In our twelfth episode of Public Good, Shannon and Stephen are joined by Dr. Annie Kidder from People for Education

Annie Kidder is the Executive Director and a founder of People for Education. Formerly a theatre director, Kidder became involved in public education in Ontario in the late 1990’s and since then has become an expert on education policy and funding. She regularly provides advice to policy-makers and government, and her writing on education has been published in a range of media. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ontario Principals’ Council 2004 Outstanding Contribution to Education Award, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation 2005 Public Education Advocacy Award, and in 2018, an honourary doctorate from York University.

In this episode Dr. Kidder shares how her education advocacy work began. She explains how People for Education started and how it has developed over the last three decades. This episode offers a rich conversation about the purpose and future of public education. Specifically, if we are going to reimagine education whose priorities and vision do we center? In addition, Dr. Kidder suggests that we need to find a middle ground in conversations about public education. In response, Stepen and Shannon ask: Is there a way to meet in the middle, or does the middle demand that we compromise particular values? For more on People for Education: https://peopleforeducation.ca/