This collaboration between the Library Learning Commons, a Grade 9 math teacher, and Indigenous Education blossomed into a beautiful place-conscious learning opportunity.

By engaging critically with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, newcomer students develop more than just a broader vocabulary or sharper analysis skills.

I am a teacher in southern West Virginia, a region defined by stereotypes and hit hard by America’s opioid epidemic.

You see, here’s the thing that some of us – teachers and parents alike – don’t really take time to stop and think about: kids’ feelings have value too. And they all have their own needs and wants at any given time.

In honour of Asian American Heritage Month, which is celebrated every May, I tasked the students in my three Asian American Literature classes with a special project.

As an educator, my classroom isn’t just a space for reciting facts and figures. It’s a dynamic environment where learning extends far beyond the curriculum.

It began on a lovely spring afternoon in 2015, when a Grade 7 student came up to me during recess: Student: “Do you know Rick Mercer?” Me: “Yup.” Student: “Do you know about his Spread the Net?” Me: “Yup.” Student: “Could we do that?” And with that brief exchange, a seed was planted, one that would eventually grow into one of Macville Public School’s most powerful and positive experiences.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that rules without relationships lead to rebellion. Yet today, relationships with students seem to be feared instead of embraced. Over the years, quite by accident, I have discovered that this precept from days gone by is critical to classroom rules and to learning itself. Relationships are an essential part of learning, especially relationships between teachers and students.

I recently observed a high school science lesson that left me feeling like I had just swished some super-minty Listerine. I was refreshed. I was inspired…so much so, in fact, that I built and entire upcoming PD session around my takeaway from this lesson. I will return to this in just a moment.