On Canadian materials

On Canadian materials M. 0. EDWARDH Mr. Barrett has given an historical review of the development of Circular 14 and its importance to educational publishing. The student need for relevant Canadian materials has never been greater. Let me share with you what this financial restraint has meant to expenditures for educational materials: TABLE I - 1966 Expenditure, Public Day Schools Supplies Elementary Secondary Total Text 12,631,546 4,051,853 16,683,399 Library 4,263,058 2,377,083 6,640,141 16,894,604 6,428,936 23,323,540 No. of Pupils 1,276,962 412,573 1,689,535 $/Pupil 13.23 15.58 13.80 TABLE II - 1967 Expenditure, Public Day Schools Supplies Elementary Secondary Total Text 12,765,276 4,371,549 17,136,825 Library 4,307,624 2,457,637 6,765,261 ---17 ,072,900 6,829,186 23,902,086 No. of Pupils 1,314,377 453,393 1,767,770 $/Pupil 12.99 15.06 13.52 TABLE Ill Expenditure Textbooks and Reference Books (30502) Library Books (56505) Sample of 17 Boards* Expenditure No. of Pupils $/Pupil 1972 1973 11,288,011 929,923 12.14 10,252,998 925,537 11.08 * Ministry of Education Report (excluding Niagara South, Ottawa) TABLE IV - Inflation Indicators (1966=100) Consumer Ontario Publishing Price Index Average Wage Index* 1966 100.0 100.0 100.0 1969 112.7 122.2 119.9 1971 ·119.7 143.8 133.5 1972 125.5 155.8 142.8 *Royal Commission Report Journal of Canadian Studies TABLE V Expenditure per Pupil for Classroom & Library Books as a Percentage of Total per Pupil Expenditure. Actual 1966 % of Dollars Dollar Value total 1966 $13.80 $13.80 2.7 1967 13.52 12.96 2.3 1972 12.14 8.50 1.3 1973 11.08* 7.19 1.1 *to equal 1966 level, expenditure should have been $17.08. The average total per-pupil expenditure has nearly doubled from $517 to $1,000, while the actual expenditure on educational materials has decreased. If we consider the increased cost of materials, the number of new books being made available has decreased substantially. In 1966, 2.7% of the budget was needed for materials. If we were spending in the same proportion we would spend $22.30 and $38.49 for elementary and secondary students respectively which would be an average per pupil expenditure of $27.00 rather than the $11.08 which is being spent. At the present time, we are actually spending 1.1 % of the budget on materials. What does the curtailment of materials mean to the quality of instruction? The teachers stand paramount in the educational process. The role has changed, for not only must they disseminate information, they must inspire and establish respect for scholarship. They must foster enquiry and critical evaluation, and explore the values and attitudes of our society. To enable them to do this, they must have available to them the second most important ingredient in the educational experience of students - high quality, up-to-date sources of information. The flow of new materials has decreased at a time when the rate of change in our country is accelerating. Let us consider a few of the changes in values which are· taking place. Our attitude towards native 59 peoples must be transformed, the stereotype must be broken. Books with the words 'squaw' and 'savage' must be eliminated. The attitude toward the role of women has changed substantially. They can be other than mothers and homemakers. We need materials which reject stereotyping of races, of women, and of men. Recently a clipping from a magazine article was placed on my desk. A portion of it had been underlined by an editor: Last year Root became the first person to fly over 19,500 foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in a balloon. He and his wife embarked on the Kenya side of the mountain. The editor's comme_nt was - "One wonders what his wife is, if she is not a person." Consumerism, legal rights of people, our developing North, are aspects of today which are not included in many of the materials being used...