The 2018-19 Education Students’ Council. They recently approved a new council logo.
Education Students’ Council launches new brand
A new look reinforces the important advocacy work the Education Students’ Council (ESC) does on behalf of teacher candidates.
The ESC has introduced a new logo that better reflects the education profession.
For over a year, council invited students to provide submissions that would update their brand.
“It was time to pick a logo that makes sense to us as teacher candidates,” said ESC president Princess Marfil. “We also want students to know about us and what we do for them.”
The previous logo can be described as the ‘escape button’ on a keyboard – the acronym ESC written inside a box. Marfil said council didn’t know why the old logo was adopted and they didn’t see the relationship with teaching.
The new logo – adopted unanimously by council – is an apple with ESC engraved inside the fruit. The apple is a well-known and powerful symbol that represents teaching.
Marfil remembers giving her teacher an apple because they cared for each other.
“The apple conveys a relationship between students and teachers,” she said. “The new logo represents the kinds of bonds and relationships that will be built with all of our future students.”
ESC – the teacher candidates’ voice
The ESC represents 800 teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education.
Their goal is to provide social opportunities and professional development for their colleagues. ESC works with the Teacher Education Office to develop professional development courses through the Transition to Professional Practice program.
“We give students a voice,” said Marfil. “We advocate for Teacher Candidates here at the faculty.”
Council is also a stakeholder during Faculty Council meetings and they also meet with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) to discuss the benefits and limitations of their program. Marfil said students contribute the topics that council addresses.
“We walk around the cafeteria sometimes and ask students, ‘Is there anything you want the College to know about,’” she said. “It’s really all about the advocacy work that 800 students couldn’t do on their own or may not know who to bring their concerns to, but we take everything we hear and we bring it forward to the faculty and to the OCT.”
