When the RCMP Crisis Negotiation Unit visited my high school law class, I expected some interesting guest speakers. What I didn’t expect was just how profoundly they would change the way my students communicated.

As the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide approached in April 2014, I took it as an opportunity to teach my students about this horrific and tragic event.

In English classes, which require students to sit and read or write for extended periods of time, it can be challenging to get them to want to do their work.

Often, we forget our students come to class each day with a lot more on their minds than academics. Despite this, my students willingly express gratitude each morning.

I was browsing YouTube for simplified math tutorials one afternoon when I stumbled upon the PBS Kids Math Club—math tutorial videos geared toward teens.

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.

After working as both a teacher and an administrator, I know how much of a difference it can make when school leaders truly appreciate the power of computer science.

As I stood in my empty classroom surrounded by piles of boxes, I couldn’t help but wonder: what was I going to do now?

Teaching is a great responsibility. I teach English and believe that the ability to communicate, at a personal and societal level, is what builds strong communities and ensures ownership over one’s future. Thus, it’s important that we teachers spend a lot of time on our craft—deliberating the best ways to teach and make lessons fun, interactive, and relatable to students. Professional development thrives on discipline pedagogy and school departments meet to align goals and assignments and to discuss data assessment.