I think I forgot what it was like to be a high school student. I figured the only way to really know was to become one. So I did. Today I was a student at ACS Secondary. Just for a day. I met George, an ACS bus driver, at his home at 6:15am and [...]
I don't listen to music very much. When I am driving, I prefer podcasts and talk radio because I like to engage ideas and argue—yes, I argue with the car radio. I certainly don't make a habit of going to concerts, but I was very excited about a concert last September at St. Andrews in [...]
I spend most of my working time around 3 to 12 year olds. That makes my job one of the best I can imagine. But I have also discovered I really like hanging out with teenagers. Most of the opportunities to do that in the last four years have been with my involvement in the [...]
I walked into the school in mid-August and was greeted by a very friendly student who had been working with Mr. McGrail all summer doing school maintenance. I asked him about his summer and he immediately asked me all about mine! It was such a delightful conversation! I have to be honest, many times I [...]
DEAR TRENT, In your last blog post, I had hoped you would try to be a little more personal in your writing and a little less, well, deep. (Some of us are not quite as cerebral as you.) You asked at the end if you had succeeded. Unfortunately, if I was your teacher, you would [...]
After reading several blogs I wrote for posting this summer, Tanya, the editor of Inside Out, suggested I write something more personal—I should save the more academic posts for the fall. Personal? I was puzzled at first, but then I had an idea—I have this blank-page book I carry with me all the time; I [...]
What if we measured wealth in something other than money and material possessions? The grade 9 Humanities classes went on a field trip to the Museum of Anthropology on the UBC campus in Vancouver. It was a valuable experience as we began our study of First Nations cultures in Canada. One of the things that stood [...]
I was asking my Humanities 9 students a series of questions in preparation for a research project. "Is it OK to use a pencil?" "Is it OK to use an apple (to make pie, for instance)?" "Is it OK to use a chicken (to make pie, for instance)?" Most answered yes to all of the [...]
My baby just turned three! Can I call him my baby anymore? He says "No!" But do they ever stop being your baby? My oldest turned 16 only days later and in my mind he's still my baby. I know my son is probably gagging at that thought right now but just hold your horses [...]
I recently heard a pastor refer to France as a spiritual wasteland, and this wasn't the first time I had heard this. Twenty-one of our students went to France this past spring break and I asked them if they found this to be true. They agreed that French culture is very secular. Very few people [...]
