Do not go gently into that next month. Do not close the book on the last one, and not open it up until the same time next year. Do not look at your checklist and think it is complete. There are still boxes to tick and more are being added each day. There is work […]
Making a Difference Through Education
Hindsight is…
Please don’t make me finish the title until the last second has ticked off the clock. I may have developed a defensive outlook about this trip around the sun. While I know this Gregorian Calender measurement of time will soon be in the rearview mirror of our lives, it is still a battle avoiding the […]
2020 – the roller coaster no one in education asked to ride
Please secure any loose items and keep your hands inside the car at all times. Do not exit the ride until it comes to a full and complete stop. Most of the time the exhilaration of a fast fun paced ride, filled with brief mind boggling G-forces, would come next. At an amusement park perhaps, […]
About those indoor shoes
Winter’s coming and as I share this on the eve of December and our possible first snow day of the 20-21 school year, the timing is intentional. Recently, I had a moment of clarity while greeting students at the door of my classroom. It started out simply enough as they returned after a snowy midday […]
Honouring those who experienced war
Today, Wednesday, November 11, 2020, I spoke with my students about why Remembrance Day is a special day to honour those who lived through war. I recognized that my words had little meaning as they were just words. We watched videos about people who had been in war; but these images had little context and […]
Unpacking the Invisible White Backpack in a Time of Black Lives Matter
In a time focusing on the impact of racial equality, Black Lives Matter advocacy is pushing for the human rights of all those who do not identify as White. As a person who identifies as White, I do not go through life with the same experiences as people who do not identify as White. I […]
Engaging with Indigenous Knowledge as a Non-Indigenous Educator
Over my teaching career I have been fortunate to teach in schools with high populations of Indigenous students and to learn from the knowledge keepers and elders in the communities that our schools served. Admittedly, I haven’t always said or done the right things but I have learned from those mistakes. As a non-Indigenous educator, […]
We didn’t “celebrate” Orange Shirt Day
This tweet hit me square in the brain. It was neither confrontational nor rude. It was simply a sublimely and sage sentence that stuck. I said it over and over again while researching, reading, and reflecting while preparing to teach about Residential Schools on September 30th. “We don’t “celebrate” #OrangeShirtDay.” A simple reminder to all […]
We’re back and it feels…
…like a weird batch of emotions being mixed up in my head everyday. I use the word “weird” here as an amalgam of thoughts in order to come to grips with a whole whack of feelings. For now, let’s discuss 4 of the unique states of mind which I have been experiencing. They can be […]