Hello Fellow Travellers,
I am writing this in the last week of the school year and perhaps when you read it, it will be the last day of school or later.
A quiet walk down memory lane: I’m thinking of my two children and how they’d mark the coming of Spring when they were younger.
They’d stand by the door as I wandered in thawing spaces after a long winter and then they’d say to each other:
“Mamma’s outside. She’s peering again.” More about the peering later.
I am in a space right now where a bumble bee is buzzing amidst small fragrant flowers of the privet hedge and I am thinking of planting, pedagogy and professional judgement.
Beginners’ Mindset
Everyday is a new beginning if we think about it, though it doesn’t feel like that when one day just blends into the next.
It does not feel like a fresh start, especially in times like these when educational workers, students and families are experiencing unprecedented and unimaginable precarities in our lives and work spaces.
That’s the ground we’re planting in, wherever we are.
Some Are Moving, Some Have Left
Some colleagues are moving on, some are moving away. Students and families too may move away due to social problems like affordability and belonging as these play a big part in where we live or from why we chose to leave.
But these changes do not stop us from working towards new beginnings.
I’m one of the lucky ones who has a job and I know where I’ll be in September.
I am very mindful of this reality.
Planting
I think back to my early days in Ontario, this place which was new to me in January 2002. I’d look at hedges and front yards in my neighbour hood and other places on the way to the library, grocery stores and job interviews.
I always wondered when I saw plants growing:
- What’s that?
- Was it planted?
- Did it come by on the wind?
- How does one take care of that?
- How does one help it thrive?
I wondered, I asked, I referred to books (long before smartphones, which is a single compound noun) and I tried to grow things.
I peered before, during and after the planting.
I made changes as I went along based on what the plants needed.
Pedagogy
Amma, whom I have mentioned before, would say “Rashmee, always ask yourself if you’re breaking stones or building a temple”
Therefore: PEDAGOGY Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster
A big word and a meaningful one and I delight in the definition as well as the doing, because it makes my work bigger and more complex than the everyday tasks I see in front of me.
At My New School: I am moving to a school-based assignment from a centrally assigned role after 6 years. So here’s where I’ll begin.
- I will speak to students and their families.
- I shall consult the Ontario Student Record as this gives me a starting point of other robust informational pieces to help me in planning. I will interact with students’ strengths and learning needs in their repositories.
- I will learn about my students and not just from the narratives about them.
- I shall continue to notice the school culture and collaborate with colleagues to influence how the ground is prepared for learning to unfold – for all system partners, not just students.
Professional Judgement
Professional Judgement is the common page on which we meet, you and I.
- As ETFO members, when you and I bring up the term “professional judgement”, we need to be clear, confident and reassured that we are both speaking of the same concept.
- To ensure that we have a shared understanding, I always go to ETFO’s website and I’m sharing a link with you so that we can walk together in this work.
- I have posted the definition below in my new classroom to support my practice and facilitate collaborative conversations. I am looking forward to this compass that will guide well.
“Professional judgement is defined, in part, 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.” The definition recognizes our members’ professionalism and makes professional judgement the cornerstone of assessment and evaluation. ETFO is working to ensure the new collective bargaining language is broadly understood and supported by everyone”
ETFO Voice Article: Exercising Your Professional Judgement
Also, please check this link while planning your work: Reporting and Evaluation – ETFO Members Sharing in Assessment
She’s Peering Again
So back to the peering. Why do I peer?
- I do so to look closely and observe the gifts that are in front of me in the form of students and the aspirations of their families.
- I peer to understand the soil in which I am planting and how to enrich it.
- When I don’t know the plants that spring up, ones that are brought there as gifts, I strive to gently learn about them.
- In taking care of how they grow and what they need, I learn about myself as well. What do I need to work on? What do I need to un/learn?
- I peer because it’s important for me to know and understand whether I need to go back, learn more and return to dig deep and do something differently.
I see my peering as the first step that guides how the garden grows.
Let’s walk gently, fellow travellers. Let’s peer often. Let’s get our hands in the soil and let’s plant something strong and sustainable.
Parting Thoughts: What is Our Work?
At the June 4th, 2026 All Members’ Meeting in our Local, President Mastin reminded us that as ETFO members, our work is to teach our students to be lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
We are not “just fuelling the job market” as it is made out to be.
I take courage from that statement as it guides me to align my pedagogy and professional judgement in the service of student learning and well being to strengthen communities through educator collaboration.
Whatever September brings, let’s always treat one another with respect and kindness.
Rest up.
With You, In Solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
