My Plan

17 months ago I successfully defended my thesis. Shortly afterwards, I sought a new role. I also felt, in a way, that I had earned one. No work change happened and what I came to understand were some truths: To the co-participants who lived alongside me, to my family, to those who lived and taught alongside me, the work mattered… (read more)

Making the Causes Visible

At the provincial grad symposium today, my Director of Education stated, what I believe, the most authentic bit he’s shared since taking the job. He reflected that perhaps (and I’m paraphrasing here) it isn’t graduation rates educators need to be focused on improving. He wondered if graduation rates were perhaps a symptom of a bigger problem. Perhaps our work as… (read more)

i believe

believe in…. Trust and time. And listening. And relationships. And belonging. And sharing stories with students. Their stories. My stories. And listening to their stories no matter what. The cat stories, the lunch stories, the stories of suicide. Staying late. Arriving early. Showing up. Saying ‘I love you’ and ‘I am proud of you’ and meaning it. Reading aloud to… (read more)

Different Stories

I changed schools this fall, moving from a traditional space, teaching kids I loved and subjects I adored (ELA, Outdoor Education and Arts Education) into a different role. A role I sought. The subject areas, for the most part, have been the same. And I still adore the kids. The move was spurred in part because of my graduate journey,… (read more)

First Three Weeks

The new school year is just past three weeks gone. The second week flew by; I liked almost every moment of each school day. The first week however, simply slogged along; I felt frustrated. I’m teaching at a different school this year. I am no longer the ‘single story’ high school ELA, Arts Ed and Outdoor teacher, though I am… (read more)

Strong in Mess

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much I like staying connected with kids. It’s a messy topic. Here’s what I know. And it’s not much. About every month or so, my daughter goes out for coffee and a muffin with her former grade six resource teacher. My daughter is in grade ten. Actually, she’s almost in grade eleven. Their suppers… (read more)
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