Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, Building Inclusion, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Learning to learn, Play-Based Learning, Science, self reflection, Teacher Wellness, wellness

Pebbles In My Pocket

I grew up by the seaside, in 2 beautiful cities on the West Coast of India.

I am telling you this because I think this spatial-geographical context is important to our conversation today. I am always soothed by the sound of waves, and I like to pick up shells and pebbles. 

Although these days one can buy anything with the click of a button, the pebbles I have carried with me from place to place are my constant companions. 

I take care of the pebbles. The pebbles take care of me.

I sometimes gift a pebble to a friend or colleague so you may already know this story.

An index finger of a right hand pointing to Mumbai on the West Coast of India. The arm is in a black sleeve on which there is a silver bracelet.
My Roots in Mumbai and Goa on the West Coast of India

 

Being Seen and Remembered

At one of the schools I am partnered with, I was outside at recess, and some students came up to me. One of them said “I know you from somewhere a long time ago.” I smiled inwardly as educators tend to do while listening intently: a 12-year-old perhaps does have a long-ago sense of life. I welcomed that sentiment.

Then he asked me, “Did you used to carry pebbles in your pocket?”  His friends shifted uncomfortably, some chuckled at the question as it seemed odd to them perhaps. 

“Yes, I did.” I said, “I still do.”

And I held out my hand in which were pebbles, some glass ones – bought, and some collected.

Three natural and 3 glass pebbles in the open palm of a left hand. The person is wearing a silver ring in the shape of a lotus.
Natural and Glass Pebbles From My Pocket

“I knew it was you!” the student said, though he didn’t remember my name.  I am okay with that.

I remembered then, that when I was at another school supporting Kindergarten to Grade 4, students had heard of the pebbles and when we would be outside at recess, some would come by to explore the contents of my pockets.

The Pebbles Have a Job

I carry the pebbles for two reasons.

  1.     When I am in busy spaces such as grocery stores or in a bustling hallway, I reach into my pocket and the smooth, cold, pebbles ground me.
  2.     When I am with students in unstructured times, on a field trip or at recess supervision, the pebbles are a great conversation starter when accompanied with “look what I found the other day,” even if that other day was decades away.

Benefits of Pebbles in My Pocket

  • Students connect with these little pieces of nature’s wonder or coloured glass (which I keep in my hand the whole time –so there is no mouthing of unsafe items).
  •  Literacy connections with pebbles are many: the describing words flow – smooth, bumpy, big, small, cold etc.
  • Some students are adventurous and have more words in their vocabulary – I have been informed that one rock “has capillaries and looks like a kidney shaped eyeball”. 
  • It is lovely that they wait for my reaction at such times. Imagination is wonderful especially when the adult isn’t squeamish!

Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation and Troublemakers

I delight in reading the work of others who share their thoughts in this space. My ardent wish is that someday we can meet in person. Until then, I would like to share the writing of colleagues in this space whose thoughts enter this conversation.

Brenda MacNaughton’s writing  in 2025, invites the reader to think about the circumstances in which our students’ and families’ lives unfold everyday and calls us to consider what you and I need to consciously do when we engage with people in front of us.  

This got me thinking: How might I demonstrate and open up space for students when they are in my sphere of influence so that their burdens become lighter for some time? What do I need to do to reach out to social and community based support provided by the school district for the family to receive support while they deal with the ups and downs?

Preeti Deokharan recently wrote and this is exciting because this book is also referenced in the ETFO resource Special Education Needs In The Regular Classroom: Supporting Students with Behaviour Needs. Here, the writer highlights the importance of making small shifts in our approach that will make a difference.

The Pebbles Aren’t Just Pebbles.

  • They are a reminder of my humanity and what makes me who I am.
  •  They are also reminders that I can take care of myself in times when I feel wobbly.
  • Above all, they are a time to pause and be grateful for the tiny gifts of our workday. I continue to feel grateful for the wonder that children give me daily. This ability to see life as I did when I was a child is returned to me daily by the young people who use their imagination in miraculous ways to make sense of the world around them.
  • This realization gives me hope that the work you and I do is much more than pouring water on sand, especially on days when it feels like just that.

With You, In Solidarity,

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

 

 

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, agency, Anti-bullying, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Diverse Learning Needs, First Week Reflections, Indigenous Perspectives, Indigneous Ways of Knowing, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Making a Difference Through Education, Student wellbeing, Truth and Reconciliation

What Happened?

Where Are We?

The world is a strange place right now, more than ever. And educators want to help. We try and find ways to support students and their families through the difficulties they may be experiencing.  We need to be mindful of many things before, during and after our interactions in these endeavours.

Important…

This is the word that came to mind when I saw this video shared on social media. Scrolling through a screen I discovered “Communicating with Families Through a Trauma-Informed Lens” at https://etfopley.ca/pley-chats. 

“Educator Christine Galvin shares important elements of her approach to building meaningful partnerships with parents through a trauma-informed lens” the post said. I found the explanation accompanying the link to be very thoughtful as it invites educators to think through a variety of aspects while engaging with the material.

Let Us Examine Both Intention and Impact 

Sometimes the best intentions can have unintended impacts.  So it is with trauma informed work, and it becomes important to develop a mindset that allows me and you to step away from taking things personally and asking “What did I miss here? What do I still need to learn?”

I weighed out the pros and cons of consuming content in our busy, under-resourced work lives if we do so without critical self reflection.

My Stories Are My Stories

When reaching out to families, students and even colleagues whose experiences we think will help us understand others’ better, it is important to be mindful of intention and impact.

It is also very important to remember and understand that no one owes us their stories.

  • To those of us who have been through difficult times, while we value our experiences we don’t have to re-traumatize ourselves by over sharing to become believable when others question our trauma informed practice as can happen.
  • I always think when asked “So what happened?” … My life isn’t a story for you to consume is what I may think but I don’t say that.
  • Instead, I say “Thank you for your interest in my experiences.  However as this is my personal experience, I’m choosing not to speak about it.
  • While I am not always able to say this exactly as I have typed it here, due to power relations in the space I am in, I do my best to place boundaries when people get more curious than they need to.
  • I am mindful of the impact this has on me although I understand their well intentioned questions.
  • Also, we  don’t have to ask people to recount their experiences  by asking probing questions.
  • Especially with children and young people, as well as families who are socialized and trained by life experiences to answer all questions directed to them due to power relations, it’s important to not ask questions that I/you wouldn’t be comfortable answering if they were directed to us.

Some Tips

  1. Examine your biases.
  2. Listen with empathy.
  3. Keep the conversation confidential always.
  4. Keep your meeting notes in secure spaces as per the guidelines of your school board.
  5. Speak to people within the school and school board who has the institutional responsibility to support the next steps needed to support the family and student or staff members.
  6. Remember that people’s stories shared in confidence aren’t for public consumption –> staff rooms, workrooms, hallways or social media are all public spaces. 
  7. As educators, our role is to support and to find support. Never judge.
  8. Acknowledge that our talk becomes the official text when we write meeting summaries so read and revise language so that it pertains to students’ learning and well being, nothing else.
  9. Please read, share and implement ETFO’s Managing Current Events and Sensitive Issues: Tips for Members (Feb 2026).
  10. This is a very important resource for early career and experienced members alike. If colleagues in your schools have not seen this, do share.

 

Above all, Let Us Consider This…

Acknowledging humanity and the understanding that people have lived lives in other places before coming “here” is key.

Those who have ties to this land since times immemorial do not owe us their stories either. It is upto us to learn and demonstrate respect.

It is up to me/us to learn the history and look around right now to see what is unfolding.

Kindly reach out to the Mental Health Department in your school district for further support to engage with and strengthen Trauma Informed Practices.

Doing this work with others as a community based school-wide approach is very helpful as one is not alone and the learning is deeper and across all workspaces that provides a wrap around support.

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Behaviour Management, Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Health & Safety, Integration, Professional Judgement, Social Justice, Special Education

Supporting Special Education Needs: Part 2

Hello Fellow Travellers,

In continuing our conversations around supporting special education needs, I am delighted to foreground the ETFO resource Special Education Needs In The Regular Classroom: Supporting Students with Behaviour Needs.

 

Firstly, this resource is an important one because it is written by ETFO members for ETFO members.

Also, it aligns with the work that we do in our classrooms and it honours ETFO’s definition of  professional judgement stated as “judgement that is informed by professional knowledge of curriculum expectations, context, evidence of learning, methods of instruction and assessment, and the criteria and standards that indicate success in student learning.”

1st Section

This resource begins with the Equity Statement and outlines ETFO’s Equity Initiative as well as highlights the definition of an Anti-Oppressive Framework. The “Why’ of the contents become visible right at the outset and prepare the reader to engage.

Table of Contents

The table of contents is outlined as follows:

  • Who Receives a Behaviour Exceptionality?
  • Building a Trauma-Informed Practice
  • Special Education in Ontario which highlights two key policies Policy/Program Memorandum 156 and Policy/Program Memorandum 145.
  • Addressing Student Needs
  • De-Escalation Strategies
  • References & Resources

Key Aspects

A quote from Carla Shalaby’s book “Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School” calls to the change maker in all of us. I especially pay attention to “the patterns of their experiences, especially those of older children, are well documented in what we know about the school-to-prison pipeline.”

The simple question “Who Receives A Behaviour Exceptionality?” invites reader to step outside the everyday busy-ness of our work and think deeply.

What did you think about?

Who came to mind?

 

Diagnoses and Details

The resource also highlights the different diagnoses that students receive through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and discusses some with links to websites that invite educators to learn more.

Mental Illnesses  

In this section, the resource discusses the following:

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Mood Disorders
  • Eating Disorders
  • Personality Disorders
  • Disruptive Behaviour Disorders

Applying an Anti-Oppressive Lens to Behaviour Needs

This section, placed right after  the different categories of mental illness, brings the reader face-to-face with the human aspect of our work. It invites educators to think intentionally and deeply about why it is important to apply an anti-oppressive lens to behaviour needs in this way:

“A behaviour exceptionality and the diagnoses related to it may require ongoing observation and report. However, the language used by society to describe behaviour is value-laden and soaked in judgment. As educators, we must utilize an anti-oppressive framework to guide our observations so that we can be as objective as possible.”

This resource reminds us that anti-oppressive practices are not theoretical terms, book clubs  or hashtags. They are actions that we need to do.

You and I have to do the work of anti-oppression.

These are important reminders.

Reflection Section

There is space in this resource for each one of us to turn our gaze inwards and to ask questions such as “what strategies can I use as an educator to stay calm and regulated when a student in my care is escalated and or demonstrating behaviours that are challenging?”

I liked this one as it brought me to a moment of calm which I use when working with students in classrooms or when I am in less structured spaces such as outside at recess or in the hallway.

 

 At The Heart

What resonated for me at the heart of this document are these words:

“Our goal with this resource is to support educators in exploring and redefining discipline protocols from a place of opportunity, with the initial perceptual shift on adult well-being as a cornerstone. Recent research emphasizes that true discipline for our students begins with an adult whose brain feels safe, calm, and still.”

Please read, implement, talk about and share this ETFO resource with colleagues in your professional learning network.

I for one, am delighted that in my school district, on the January 30th PA Day, all of us got to engage with this resource and that it has been showing up in collaborative conversations in many school teams with whom I am partnered.

Much appreciation to the contributions of ETFO members, Lisa Dunbar and Joshua Dickson who have been acknowledged on the page 2.

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Read Part 1 of this blog here.

Note: This resource is available at ShopETFO and also digitally on the ETFO member site. Click here.

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, Building Inclusion, English As Second Language (ESL), English Language Learners (ELLs), General, IEP, Inclusion, Language Learning, Special Education

Building On, Building Together

Hello again,

It is already the middle of the school year. Time to look back and look ahead. Earlier this month I read Colleen Elep’s piece “Knowing The Learner Matters: All About Multilingual Language Learner (MLL/ELL Variability)” on this blog with much interest.

The opening paragraph stands out immediately and invites readers to think deeper and look inward at assumptions we may tend to make or others have made and passed on to us: “When we think about Multilingual Language Learners, also known as MLLs (or ELLs), it can be tempting to view them as a uniform group with similar needs and experiences. In reality, nothing could be further than the truth. MLLs are an incredibly diverse group of students who bring a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, identities, educational histories, and lived experiences to their learning”

Although the writing outlines many signposts and how-to aspects that are very helpful to classroom practice, I went looking for something that connects the writer’s entry point with mine because I wanted to not just read – I also wanted to sharpen my skills. And I stopped here…

Supporting Multilingual Language Learners with Possible Special Education Needs

This resource, shared in October 2025, has an easy to understand, conversational title that considers possibilities and also highlights partnerships. It is an invitation to collaborate and to sit together as teachers to think through students’  strengths, needs, family background, educational experiences, migrations trajectories and do something about it – together and professionally.

The starting lines indicate that “This member-developed resource provides useful information about how to support MLLs with possible special education needs. The program brief may be leveraged when MLLs are not experiencing success with ongoing ESL/ELD supports” which means that the ESL/ELD supports have to be implemented first.

The link to the resource brings the reader to a document that states these important aspects right at the outset which we all need to remember because there may be a risk of rushing which though well intentioned mostly, can be premature identification into special education programmes and states this: “When multilingual language learners (MLLs)1 are developing the English language skills required for success with the Ontario curriculum, it can be difficult to determine if some of these learners may also have additional learning needs, such as an Ontario Ministry of Education-recognized exceptionality”

The definitions of exceptionalities are important to review and there is also a caution there, as teachers, as educators, we do what we are trained to do – we teach, we gather evidence, we collaborate with colleagues who can guide our practice and we seek support in collaboration with families and other experts in our school districts.

We do not offer diagnoses.  This resources helps greatly to keep us on our path.

Also, educational work is best done in community with collaborative colleagues. This we know.

The Multi-Tiered Approach 

I especially liked the info-graphic and the video series. The former makes it easy to understand what is needed at each stage and the page states that more resources will be added, so let us check in regularly as we learn together.  The video series allowed me to see the possibilities of rich and respectful professional conversations on how to support at Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 that are also known as Good for All, Necessary for Some and Essential for a Few.  It is always professionally strengthening to hear ETFO colleagues talk about the rich possibilities available to us in the work we do.

I invite you to engage with Colleen’s blog post and then make your way to the resources shared above. Do share back how this worked for you in your spaces. And please share this piece with others who may be interested to read and learn …

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, First Week Reflections, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Mindfulness, Outdoor Learning, self reflection

Pouring Water On Sand ?

Hello Fellow Travellers,

I hope you are well. As the growing season comes to a close in our part of the world and I begin these conversations with you for the 2nd year through this space, I wanted to share how delighted I am to spend this time with you.

Last year, I had written about how sometimes we feel wobbly…

Coming back to a new school year is challenging for me/us as it is for our students, sometimes.  Colleagues ask me sometimes “Is it me?” and I do my best to listen, just listen and if the connection allows, I reassure them that it is not them. It is all of us together, trying to figure out the complexities and the joy of this work one day at a time.  As I was thinking about my day and week recently, I said to myself “this feels like I am pouring water on sand”. I sat with that idea for a while, had a cup of tea, went for a walk and I felt lighter afterwards. I had some new ideas about whom I would reach to, what I would continue and what I would reimagine. I let the words flow like the water I thought I was pouring on sand.

Here is my gift to you – my first poem here.

Pouring Water On Sand ?

Some days I feel

as if  I am

pouring

precious

water on sand

The water disappears

and I don’t see

anything grow.

Yet there is

a deeply held belief

that this water

flows

and goes somewhere

underground

and comes up

far away,

in a verdant space

where there’s fertile soil

And the seeds

that you and I have planted

will thrive.

Will you also believe this

with me?

7 red cherry tomatoes in the palm of a hand against a grey background of a paved yard.
Tomatoes from August 2025

With You In Solidarity,

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Geeta Kumar Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Inclusion

Active Listening: What the Ontario Curriculum Actually Says

In elementary, we spend time during the beginning of the year setting expectations and norms to build a healthy and welcoming classroom community. Best practice tells us to continue to reinforce these norms throughout the year—not just in September.

We often focus on oral communication early on, particularly active listening, as a means to ensure all voices are heard and valued. But did you know that the Ontario Language Curriculum doesn’t actually define “active listening”?

Here’s what it does say:

Effective Listening Skills
 B1.1 use effective listening skills, including listening attentively and asking relevant questions, in formal and informal contexts, including conversations and classroom activities
 — Grade 1, Ontario Language Curriculum (2023)

It does not define “active listening” as eyes on the speaker, mouth closed, hands in lap, sitting criss-cross with a calm body. Yet, the number of posters, anchor charts, classroom displays, and behaviour expectations across classrooms that frame it this way.

Some Considerations — Thinking Critically About Listening Norms

Let’s consider a few things. Are the ways we define and assess listening in our classrooms actually inclusive? Are they developmentally appropriate? Are they culturally responsive?

Here are a few questions to reflect on:

1. Do students need to look at the speaker to listen?

2. How are students sitting?

3. How are we measuring listening?

4. Are we privileging dominant cultural norms?

Instead of teaching a one-size-fits-all version of active listening, we can:

  • Model and co-create with students what listening looks like, sounds like, and feels like—acknowledging that it may vary by person
  • Encourage self-awareness: “What helps you listen and focus best?”
  • Prioritize authentic communication over performative behaviour.

Final Thoughts
As educators, our role is not just to teach curriculum, but to teach it in a way that honours identity, culture, and individual needs. Let’s move beyond posters and routines, and into a more inclusive, responsive approach to oral communication and classroom participation.

Geeta Kumar Building Inclusion, First Week Reflections

Shift from Summer Recaps to Hope

During the first week of school, it is common for teachers to assign a writing task that to ease students in with light writing activities — like the classic “What I Did This Summer” assignment. However, I chose to focus on connection instead. This is because the beginning of the year should be about building a classroom community and expectations. 

Recognizing that students may not want to recount their summers for several reasons, these are the questions I ask instead.

  • What do you want your classmates to know about you?
  • Tell me about a time that you were proud of yourself!
  • What are you looking forward to this year?
  • What are your hopes? 

Let’s start the year by making every student feel like they belong!

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Anti-bullying, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, English As Second Language (ESL), English Language Learners (ELLs), Equity, Faculties of Ed, Language Learning, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Learning to learn, Making a Difference Through Education, Media Literacy, Wellbeing, Women at Work

Where in Mumbai? 

The Places 

We go from here and there through our day. Sometimes, we go to new places around our usual work location, whose address we enter into  our devices so that we arrive promptly with time to spare, even.  So one day recently, I thought I was just going to work.

The Context 

Since December  2024, two colleagues and I have been collaborating with consultants in another department to work on a key resource that has helped many and will continue to help more students and educators as we move forward. Sometimes in March, just before a series of professional learning sessions, we met again. We had to get through a lot.

The Necklace Started It 

I have always loved necklaces and I always wear one when I’m not in classrooms. This was one such piece.

A necklace with two double strands of flat turquoise beads and a large oval turquoise pendant set in silver. The back piece is made of small silver beads, silver fastening and black lava beads and round yellow beads. The necklace is set against a black background.
   My Necklace From Mumbai

As colleagues from the other department came into the meeting room one of them complimented me on my choice. I thanked her and added, “It’s from Mumbai. Like me”.

A dear friend with whom I’d attended school (Grades 9-10) had gifted it to me from her collection when she visited last summer. But I didn’t have time to share that as we were at work, you know. We had a lot to do.

My colleague smiled warmly and asked,  “Where in Mumbai?”

Where in Mumbai?

At the end of that long and busy week, my heart skipped a beat: In 21 years of working in education and 23 years living “here”, no one had ever asked me “Where in Mumbai?”

“Dadar”, I said.

My colleague told me where she grew up and I reminisced that I used to go shopping in that neighbourhood and had fond memories of some beautiful silver jewelry pieces I had bought there. I had also worked nearby to where she’d grown up. We talked about these places we both knew from what seems like another lifetime.

The glow of that conversation stayed with me and now we talk about books and authors and other things when we are in the same place, warming lunch.

Why This Question?

I have many friends in many spaces at work. We have lots of conversations and have many fond memories over the years. We talk about books, family (ours), pets (theirs), dreams and many other things.

Yet, just one question “Where in Mumbai?” has stayed with me differently. It is as if a locked door has sprung open.

Some points that come into view for me that I want to share with you, my fellow traveller.

  1. I think about how we, as educators, recognize intellectually that the whole child comes to school.
  2. Yet many of of us aren’t able to bring our whole selves to work.
  3. I/we don’t talk about everything that makes me/us complete because either there’s too much to do, or more often, I/we don’t think anyone else knows of that place, that food, that fragrance and so on
  4. I am sure there are many more meanings that will come to the surface for you and me when you read this. Do share.

There’s A Ghazal (Poem) For That

So here are some lines from a ghazal written by Gulzar and sung by Jagjit Singh that explain that feeling of perhaps being The Only One in a space. These lines explains the feeling of a solitude that I couldn’t put into words until that question “Where in Mumbai?

“Aainaa dekh karr tass-allee hui

Humko iss ghar mein jaan-taa hai koi”

The Translation Goes Like This

I was reassured when I looked in the mirror 

That someone knows me in this house.

Thank you, dear colleague- friend who has memories of Mumbai. Not identical ones, but just like I do.

I can’t wait to see you again.

Fellow Travellers, I wish you such unexpected and pleasant encounters in your work spaces.

And if you know Mumbai, or Goa, please write back.

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Climate Change, English Language Learners (ELLs), Equity, Learning About Your Students, Report Cards, Student wellbeing, Weather, wellness, Year End Reflection

Let Us Take The Time To Reach Out 

The pages of the calendar turn relentlessly. June is here and we’re busy in a different way. The weather is cool one day and warm on another. Some days, the skies are filled with smoke and those of us far away from the site from where this smoke comes, are mindful that not everyone is.

We have one home, this beautiful planet.

How Did I Do?

One writing from me had the words, “How did I do?” We’ve all gone through it: being assessed and evaluated. Now, our jobs require this work of reporting and evaluation to be done. Students at different times of the year receive institutional texts and then may come back to us the next day after sharing that text with people in their lives. Those are other report cards and those are other times.

This One Is Different 

The June report card is different. Students leave at that last bell of the last day of school. In the Fall, they will go down the hall to another classroom, to another school in the neighbourhood, to another province or to another country. The lives of children are so directed by the fortunes of their families that over these life events they have limited control.

This we know, though in the busyness of life, I/we may not always remember.

Goodbye and See-You-Later 

I was listening to a podcast by a gardener whose work I follow and something he said stays with me, relatable to various stages and aspects of life: When you move on and someone else is gardening now, you have no say in what they do in the space that you loved.

So in my role or yours next year, when you see our students in someone else’s classroom down the hall, we need to walk on. We are here if someone reaches out to collaborate. That’s it.

You can only reassure yourself that when you were there, you did your best and the people and plants thrived. When you have taken care of the classroom or learning space or garden and given your best, when you’ve done due diligence to your professional judgement, it’s time to pull the door behind you and walk on.

From that thought shared by the celebrity gardener, I added in this my reminder to self and to you, my fellow travellers: Whether in a classroom or a supportive role, you have, just like in life, finite time. Finite seasons. How can I/you make the best of each one?

A Special Message 

In these busy times we may have different ways in which we take time to care for ourselves. For me it is precipitation: rainy days always make me happy because in my heart I remember the monsoon of the home I left behind. The Monsoon in Mumbai always came on June 13th, so right about now, my heart calls me to a place I feel in my cells and in my soul.

Is there something that you remember deeply? Do share.

Nostalgia: is the pain of remembering. It’s a sweet pain especially on days when a dear friend, here, pops into my phone with something they remember from a previous conversation. Neither Hindi nor Urdu are their home languages which is why I am touched that they remember this conversation, and this memory

I am sharing the exchange below.

3 text messages from a phone screen that read 1. Hi Rashmee, how are you doing? 2. The air smells of wet earth today and I am thinking of you. 3. Saundhi Khushboo
My friend’s message on a rainy day

Saundhi Khushboo (saun-dhee khoosh-boo) the post-rain fragrance of the soil.

I smile on this Monday in June and I watch the raindrops .

Wishing you peace and calm in the midst of the busyness

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

P.S: Saundhi Khushboo is now added to my dictionary in my spell check – that felt good.

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, agency, Anti-bullying, Anti-Racism, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Constant Learning, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Language Learning, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

Sweet Moments, Different Names

Hello Fellow Travellers,

I’ve written in previous posts about the wonderful opportunity of learning from and with students when I’m invited to collaborate with educators who work with students from kindergarten to age 21.

This past week as we approached the end of a cooler-than-usual April, the sun shone warmer and a long awaited Spring peeped out from behind grey clouds that had greeted us in previous months. One Friday afternoon before the long weekend, I was in a Grade 7 classroom. I arrived during lunch and went upstairs as pre-decided with the teacher. I found a corner to work until lunch time was over and the teacher came back.
Soon, the students came in also and the two nearest to me asked who I was and as always, I respectfully mentioned that I’d introduce myself when their teacher invited me to. As always students had questions – my name, where am I from, what’s my favourite food and so on. I usually stay with 10 questions so the teacher’s planned lesson can continue and we review classroom expectations prior so that students remember that every person who enters their class deserves respect.
Something To Think About
One student asked me what is the most important thing about my job and I said that I get to experience hope and joy when I interact with students. They asked me if I was part of their history lesson and while I was not co-teaching it, I could be. Our lives as people are interconnected after all.  I enjoyed the interaction among students during their history lesson that was about the fur trade in this land now known as Canada. There were many deep questions they asked their teacher.
Moving On To Other Topics
Then it was time for their reading buddies to come in. There was a bustle of activity as everyone was excited. Their teacher reviewed the expectations for them and students prepared to welcome the younger students. One student whose ancestral heritage was different from mine at first glance to them, approached me and said, “I have one more question: Do you like sooji ka halwa?”
I replied “Yes, I do. But I don’t call it sooji ka halwa”
“Really? What do you call it then?”, they asked.
In my mother tongue, we call it sheeraa” I said.
“It is cool that sooji ka halwa has another name. I have heard some people call it just sooji then?” the student said. “Yes”, I said. “Why is that?” the student asked.
I replied from a knowledge I had received over the years, and which has grown stronger since travelling far and learning from many. “Languages are beautiful. They grow and change over time and become richer also. The same thing can have many names and be experienced in many different ways by different people”
“Sooji Ka Halwa has many names then!”, the student remarked with a smile.
“And you know, sooji is semolina, so sooji ka halwa is “halwa/dessert made from sooji. Sometimes it’s called sooji also”, I said.
This was an unexpected sweet moment in my day and that evening, to commemorate that day, I made some sheera (or sooji ka halwa) following the recipe I learned from my Amma. I am sharing it here.
Perhaps if we meet sometime, we can connect over conversation about food that we know and love, even if they have different names. I am looking forward to those times.
Rashmee’s Amma’s Sheeraa Recipe 
Ingredients
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup sooji (semolina)
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp elaichi (cardamom) powder
Method
In a kadhai (thick bottomed pan or wok), add ghee and let it melt
Turn the heat down and add sooji gently
Keep stirring until the sooji changes to a pinkish colour and becomes fragrant.
After 3-4 minutes add two cups of milk and keep stirring until the mixture cooks well
Add sugar and elaichi powder and keep stirring
Put the pan on a frying pan for indirect heat (so it’s not directly on the stove)
Cover it
In a few minutes remove the lid and stir again.
The sheera is ready to share and enjoy!
I wish you many sweet experiences and special interactions in your travels…
With you, in solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
P.S: Before I left, the student smiled and said “I also like your shoes”
red and white sneakers against a white classroom floor.
My Earned Shoes