Things I couldn’t teach without I’ve just accepted a new teaching job at a school across town. Yesterday was my last day of summer school at my former school, so it was time to pack up. It’s amazing how much stuff you can move over the course of two years, also keepi
July 1st was Canada day and, for the first time (maybe ever), I was feeling very proud to be Canadian. Being Canadian, for years, was just about my passport and where I grew up. But things have changed. My partner just moved over from London, UK two days after Brexit. We’ve been
Provincial Exams are Finished for Many BC Students This week in British Columbia, the Ministry of Education announced that there would be fewer provincial exams for BC students in the coming year, starting with this year’s summer school, which starts July 1st. A change to the ma
English Sounds Different in England I am on holiday in London, England. April 23rd was the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Shakespeare’s prolific work inspired new vocabulary and phrases still used today. Have you ever “been in a pickle?” (The Tempest
Teaching and Mindfulness: While we often think about mindfulness in the context of meditation, it is a strategy that is also useful in teaching practice. Towards the end of the year both students and teachers start to get a little… done. Like an overcooked steak, the juices aren
Welcome to the Year of the Fire Monkey! Before I started working in Richmond, I associated Chinese or Lunar New Year with fireworks, the colour red, and strange timing (New Years was a month ago!). This year, I decided to interview my students and co-workers and ask what they thought
Welcome to 2016 ! After a 2 week holiday that felt like it went far too quickly, I’m back in the classroom. A new year and new courses, but with the same students and same hard-to-break teaching habits. Although the New Year is half way through the school year, it doesn’t
Every week in Social Studies we have a current events day. I ask students to bring in a news item to talk about with the class. The past few weeks there has been a lot to talk about. As the days are getting shorter and darker, it’s starting to feel like the world is becoming dar
English Language teaching through movies and tv shows: Can we watch a movie? …Can we watch a movie now? During mid-terms and into the half-way point of the course, something has happened. It’s a bit of a slippery slope when you start showing movies in class. After some dis
The Work of Teachers Did you know World Teachers’ Day is today? Teaching is one of the most ubiquitous and perhaps most misunderstood jobs. We spend our days with other people’s kids. Sometimes we have a lot of fun. Sometimes we don’t. We get a winter break a spring
