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
Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, Anti-bullying, Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Equity, General, Inclusion, Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth

The Importance of Questions (Part 2)

Noticing The Questions

As I  composed this piece in the last weeks of December, I was aware that it has the potential of being more than a 2 part piece. I continue to notice questions in everyday professional spaces. Questions asked around me stand out because the language that goes from seemingly innocuous talk to formal texts that in turn guide trajectories of educational work and the outcomes for students.

If those outcomes unfold on paths of equity and social justice, I always look deeper for the driving gear: who is the person – parent, family friend, educational worker or combination of all three or more who have made it their mission to ensure that that student achieves their fullest potential. 

Also, sometimes the topics I write about invite readers to take a deep and honest look around so that we can be authentically inclusive in our professional practice towards all with whom we interact. A twinge here and there is therefore okay, it helps us sharpen out growth mindset as ETFO members.

Some Spaces Are Special

A black metal park bench beside a walking track with three red-leafed trees behind it. The grass around it glows in the sunshine
A Special Park Bench (Karnad-Jani, 2024)

Notice this beautiful bench situated along the walking track around the cricket pitch beside the school with the gorgeous sunrise where I worked for 14 years. In 2018, after considering many factors, mostly around breathing room and well being, I had decided to move to another school. But I still walk here every season as long as the paths are ice-free. So it was that one late summer in the last week of August, shall we say, I met up with a former student now an educator who wanted to talk through some career decisions.

Such walks are mutually supportive as I can give back to the communities of practice that steady me and another educator can have an unconditional space to air their ideas and possibilities. We walked a few laps and sat down to take in the view. A warm breeze was blowing and I was thinking of 6 students in my last three years at this school with whom our team used to walk this track daily for our observation skills, social skills, and conversational and communication goals with our flip and talk books etc. One student had clearly described this very bench as “A park bench is like a chair that’s outside. It is longer than the chair inside our class and you can’t pick it up.” How delighted we were at this description! It is one of the special memories of that time

 

What are YOU doing here?

Just then, someone I knew from years ago stopped in front of me and demanded, “What are you doing here?” and without waiting for a response, walked on.  My walking companion was as startled as I was at this interaction if one could call it that. “What was that, Ms. Karnad-Jani? They did not even wait for a response.”

My heart beat quickened from past memories of having faced this question in various spaces. 

Deep breath in. Look around. Exhale. I was glad I was in a beautiful space outside that helped me compose myself. We walked some more and that was that.

I have thought about this question often as it appears in our lives in many ways.

When one is asked “What are YOU doing here?”  we can claim space individually and collectively to support one another when this question comes up  that may challenge our very presence in some, many, any spaces.  

I am sharing Claiming Space: Self-Identifying With My Union from 2018 which is always relevant. Also please read the Letter from the Editor highlighting the writing from the issue in which this article was published.

Also, always consult and implement the guidelines outlined in ETFO’s Terms of Use when using any published materials in professional learning and elsewhere because all of us who write academically and professionally work very diligently to think about the ideas we share with you. 

 

"I am ETFO" button with the word "also" added in reads " I am also ETFO"
I wear my “I am ETFO ” button proudly.

With You, In Solidarity,

Rashmee Karnad-Jani

Rashmee Karnad-Jani Advocacy for change, agency, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Inspiring Teachers

There are different ways to make a difference 

It is almost the end of the year and we have been talking for a while.

After my recent conversation with you, I got several emails and messages. Some colleagues posted their comments below the blog and others wrote to me. Some called while others mentioned their feedback when they passed me in school buildings. I also received one very important question “I want to write for ETFO also. Where do I begin?

Where I Began

When I was growing up in Goa, a beautiful state on the western coast of India, I always liked receiving the magazines to which my father subscribed- for himself, my mother and me. In addition, we also received one from our community called The Kanara Saraswat. I used to wait eagerly to receive the publications and would pore over them when they arrived.

The magazines were written in English, Marathi and Hindi. My parents wanted me to be able to read and write in many languages because they knew that as I went through schooling and university, I would be immersed in English. As wise visionaries, they wanted me to retain my rich multilingual literacy and I have. I can read, write, think in Hindi, Marathi, Konkani and English and I am very thankful for that.  In those magazines,  I would love to read a particular author or series by the same person.

One day, I think in Grade 5 (or 5th standard as we said in India) I tried to write a school essay along the same lines as one of my favourite writers and …. my Amma, a high school English teacher caught on.  She used to read over my writing because she liked to and she saw that this piece didn’t sound quite like me.

So Amma said “ Write like yourself. You’ll see you have a lot to say and you have your own style and strengths. Find them and sharpen them.” While that entire conversation was carried out in our mother tongue, I’m translating it here to accommodate for our monolingual readers and non-Konkani colleagues 😉.

Receiving the Voice

I have not outgrown my love for reading what others write.  Over the years I’ve enjoyed receiving the Voice in the mailbox. I read Sharla Falodi’s article and thought deeply about the importance of claiming space.  I also read Sangeeta McAuley’s words written long before CRRP was part of a job title in schools and school boards. This piece helped me reflect deeply and make many connections to my practice with students and their families: just because I was a landed immigrant in 2002 didn’t make me an expert on others’ lived realities was my take away. This was 2018.

There are so many inspiring pieces to be found in  Archive | ETFO Voice that if you browse these issues, you’ll remember the ones that connected with you over the years.

Timing is Important 

When I read the work of writers whose ideas connected with the lived realities of the work that members do in schools, or something new that I had not yet tried, I experienced a faint stirring, a tingle in my fingertips that made me think that this was possible for me too perhaps. So I asked around about where to begin and with a lead, I wrote to the editor. Although I shared a few ideas, I didn’t write for the Voice yet.

It wasn’t until I’d written and submitted my doctoral dissertation in 2021 that I decided to write for ETFO. I sent in my piece “Mothers and Teachers: Two Sides of the Same Coin” in which I spoke of the blended standpoint based on two decades of living here and  on my ten years of graduate work.

(In this article when I say “If this were my child, what would I do, wish for and fight for.” I do not mean biological children alone. I speak of the relationship with all the children in our extended families and in our friendship circles. I speak of the special care we extend to the the young people in our personal lives).

If you are considering writing for the Voice, here is some important information to review.

Writing for the Heart and Art of Teaching Blog

I have been a member of my ETFO local since 2004 when I started working as a permanent full time teacher. It wasn’t until 2012 when I had an unpleasant experience at work and I stood up for what’s right that I contacted someone at the local office to seek guidance on how to get formal support to engage in courageous conversations.  These things weren’t happening to me yet, but I wanted to speak up when things happened to others around me.

I haven’t looked back since that evening. I served on the Political Action Committee that year and the Social Justice Committee the next time. I served with both these committees once more over the years, once during the pandemic.

Then this year I thought I’d serve through the New Members’ Committee at our local because as time moves on, one plans to leave behind some memorable steps that can lead to a better working environment for  colleagues who come after us.

Also because I wanted to connect the dots between my interest in writing with ETFO Provincial and this work with my local, I saw the opportunity to contribute to the conversations through a writing role with ETFO’s Heart and Art of Teaching & Learning and applied. Here is some information if you want to learn more about this blog.

It Takes Time

It took me 9 years (from 2012 to 2021) to get from that first phone call to the local to this point of having regular conversations with all of you.  For many who are used to having things happen quickly, perhaps this seemingly meandering process is frustrating. But it isn’t a waste of time.

During this waiting, one becomes more aware of oneself and our working conditions with every passing day. The professional and personal become more seasoned, the struggles become more relatable and the solidarity becomes more real as time moves forward. One has to want something with deep dedication in order to not give up.

One also has to stop caring what other people will think.

Those of us who’ve done things differently and who have made our mark off the beaten track have always been asked “Who do you think you are?” And we don’t bother to respond to that question, do we?

We walk strong. We strengthen others.

That is The Work that goes beyond the job.

Many Paths

There are different ways to make a difference. We don’t all have to be active in ETFO’s provincial or local formal networks. We don’t have to be elected to office though that’s wonderful too if that’s what calls to you.

An institution like ETFO (yes, a union is an institution also) has provincial initiatives like the AGM and locals have their own events planned by the social committee, the goodwill and awards committee or the professional learning committee

But this much I know: no matter how many things are done at the provincial and local level, it is only when everyday working conditions are truly equitable and respectful for each and every member in the schools where we do this important work, that we can say that we are in solidarity, 100% there for one another.

So reach out to ETFO Locals , if not for yourself, to make someone else’s life easier.

With You, In Solidarity

Rashmee Karnad-Jani