“Our society should look past each other’s skin colours, languages, cultures and backgrounds. Kids can achieve a lot and we can spread this message. If we start now, then we will have a different future than the world we have now.”
For some time now, I have been examining my thoughts and actions as I recall my years in the classroom. I use the question, “What stories did I construct about a child or children that imposed limitations or opened up possibilities for their learning and achievement?”
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” That saying captures my story. Many teachers took the time to nurture my development. The schools I attended provided resources that supported them in that work.
“Teaching must be further professionalized and teachers must be at the forefront of those efforts.
1. Current practice
“Educators must begin to understand their students
Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and our education system should be a model of how society should embrace our differences, so that every student feels comfortable, safe, and included at school and in the classroom.
Anybody who works in an inner-city school has likely heard students mock one another by referring to others as “Ghetto.” They use this as a derogatory term that implies poor quality or of limited means. I wanted to challenge my combined grade 7 and 8 students’ perception of this word and push them to think deeply about the power of language.
"Never underestimate the power of story," author Wayson Choy told ETFO's provincial and local leaders at the February 2002 Representative Council meeting.