I am a primary school teacher from East Oxford, and last year I crocheted a “mini-me” of each child in my class as an end-of-year gift.

Many 21st-century employers argue that empathy is at the heart of success. But how do we teach students to master a skill that’s rooted in emotion instead of fact?

To many in the field, a poor first year of teaching is the first step in an accepted, almost ritualistic career timeline. Perspectives on a teacher’s first year seem to have shifted, though, since my generation entered the workforce.

The trick to not using all your personal days during the first month of school is to focus on stopping bad behavior before it starts, instead of punishing students after the fact.

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.

Not only do visual arts classes make space in a student’s day for creativity, they can also offer a chance to focus on something bigger.

When my principal asked if I would like to lead our school’s new Justice, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee, I was both surprised and delighted.

I search, “Talking to children about racialized violence.” I know experts say children are never too young to talk about race, but none of them have a lesson plan for me.

Throughout the decade I have spent working in education, I’ve seen the most positive impact when I’ve incorporated hope-based strategies into my teaching.