In order to minimize exposure to COVID-19, many educators will be teaching and learning outdoors. This is a wonderful opportunity to re/connect with land, explore environmental justice through inquiry, and integrate First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples’ knowledge and perspectives throughout the curriculum. As a non-Indigenous ally and accomplice, I am learning about the critical […]
Advocacy for change
School re-opening smart policy design: How Ontario’s current school reopening policy is not so smart
Education policy implementation is a complex process that requires the input of all stakeholders including teachers, school staff, parents, and school communities. As major players in policy implementation, teachers decode and recode policy texts in the process of understanding and translating with various degrees of intentional and unintentional interpretation (Clune, 1987; Fuhrman, Clune, & Elmore, […]
Crazy Hair Day
Last month on Twitter, a Tweet about “Crazy Hair Day” sparked interesting conversations around words, hair, and spirit. A long-standing practice in schools has been “Spirit Days”. Centered around themes that are supposed to demonstrate school or community “spirit”, these days have been around for as long as I have been in education. As a […]
Saying, “I am not racist” is not enough pt 1
“One either endorses the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist or racial equality as an antiracist,” Kendi writes, adding that it isn’t possible to be simply “not racist.” from New Yorker Magazine article Aug 18, 2019 It’s not enough to say, “I am not racist,” and I feel that it is time for […]
Empowering Readers and the Right to Read
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) (October 2019). Recent Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test scores show over 25% of Grade 3 students and 53% of Grade 3 students with special education needs did not meet provincial standards. The OHRC cites that students who cannot read struggle with many aspects of school and are […]
Holiday Break Assumptions
December is stressful for so many reasons. Seasonal concerts and plays, crafts and the general hustle and bustle around this time of year. While teachers attempt to make things fun and engaging for the last few weeks before the holiday, there are a few things to consider about assumptions that as educators we might make […]
In loco contractus
It has taken a lot of restraint to ignore the volumes of micro-aggressive, passive aggressive, aggressive, and macro-aggressive comments flying around the Twitterverse about education since our most recent contract with the government expired this past August. And then there is the elected official du jour with the education portfolio. I have tried not to […]
What’s up with the increase of students with IEPs in Ontario classrooms?
From People for Education, 2019, p. 15 An Individual Education Plan … is a working document that is developed and maintained for a student who is deemed exceptional by an Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) must be developed with input from the parent(s)/guardian(s) and from the student if he or she is 16 years of […]
Undercover Boss
Have you ever watched a show called Undercover Boss? An average episode of the hour long program shows a CEO or top tier exec going incognito to better understand the work flow, flaws, and family of an organization. The show makes sure that the top dog is put alongside some pre-selected employees(often outspoken) who, fearlessly […]