15% just for Showing Up!
Changes are coming for Ontario high school students if the newest legislation is passed. It was just tabled, and is already at 2nd reading, so I imagined it's going to…
Teaching
2025 Year in Review: Work and Impact
Every year I send around to former students some highlights of this years work. This time I’m posting here! Hoping some of this work is of interest to all of…
If I Was Teaching Writing
(Disclaimer: not a professional writer or teacher) If i was teaching writing I would teach that writing is a process. The first step is putting all your thoughts down on…
If I Was Teaching Writing
(Disclaimer: not a professional writer or teacher) If i was teaching writing I would teach that writing is a process. The first step is putting all your thoughts down on…
Living in a False Reality
Without testing or wastewater data warning us of rising cases of viruses in our regions ahead of time, we can only look to excess deaths after the fact. Bleak times.…
Living in a False Reality
Without testing or wastewater data warning us of rising cases of viruses in our regions ahead of time, we can only look to excess deaths after the fact. Bleak times.This…
On the Importance of Hobbies
I taught grade 10 Careers for a bit. I changed it completely from how it was typically taught, though, which was largely one Myers-Briggs-type test after another. Kids in other…
On the Importance of Hobbies
I taught grade 10 Careers for a bit. I changed it completely from how it was typically taught, though, which was largely one Myers-Briggs-type test after another. Kids in other…
What is University For, Part 2
Does making it all easier make us lazier educators, or is neoliberal politics to blame?? The Quality of Teaching has been Strained: This is a back-in-MY-day story, but I think…
Cell Phones and Cigarettes
I have some concerns with the new rules for schools as reported by the CBC. The biggest concern is that the funding cuts came Friday, but yet another cell phone…
What is University For – Part 1
In case you’ve missed it, many students on university campuses have been protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The police have been heavy-handed — or outright violent — with some…
No Ragrets
The frustrating experiences that linger with me the longest are the times I was able to make a difference in my tiny corner of the world or have some kind…
On Suing Social Media Giants
A collection of school boards are suing a collection of social media sites for allegedly deliberately hurting students. That’s from the Toronto Star headline, but deliberate harm?? I’m not sure…
The Motivating Annoyance of Willful Ignorance
I’ve been thinking about my old students today as I read the news. I taught about the Israeli occupation in Palestine for a good 20 years, under the media bias…
Teaching with Covid in Class
Is there a better way to do school during an ongoing, quite possibly never-ending pandemic AND with climate crisis coming home to roost? Christina Virgil, on TikTok discussed the problem…
The Daycare Years
Many of our ideas of virus transmission haven’t changed in decades, for better and worse. Almost 30 years ago, I ran a daycare out of my home for a little…
The Questionable Wisdom of Institutions of Higher Learning
Trying to convince universities to allow remote learning in maskless in-person classes and maybe to allow mini-HEPAs on the desk during exams appears to be futile despite the current risk…
Earth’s Gravity, But Not the Kind You Think
If you’re not already familiar with Earth, by David Brin, then in a weird way, I envy you. You have got some great science fiction… The post Earth’s Gravity, But…
Improving Air Quality for Children Act
Our children are mandated to be in school. It should also be mandated that the building have clean air for children to breathe! Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa-West and Nepean,…
If It Can’t Possibly be Both, then Either Give us Masks OR Accommodations
If masks are a choice, then shouldn’t being protected from a virus also be a choice?? The freedom to go maskless is butting up against the freedom from getting infected,…