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Why is our thinking so average?
"If I notice something that doesn't make sense any more, it frustrates me because why are we doing things that don't make sense any more? Why are people in pain? Why are people underutilized? Why are...
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There is something rank in the state of education
Fit in. Stand out. Don't rock the boat. Be yourself. Just do what's expected of you. Make a difference. Act normal.Can't I just be myself? With all the talk of personalizing education, shouldn't we...
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From dropout educator to learning entrepreneur
I have a passion for learning and working with students to help them see and develop their own lives as being meaningfully unique. Having quit my teaching job last year, I recently realized I'm also a...
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From empathy heartset to innovation
http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/6030In a recent post, George Couros outlines a "process for innovation in teaching and learning." I agree that "teaching and learning starts with empathy" and...
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Three ways to embrace complexity & build open teams to improve learning...
In a recent article, "rebel" Edmonton teacher Mike Joly is described as advocating solid discipline policies and character education, believing that students should get zeros for incomplete work and...
View ArticleI believe in the gospel of doubt
Having listened to Casey Gerald's TED sermon, I confirm here that I am, and have long been, a believer in the gospel of doubt, the belief that is possible not to believe.It is possible the answers we...
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Engagement needs a relationship
What does it mean to engage? be engaged?From Google:The word originally meant ‘to pawn or pledge something,’ later ‘pledge oneself (to do something),’ hence ‘enter into a contract’ (mid 16th century),...
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If the body keeps score of trauma, what are we keeping score of?
I just finished part 3 of "All in the Family," a CBC Radio exploration of a massive study called "Adverse Childhood Experiences," or ACE, which shows thatchildhood experiences, both positive and...
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Students will teach if the teacher is willing to learn
More than a dozen years ago, a student taught me an important lesson.Example of a verbal-visual text.I had given students an assignment to create a verbal-visual text, combining five quotes from...
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The hidden "r" of education
Do you believe in education? In learning? In school?Like "God," these words are used with an assumption that everyone knows what they are and mean and that our very existence is dependent on our...
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How to make space for relevant classroom learning
At this time of year, many teachers ponder how they will motivate and engage their students with required course content. Clearly, no teacher sets out with the goal of making their teaching irrelevant,...
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Shifting to a learner-centered classroom
You've decided you want to innovate, try something new in your classroom, try to make it more learner-centered by giving more personal choice for learning. Awesome.Schools have a long history of...
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Reflections of a Third Day Faculty of Education Instructor
I’ve just completed teaching my the third class of a course called “Literacy Across the Curriculum” for fourth and fifth year Education students (teacher candidates).Having an impact on the teaching of...
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Reflections of a Third Day Faculty of Education Instructor
I’ve just completed teaching my the third class of a course called “Literacy Across the Curriculum” for fourth and fifth year Education students (teacher candidates).Having an impact on the teaching of...
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Recovering Humanity
Resign yourself to the boring things you must do to get by. Put your desires aside, comply and endure. Go ahead, dull your emotions. Be bummed, be numbed, mutter "meh" and flump through the...
View ArticleWant to avoid students as future plaintiffs?
I subbed in a grade 7 classroom last week, the first time I'd taught a grade 7 class in 28 years. I had a tiny bit of apprehension and was curious to see what learning looked like with this age group,...
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Time to embrace a new FOMO
As a teacher, I always feel like I can't possibly teach all of the things I want to teach in a course. When I don't teach certain things, there's this nagging fear that students are missing out on...
View Article"Our ancestors walk in us."
My name is Barry Dyck, historically spelled Dueck. I am a non-Indigenous, white male of Mennonite heritage whose ancestors arrived in Manitoba in 1874. My ancestors found their identity in their...
View ArticleWhat happens when school learning is "done learning"?
We collect data on our students to track their performance and achievement, yet what do we know about the long term impacts of our constructs of achievement on individual students? What does this...
View ArticleIt's time we got students out of their seats
Most schools require a set number of hours in a class in order to receive credit. These hours are aptly referred to as seat time, as most often that's what student are doing. Sitting.Showing up at a...
View ArticleI Push, You Push, We all F̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶D̶o̶w̶n̶ Get Stronger
In an organization, when someone pushes against the boundaries of "the box," colleagues do not remain unaffected. The stretch is felt, like neighbouring molecules in an expanding balloon, or when a...
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Can you pass the test?
Rather than using tests as a measurement of the end of a cycle of learning, we need to use them more as part of the learning process.Tests are a major part of school life and have been used as the...
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What happens when the solution may be the problem?
In the past, psychology focused on what's wrong with people in the same way that traditional education focuses on the idea of what's missing or needs fixing in students. Today, the field of positive...
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Would you let your students write a report card for you?
It’s report card time again.And not just for the students.This is my first year in a new school in my 29th year of teaching. I’m teaching multimedia courses where the students are learning to make...
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Is this for marks?
Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver PostWhat is my mark? How do I know how I’m doing if I don’t have a mark?Grading is a fundamental challenge of schooling. It’s held out as both carrot and stick. We...
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