I couldn’t believe he belched in my class—and it was on purpose. This was my first year as a teacher, teaching grade 7. This guy was full of energy, and a bit of a stinker too, so I had my hands full. Being so new to the profession, I hadn't developed the instincts for dealing [...]
I never learned as much as when I became a pigeon farmer. I remember walking to the barns on the day of possession, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I was overwhelmed with the responsibility, and with my ignorance as to how to produce the young pigeons (squab) that were so coveted by the [...]
I never got to light an Advent candle when I was a child. The idea terrified me. I imagined myself in front of all those solemn people who were expectant, not only for the coming of our Lord, but for the timely lighting of the candles. I saw myself desperately trying to get the lighter [...]
When one of my kids came home on a Friday and declared, "I have to finish my project," I was filled with dread. Weekend plans were abandoned so I could try to achieve the impossible: learning the material the project was supposed to demonstrate, balancing my child's expectations with reality, understanding the standards against which the project would be [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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