NEWS AND VIEWS: Professional educators' conference focuses on current issues in teaching (11/08/98)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Professional educators' conference focuses on current issues in teaching

by Michael Pylypczuk

TORONTO - The Ukrainian World Association of Professional Educators (UWAPE) held its third U.S.A.-Canada conference on July 4-5 at the St. Volodymyr Institute in Toronto. (The first and second conferences were held in Toronto in October of 1995 and 1996). Participants came from many locations in the U.S. and Canada, such as Philadelphia, New York, London and Toronto.

Part of the success of this meeting may be attributed to the relevant and engaging issues presented to the participants at various sessions. The agenda included such topics as mathematics and the arts, the influence of the arts on the educational development of children, the challenges of teaching children with behavioral problems, and the current usage of the Ukrainian language in the diaspora and in Ukraine.

Participating in the conference were several leaders of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Speaking on the state of Ukrainian political and cultural affairs in the international arena was Dr. Wasyl Veryha, vice-president of the Ukrainian World Congress. Luba Zaraska, president of the Ukrainian Canadian School Board, Toronto Branch, talked about Ukrainian cooperation and communication among the various Canadian educational institutions on all levels from the kindergarten to university. The critical situation in Ukrainian educational institutions in Crimea was discussed by the Ukrainian Canadian literary figure Lesia Khraplyva-Shchur. All of the speakers' presentations were informative and and were enthusiastically received by the participants.

The third U.S.A.-Canada Conference of the Ukrainian World Association of Professional Educators has appealed to the Ukrainian community in the U.S. and Canada for support and has urged educators of Ukrainian heritage who are not yet members to join the ranks of the UWAPE.

Preparations are already being made for the sixth World Conference of the UWAPE to be held August 18-24, 1999, in Kyiv. The international cooperation of Ukrainian educators in Ukraine and in the diaspora - UWAPE has members in 20 countries - will assure the success of the conference and contribute to the continued development of Ukrainian nationhood.

| Home Page |