require much more than a high school diploma.

But it does not follow that a high school education is any less precious today than it has ever been. It is the foundation upon which we build a skilled and educated workforce.

An attitude that supports and celebrates learning at every stage is what will make Canada a world leader in education.

Again, we must strive to see things whole. Each of us has a unique responsibility to think and lead in all realms of learning—from early childhood education, to kindergarten to grade 12, school-to-work transition, post-secondary, post-doctoral and continuous lifelong learning, as well as research and development. All this while embracing and engaging with the rest of the world in a spirit of discovery, respect and co-operation.

Let me go back to that word, responsibility. It applies to all of us, and serves as a reminder that our education system is underpinned by a social contract between the educational profession, the public and our representatives in government. There is nothing abstract about this arrangement; rather, it is about real people working together in pursuit of the common goal of learning.

One important aspect of the social contract calls upon us to constantly renew our education system in order to remain relevant. This imperative to renew makes demands upon each of us—not just education professionals, but also members of the public and governments, who must embrace and drive change as required.

To guide our efforts we should look at education as a continuum, and strive to build a truly integrated and coherent system where one stage of learning supports another. As Charles Pascal of the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development has written, our education system currently suffers from a “hardening of the categories” that can be overcome by placing a greater emphasis on an integrated approach to lifelong learning beginning with the very young.

The complexity and interrelatedness of our world today makes education at least as important, if not more so, than it has ever been.

And the globalization of learning that we see today means we must reach out to the world even as we strengthen our commitment to education here at home. In fact, the education, innovation and trade nexus forms another continuum that can amplify our learning. Through education we become more innovative and enterprising, more outward-looking and attractive to the international community. And in turn, we are better able to increase the depth and reach of our teaching and learning, which strengthens our society in so many ways.

During the past year, I have been privileged to undertake five international visits for Canada, where I witnessed the enthusiasm with which some countries are forging new and innovative social contracts in education. Internationalism is a central aspect of their strategies, and in many cases, Canadians are at the forefront. Together we are teaching and learning alongside our global partners.

Many of these international developments are cause for celebration. People around the world are being invigorated by education, propelled by the dream of creating better lives for themselves and their children through learning.

And they are welcoming—in some cases relying extensively on—the contributions of Canadians. When Dalton McGuinty, now the Premier of Ontario, traveled to England in the early 2000s to learn more about Prime Minister Blair’s successful efforts to improve the British education system, Blair sent him back to Toronto, because his chief education advisor was an OISE professor named Michael Fullan.

The trend bodes well for all of us.

As Fullan, who later became one of the architects of Ontario’s high school graduation success, has pointed out, “Every country that gets better educationally becomes a better neighbour. The moral imperative in education is about the whole world advancing.”

My coat of arms as governor general bears an image of this in the form of a burning candle. The candle symbolizes not only enlightenment, but also the transmission of learning from one person to another, and one country to another.

The sharing of knowledge enlightens our communities, our country and the world. I have come to refer to this as the diplomacy of knowledge, and in my visits abroad, I have seen how well-positioned Canada is to play a significant global role in this form of diplomacy.

And what is our competitive advantage in Canada? Our children.

Canada is home to some of the most multicultural cities in the world. Walk into any public school classroom in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver today and you will see a snapshot of our world. These children learn together, play together and grow together. These children don’t just understand the realities of global connectivity through the Internet, they live it first-hand in their day-to-day experiences in the classroom. Young Canadians are better positioned to succeed in today’s world, to be engaged global citizens and leaders, than possibly any other group of young people in the world. And they are pursuing higher education in record numbers. And think of the education, innovation and trade nexus. More languages are spoken in Toronto than any other city in the world. This cultural diaspora provides remarkable international trading opportunities.   

Canada is recognized internationally as a very high performing country in education, showing important improvements in literacy, mathematics, and high school graduation rates. These accomplishments did not occur by chance. They happened because our education leaders at school, district, provincial and interprovincial levels worked together to develop strategies for greater achievement.

As I contemplate the question of our international strategy I can't help but think that this collective knowledge base—our social and intellectual capital, if you will—would be of invaluable use to other countries, who we in turn can learn from. We have much to give and to gain in this respect.

Let me give you one other example of Canada’s strong international position, before I end my remarks today.

In the last few months I have visited Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Having met a cross-section of people in these countries—including expatriate Canadians—I can reaffirm that diversity is one of the great strengths of our society. Canada has attracted more immigrants per capita than any other nation, and through our approach to multiculturalism, we encourage retention of cultural heritage.

As a result, Canadians speak most of the world’s languages, and we are also home to a remarkable number of cultural diasporas. These two assets give us great global advantage, and I believe we should celebrate our diversity and in fact deepen our embrace of multiculturalism.

Why do I say this? Because if we are to maintain our multiculturalism and build upon its promise we must, for example, find better ways to integrate new, highly skilled and educated immigrants into our labour market, and do more to recognize foreign credentials and training. Doing so will require the widespread support of Canadians.

It will have to be part of the renewed social contract we negotiate among ourselves, through dialogue and shared understanding, where the case can be made that diversity is absolutely critical to our success in a globalized world. And our commitment must include sharing our Canadian experiences in education and multiculturalism with our countries of origin and the rest of the world.

Here again we see how an international education strategy cannot be crafted in isolation, but rather must be part of a broader societal conversation in which we build the consensus to do all that is necessary for successful global outreach. And that consensus depends as much on education here at home as it does on engagement abroad.

As the author John Kao has pointed out, schools must support students in developing “cultural intelligence” through multilingualism, international experience and respect for and appreciation of diversity. One way we do this is through enhanced study abroad and exchange programs, because it is these students who will practise the diplomacy of knowledge and spur the social and technological innovations to come.

And why not start even earlier, and make learning about the wider world a central component of our entire school system? We should encourage our young people to study, work, or volunteer abroad as a necessary passage and passport to life on our planet. This would send a strong signal of welcome and goodwill to the rest of the world, and remind people of the many reasons why Canada is a great place for international study.

In short, we must see things whole, and act accordingly.

Learning can bring about a future that is more just, caring, healthy and prosperous for each and every Canadian, including those who are newly-arrived and those Aboriginal peoples who have been here since time immemorial.

Through learning, we make an investment in the uncertain future. Learning equips us for the challenges ahead and allows us to move forward with confidence. Learning gives us hope, and education is the primary means by which we can increase the store of hope in our country and around the world.

Learning is the key to strengthening our country and to building the smarter, more caring world of which we dream.

Thank you.