A collection of papers presented at the Ontario Federation of Labour Conference on Education and Training in 1989, stressing the labour movement's continuing commitment to quality, free public education.
The intention of the Conference and the tone of the papers is suggested by Gord Wilson's Preface: "We want education and training that encourages critical thinking, not uncritical compliance with authority. We want education that is oriented to the life-long needs of people, not the immediate economic desires of employers. Our educational system's goal must not be the mirage of equality of opportunity. We want equality of results in which all people will be better able to live fulfilling and meaningful lives at home, in the community and at work."
The essays in It's Our Own Knowledge decry undue corporate influence in the education system, advocating schools that prepare future workers to live full and rewarding lives.
An Our Schools/Our Selves book.

JULIE DAVIS has been a national representative of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

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GEORGE MARTELL teaches is in the Social Science Department of Atkinson College, York University. He is one of the founders of This Magazine and Our Schools/Our Selves.

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JAMES TURK is Executive Director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). Formerly an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and Director of Education for the Ontario Federation of Labour, he is a frequent media contributor and has written many articles on education and labour in Canada. His two most recent books are Free Speech in Fearful Times: After 9/11 in Canada, the U.S., Australia and Europe (edited with Allan Manson) and Disciplining Dissent: The Curbing of Free Expression in Academia and the Media (edited with William Bruneau).

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NANCY JACKSON teaches in the Faculty of Education at McGill University.

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