GLIMPSES of how Canada worked: a writer's memoir.

19. The 1962 Canadian Conference on Education

NOT UNTIL 1988-89, WORKING FOR CN Communications/Public Affairs in Montreal, did I have another assignment as broad, complex, interesting -- as challenging! -- as the second Canadian Conference on Education in March of 1962. This country had only 18.6 million inhabitants then, but hundreds focused for months on preparing the program, and 2,000 gathered in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth hotel. Few of the speakers' names are known in the 21st Century, but in 1962 they were recognized here and elsewhere. Representatives of UNESCO and some other Commonwealth countries attended because the gathering was unique, the brainchild of visionaries, and Canada was respected abroad by politicians and educators.

The Register published 18 articles I wrote about the CCE, and a few written by others. If I'd been able to be in more than one place at a time during the event we would have carried more. And the many words dedicated to a meeting about education turned out -- for me --- to shape a master plan for meetings in general! The framework of the '62 CCE was so meticulous that I used it as an inspiration for many assignments. It was a priceless learning experience.

If you are not interested in event planning, or in a milestone of Canadian education, skip the rest of this chapter. Note, however, that if you are or will be a post-secondary student in Canada, you should read the item headed "NFCUS brief asks for harmony".

"SEPTEMBER 9, 1961

1962 Education Year in Canada

Conference in Montreal concern of every citizen

"The year 1962 has been named "Education Year" for Canada at the request of the Canadian Conference on Education, which will hold its second national meeting next March in Montreal. About 2,000 delegates are expected to attend. Men and women both directly and indirectly concerned with education will join in plenary sessions, forums, assemblies and work groups.

"The CCE was conceived in 1956, on the initiative of the Canadian Teachers' Federation. It grew, in the words of CTF secretary and then conference director Dr. George Croskery, "out of the conviction of many people that wider public understanding of Canada's educational needs and problems would be a major step toward their solution".

"When 850 delegates from 19 national organizations in all provinces and from every level of educational identification had met for the first time in 1958, they passed 31 resolutions concerning such things as student aid, teachers' salaries, bilingualism and research. They also urged the establishment of a continuing organization to carry on their work. It retained the name Canadian Conference on Education and now has more than 70 member organizations.*

"THE 1962 MEETING will feature a nine-point study program: 1. The aims of education in a free society. 2. The professional status of teachers. 3. The development of student potential. 4. New developments in society. 5. Financing education. 6. Continuing education. 7. Research in education. 8. The citizen in education. 9. Education and employment.

"The CCE headquarters in Ottawa has already published study-discussion guides to enable participants to prepare themselves for the meetings. According to George L. Roberts, chairman of the studies committee, "the conference and its sponsoring organizations wish to stimulate individual and group study in these (nine) areas, among as many citizens as possible." Copies of the study-discussion guides may be obtained, without charge, from the CCE office, 85 Sparks St., Ottawa.

"The CCE's national committee meets three times a year, and an executive committee made up of some permanent and some rotating members meets at least four times a year. Dr. Wilder G. Penfield [a world-renowned pioneer of neuroscience] is honorary chairman of the conference and Dr. George Croskery is its honorary vice-chairman. The ministers of education of all ten Canadian provinces are honorary co-chairmen.