This is the third post in my three-part Inclusive Education: 2020 and Beyond series. The series is part of my CPCO Special Education for Administrators inquiry through which I am examining barriers to inclusion, particularly unconscious bias and factors associated with ability, race and class. I am especially interested in the way teacher beliefs about…
Danger, Proceed With Caution
This is the second post in my three-part Inclusive Education: 2020 and Beyond series. The series was part of my CPCO Special Education for Administrators inquiry through which I examined barriers to inclusion, particularly unconscious bias and factors associated with ability, race, and class. I am especially interested in the way teacher beliefs about various…
All Means All
This is the first post in my three-part Inclusive Education: 2020 and Beyond series. The series was part of my CPCO Special Education for Administrators inquiry through which I was examining barriers to inclusion, particularly unconscious bias and factors associated with ability, race, and class. I am especially interested in the way teacher beliefs about…
What Matters Most?
I recently engaged in The Third Path webinar series led by Dr. David Tranter. Tranter advocates that educators employ a relationship-based approach when seeking greater student wellbeing and achievement. During the first webinar, to make clear his point about important role relationships play in education, Tranter asked participants, “What matters most?” My reflections on his…
Seek Justice
As I park my car, a sea of pink cherry blossoms covering the four trees abutting the school parking lot greets me. The cheerful blossoms stand in sharp contrast to the realities being reported over the car’s radio as I drove here for a day full of IPRC meetings. Government cutbacks, teacher layoffs, cuts in…
Calm the Storm
Welcome to Calm the Storm. This website was developed by Kim El Ghazal and myself as part of our Ottawa Catholic School Board Innovation Fund Project. Through which we sought to incorporate the OCSB Strategic Goals and the Board’s theme, Seek Justice, into a unit for elementary level students about Mental Health. This unique resource…
A Year In Measure
Every morning, minutes before sunrise, an orchestra of birds holds forth outside my bedroom window. Today, their melodic blend of pitches and tones, welcome me to an early sunrise on this late Spring day. Amidst the tweeting and chirping of the birds, I contemplate the peace and serenity surrounding me. As I do, a stream…
Learning to Exhale
It’s mid-July. I sit alone in my new house for the first time. The carpenters, painters, and electricians who are renovating it have left for the day. A light shining through the exposed floorboards extends two floors below. Overhead wires dangle. Outside, remnants of the house spill over the sides of two dumpsters. Amidst the…
The Monster Within: PTSD
Not all seeds that are planted germinate and bloom. Some lay dormant until, under the right conditions, they are able to flourish. Such is the case with this story. Last year, as part of the Hey, Are You Doing Alright? project, I interviewed a colleague. Bravely taking off her mask, she shared her story about…
A New Teacher And Her Well-Being Strategy
The week of May 7 to 13, 2018 is Mental Health Week in Canada. Mental health addresses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It impacts how we think, feel, and act. Our mental health determines how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices in our lives. Each of us—young and old—has mental health. In…
Owning Our Learning Differences
I welcome Alessia Zaino a first-year teacher candidate from the University of Ottawa. In her guest post below, Alessia examines her students’ attitudes and reflections during the Language unit Fish In A Tree. The unit brought greater awareness to the importance of recognizing and accepting individual learning differences. The value is in recognizing that our brains are as unique as…
From Darkness…Hope
Sun pours in through the window of the Holy Family School Learning Commons. On the pavement below, melting snow washes away the grime of winter. On the edges of the puddles it forms, green grass emerges. After spending too many gray, winter days indoors, this Spring day, with its promise of new life and new…
Laurie Azzi, OCT 