I see sleepy kids every day in my 8th grade English class. Their heads are drooping. Their eyes are barely open. Their energy is low.

It is my job to motivate and mold my students, to keep them engaged, to build reading and writing confidence in all who enter my virtual classroom.

I’ve started to notice a troubling trend among my students: many of them equate success with fame, followers, or a fat bank account.

In March 2020, we received a rather cryptic message from our Technology Director: “Bring your computers home during the break, just in case the situation changes.”

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.

The height of the pandemic brought many moments of upheaval and uncertainty, but amidst the tensions, there were also moments of laughter.

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.

I avidly recall a second grade class that would excitedly huddle around my rocking chair for story time. Students scrambled around sliding chairs to the carpet where I read heartwarming and sometimes zany tales, they reminded me that story time was counted among the most meaningful and cherished moments of a child’s day. Story time is a child’s portal into endless worlds, kingdoms, and dimensions.

In my Grade 10 Canadian History course, students explore LGBTQ+ history the same way they explore the stories of many different Canadians in the context of our history.