Helping just because…
This morning I got to school and was told that one of our large flower pots had been dumped. One thing we always try to do with any kind of vandalism is to clean it up immediately. As kids were… Continue Reading
Moral Stewardship
Identity Day: Pride In Who We Are
As an educator, I have had so many moments that have taken my breath away; working with kids, we often find ourselves truly inspired. On Thursday, April 14th, 2011, I had the privilege of being inspired by every student at… Continue Reading
What’s In YOUR Invisible Knapsack?
“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.” — Peggy McIntosh During my Master’s program a few years ago, one of the articles we were… Continue Reading
School Choice: Maintaining the Hierarchies
“Neo-liberal policies involving market solutions may actually serve to reproduce – not subvert – traditional hierarchies of class and race” — Michael W. Apple Christy Clark, the new Premier in British Columbia, has long been an advocate of increasing the… Continue Reading
Strength In EVERY Child
Every child has a strength; the key for us, as educators, is to tap into these strengths and passion and help students to truly flourish in their lives. We need to stop putting lids on what kids can do and… Continue Reading
Honouring A Student’s Strength: Story of Daniel
“We don’t know who we can be until we know what we can do.” – Sir Ken Robinson (This was originally guest-posted as an “A-Ha Moment” on Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension. With all the talk about how we changed… Continue Reading
Questioning Awards and Grades
As a result of our school’s decision to end our traditional awards ceremony and the blog post by Janet Steffenhagen, Bill Good of CKNW 980 in Vancouver interviewed me and hosted callers on the topic of awards, grades, and motivation… Continue Reading
Is Learning A Sport?
“Schools are not about awarding the best and brightest, but developing the best and brightest. Awards take away from this. We can not let our own bias of our own school experience or beliefs get in the way of what… Continue Reading
The Price of Grades
In a recent article in the Vancouver Province, it described an initiative started by a community to pay their children for getting good grades. After reading this, my heart began to race and I was floored. How could an entire… Continue Reading
Bring Forth What Is Within
Educate: …from the root word Educe – to bring forth what is within (Aimee Mullins) Our school goal: For each student to master basic skills, recognize and develop his/her unique talents and interests, and to become a confident learner. Embedded… Continue Reading