Smells Like a Barn Rural Education Is Ripe with Challenges and Opportunities

WINTER 2020

THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION ATA Magazine

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THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION ATA Magazine Book Hands-on S.T.E.M. Feature Workshops for Your Students

Smells l ik e a barn Rural education is ripe with challenges and opportunities. PAGE 18

Winter 2020 / Vol. 100 /N2

Feature 18 Rural Resilience

Outlook Letters C 4 RURAL RESILIENCE 5 From the President M The risks and rewards of rural Mot du président Y 6 Then and Now

CM education in Alberta. 18 8 Looking Abroad MY 10 Unsung Hero

CMY Bulletin Board K 3 Editor's Notebook Note de la rédactrice 12 Wellness 14 Technology 16 Diversity 30 Research Insights 40 In Profile

10 40 Learning Commons 34 From the Bookshelves Discover Solar, Biogas, Wind Power and Energy Conservation UNSUNG HERO IN PROFILE 36 Kid Lit Community builder leaves lasting Calgary teacher Kelsey McMahon taps 38 In Focus Programs for Grades 4–8 legacy. into the power of dance. 39 Who’s Out There? Teacher to Teacher 45 In My Humble Opinion 48 MOST MEMORABLE LESSON 47 Teacher Hacks 48 Most Memorable Lesson Connecting students with history BOOK TODAY provides lesson on moving beyond relayeducation.com/programs curriculum.

866-308-6898 ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 1 ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 Contributors EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joni Turville [email protected] DUSTIN DELFS KAREN KLASSEN MANAGING EDITOR Cory Hare Cover and feature p. 10 [email protected] NAIT Photo Tech Karen Klassen is EDITING alumni Dustin Delfs an award-winning Sandra Bit founded Laughing Dog illustrator and painter based ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN Photography in 2002 with in Calgary. Her work can Erin Solano a large-format film camera and half-a-dozen be found in fashion advertising campaigns, Kim vanderHelm children’s books and magazines throughout Yuet Chan daily trips to the photo lab. Eighteen years, six studios and 4,100 photo shoots later, the North America and Europe, as well as on gallery ADVERTISING Laughing Dog team has worked from Vancouver walls and in the homes of private collectors. Trevor Battye Advertising Sales Her favourite high school teacher was Mr. Sutter; [email protected] to Newfoundland to Yellowknife; in helicop- ters, coal mines, operating rooms, NHL dressing he was always kind and made learning easy. You © 2020 by The Alberta Teachers’ Association. rooms, bison herds and cookie factories; and can see more of her work at karenklassen.com Unauthorized use or duplication without prior he’s still loving it, as much today as ever before! or @karenklassen on Instagram. approval is strictly prohibited. ATA Magazine is published three times a year. SUBSCRIPTIONS ATA members receive the ATA Magazine and CHRISTINA JEREMY FOKKENS the ATA News. The combined subscription for nonmembers is $25. Single copies of the ATA FRANGOU | p. 40 p. 40 Magazine are $6.50. The magazine is available Christina Frangou Jeremy Fokkens is a in microfilm or photocopy from Micromedia Ltd., Montreal. is a Calgary-based portrait and advertising Articles, commentary and editorial material writer and journalist who photographer based in represent the views of the authors and do not specializes in health and Calgary. He was a profess- necessarily reflect ATA policy. Acceptance social issues. Her work has garnered numerous ional dancer and teacher before making the of an advertisement does not imply ATA awards, including a National Newspaper Award switch to photography full time in 2011. Fokkens endorsement. for long-feature writing. In Grade 3, her teacher published his first bookThe Human Connection The Alberta Teachers’ Association read A Wrinkle In Time to her class, a chapter a in 2014 and recently started a cross-Canada 11010 142 Street Edmonton, AB T5N 2R1 project called Back To The Land, photographing Telephone: 780-447-9400 day. Frangou couldn't bear the suspense. She Toll Free in Alberta: 1-800-232-7208 got book from the library, finished it overnight people from small towns and remote areas. To Fax: 780-455-6481 and told her classmates the next day how it see more, visit www.jeremyfokkens.com Website: www.teachers.ab.ca ended. Ms. S gave her a lecture on ruining

TABLE OFFICERS DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES books for other people. Frangou still loves the President Calgary City Kathy Hoehn writing of Madeleine L'Engle. Jason Schilling Kevin Kempt, Darren Moroz JoANN BLACHFORD Vice-President Calgary District Karen Nakaska Darrin Bauer Central East Murray Lalonde p. 48 Vice-President Central North Robert Twerdoclib Jenny Regal Central South Don Brookwell TARYN MARSHALL JoAnn Blachford Past President Central Brenton Baum began her career at Greg Jeffery Edmonton McMurray Nancy Ball p. 47 Executive Secretary Greg Carabine, Carmen Glossop Stettler Junior High School. Dennis Theobald Edmonton District Paul Froese Taryn Marshall She taught various courses— Associate Executive North West Peter MacKay Secretaries South East Heather McCaig teaches Grade 1 at social studies, home economics, art and Brian Andrais South West Katherine Pritchard Father Lacombe Catholic language arts—before becoming a school Joni Turville School in Lacombe. Born counsellor. She is currently working as an and raised in Red Deer, she’s in her third year assistant principal at Sir George Simpson of teaching and looks forward to the new Junior High School in St. Albert. adventures that every day brings. Her favourite aspect of teaching is seeing the children grow over the course of the year and all the amazing, fun learning explorations The ATA Magazine is a member they do together. Marshall loves to share her of the Canadian Educational Press Association. students’ classroom activities on social media, especially Instagram, where her handle is Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 40065477 Return undeliverable Canadian @teachingwithmrsmarshall. addresses to the Alberta Teachers’ Association. ISSN 0380-9102

PEFC Certified The Alberta Teachers’ Association acknowledges Treaty 6, 7 and 8 territories, the ancestral and traditional territories of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, as well as the Blackfoot Confederacy: Kainai, Piikani and Siksika, Tsuu T’ina, First Nation and Stoney Nakoda First This product is from sustainably Nation. We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples whose footsteps have marked these lands for generations. We are POSmanaged forests and controlled sources grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. Our recognition of ONLY this land is an act of reconciliation and an expression of our gratitude to those on whose territory we print and distribute this publication. PEFC/29-31-75 www.pefc.org

2 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK NOTE DE LA RÉDACTRICE

Joni Turville

Editor-in-Chief, ATA Magazine Rédactrice en chef de l’ATA Magazine PHOTO BY RYAN PARKER

A rural learning moment Un moment d’apprentissage

MANY YEARS AGO, before I came to work full-time en milieu rural at the Alberta Teachers’ Association, I accepted a position as one of the Association’s instructors. This group IL Y A BIEN LONGTEMPS, avant de venir travailler à plein temps of classroom teachers works with the support à l’Alberta Teachers’ Association, j’ai accepté de faire partie de l’équipe of the Association to facilitate workshops across the des instructeurs de l’ATA. Cette équipe formée d’enseignants titulaires province for ATA locals, schools and jurisdictions. de classe travaille en collaboration avec l’ATA afin de faciliter, dans toute The training we experienced together helped me to la province, la mise en place d’ateliers destinés au personnel des sections become comfortable in facilitating adult learning and locales de l’ATA, écoles et conseils scolaires. La formation que nous avons brought a great deal to my teaching practice as well. suivie m’a beaucoup appris sur la manière de faciliter l’apprentissage des Incidentally, you can find out more about the Associ- adultes, et a aussi énormément contribué à l’amélioration de ma propre ation’s workshop program and instructor corps on pratique de l’enseignement. Soit dit en passant, vous trouverez davantage page 38 of this issue. de renseignements sur les programmes de formation offerts par l’ATA One of the first workshops I delivered was in the et sur le groupe d’instructeurs à la page 38 de ce numéro. northeast part of the province. I arrived at the juris- Un des premiers ateliers que j’ai animés se déroulait au nord-est de la diction office early so I could set up my materials and province. Ce jour-là, je suis arrivée tôt au bureau du conseil scolaire pour greet participants at the door. As the teachers came in, installer le matériel et accueillir les participants. Au fur et à mesure que I moved around the room and chatted with as many les enseignants entraient dans la salle, je passais de l’un à l’autre afin de faire un brin de conversation avec le plus grand nombre d’entre eux. people as possible. J’étais sidérée par la durée des trajets qu’ils avaient effectués en I was astounded to learn how long people had driven voiture pour venir assister à l’atelier - deux heures, deux heures et to attend the workshop—two, two-and-a-half or even demie et même trois heures de route étaient chose courante - et ils three hours were not unusual—and they would repeat allaient refaire le trajet inverse après l’atelier qui durait une demi-journée. the drive after our half-day workshop was completed. De mon point de vue de banlieusarde, c’était pour le moins choquant. From my suburban-centric perspective, this was Bien entendu, je connaissais l’étendue géographique de notre province et quite jarring. Of course, I knew the physical size of our je savais qu’elle comptait de nombreuses écoles rurales, mais 10 minutes province and that we have many rural schools, but my me suffisaient pour aller au bureau central et je ne mettais jamais plus commute to my central office was about 10 minutes de 15 minutes pour parcourir le plus long trajet au sein de mon district sco- and the longest commute within the school district laire. Pour mes collègues et moi, il était donc facile de rester à l’école après was 15 minutes. For my colleagues and me, it was easy les réunions tenues en fin de journée pour travailler ensemble. to hold after-school meetings and collaborate with D’une certaine façon, je n’avais pas vraiment réalisé les défis que doit each other. Somehow, I hadn’t really registered the surmonter un enseignant dont les collègues sont dispersés dans des écoles challenges a teacher might face when their colleagues situées à des centaines et centaines de kilomètres les unes des autres. were spread across many, many kilometres. Je soupçonne que ce manque de collaboration entre collègues dû I suspect that this disconnect still exists, so I’m very à l’isolement existe toujours, c’est pourquoi je me réjouis de la sortie excited about this issue and our feature on rural educa- de ce numéro qui met en avant l’éducation en milieu rural. Il s’adresse tion, which is dedicated to my colleagues who teach in non seulement à mes collègues qui enseignent dans ce milieu, mais rural settings and those of us who have much to learn aussi à ceux parmi nous qui ont beaucoup à apprendre des défis et about your challenges and opportunities. opportunités auxquels ils doivent faire face. As ever, thanks for reading and thanks for all you Comme toujours, merci de faire partie de nos fidèles lecteurs, do for the students of Alberta. ATA et merci de tout ce que vous faites pour les élèves de l’Alberta. ATA

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 3 Outlook

Letters

SURVEY

ATA Magazine? Alberta Teacher? Magistri? After 100 years, is it time for a new name for the ATA Magazine? Please share your

thoughts via this short CHAN YUET BY PHOTO online survey http://bit.ly /ATAMagazine_name. Respondents New design is appealing will be entered The revamped“ in a draw for a and engaging magazine is a must $100 gift card. read for all teachers. Just wanted to send you some feedback on the recent Kathy Hoehn ATA Magazine. It was mentioned that work had been done district representative, to make the magazine “more appealing and engaging.” Calgary City This you certainly accomplished as I enjoyed the entire We want your feedback magazine. I believe the “appealing and engaging” were missing before this edition. I appreciate all the efforts I’m just reading e’d like to hear from to improve the appearance and overall presentation. the revamped you! Please send us Continue the good work. general feedback, ATA Magazine. W –Sharon Goerg, retired teacher It looks amazing! your thoughts on items that you particularly liked (or Peter Mackay, didn’t), suggestions for future CONGRATS! district representative, North West content, letters to the editor. Congratulations on a superb SMALLER FONT We really do want to hear redo of the magazine! It’s HAMPERS from you. After all, this is your very nicely put together. ENJOYMENT magazine. Your careful attention and I appreciate your Editor’s note Email your feedback to creativity is quite apparent. request for feedback It’s great that we’re Joni Turville, editor-in-chief, –Jamie Babcock, principal, about the redesigned getting both positive [email protected] or Prairie View Outreach ATA Magazine. I found feedback and con- Cory Hare, managing editor, School, High Prairie that the print is gener- structive criticism. [email protected]. ally too small, making LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — the redesigned maga- GUIDELINES TERRIFIC JOB! zine very difficult to read. This circumstance Word limit: 300 Such a comprehensive re- Love the new interfered with your Please include working, which turned out ATA Magazine goal of connecting me • your first and last name, so well. Congratulations on design!! • basic information about your taking this on, and on such to the ATA and other teaching assignment a fine result. members. Shannon Dubé (i.e. school, grade, subject). president, Fort McMurray –Larry Booi, –Gary Johnson, Local No. 48 All letters are subject to editing life member for length, clarity, punctuation, former Alberta Teachers’ spelling and grammar. Association president ”

4 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION FROM THE PRESIDENT MOT DU PRÉSIDENT

Jason Schilling

President, ATA Président de l’ATA PHOTO BY RYAN PARKER

Don’t look now, Vous ne le savez peut-être but you’re inspiring pas, mais vous êtes bel et

PRESERVICE AND NEW TEACHERS like to ask bien source d’inspiration about the future of education and, when they do, I encourage them to avoid becoming cynical about the times LES ENSEIGNANTS EN FORMATION INITIALE ET we find ourselves in. Pessimism is easy, so I urge them LES NOUVEAUX ENSEIGNANTS aiment bien s’informer to remember what inspired them to become a teacher. sur l’avenir de l’éducation et lorsqu’ils posent des questions, On several occasions, I have heard teachers and school je les encourage à ne pas porter un regard cynique sur la situation leaders talk about what or who influenced them to pursue actuelle. C’est facile d’être pessimiste, aussi j’insiste pour qu’ils education. Whether it was a family member or a favourite se souviennent de ce qui les a poussés à devenir enseignants. teacher, the desire to be a teacher is rooted in the relation- À plusieurs reprises, j’ai entendu des enseignants et leadeurs ships we experience in our lives. For me, two teachers stand scolaires parler de choses ou de personnes qui les ont incités out clearly as influences on my drive to become a teacher. à poursuivre leurs études dans l’enseignement. Que ce soit un I fondly remember the patience and grace of my Grade 8 membre de la famille ou un enseignant préféré qui nous a inspirés, language arts and drama teacher, Miss Briner. I clearly le désir d’enseigner est profondément ancré dans les relations que recall sitting in her class one day and thinking that I too nous avons tissées au cours de notre vie. Pour moi, il est clair que wanted to be an English and drama teacher. In my first deux enseignants en particulier sont à l’origine de ce réel désir. year of teaching, I found myself with that exact same Je me souviens avec plaisir de la bienveillance et de la patience teaching assignment. Miss Briner taught me that junior de madame Briner qui m’enseignait l’anglais et les arts dramatiques high (and all its drama) could be welcoming; this lesson lorsque j’étais en 8e année. Je me revois très bien dans sa classe, of school being a safe space for all students never left me. le jour où je me suis dit, tout bas, que moi aussi j’aimerais bien As an awkward high school student, I encountered enseigner l’anglais et les arts dramatiques. Et c’est exactement my English teacher Miss Stanley, a woman I admired for ce que j’ai fait ma première année d’enseignement. Avec elle, her intelligence and no-nonsense attitude. You know j’ai appris que l’école au secondaire premier cycle (malgré son that teacher who could stop a rampaging elephant with lot d’histoires compliquées) est aussi un lieu accueillant. a stare over her glasses? That was Miss Stanley. She was J’étais un élève gêné du secondaire lorsque j’ai rencontré tough, fair and scared the living daylights out of me. madame Stanley, mon enseignante d’anglais. Elle était sévère, Her lesson of holding students to a high standard became juste, et me glaçait le sang. Sa détermination à exiger sans cesse ingrained into my own pedagogy. I was later fortunate le meilleur de ses élèves est profondément enracinée dans ma to work with Miss Stanley at the ATA, but I could never propre pédagogie. bring myself to call her by her first name. Certes, l’éducation publique traverse actuellement une période There’s no doubt that we are living in troubling times difficile, et il peut sembler naturel que vous remettiez en question for public education, so it may feel natural to question votre choix de carrière professionnelle ou perdiez de vue ce qui your choice of profession or to lose sight of what inspired vous a poussés à faire ce choix. Néanmoins, comme enseignants, this choice. I think it’s vitally important that you, as a je crois qu’il est extrêmement important que vous vous souveniez teacher, reconnect with that inspiration and treasure de ce qui vous a réellement inspirés. Ravivez ce précieux souvenir, it like the precious gift that it is, as that can carry you chérissez-le, car il vous aidera à dissiper vos moments de doute. through some difficult periods of doubt. Tout comme votre source d’inspiration est apparue au moment Just as your inspiration came when you weren’t really où vous vous y attendiez le moins, en tant qu’enseignants, gardez looking for it, remember that, as a teacher, you never really en mémoire que vous ne saurez jamais vraiment lorsque vous- know when you are, in turn, inspiring someone else. ATA mêmes deviendrez source d’inspiration. ATA

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 5 We dug into the archives to find tidbits from previous Match these excerpts with the year they were ATA Magazines that are worth another look, either originally published: 1920, 1949, 1963 and 1978. because of their relevance today, or as a reminder of 1. RIGHT TO STRIKE 3. WHAT DO WE DO WITH how far we’ve come. You Alberta teachers, long since disillusioned CONTROVERSY? be the judge. about the efficacy of the cap-in-hand Controversy is an integral part of approach of establishing their economic democratic experience and hence so- position in society, have adopted the called controversial issues belong in techniques of free collective bargaining the school. Any other conclusion would as a proper way to achieve their economic imply that education is somewhat goals. In so doing, they have not flinched insulated from life. from using the painful and distasteful ultimate sanction which gives real Your guess: meaning to bargaining. They have refused on occasion to give their service under 4. TEACHER: PRESIDING GENIUS conditions which they found unacceptable to them. In short, they have gone on strike The school therefore occupies a strategic after every other method of effecting position in our national development. settlement has failed. In rural districts it forms a social centre. Not only is it the place where the children Your guess: of the neighborhood are taught “the three Rs” but it is the headquarters of the social life of the entire community. 2. WHO WILL DECIDE MORALS ... Occupying as the school does, such a AND PRINCIPLES? prominent place in the life of the district, Are we prepared to teach that only one its presiding genius, the teacher, should set of values is appropriate for everything be no mere nonentity. ATA in any situation? If so, which code of morality is it to be? Who will decide Your guess:

whether the schools should teach only

moral absolutes and which principles Dymond. J. S. by Problem” Rural “The 1920, Sept–Oct

Educational Leadership. Educational )

will be taught—parents, teachers, from (Reprinted Lindeman. C. Eduard 3. by Classroom” the in Belong Issues “Living 1949, January

schools, school boards or departments Samoil. Judy

of education? by Grail” Holy the of Search In Education: “Moral 1978, May

Edmonton Journal. Edmonton ) ) the Dissent,” for “Journal

Your guess: the in published (Originally McFetridge. D. J. by Strike” 1. December 1963, “Why Teachers Should Have the Right to to Right the Have Should Teachers “Why 1963, December

Answers

6 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION WE’VE GOT ART TO SHARE Image credit: Philip Kanwischer, Leave, 2018.

DETERMINATION, THE ALBERTA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS TRAVELLING EXHIBITION PROGRAM | REGION 3 | TREX SOUTHWEST albertasocietyofartists.com/trex [email protected] PERSEVERANCE AND CONFIDENCE.

They are the faces of education. We are the Alberta Teachers’ Association, and we believe in them.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 7 LOOKING ABROAD

Why look abroad? We’re at an important moment in history that demands external outlook

IF, AS TEACHERS, WE ARE to be mindful have become the intractable norm and people contributors to societies that are increasingly often seek to have their own opinions or sense defined by the transnational flow of ideas, of truth constantly echoed back to them. technology, people, capital and culture—i.e., Looking Abroad is a new section in the globalization—then we must establish new ATA Magazine that aims to help break that routines of looking outward, of scanning the trend by looking around the world to gain a rapidly changing landscapes beyond our prov- deeper understanding of educational issues, incial and national boundaries. developments and successes. By increasing Unfortunately, much of the outward our consciousness of other perspectives, we can boundary crossing of the last few decades is recognize opportunities to enhance our profes- being replaced in societies all over the world ATA sion, schools and local school communities. ILLUSTRATIONS BY KIM VANDERHELM by a new inward-looking tribalism—a return of walls, if you will—where polarized opinions — ATA staff

8 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Report warns of increased Education unions join efforts to privatization in public education ensure refugees’ rights Years of austerity and poor funding in Education was one of six main themes Greece have led to a growing trend toward discussed during the first ever Global privatization in public education. Refugee Forum held in Geneva, Switzer- In November, Education International land on Dec. 17 and 18. (EI) affiliates in Greece released a report On hand for the event, Education showing that the major impact of aus- International (EI) senior co-ordinator terity on public education in the country Dennis Sinyolo pledged to mobilize EI’s has been the growth of privatization 400 member organizations “to make and shadow education, education staff schools and all education institutions truly shortages, a lack of infrastructure and, as inclusive and welcoming to refugees.” a result, increasing public distrust in Education International is calling on public education. governments, the United Nations and Entitled "Public Education in Greece. partners to Aspects and Trends of an Emerging Priva- • ensure the accreditation and recogni- tisation,” the study’s recommendations tion of refugee teachers’ qualifications; call on the government to urgently boost • ensure the training and professional funding for public education, increase development of refugee and local teachers’ salaries, ensure professional teachers; development and support for education workers, and strengthen all public edu- • guarantee the inclusion of refugee teaching knowledge and understanding, cation structures and programs that have children and youth in the formal teaching practice and teaching relations. been neglected for years. education systems of host countries It’s hoped that the framework will “This study is the newest link in a long within the first three months following help raise the quality of teaching and chain of actions in support of education their arrival and not offer an alternative learning in many countries, schools and as a public good,” said Thanasis Kikinis, inferior track to refugees; and classrooms, said Education International president of the Greek Primary Teachers’ • develop, finance and implement president Susan Hopgood. Federation (DOE), which commissioned comprehensive policies to guarantee “We care deeply about the status of the study along with the Greek Federa- refugee teachers’ right to teach and our profession and about the quality of tion of Secondary Education State School children’s right to learn. ATA the education provided to our students,” Teachers (OLME). Education International, www.ei-ie.org/ she said. “Working together with our col- en/detail/16584/education-unions-join- Developed with the input of teachers, leagues in secondary education, we will international-efforts-to-ensure-refugees’- the standards are the result of a resolution use the findings to intensify and focus rights-in-and-through-education passed at the eighth World Congress of our efforts so that each and every student Education International in Bangkok last in Greece has access to the quality public New framework defines quality July. Teacher unions and governments are education they deserve,” Kikinis said. teaching on a global scale being encouraged to use the framework to The Greek teacher unions plan to strengthen their teaching standards. lobby the government and all parties in In November 2019, Education Inter- Stefania Giannini, UNESCO assistant parliament to mobilize support for public national (EI) and UNESCO launched a director general for education, stated that education, call for increased state funding joint framework aimed at defining quality the standards will be “a powerful instru- and various outreach activities to engage teaching worldwide. ment in the hands of educators.” all stakeholders in the fight for quality “Just as we would never want unquali- “Their development is one of the public education. fied surgeons operating on our children, critical steps in order to increase the The report’s released marked the we do not want our young people to be supply of qualified and trained teachers beginning of a regional strategy to fight taught by unqualified teachers,” states necessary to ensure quality education for privatization and commercialization in the foreword of the 20-page document. all children and adolescents by 2030.” ATA education in southern Europe. ATA Launched at UNESCO’s Paris head- Education International,www.ei-ie.org/en/ Education International, www.ei-ie.org/ quarters, the Global Framework of detail/16541/teachers-and-unesco-team-up- en/detail/16561/greece-report-warns-of- Professional Teaching Standards outlines to-define-professionalism-for-teaching-and- emerging-privatisation-in-public-education 10 standards across three domains: learning-across-the-world

The above articles are condensed, revised versions of the originals, and reprinted from Education International in accordance with an Attribution- Noncommercial Creative Commons license, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. The text was edited to align with ATA style.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 9 10 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION UNSUNG HERO

Krishan Joshee: Community builder leaves legacy of service

Maggie Shane

Archivist, ATA

ONCE SOMEONE IS YOUR STUDENT, Council of India Societies of Edmonton they are always your student. and the Edmonton Heritage Festival Asso- This was a core belief of Krishan ciation. He was the first person of South Joshee, a longtime science teacher who Asian origin to receive the Order of Canada, is remembered for his social conscience was inducted into the City of Edmonton and volunteerism. Community Service Hall of Fame and “As a teacher you always need to re- received the Stars of Alberta Award. member that your students are a precious Krishan retired from teaching in 1986, gift given to you by their parents,” says but his interest in education continued Joshee’s daughter, Reva Joshee, in describ- through his involvement with Edmonton’s ing her father’s philosophy as a teacher. Inner City High School, which works Born in India in 1923, Joshee saw his through a philosophy of peace to educate earliest days shaped by his maternal young people who live in extreme poverty. grandfather, a leader in the Arya Samaj The role closest to Joshee’s heart was movement in Punjab, which worked pri- that of founding member of the Mahatma marily for the eradication of caste barriers Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World and for universally accessible education. Peace in 1986. Joshee gathered a group of Krishan Chandra Joshee In 1960, Joshee, his wife Karuna and community leaders to commission a memor- their three children arrived in Spirit River, ial bust of Mahatma Gandhi in downtown Helped create a federal Alberta, where Joshee took a teaching Edmonton. It was the first such monument multiculturalism policy position and immediately got involved to Gandhi anywhere in North America. in community leadership. In 1967, the Joshee died in 2014. One of his last FOUNDING MEMBER family moved to Edmonton where Joshee wishes was that his family continue to Mahatma Gandhi Canadian taught for the Catholic school board and work with the Gandhi Foundation and Foundation for World Peace continued his community involvement Inner City High, where his family and through tireless efforts to help create a friends have since established the Krishan Hindu Society of Alberta federal multiculturalism policy. C. Joshee Promise Fund, which helps stu- Council of India “Multiculturalism is an integral part dents achieve their academic goals. ATA Societies of Edmonton of our province and of our communities,” he wrote in 2007.

Edmonton Heritage KARENKLASSEN.COM ⊲ Got an idea? Unsung Hero is a space Festival Association — “We are fortunate to live in a place dedicated to honouring ATA members with a heritage built by people of many past and present who have had nota- AWARDS nations and cultural backgrounds. It is ble achievements, either within the City of Edmonton Community our legacy and our strength, and we cele- ATA or in their private lives. Service Hall of Fame brate it in everything that we do.” If you know of a member who you Joshee was a founding member of feel should be recognized, please Stars of Alberta Award many culture-focused organizations, in- contact managing editor Cory Hare

Member of the Order of Canada ILLUSTRATIONBY KAREN KLASSEN cluding the Hindu Society of Alberta, the at [email protected].

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 11 12 Wellness

THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Executive StaffOfficer,ATATeacher Welfare Fred Kreiner the helmofyourownship Seven keystepstowardtaking my captainself! Oh captain,

personal wellness. thoughtful choicestoimprove andmaintainyour becoming yourownpersonal captain? Bymaking to thisdegree?Howdoyouget ontracktoward from within.Buthowcanyou supportyourself atop adesk—andgeneratethatfeelingofpower whether ornotyouchoosetobroadcastitfrom that levelofprideandsupportforyourself— to experienceamomentlikethat. how incrediblypowerfulitmustfeelforateacher support fortheirinspiringteacher?Justimagine out, “Ohcaptain,mycaptain!”toshowprideand students standdefiantlyatoptheirdesksbelting Remember thatmomentinthemoviewhen times—we’re intheeducationsector,afterall. Society, right?You’veprobablyevenseenitafew I’M SURE YOUI’M SURE KNOW THE My hope for you is that you are able to show My hopeforyouisthatareabletoshow movie Dead Poets Dead Poets

PHOTO BY GRADY REESE, ISTOCK ILLUSTRATION BY YUET CHAN Sources of resources to help you STEPS toward self-captaincy chart your wellness course • Mental Health Commission of Canada 7 • Homewood Health Strike a balance Striking the right balance between work, family and personal demands Some tools to help you chart is a continual work in progress. Some days might be chock full of work, your wellness course while others are more filled with family time. Just remember that setting • The Mental Health Commission clear expectations for yourself and others in your personal and professional of Canada (www.mentalhealth- relationships can go a long way toward supporting the balance you need. commission.ca) has great resources for employees and Each week might feel a bit different, but by setting boundaries where you employers alike. With a broad can, you ensure that the scales don’t tip too far to either side. search tool, it’s a quick way to find impactful mental health Open up resources. Try developing open communication channels wherever you can—from • Your employee and family assistance program, like Homewood peers and supervisors to family and friends. Practice this by simply being Health (https: / / homewoodhealth transparent with others, which shows you’re being genuine and confident. .com), can provide resources, e-courses, counselling, leader- Build resilience ship supports and much more. Resilience helps you deal confidently with situations that might otherwise • The Sandbox (thewellnesssandbox.ca) is your go-to for all things feel overwhelming, and a key contributing factor in cultivating resilience is workplace-wellness related, and psychological capital—a person’s positive psychological state. This includes especially helpful is the Dimen- elements like self-efficacy, optimism and hope. Whether you’re trying to sions of Wellness resource (www finish off a large project or navigate a tricky workplace relationship, focus .thewellnesssandbox.ca / public / on the positives and celebrate your successes with others. This will increase download / files /47931 ). your psychological capital, and most likely that of your colleagues too. • Your benefits provider, like ASEBP (www.asebp.ca), can help you focus on a variety of health Find your focus and wellness routes, including Plenty of evidence suggests that work can enhance well-being, and con- your health spending account. tribute to mental and physical health, improved relationships and more satisfying home lives. By focusing on what is fulfilling about your work, you’ll feel healthier, more present and more engaged, which ultimately helps you be more effective. RECOMMENDED Be a leader RESOURCE We can all be leaders in the workplace. In fact, leadership starts simply with traits like positivity, trustworthiness, nurturing creativity, giving construct- ive feedback and owning mistakes. And there’s beauty in this simplicity: anyone can integrate and model these leadership skills at any time. So, if you were looking for a permission slip to do so, consider this it! Follow your passion Say yes to projects that excite you, fulfil you or move you closer to big goals. Maybe that means building connections through culture-building events at work—like, say, a potluck—or meeting new people outside work by signing up for a yoga class. Activities like these help foster connections that run deeper than what you might normally experience. Find support You might not always feel like the captain of your ship. Just remember that the teaching profession features others who are tackling the same issues that you are. Find people you can share ideas with, rely on your support Lead with Appreciation network and celebrate your successes. It starts with setting a healthy Amber Teamann and Melinda Miller example for yourself and, remember, you’re not alone. ATA Available through the ATA library.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 13 14 Technology

THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION 1 problem solving creativity andcollaborative A spaceforinnovation, Makerspace Anatomy ofa 5 4 3 and invent. als, studentscanbeinspiredto design,improve equipment. Withsimple,cost-effective materi- room filledwiththousandsofdollars’worth and problemsolving. space, amakerspaceismindsetforcreativity learning experiences.Morethanjustaphysical to thecurriculumthroughauthentichands-on makerspaces istheirabilitytoconnectstudents laboration. Oneofthegreateststrengths in innovation,ideation,inventionandcol- These spacesinviteparticipantstobeinvolved libraries andpost-secondaryinstitutions. popularity overthepastdecadeinK–12schools, MAKERSPACES HAVE BEEN A makerspace does not have to be an entire A makerspacedoesnothavetobeanentire 2 gaining gaining 6

PHOTO BY YUET CHAN Here are some ideas of what could MAKER KITS IN be included in a makerspace: YOUR ATA LIBRARY The ATA library has a large collection of makerspace 1 Makey Makey technology kits that you can The Makey Makey is an electronic invention kit for all ages that allows users borrow—including most of the to combine everyday objects with the internet. Using alligator clips attached kits mentioned on this page. to any conductive material, users can control their computer’s keyboard with everyday objects. Browse through the list of maker kits to find one (or three!) to enrich 2 Breakerspace your lesson plans. The website also has helpful links on different Most stations in a makerspace encourage the construction of something. ways you can use the kits in The breakerspace station encourages just the opposite. Technology and other your classroom. classroom or household items are provided for students to disassemble, investigate and rebuild. Local reuse centres are a great source of materials. The ATA library adds new kits throughout the year, so be sure to 3 Robotics check the site regularly. Robots are machines that can do three things: sense, act and think. They can How to borrow technology help students gain powerful knowledge in science, technology, engineering, • Go to library.teachers.ab.ca and arts and math (STEAM). Instead of having students just use robots, choose sign in with your ATA account. robots they can either build themselves or transform with maker materials. Robots are now available that are accessible to students of all ages and abilities, • Click the Maker Kits link to see such as Dash and Dot, Kibo, Cublets, K8, Mbot and Lego. a full listing of the maker kits available in the ATA library. 4 Media creation • Classroom kits are mailed to Media creation consists of the use of green screen technology, stop-motion ani- your school anywhere in the mation and digital storytelling apps and programs available for tablets, laptops province, and return postage and desktop computers, and smartphones. These applications are user friendly is prepaid. and enable people of all ages to learn how to use green screen technology, stop- motion animation and digital-storytelling platforms. Teachers can use these apps across the curriculum to engage students and enhance the presentation of student-created projects. This is also a powerful way to document the process of learning and ideation in a makerspace. RECOMMENDED 5 Coding RESOURCE Coding, also called computer programming, is a series of instructions to a computer in a specific computer-based language such as Python, HTML, Java, C++ and more. Traditionally, these computer languages were reserved for university-level students and were intensely complicated. But now coding has never been more accessible to students of all ages! Thanks to block-based coding languages, students and teachers can learn to code in a safe and easy environment. There are many free and easy platforms to help you get started, such as Scratch, Google CS First, Kids Code Jeunesse and Canada Learning Code.

6 Recycled materials Students use recycled materials to create new inventions. The beauty of this space is that it is nearly free! Students can contribute items from home: boxes, cans, bottles, bags, shop materials, fabric, toothpicks, popsicle sticks—anything! All a teacher needs to provide are a variety of common craft materials: glue, tape, paper, scissors, glitter, cotton balls, pompoms, doilies, paint … whatever you have on hand! ATA

The Art of Digital Fabrication Information provided by the ATA’s Educational Technology Council and from Erin E. Riley www.makerspaceforeducation.com, created by Alberta teacher Trisha Roffey and used with permission. Available through the ATA library.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 15 Diversity PHOTO: FILE/YUET CHAN PHOTO: Attendees at the ATA's Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Conference listen intently as they learn about relationality, reconciliation and antiopressive education.

COMMITMENT, PASSION AND A WILL- INGNESS to engage in frank and often difficult ATA committee DEHRs discussions: these are the prerequisites for gaining a spot on the Diversity, Equity and Human Rights to make a difference (DEHR) Committee. When you sit at the DEHR table, your viewpoints and perspectives will be challenged. Consensus will be elusive and hard won, and you’ll Ideas to help you create be making a tangible difference in the lives of Alberta students. When you sit at the DEHR table, your view- inclusive spaces. points and perspectives will be challenged. The DEHR Committee was established in 2000 to study and address inequities related to gender, race, sexual orientation and other differences that could Information provided by ATA staff officer Andrea Berg give rise to discrimination.

16 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION PHOTO BY YUET CHAN YUET BY PHOTO Hot off the presses! DEHR’s newest publication, Promo- ting Success with Indian Immigrant Students, will help you learn how the social structures, education system and fascinating cultural traditions of India may impact your

PHOTO: FILE students’ success in your class. PEC representative Heather McCaig presents Local No. 48 president Shannon Dubé with the 2019 DEHR award.

DEHR Award winners RECOMMENDED Presented annually at Summer Conference, the DEHR award recognizes projects, RESOURCE programs, events or activities organized by an ATA local to promote diversity, equity and human rights. Here are highlights from the last five winning entries:

2019—FORT MCMURRAY LOCAL 300 pieces of art to fundraise for NO. 48 Syrian refugees. The students raised • Created a teacher gay–straight over $5,600 for the refugee fund at alliance (GSA), Lethbridge Family Services. • established a DEHR grant program 2015—THE PEACE COUNTRY’S to support teachers engaging in DEHR TRILOCAL DEHR COMMITTEE work at their schools and (Grande Prairie and District Catholic • participated in a Pride float for the Teachers No. 42, Northern Spirit Local No. community parade. 6 and Trumpeter Local No. 26) 2018—PEMBINA HILLS LOCAL • Hosted a display table and a guest NO. 22 speaker at teachers’ convention, Organized a unique Amazing Race-type • built a professional library for teachers and challenge at North Central Teachers’ Your students, My students, Convention, inspiring teachers to solve • held their third annual cultural night. Our students—Rethinking clues and locate DEHR-related sites in Equitable and Inclusive downtown Edmonton that represented Classrooms a wide range of cultures. Resources Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, Julie Kroener 2017—FOOTHILLS LOCAL NO. 16 The DEHR committee has helped create Facilitated the SAGA Youth United 2k16. a wide selection of resources to support Available through the ATA library. This initiative brought together GSAs teachers in creating inclusive spaces for from different schools in the Foothills all students. All resources are developed For more information about the School Division and area to connect, in collaboration with Alberta teachers in ⊲ DEHR program, award applica- learn, share ideas and build friendships. the field. Each student GSA had the opportunity tions, and a library of resources, Whether you are a teacher wanting to plan and host a gathering for other please visit www.teachers to promote the success of immigrant student GSAs in the region. .ab.ca > My ATA > Professional students, a teacher sponsor of a student Development > Diversity, 2016—LETHBRIDGE PUBLIC GSA or a teacher working in a K–9 colony Equity and Human Rights SCHOOL LOCAL NO. 41 classroom, the ATA has you covered! Created the DEHR to Care Art Gala, If you have any ideas for new resources ⊲ The 2020 DEHR award appli- in which 700 students created over please contact [email protected]. ATA cations are due May 1, 2020.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 17 Feature Rural re silience While struggling with serious challenges, teachers in small-town Alberta are embracing new opportunities

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18 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Rural re silience small-town Alberta are embracing new opportunities

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“That dog sure is fast.” Cory Hare make this comment after a driving tour of tiny Kirriemuir,

Managing Editor, ATA Magazine Alberta. Running furiously alongside the car, just a few I metres beyond my passenger window, is a large black Photos by mutt, her tongue lolling and fur flying. We’re halfway up to Laughing Dog Photography highway speed and the dog is still keeping up.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 19 “Oh, that’s Juno,” replies my tour guide, principal Kevin Van Lagen. “She’ll go right for the tires, too. She’s going to Rural reality get hurt someday.” “Every couple of weeks we head off to the city Located partway between Consort and Altario in southeastern Alberta, Kirriemuir for an entire Saturday just to do groceries.” consists of a general store, an agricultural — Kevin Van Lagen, principal, Consort/Altario, Alberta feed business and a mobile home. The feed business is where Van Lagen’s wife works. The mobile home, a trim brown trailer, is where they and their family lived for their what we can offer as a school,” Van courses are taught every second year (to first two years in the area. Lagen says. “We have students and their Grade 11s and 12s). In fact, the community-owned mobile parents who are struggling mightily with “You rarely get to become that expert home was one of the attractions that mental health concerns and there are no teacher, that master teacher in one sub- the locals used to lure Van Lagen out of supports—none, zero.” ject area, simply because your assignment Lethbridge to take the principal job at Accessing specialized services means is so varied,” Van Lagen says. Altario School—this after having had six the time and expense of travelling to One way that Prairie Land deals with principals in the previous six years. larger centres like Red Deer, more than low student numbers across multiple Van Lagen’s original plan was to stay two hours away. On the rare occasion that locations is extensive use of video for three years then move on, but instead a specialized professional visits from the conferencing. For example, in the Math he and his family have put down roots on city, the first thing they do is look at their 30–1 class at Consort School, there are an acreage that sits within a stone’s throw watch and state when they have to leave six students in the classroom and five of the school. due to the long drive. others on a video screen. Each of these “I just don’t want to be in the city,” This lack of services means a lot of virtual attendees is sitting alone in a room he says. “I sit on my porch and I look for expectations are downloaded onto in a different school. The teacher is also miles and it’s quiet. I hear the coyotes the school. present via videoconference; she’s in her in the distance. It’s a peaceful way of “I have teachers come in [my office] basement in Spruce Grove. living—when I’m not running like crazy.” and say ‘I’m done. I’m finished. I got noth- “You can’t put a Math 30–1 teacher ing left in the tank … there are so many in front of three kids, but I can put her in Great expectations needs in my class,’” Van Lagen says. front of 12 to 15 kids by adding different Unlike larger urban divisions, Prairie sites throughout the division,” Van Lagen Based in Hanna, Prairie Land School Div- Land doesn’t have a roster of experts explains. ision serves about 1,400 students through it can dispatch from central office, and Videoconferencing creates a number nine schools sprinkled across an area each school is the only one for miles of challenges for teachers, who must con- encompassing more than 15,000 square around. sider how to reach students who are not kilometres. “There’s nowhere else for these kids physically in the room. It’s more difficult Van Lagen is principal of two K–12 to go,” Van Lagen says. “Whoever comes to build relationships, both within the schools, in Consort and Altario, both through our doors we accept, and we have classroom and beyond (teachers can’t small farming communities located 50 to try to create a program for them, even if connect with students in the halls or kilometres apart on the rolling plains that we don’t have the expertise.” are much closer to Saskatchewan than at lunch). Highway 2. Altario is a twelve-minute Returning assignments means drive from the Saskatchewan border. Assignments may vary scanning and emailing them to each Van Lagen’s bearded face tenses as he Teaching in a rural setting defined individual student, and because there are outlines the challenges faced by residents by small schools and small student students from multiple schools in one and teachers in the area. Topping the list populations means taking on highly class, the teacher must log into multiple is a lack of specialized health services. varied assignments. platforms when completing a routine task While there is a health unit with a In Altario, elementary teachers teach such as assigning marks. nurse and a hospital with a doctor, the triple grades ( 1–3 or 4–6). Junior high The key to making it work is emergency department is open only teachers also teach triple grades (7–9) as preparation. sporadically, and there is no dentist or eye well as some high school courses. For a “If there is any gap in planning, the class doctor. The lone mental health therapist secondary teacher, a typical assignment will quickly fall apart,” Van Lagen says. went on leave, and the child mental could be something like this: Science 7–9, Despite its challenges, he says video- health therapist moved away and has Science 10, Math 20–1, Biology 20 and 30, conferencing is enabling the division never been replaced. Science 30 and Health 7–9. to keep schools open, allows students “Access to any mental health sup- At most, secondary teachers teach a to meet more people and is preparing ports are nonexistent right now besides particular course once a year, but some students well for post-secondary.

20 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Feature

There’s nowhere else for these kids to go. Whoever “ comes through our doors we accept, and we have to try to create a program for them, even if we don’t have the expertise.” — Kevin Van Lagen

Smells like a barn community garden. Now the school The school’s website now contains plants a garden each year and uses the a group photo of staff and students in Van Lagen’s countenance brightens as harvest in its hot lunch program. The front of the new building along with the he outlines various projects that have program has since expanded to include quote: “The best classrooms smell like a him feeling positive about the future, the raising of steers (two last year), with barn.” The community at large has also the most notable of which is the Altario the meat also used by the hot lunch pro- embraced the agricultural focus, raising School of Agriculture. or donating more than $75,000 for gram as well as community meals and The program began a few years ago the program. other fundraisers. after staff held a brainstorming session “The community is great and they sup- Last year the school board approved aimed at creating a special identity for the port us a hundred per cent at all times,” the purchase of a barn, which was struggling school, which currently has says Maggie Baier, a teacher of 35 years at only 60 students. erected behind the school. Water and Altario School. “We do agriculture well—let’s power have since been added and addi- “I think our agriculture program celebrate that. Let’s embrace that,” Van tional pasture area is in development, is number one. We’re forging forward Lagen explains. all to better equip the school to raise a without anybody else having done it In the fall of 2016 an old outdoor wider variety of livestock, such as sheep, before. That becomes a challenge but is arena was transformed into a school/ chickens and turkeys. also very exciting.”

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 21 22 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION I think our agriculture program “ is number one. We’re forging forward without anybody else having done it before. That becomes a challenge but is al so very exciting.” — Maggie Baier

“The school has truly become a community school,” Van Lagen adds. “People speak of the school with pride.”

Stepping stone or permanent fit? From a social standpoint, teaching in a small, tight-knit community has its benefits and drawbacks. “If a community turns against you as a teacher, you’re hooped,” Van Lagen says. “You can’t hide. There’s no anonymity.” On the other hand, there are “all kinds” of social activities, such as potlucks and impromptu gatherings at the community hall. “It’s kind of like going back in time,” Van Lagen says, “where the neighbours just get together and sit on the front porch.” Throughout Alberta, it’s no secret that young teachers aren’t flocking to rural areas—Van Lagen has seen some job openings attract only one applicant—and most who come don’t stay long term. “We get these great young teachers out of university and they last one to three years, have a significant other somewhere else … and off they go again,” Van Lagen says. Those who stay tend to fall into one of two categories: they were originally from the area or they’ve found a life partner since moving there. Van Lagen has participated in recruitment drives at universities, and he actually urges young teachers to use rural experience as a stepping stone. At job fairs, the common message from large urban boards is to get on the sub list, whereas Van Lagen can offer full-time contracts. “You come and you teach for a year or two. If rural life is not for you, you move on with some great experience,” he says. Some, like Van Lagen himself, find that the rural setting actually is for them. Not only does it provide a welcome respite from the traffic, bustle and anonymity of city life, but it also allows for deep and lasting bonds with students and their families as well as a greater variety of rewarding professional opportunities. “If you’re willing to embrace this way of life, you can have a really great career in rural education.” ATA

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 23 perspectives in Teachers’ Own 4 Words Athabasca Delta Banded peak school Community School Bragg Creek Fort Chipewyan K–8, 318 Students K–12, 220 students Last year the Alberta Teachers’ Association Fort Chipewyan is a fly-in community that is also began a three-year partnership with Iceland dur- accessible by ice road from Fort Smith and Fort ing which principals, teachers and students from McMurray between January and March. three rural Alberta schools visited three partner For teachers who are newly hired to begin schools in rural and remote parts of Iceland. work in the fall, the first must-do is to figure out In year one (2018/19), the respective partners how to get themselves and their belongings into identified a need to address growing mental the community. This typically involves packing health and anxiety issues within their student essential personal items into plastic containers populations through deeper connections with and shipping them by air or barge, then booking nature and sport. The second year of this project a plane ticket. Upon arrival, one of the first tasks now involves ongoing reflection and action re- to complete is planning outbound trips for the search on the impact these initiatives are having upcoming year, such as for teachers’ convention on life in the rural school community. The third and holidays. year will involve a discussion of the next steps. The northernmost school in Alberta, Atha- basca Delta is the only school in the community. EXPLORING NATURE IN BRAGG CREEK It has 17 teachers, three assistants and a mental Upon returning from our first trip to Iceland in health worker. This setting requires teachers the fall of 2018, Banded Peak created CONNEX, who exhibit a lot of patience, flexibility and a which stands for Community, Outdoor, Nature, sense of humour. Not just any teacher can enjoy Nurture, Education and Exchange. The project is working in this environment. focused on reimagining our school’s connection The school board owns housing for teachers with community and enhancing our passion for to rent, but the cost is high. Last year the local the outdoors. First Nation opened a grocery store whose Through CONNEX, Banded Peak has reached prices are much less than the previous long- into the community to engage our seniors, foster standing store that had been operating as a meaningful connections with the nearby Tsuut’ina monopoly. The community has a beautiful swim- Nation, open the “back 40” to the community via ming pool, and also a great gym that is free for community walks, nurture students through food anyone to use. The lone restaurant serves pizza, programs, and share promising practices with our donairs, fries and burgers. international colleagues. To do well here, teachers need to really love During our return trip to Iceland in Novem- teaching and the quietness of nature. ATA ber 2019, teachers and school leaders were accompanied by four Grade 8 students, some of — Elia Haydon, principal whom had never travelled internationally. Their

experience overseas, billeting with Icelandic ILLUSTRATION BY KIM VANDERHELM

24 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION students and immersing themselves in school expected response. And there are many things— “ [We] value culture, fundamentally changed the way they music, visual art, drama, phys-ed—that we all outdoor perceive school. do together. From these experiences, students shared the One of the many rewards of a many-graded learning importance of working toward the establishment class is that, as they learn, work, play and cele- and learning of nutrition programs that reflect those of many brate with children both older and younger, my through play, Scandinavian countries, where students are students grow up knowing how to value, respect provided government-sponsored breakfast and and care for people of all ages. ATA which help lunch. They also referenced the importance of — Laureen Guenther, teacher to build “the house” or the school being a place where connections students can enjoy unstructured time with one * The name of the colony has been withheld to another playing games, doing homework, or as respect the community’s desire for privacy. and relation- Grade 8 students do, lounge. ships with Finally, they shared the importance of Sheldon Coates students teachers providing challenging, creative and thought-provoking lessons designed to engage Elementary School that go students in their learning. ATA Grande Cache beyond — Simon Pols, principal Pre-K–3, 180 students academics.” Our newly installed playground backs on to a large forest and rolling mountains. All grades — Michelle Bolay, Hutterite Colony within principal take advantage of the land surrounding the Rocky View Schools* school; students build forts, take hikes, climb K–9, 21 students trees and explore the forest. Staff at Sheldon Coates value outdoor learning and learning This is my second year teaching on a Hutterite through play, which help to build connections colony, and I’ve discovered many joys. and relationships with students that go beyond I teach 21 students from kindergarten to academics. Grade 9, with one to three students in each Being in a remote area, we struggle to find grade, and only one assistant. My students at- certified substitutes and to recruit new teachers. tend school until they’re at least 15 years old and We also have to travel on mountain highways may go further if they wish. frequently to attend meetings and professional There are challenges with this many grade development. While we have many services levels in one room, but I’ve learned a few key available to us, they are mainly contracted servi- strategies that make it doable. One key strategy ces that are based in other communities, making is grouping students by ability. Another key is to it difficult to achieve consistency. ATA annually rotate content area curriculum. It’s also essential to teach and equip students to work — Michelle Bolay, principal independently. In some areas, I teach the same content to everyone, while differentiating the

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 25 Rural education takes the spotlight at the 2019 Annual Representative Assembly

Resolution passed Delegates at the 2019 Annual Representative Assembly (ARA) passed the following resolution. & 9.4.0.1 Be it resolved that the Government of Alberta should engage the Association, school boards, superintendents, parents and the public in the development of a rural education strategy to ensure that students in rural areas continue to have access to high-quality eduQ- cation opportunities provided by public, separate and francophone school authorities. A ‘Sweetie, that’s rural Alberta’ Insights from rural The following is a transcript, slightly edited, of a speech delivered at ARA 2019 in favour of a rural education strategy. education researcher I would like to explain to some of you what I taught last year. Ready? Science 7 and 8 were together with three IPPs. Science 9, Science 9 Amy von Heyking K and E, Science 10, Science 14 were all together in Block 2. Block 3 I had Bio 20, Science 20 and Science 24 all together. Block 4 was Phys How have Alberta’s Ed 9, 10, 20 and 30. Block 5 I had Jr 7, 8, 9 and high school 10, 11 and rural schools changed 12 options. That was one semester. over time? I had 12 different courses the second semester. The reason I bring that up is I went for some PD at [a large Edmonton high school], and The history of Alberta schools begins I was talking to one of the colleagues there, and he goes, “What did with the establishment of rural one-room you do to get that teaching assignment?” He thought I was being school districts in the late 19th and early punished, and I said, “Sweetie, that’s rural Alberta.” 20th centuries. Few people now appre- In my classes, it doesn’t matter if you have one student or 30, you ciate how long this model persisted. In are still prepping all of those courses, and there is no prep time. So 1950 there were still 1,545 one-room 24 courses I prepped last year. Funding for students is based on the schools in operation. By 1959 there were number of students, not on the programs. So my tiny little K–12 school only 275 one-room schools left. had 86 kids in it; therefore, I have zero resources to teach all of There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding those courses. experiences of one-room schooling. Most Also, in the second semester I was responsible for the full pro- of us have heard or read the accounts of gramming for two severely autistic students. I have no training in young, mostly female teachers managing special education—none. Oh, and we had no EAs. Oh, and they were multiaged and multigraded classrooms in my Bio 20 class. in isolated communities. These tend to be I’m actually not making this up, guys. I’ve been doing this at this heroic tales of long and difficult travel by tiny little school for 10 years. I finally had to go to human resources foot or horse, drafty schoolrooms warmed this year and admit defeat. I said, “You have to transfer me. I can’t do by wood-burning stoves, inadequate teach- it. I’m exhausted. I’m burned out.” ing resources, children’s hijinks, warm I respect all of you who have classes of 30. I don’t know how you memories of school Christmas pageants do it, but this needs to be an equally important message that we are and strong community connections. sending to the government. Rural education is so different, and if you The reality, of course, is that in some don’t believe me, I would love for you to come out and do my job for rural communities, teaching conditions a day because I just want a prep period—that would be great. Thank were extremely difficult, and for some you so much. teachers, potentially harrowing. The ATA archives houses hundreds of letters — Delegate, ARA 2019 teachers sent to the Alberta Teachers’ Alliance (later Association) asking for No word from Alberta Ed help and practical support in navigating Alberta Education was invited to submit a statement regarding hostile community members, inadequate a rural education strategy but did not respond. conditions and unrealistic expectations.

26 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION classrooms are inclusive, multiage and multigrade. School cultures are positive: students feel a sense of belonging, and sometimes they have access to extra- curricular activities, like sports teams, that they wouldn’t have in more competitive urban settings.

What does contemporary research say about successful strategies for rural schools related to issues of poverty, equity and retention of teachers and school leaders? A Research in some Canadian jurisdictions has confirmed the importance of offer- ing preschool programs in rural schools with a strong early-years development focus and full-time kindergarten to help ease students’ transition into school- PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE ing. Other studies demonstrate that liaison workers from local linguistic or Rural communities went to enormous cultural communities can facilitate the relationship between school and com- “ lengths to ensure that their children munity. Career counsellors or career development workers have been found had access to education. — Amy von Heyking to be key to establishing programs that ” facilitate students’ experiential learning and vocational opportunities in their But in many communities, there was rates for rural students have been lower communities. tremendous support for education even in than their urban counterparts. Much of Small-scale qualitative studies in hard times, and the schools were valued this can be attributed to an urban bias in rural school settings have demon- as the hub of their communities. Rural the curriculum, or at least a privileging strated the effectiveness of instructional communities went to enormous lengths of academic educational pathways into approaches such as looping, culturally to ensure that their children had access university programs. For many rural sensitive teaching, early literacy initia- to education. students, doing well at school meant tives, subject-integrated curriculum, The history of rural schooling since the having to leave their communities. Many experiential learning and individualized 1950s has essentially been one dominated did not need to complete high school to learning in improving students’ aca- by concerns about efficiency and modern- find relatively well-paying employment demic achievement. ization, with the assumption that urban in resource industries that kept them in Studies have also demonstrated the schools are modern, progressive and their communities. importance of reliable information and future oriented, and rural schools are ar- Rural schools today are diverse be- communication technologies infra- chaic, resistant to change and inefficient. cause they reflect the diversity of Alberta’s structure in providing access and equity Rural education researchers often rural communities. Many have culturally in terms of courses for students, but say that the single most implemented and linguistically diverse populations. also professional learning for teachers. educational reform in rural areas of Can- The schools in the rural, agricultural com- Co-operation and collaboration among ada is school closure. This is because the munities of southern and central Alberta rural jurisdictions have also enhanced criteria that defined “successful” schools differ from schools in northern commun- professional learning for teachers, as have and school districts was not the quality of ities that might be dominated by other partnerships with universities that have students’ learning experiences, but the resource-based industries. included on-site local cohorts for gradu- efficient use of financial resources. School In many ways, they embody the same ate programs. These have demonstrated consolidation has been synonymous with traits that characterized the best of rural value in retention and leadership capacity school improvement, though there is lim- schools in the past: they are still the building in rural school districts. ATA ited empirical research to support this. social hub of their communities, and they There is no question that historically, benefit from local expertise and connec- Amy von Heyking is a University of Lethbridge there has been an urban–rural achieve- tion. The schools are smaller than those associate professor whose research is focused ment gap, and that school completion in urban or suburban centres, and many on the history of Alberta’s rural schools.

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 27 Up in the valley Rural setting provides opportunities for growth and connection ILLUSTRATION BY KIM VANDERHELM

Cory Hare anyone want to apply? You have to The availability of teachers is one of the Managing Editor, ATA Magazine most pressing challenges faced by school “be willing to administrators in Valleyview, whether it be certificated substitutes, specialized take risks. The IN A RURAL EDUCATION teachers such as shop or chemistry, or potential rewards setting, you never know who simply teachers who are willing to apply will turn out to be lifer. for any opening. are great, but it That’s certainly not what Laurena New- Last year at Hillside, principal Darlene doesn’t happen man expected to be calling herself after Wood had a language arts/social studies she relocated from Red Deer to Valley- teacher resign part way through the year instantaneously.” view. But 20 years later, she’s firmly and was never able to replace her. This year, knowing she had a teacher going on entrenched at Hillside School, has a vast business education teacher 29 years ago. maternity leave in the fall, she double- web of contacts throughout the commun- Over the course of her first 15 years she staffed the position for two months just to ity, and enjoys hobbies and pursuits that “taught just about everything that’s of- ensure she’d have a replacement. she’d never imagined herself doing. fered,” including computer science, social “Those become our challenges, never- “I hunt now, I’ve shot guns, I’ve shot studies, math, science and CALM. mind when it starts to be the physics large animals,” Newman says. “I shot a She went on to become the special [teacher], the math [teacher], my shop moose this year, and on social media I education co-ordinator and a counsellor. teacher—when those people leave or posted a picture and some of my friends “It seems like the opportunities are retire, that is a crisis for us,” Wood says. from university said, ‘like, who are you?’” just there and you can just grab onto Jodie Chisholm, principal of Val- While many who venture to rural them,” she says. leyview’s St. Stephen’s School, said her environs to begin their teaching careers All the Valleyview teachers believe school has experienced periods of high that they are able to forge deeper relation- leave after a few years, Newman fol- turnover but is currently in the midst of lowed the path of those who stay: she got ships with students in a small town. staffing stability. “We know their parents. We don’t involved in the community and married The growth of Grande Prairie, which is hesitate to pick up the phone and make a someone local. an hour further north, and the twinning connection,” says Sherry Howey, princi- “A significant challenge for young of the highway all the way from Edmon- pal of Oscar Adolphson School. teachers coming out of university is meet- ton have made Valleyview more liveable, For Newman, not only is Valleyview an ing people in a small town,” Newman Chisholm says, but it’s still tougher to ideal setting in which to teach and connect says. “We have lost some of our really attract applicants than it used to be. with students and their families, but it rep- great young teachers because they just “It’s very hard to find people to come resents the best of both worlds in terms of haven’t been able to make those personal who want to stay,” she says. her own lifestyle. City facilities are within connections in our community.” Wood and Chisholm both agree that an hour’s drive and the local recreational On the professional front, Newman the rural setting and its smaller schools activities can’t be beat, she says. says her long tenure has enabled her to provide teachers with a broader range of But getting to this point of contentment form a vast network of connections that opportunities in teaching or leadership. required her, as a new, young teacher in serves her well when, for example, she “There are a lot of opportunities in a town, to step out of her comfort zone and needs to refer someone for mental health smaller place that you wouldn’t get in a make an effort to join social organizations. support or is looking for a math tutor. larger place,” Chisholm says. (Curling was one of her early outlets.) “It’s become easier and easier over time Pat Galandie agrees. “You have to be willing to take risks,” to meet the needs of students just because Now the co-ordinator at the outreach she says. “The potential rewards are great, of being in the small community,” she says school in Valleyview, she started out as a but it doesn’t happen instantaneously.” ATA

28 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Are your students Canada’s next upstanders?

Being an upstander means defending human rights. Give students a chance to tell us how they’re using their strengths to create change; they could be one of ten students who wins a trip to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights!

Use the Museum’s free teacher-developed and tested resources with your students to encourage inquiry and action on rights-related issues. Middle years students and teachers who use the resource and submit projects are eligible to win. Take up the challenge in your classroom. We want to hear what upstanders are doing, so they can inspire other young Canadians to do the same.

Check out the student-focused website

Download the teacher-developed and tested project-based learning unit plan

Book a virtual field trip for your class, or visit in person

Enter the Be Canada’s Next Upstander challenge

Learn more at humanrights.ca/upstander Research Insights

Ambiguous but gaining momentum ATA research delves into wellness and well-being in schools

Phil McRae

Associate Co-ordinator of Research, ATA

“What is generally agreed is that well-being is a holistic concept and that achieving healthy school communities should rely on a multifaceted, wholeschool approach known as comprehensive school health (CSH).” —School Wellness and Well-Being Initiatives Across Canada

CONSIDERATIONS OF WELLNESS AND WELL-BEING in schools and communities have gained momentum due to a large body of data that points to a dramatic rise in the reported cases of anxiety and depression in children and youth, including increases in suicide ideation. Concerns about the wellness and well-being of our students is also creating even greater stressors among the teaching profession and others who care for children and youth on a daily basis. As such, across Canada we are also seeing a renewed focus on understanding and supporting teacher wellness and well-being. However, the primary focus for wellness programming and policy centers on the significant role public education plays in the lives of Canadian children, where our schools are seen as major influencers and levers of change to improve both individual and societal wellness. The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, one of Canada’s largest philanthropic foundations, is funding the development of a national program called WellAhead with the rationale that: “Given the amount of time young people spend in school, this setting presents a unique opportunity to support and promote well-being” (WellAhead 2020). COMPREHENSIVE Finding boundaries within the definition of “wellness” and “well-being” has SCHOOL HEALTH become difficult. Within educational discourse, every organization that uses these (CSH) terms seems to define them a bit differently, and each seems to have reasons for A multifaceted, whole- preferring one over the other. Overall, these terms appear to be on an evolutionary school approach to track similar to that of other usefully ambiguous notions like “21st century learn- achieving a healthy ing,” “personalization” or “inclusion,” in that they now span the many dimensions school community. of social, emotional, mental, physical, cognitive and workplace wellness.

30 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Wellness and well-being defined in the literature While healthy eating, physical activity and mental health were the most commonly reported elements of well-being, other elements noted included those shown in the graphic below.

Canadian wellness and well-being initiatives are 45 examined in the full report. Initiatives are found nationally, interprovincially, provincially, within specific cities and within specific Emotional schools. health

Injury Spiritual Primary Funding Sources prevention health

+ = Food Sexual literacy health government private initiatives Wellness/ grants donors funding Well-being

Budget Range School Cultural connected- $20,000 $6,000,000 identity ness

Self-manage- Relationship ment and skills REPORT CONCLUSION self- awareness As wellness and/or well-being have become focal points of conversations across Alberta for teachers working in inclusive K–12 classrooms, the Alberta Teachers’ Association wanted to better understand how this concept was being defined in aca- To learn more about comprehensive school health, check out the Joint Consortium for demic literature and which organizations School Health website jcsh-cces.ca. are working to support schools in this area. To this end, the Association partnered with Ever Active Schools to conduct an extensive review of the current research, and

an environmental scan to identify the key ATA Research 2019 initiatives, organizations or groups being ⊲ The full research funded to support wellness and well-being monograph is available in Alberta and across Canada. digitally on the ATA website Our review found that there is no under Public Education > universally agreed upon definition for Education Research > School Wellness and Well-Being Research Publications. wellness or well-being related to school- Initiatives Across Canada

ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN AND based health; it is an ambiguous notion. LITERATURE REVIEW While many wellness and well-being

www.teachers.ab.ca

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 31 conversations are primarily centred different cultural value orientations relationships will become central to the on the social, physiological and emo- around the world to support individual practice, as opposed to the application of tional outcomes for students, various and societal well-being. mechanistic or Pavlovian behaviourist dimensions of wellness are increasingly While both of these initiatives appear software programs. This is a cautionary being added to the discourse, for ex- on the surface to have laudable goals, tale for digital assessments writ large. ample, financial literacy, healthy eating, careful consideration must be taken As educational psychologist Gerald W. physical fitness, aggression, technology before Canadian schools adopt either Bracey, research columnist for the Phi addiction and vocal hygiene. What we of these benchmarking tests. Delta Kappan education journal, points out, there “is a growing technology of did find, however, was that there is a gen- Academic and early learning or- testing that permits us now to do in nano- erally agreed upon concept in the K–12 ganizations across many nations are seconds things that we shouldn't be doing research that achieving healthy school heavily criticizing the International Early at all" (Matthews 2004). communities should rely on a multi- Learning and Child Well-being Study. As The wellness of children, youth and, faceted, whole-school approach known as Wasmuth (2017) states: “Don’t even get indeed, adults requires many sustained, comprehensive school health (CSH). me started on the collection of child- resourced, thoughtful and strategic based data on a global scale without the actions if we are to collectively address WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES consent of children, parents or practi- individual and societal well-being. Now BEING UNDERTAKEN AND HOW tioners. Or with assessing five year olds that we know more about the initiatives ARE THEY MEASURED? on a tablet. How flawed and meaningless in Alberta and across the country that are the results? How do you assess trust are currently addressing well-being in Organizations undertake many different and empathy, or the complexities of all of its growing complexity, we need activities to advance well-being in schools, learning and development?” to begin considering how we can work such as developing policy, providing In terms of OECD 2030, there is con- together in new and hopeful ways to professional development, creating and cern that this will be making culturally enhance comprehensive school health sharing resources and operating school- and contextually sensitive comparisons and the lives of our students, teachers level programs. Some organizations have ATA on different national values as they relate and school leaders. a strong focus on research and evalua- to well-being. tion, and regularly measure their impact. In the private sector, technology Others focus on counting program References companies have also been racing to outputs, citing their capacity to undertake Alberta Teachers’ Association. 2019. School capture a market for the monitoring, in-depth measurement as a barrier to Wellness and Well-being Initiatives Across managing and real-time reporting of comprehensive measurement. Canada: Environmental Scan and Literature student behaviour, with a specific goal of Review. Edmonton, Alta: ATA. Also available Future priorities include aiming for altering class well-being through digitally at www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollection- sustainability, improving engagement, tracked behaviour modification tools. Documents/ATA/Publications/Research/ providing more professional develop- COOR-101-27%20School%20Wellness%20 One particular behaviour management ment, working across systems and and%20Well-being%20Initatives%20across% tool, ClassDojo, is used in 95 per cent of enhancing government relations. 20Canada.pdf (accessed December 11, 2019). K–8 schools in the United States and 180 Bower, J. 2014. “6 Reasons to Reject Class- other countries (ClassDojo 2020). This CAUSE FOR CONCERN Dojo.” For the Love of Learning (blog), company sells, maintains and monitors November 21, 2014. http://joe-bower.blogspot. There is growing concern that non- software that tracks students' behaviour ca/2014/11/6-reasons-to-reject-classdojo.html governmental and private interests in the classroom and allocates negative (accessed December 11, 2019). around the world are rushing to both or positive points (i.e. dojos), based on the ClassDojo. 2020. “About ClassDojo: Fast define and fill the ambiguous space observed behaviour. Facts.” ClassDojo website. www.classdojo. related to wellness and well-being in Among the critics of Class Dojo was com/about/ (accessed February 10, 2020). schools. For example, the Organization of the renowned blogger and teacher Joe Matthews, J. 2006. “Just Whose Idea Was All Economic Cooperation and Development Bower (2014), who pointed out that, This Testing?” Washington Post, November 14. (OECD), a nongovernmental organization “ClassDojo reduces children to punitive www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ that helps governments design and im- measures where the misbehaviour is seen article/2006/11/13/AR2006111301007.html plement strategic policies, has two new as nothing more than an inconvenience (accessed December 11, 2019). initiatives focused on measuring and to the teacher that needs to be snuffed Wasmuth, H. 2017. “Baby PISA Is Just Around responding to childhood well-being. out. ClassDojo judges and labels students The Corner: So Why Is No One Talking The first is the OECD International by ranking and sorting them and dis- About It?” Early Childhood Education (ECE) PolicyWorks website. http://ecepolicyworks. Early Learning and Child Well-being tracts even well-intentioned adults from com/baby-pisa-is-just-around-the-corner- Study, which intends to use tablet com- providing children with the feedback and so-why-is-no-one-talking-about-it (accessed puters to test five-year-olds for literacy, the guidance they need to learn.” December 11, 2019). numeracy, executive function, empathy If we are to truly take stock of the WellAhead. 2020. “Helping Integrate Social and trust. The other initiative is a future wellness of our students, in all its and Emotional Well-being into K–12 Educa- focused competency framework known manifest forms, certainly the human tion.” WellAhead website. www.wellahead.ca/ as OECD 2030 that plans to assess dimension of positive teacher–student (accessed February 10, 2020).

32 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Express your concerns on crowded and complex classrooms.

#MyClassSizeIs

MLA Letter-Writing Campaign

Many of our workshops are now ALBERTA WORKSHOPS live-streamed or available on-demand! Visit our website for details. SPRING-SUMMER 2020 Alberta’s classes are too big CRISIS RESPONSE PLANNING and lack the support Edmonton: May 14 This workshop focuses on how to organize effectively and quickly at a time of high required for successful stress so that groups are better prepared to respond to the emotional needs of those affected by a critical incident. inclusion.

GENDER AND SEXUAL DIVERSITY IN YOUTH MLAs need to hear about Edmonton: July 14-15 This workshop reviews gender and sexual diversity from the adolescent perspective the learning conditions in and offers strategies for creating more accessible and welcoming environments. Alberta’s classrooms.

Please visit our website for details and for info on more workshops and events coming to Alberta in 2020. Write a quick letter to 10-DAY CERTIFICATE PROGRAM in SUMMER 2020: your MLA! Crisis and Trauma Response Calgary, AB: July 20-31, 2020

This program provides participants an opportunity to develop a set of competencies to effectively respond to critical incidents.

Please visit our website for details.

[email protected] ◊ www.ctrinstitute.com ◊ 877.353.3205

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 33 Learning Commons

4. L’instinct de volonté : comment renforcer votre persévérance et mettre fin à la procrastination pour atteindre Check it out! enfin tous vos objectifs Cette capacité à contrôler notre attention, nos émotions ou nos comportements These resources are now available qu’est la volonté peut transformer notre vie. Elle peut améliorer notamment notre santé et notre bienêtre, nos relations, through the ATA library. notre succès professionnel... Ce livre propose un programme complet pour The ATA library has great resources for teachers in print and online. identifier vos objectifs, renforcer votre Library staff are happy to mail out whatever you need to wherever you are, maitrise de vous-même et commencer and we prepay the return postage for you. Drop us a line at [email protected] à transformer votre vie. and let us know how we can help you with your teaching this year.

5. Knowing the Past, Facing the Future: Indigenous Education in Canada An essential read for teachers who want to 1. 3. Learning in the Making: How to Digging Deeper: Making create a better future for all their students, Plan, Execute, and Assess Powerful Number Talks Matter Even More both Indigenous and settlers. Makerspace Lessons (Grades 3–10) A book for teachers that empha- Authors Ruth Parker and Cathy sizes the pedagogy rather than the Humphreys tie the strategies in technology in makerspaces. Readers this book directly to the online will learn how to develop and assess videos of their classroom practice. powerful learning for their students.

2. Génocides : usages et mésusages d’un concept À l’ère des revendications mémorielles de toutes sortes qui investissent le débat public, l’auteur, professeur de science politique à l’université Rennes 1, s’interroge sur l’usage « inflationniste » du terme de génocide. Il plaide pour une définition rigoureuse des pratiques 1 génocidaires et met en garde contre les captations politiques qui menacent 2 aujourd’hui de brouiller leur compréhension. 3

Your colleagues recommend Jennifer Albrecht Andrew Bullen Kelly Johnston From The Ashes by Jesse How To: Absurd Scientific The Reason You Walk Thistle. This is an excellent Advice for Common Real- by Wab Kinew. The story Teachers suggested pick. The selection is Can- World Problems by Randall is beautifully written these reads via Facebook. adian, timely, educational Munroe. I like the sense of and mesmerizing from and a page turner. humour and rigour of it all. beginning to end.

34 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION FROM THE BOOKSHELVES

6. Practicing Presence: Simple 7. Reader, Come Home: The Reading Self-Care Strategies for Teachers Brain in a Digital World This book offers insights into hand- Picking up from her previous exploration ling the stresses of work and home of reading and the brain in Proust and the for teachers while taking time to Squid, Maryanne Wolf discusses what is appreciate the small things and be now happening to the brain as it adapts to present in every moment. reading digital media.

8. Design Thinking: A Guide to Creative Problem Solving for Everyone Design thinking is the crux of makerspaces. This small book demonstrates how design thinking can be used to solve a host of problems in all sorts of industries.

Information provided by ATA librarian Sandra Anderson. PHOTO BY YUET CHAN YUET BY PHOTO

Chad Durling Anna Nowakowski Hayes Irene Deatcher The Coddling of the American The Overstory by Richard Powers. You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works Mind by Greg Lukianoff and A wonderful book about trees and Why It’s Making the World a Weirder Place by Janelle Shane. Jonathan Haidt. Nonfiction about told through stories about people. Shane has taken what is (to me) a complex idea and made it very how our intent to protect today’s I’ve never read a book like it. understandable and humorous. The main title came from an experiment children may be backfiring. Absolutely wonderful. whereby she trained artificial intelligence to generate pickup lines.

ATA Magazine FALL 2019 35 KID LIT What book would you recommend for novel studies for grades 5 to 9?

The Cay A Mango-Shaped Space Fish in a Tree I read it in Grade 6. Had such a huge impact My Grade 8s are doing A Mango-Shaped What a heartwarming story about being on me. It makes me and my students cry Space. Great for many cross-curricular ties different. It works so well broken into read- every time. such as health, character education specific- aloud pieces, and the characters are super Erica Pawliuk ally about acceptance of others and self, topic relatable for the age group. I would say it’s of worldview in social. I’ve also been able to best suited for Grades 4 to 7. The Breadwinner link in some art as well. Shannon Louise I really enjoyed the discussions that came Crystal Roefs out of doing The Breadwinner (Deborah Ellis) My Side of the Mountain with my Grade 6s. Airborn Today’s technology-driven students are Marissa Lemke Going to start Airborn by Kenneth Oppel with quickly whisked away through character Sam my Grade 6s after the November break. I can’t Gribley’s forest adventure in Jean Craighead wait!...well, maybe I can wait a little... George’s My Side of the Mountain. It’s a classic Rhonda Borowski that many of their grandparents enjoyed when they were children. The Marrow Thieves Michelle Holdway With Grade 8s. Really amazing Indigenous sci-fi. Hannah Fiest

PHOTO BY YUET CHAN

Teacher recommendations 36 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION gathered through Facebook Reasons to join before you’re 65!

Two great discount programs 2 Savings on home 1 and auto insurance The Boom Group and Edvantage discount programs offer savings much greater than Up to 45% savings with the annual membership fee. our partner TW Insurance.

3 Twelve scholarships 4 A unified voice 5 Planning ahead Up to $40,000 available Advocacy for issues Access to a life to the relatives of ARTA affecting teachers insurance plan members (perfect across Alberta. specifically for your children, designed for grandchildren, nieces ARTA members. or nephews!)

6 Travel 7 Subscriptions to news updates discounts news&views, a quarterly magazine, and Through ARTA’s ARTAfacts, an email newsletter, feature partnerships with excellent information on wellness, health, Collette Travel, and retirement planning. TripMerchant, and Merit Travel, you can visit the seven Be proactive continents without 8 breaking the bank. Joining now will keep you informed about the Retiree Health Benefits Plan when you eventually need it — one less thing to worry about.

As long as you’ve contributed to the ATRF pension for five years, you are eligible to join — you don’t even have to be retired!

Email us at [email protected], Give us a call at 1-855-212-2400, or check us out online! arta.net IN FOCUS Highlighting ATA programs and resources ATA Instructor Corps are eager to bring professional development right to your school or district. Recognizing and Addressing Anxiety in Schools

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY WORKSHOPS PARTICIPANT GUIDE Enhancing Teacher Recognizing Practice Through and Addressing Andragogy Anxiety in Schools This fun and active Is anxiety affect- workshop looks ing you or your at andragogy (the students? Consider science and practice participating in this of adult learning). workshop to gain a It provides a better understand- multitude of tips, ing of the most techniques and tools common anxiety www.teachers.ab.ca that can be used to create positive professional development disorders and how these disorders impact students and staff. PD-WS-41a 2019 05 opportunities and can also be transferred to classroom planning Instructors will share and demonstrate a variety of strategies to and instruction in K–12 settings. Bring this workshop into your help support those affected. school and positively impact the learning for all in the building.

WHO ARE THE ASSOCIATION INSTRUCTORS? The ATA facilitated approximately • Seventy-seven teachers, counsellors and administrators from 400 workshops from September to 35 different school jurisdictions around the province • ATA members who are active in classrooms and schools and December 2019. possess a wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom The content is only one part of the learning that happens. WORKSHOPS ARE researched and written by and for Alberta During each workshop, learning processes and strategies teachers, and are constantly being revised and updated to provide are modelled, and these can be incorporated into the latest in educational strategies and information. classrooms immediately following the session. POWERFUL PD—RIGHT TO YOU! Have a workshop at your next HOW TO ACCESS WORKSHOPS • staff meeting, • specialist council event, • PD day, A list of available workshops can be found at teachers.ab.ca. • local meeting or • conference, Click on My ATA > Professional Development > Workshops, • professional learning community • convention, Courses and Presentations. (PLC). Scan the QR code on the left to access the The $200 fee includes participant materials, all necessary PD workshop request form and e-mail the supplies, instructors’ expenses and up-to-date information. completed form to [email protected]. Workshops are appropriate for groups of five or more teachers. Sessions can vary in length, but a two-hour minimum is ideal.

There are 41 different workshops, seven of them in French. Information provided by ATA staff officer Nancy Luyckfassel. PHOTOS: YUET CHAN (LEFT), ISTOCK (RIGHT)

38 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION WHO’S OUT THERE?

I am Empathetic, Teaching Kids About Creative colleagues Empathy Empathetic is a big Teachers are actively creative when word! Teaching kids to be empathetic and to they aren’t teaching. Some write understand empathy can books. Others produce podcasts, be a challenge. Help the kids in your life under- create art or make music. Here’s a stand empathy and build collection of works produced by positive relationships. Being empathetic is an important skill that requires colleagues who are “out there.” balance. If someone is overly empathetic, people and situations can take advantage of and deplete a person’s energy, leaving them feeling exhausted. It is important for kids to understand that when showing empathy, it is also so crucial to set boundaries and ensure that they are BOOKS balanced and healthy first so they can truly help others. The Joy of Teaching: A Collection of AMANDA COTTRELL Inspiring Moments & Memories Chaparral School, Calgary This chapbook is a collection of [email protected], www.artmindfulnessandcreativity.com classroom moments that celebrate Self-published, 2019 both the joy of teaching and the Available on Amazon unique energy received from it. Often, these special moments From the Frying Pan into the Fire become priceless to us, and can Born in a rural village in 1965, in form the basis of an ongoing joy what was then Rhodesia, young and strength that endures across Judith grew up in a large and decades. It is this blessed empowerment—the ability to give, extended family of subsistence receive and give back—that embodies the essence of what we farmers. She remembers her early do. It is where the joy of teaching can truly be found. years as being carefree, peaceful RAY SUCHOW and close to nature. Like most in Christ The King High School, Leduc her village, she is unaware of the [email protected] fomenting resentment against Self-published, 2019 white minority rule. Available on Amazon and Kindle This heartfelt social history takes us behind the scenes to show how families were separated, villages bombed and strafed, people starved, The Power of Coaching: Life Coaches Share their Secrets on civilians massacred and indigenous sons forced into the How To Change Your Life Rhodesian army. This first-hand account takes us into I am a chapter contributor to a publication entitled The Power the horror of the 15-year guerilla war that finally led to of Coaching: Life Coaches Share their Secrets on How To Change Zimbabwean independence in April 1980, a war that Your Life. The title of my chapter is “Beginning Anew.” My ended Judith’s childhood and thrust her into the realities writing is focused on the common life experience of starting of a brutal 37-year dictatorship that would see rampant over, or beginning anew. corruption and civil strife that is still widespread today. JENNIFER ALBRECHT JUDITH MAWOKO The Learning Connection, Edson Ecole Providence School, Mclennan [email protected] [email protected] iUniverse, 2020 Friesen Press, 2018 Available wherever books are sold in both print and digital formats. Available at FriesenPress.com and Amazon

⊲ Got an idea? If you’d like to make a submission for publication in Who’s Out There, email a summary and photos to managing editor Cory Hare at [email protected].

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 39 In Profile

40 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION The dancing life Calgary teacher Kelsey McMahon uses dance to connect students to school

CHRISTINA FRANGOU

Freelance contributor

THERE ARE SIGNS EVERYWHERE that Kelsey childhood. In comparison, many of Forest Lawn’s McMahon’s classroom is an extraordinary place: the dancers had never set foot on a stage before they Dirty Dancing poster on the wall, the motivational joined McMahon’s dance class. They’re a diverse mix cards with phrases like “if ballet were easy, everyone of genders, races and sizes. would do it.” That’s their trademark, McMahon tells her stu- For 15 years, McMahon has taught dance and dents during her precompetition pep talks. visual arts at Calgary’s Forest Lawn High School. The “It doesn’t matter what your costume is, it doesn’t school sits in one of the most ethnically diverse and matter if our team looks different than the other poorest neighbourhoods in the city. Here, McMahon teams. Our diversity is our strength.” has built one of the most successful high school In a school where students struggle with at- dance programs in Alberta. tendance, the value of a class like ballet is easily “The aim isn’t to create professional dancers,” she underestimated, says McMahon. But dance often says. “It’s to create people who are able to think out- engages students so they come to school more often. side the box and who are able to work with others.” They bond with other students in a way that’s very dif- Every year, between 200 and 300 students come ferent from a traditional class like physics or English. through her classroom. It’s a white-walled dance stu- “Fine arts are often what get students to connect dio with black rubber flooring and McMahon’s desk to school. It’s what gets them to form communities pushed against a wall. Her students train in ballet, within the school and to find value in school.” hip hop, jazz and contemporary dance. They practice “If you don’t have those things, sometimes stu- through choreography on an imaginary stage marked dents won’t come.” out with coloured tape on the floor. Her students’ enthusiasm is sky-high. This fall, As part of the dance program, McMahon created during auditions for the dance team, 60 students and cocoaches the school’s competitive dance team. showed up to compete for the 15 to 20 slots. It’s the only school-based dance team in Alberta that More important than pliés or posture, McMahon vies against private studios in competition. wants her students to learn skills that they can use Most of the dancers that her students are up outside of school—things like courage, teamwork against have been in formal dance training since and the confidence to take on new challenges. PHOTOS BY JEREMY FOKKENS

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 41 “I don’t take kids to competitions so they can win trophies. I take them to show them that they are capable, just as capable as anyone else.” That said, her students do win trophies. In the last two years, they’ve picked up multiple awards, winning citywide competitions with routines in hip hop and jazz. Some have even gone on to win scholarships. Since joining the dance team two years ago, Grade 12 Alberta Beef provides student Jehad Kalas has garnered more than $900 in scholarships. FREE RESOURCES Kalas doesn’t know if he’ll pursue dance after high school. His chief motivation for dance is cama- raderie rather than a career. “For me, the biggest for CTS FOD2100 and a thing is community. We are a team,” he says. AT THE BARRE WITH new, updated elementary OPENING DOORS McMahon comes from a different background than Kelsey McMahon program for K to Grade 5. many of her students. Growing up in Edmonton, she started formal dance training at five and continued Why is dance so important to you? throughout high school. She spent summers in New When I started dancing I was very shy, and York City, working and training as a dancer while it was a way for me to be larger than myself. completing her education degree at the University It gave me a place where I could be expres- of Alberta. sive and outgoing. Now that I’m an adult, I At 22, she was en route to New York City for see the power that dance has in terms of All for the Beef All for the Beef All for the Beef All for the Beef dance when the Calgary Board of Education offered building community. It gives us all the space Basic Meat Cookery Chef Safety Skills Cards Recipe Cards Market Cards her a job teaching dance at Forest Lawn. She jumped where we can be part of something larger

at it, though friends questioned why she wanted to than ourselves, where we can connect with a teaching and learning Sourcebook Sourcebook Sourcebook resource to support work in a school with a tough reputation. others and find a space to belong. Career and Technology Career and Technology Career and Technology Career and Technology Studies FOD2100 Studies FOD2100 Studies FOD2100 Studies FOD2100 Today, with her plaque for Forest Lawn Titans Basic Meat Cookery Basic Meat Cookery Basic Meat Cookery Basic Meat Cookery Coach of the Year 2018 resting against the wall At what age did you realize this was behind her, McMahon offers the same answer that the case? she did then: “Performing arts programs are essential I always loved to dance, but I realized that I for all schools, but especially for schools where the needed to dance when I was in high school. population comes from interrupted schooling or are That’s when I knew it would be my lifelong ALL FOR THE BEEF | Basic Meat Cookery 1 ALL FOR THE BEEF | Chef Safety Skills Cards Sourcebook 1 ALL FOR THE BEEF | Recipe Cards Sourcebook 1 ALL FOR THE BEEF | Market Cards Sourcebook 1 vulnerable youth.” pursuit. Basic Meat Cookery Chef Safety Skills Cards Recipe Skills Market Cards Elise Jans, McMahon’s colleague and cocoach of What do you love most about dance? the dance team, said the dance program is a credit to McMahon’s commitment to her students. At this moment in my life dancing is about “She does a fantastic job of opening doors for kids release. Teaching full time, being a learning where they want them and that’s not something that leader, being on multiple committees and every teacher can do.” having two young kids at home keeps my Finding Alberta Beef Finding Alberta Beef Finding Alberta Beef Finding Alberta Beef It isn’t easy to fund a competitive dance team in mind very full. When I’m dancing my mind a city not known for dance and in a neighbourhood is free and I can breathe. It is a great gift not known for wealth. But that’s how they’ve done it. to give yourself to be lost for a little while. All the funding comes from bake sales, bottle drives

and donations, driven largely by the coaches, the Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories students and their parents. about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for For her part, McMahon still lives a bit of the life Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms Grade 2/Grade 3 TEACHING RESOURCE Grade 4 LEARNING PAGES Grade 5 TEACHING RESOURCE of a dancer. She spends her evenings hand-sewing ⊲ Got an idea? In Profile features an interesting Kindergarten/Grade 1 LEARNING PAGES Making Contributions to Finding Places and Stories Making Connections to Land Finding Connections to Land, beads, appliqués and fur onto bodysuits and dresses teacher in each issue of the ATA Magazine. If and Environments Environments and Communities Agriculture and Ways of Life for her students. you know of a teacher who would be a good Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 7 Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 9 Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 15 “I am seriously good with a glue gun.” ATA profile subject, please contact managing Kindergarten/Grade 1 Grade 2/Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 editor Cory Hare at [email protected].

42 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Alberta Beef provides FREE RESOURCES for CTS FOD2100 and a new, updated elementary program for K to Grade 5.

All for the Beef All for the Beef All for the Beef All for the Beef Basic Meat Cookery Chef Safety Skills Cards Recipe Cards Market Cards

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Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories Places, Spaces and Stories about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming about Beef Cattle Farming and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for and Ranching in Alberta for Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms Elementary Classrooms

Grade 2/Grade 3 TEACHING RESOURCE Grade 4 LEARNING PAGES Grade 5 TEACHING RESOURCE Kindergarten/Grade 1 LEARNING PAGES Making Contributions to Finding Places and Stories Making Connections to Land Finding Connections to Land, and Environments Environments and Communities Agriculture and Ways of Life

Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 7 Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 9 Finding Alberta Beef | Learning Pages 15 Kindergarten/Grade 1 Grade 2/Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 43 Engage in Real Science

It’s time to engage your students in a national STEM project from Let’s Talk Science! Materials provided at no cost to the educator. LIVING SPACE

Grades 6 – 9 Grades K – 12 How do you think your ‘Living Space’ Use the excitement of on Earth compares to that of the space to teach scientific inquiry International Space Station? at every grade level. Using two Let’s Talk Science has partnered with sets of tomato seeds provided the Canadian Space Agency to help by Let’s Talk Science – one that students explore how environmental has travelled to the International influence human well-being through a Space Station, and one control set - classroom monitoring experiment that participants investigate the effects of teaches data analytics, programming outer space on seed germination. and digital literacy.

letstalkscience.ca

Thank you to our generous supporters! Visionary Supporters TomatosphereTM Consortium

TM 44 MitchellTHE ALBERTA A. TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION Baran Teacher to Teacher IN MY HUMBLE OPINION Engage in Real Science

It’s time to engage your students in a national Cold, Dark Winters STEM project from Let’s Talk Science! Materials How do you perk up your students provided at no cost to the educator. when their get-up-and-go is gone?

LIVING SPACE HERE ARE SOME OF YOUR RESPONSES: movement breaks, scavenger hunt and some Steve Kirkpatrick Rachelle friendly rivalry. When I taught elementary, the good old rock-paper- Campeau Grades 6 – 9 Grades K – 12 scissor battle would be good. Kids compete against We stand up, do a a classmate. If they lose, they follow the person who stretch and then a beat them around the room and cheer them on. quick gallery walk Jami Antle How do you think your ‘Living Space’ Use the excitement of Eventually there are two large groups cheering to see around the room Check yourself and make sure you have high energy! who will win. to check out the on Earth compares to that of the space to teach scientific inquiry Be a model for your children and always keep progress. High- International Space Station? at every grade level. Using two positive, create engaging lessons, and reinforce when level classes can they’re doing awesome work. Students are sponges, also engage in Jennifer Black short critiques, Let’s Talk Science has partnered with sets of tomato seeds provided and if you aren’t on your A game, it is likely they won’t Debate, Would either blind the Canadian Space Agency to help by Let’s Talk Science – one that be either. So often teachers forget to reflect on their You Rather, Christine Ruten (sticky notes) or Kahoot!, snow- own practice and change up what they are doing. Sing, dance, take a by a discussion ball discussion, students explore how environmental has travelled to the International movement break, give them at the end. fly-swatter a snack, play our favourite reviews. influence human well-being through a Space Station, and one control set - playlist, play a few rounds of classroom monitoring experiment that participants investigate the effects of Deb Gerow Would You Rather or Rae Hawes read to them. I give them a few When I was principal of a school in India, I purchased Elisa Waingort clocks for the classrooms so that the teachers would minutes to talk to teaches data analytics, programming outer space on seed germination. Movement. Turn and talk. know/remember when periods ended. (There were each other and to and digital literacy. no bells, just a drum at the end of the day.) They were walk around! They worried that students would clock-watch. I told them often just need a Lorraine that if I noticed my students doing that, it was a signal Alison Stewart quick break to do Ungarian nonacademic work. to me to change up the activities to get them engaged Our school has implemented GoNoodle, Register Today! Order seeds today! again. a 20-minute move-work- stretches; if it’s breathe break for all of just individuals, Erin Krysko letstalkscience.ca/livingspace tomatosphere.letstalkscience.ca our elementary students then I suggest GoNoodle! My Grade throughout the day. It’s they go get a 1 s love this one for proving to have incredible Leslie Currie drink so they some reason I don’t results! I send my junior high kids on a silent can refocus understand! when they get scavenger hunt around the school. ⊲ Learn more at back. How many exit signs are there? GoNoodle.com What library book is under 300.8? Barb Larochelle How many cars can you see in the For high school English, I tried to imagine my long parking lot? etc. — I never really classes as three mini blocks, one of which would know the answers, but they don’t Alexis Bristow involve them getting out of their desks and moving need to know that. Chair cardio!! Push ups, lifting the chair, to another part of the room or at least talking to squatting behind the chair! Then some letstalkscience.ca others. deep breathing to get some oxygen pumping through their brain!! And some Thank you to our generous supporters! ⊲ See more at facebook.com/ tunes as well! Visionary Supporters TomatosphereTM Consortium ABteachers.

TM Mitchell A. ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 45 Baran Help students find their tech side

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46 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION TEACHERTEACHER HACKSHACKS

SMILE if you LOVE shaving cream! Foamy activity fosters fine motor skills

Taryn Marshall BONUS: It is a great way to Grade 1, Father Lacombe Catholic “ School, Lacombe @teachingwithmrsmarshall clean tables.”

WITH MY GRADE 1S, I like to spread shaving cream in a tray so they can practice their number sense, alphabet and spelling words. It is a simple HANDS-ON LEARNING but great fine motor activity for any age. Students Though some research has questioned the legitimacy can practice anything from spelling a name to of differentiation of learning and styles and preferences, drawing a descriptive picture! there are just as many studies that have examined this BONUS: It is a great way to clean tables! topic and found positive impacts for students. I would recommend any and every teacher use Anecdotally, teachers themselves may also notice this in their classroom to engage all students and a difference. For example, Samantha Cleaver, in a for its ability to hit a range of outcomes. ATA Scholastic.com article called, “Hands-On Is Minds-On,” noted that her students were highly engaged when doing tactile tasks. ⊲ Got an Idea? Teacher Hacks is a place for colleagues to share their awesome ideas. If As always, teachers are the designers of learning for you have a hack that you’d like to share with students and make judgements based on their know- your colleagues, please email a summary ledge of pedagogy and what actually works for students and photos to managing editor Cory Hare at in their classrooms. [email protected]. — Joni Turville

ATA Magazine WINTER 2020 47 MOST MEMORABLE LESSON

Humanity in the classroom Connecting generations has lifelong impact

JoAnn Blachford

Assistant Principal Ecole Sir George Simpson School, St. Albert ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN SOLANO

THE CHALLENGE: ONE OF MY MOST mem- How to make the orable lessons came early in my career at Stettler Middle It was then that I realized hardship of a war School where I developed “ that ... bringing humanity that occurred decades a unit in Language Arts 8 on the Second World War to the classroom is how we ago seem real to and Remembrance Day. We make a lifelong impact on today’s students. read stories, studied poems, watched videos and clips— our students.” all to do with Canada and how the war impacted and changed lives then and now. It was very emotional to to let the older generation ⊲ Got an idea? Maybe you bring in my great uncle's know that they understood created a lesson that totally flight cap and a few other their sacrifices. They showed flopped or were on the mementos to share with the their understanding by do- receiving end of a lesson students, along with the nating to Chartwell Colonel that was truly inspiring. letters he wrote to his mother Belcher Retirement Residence Whatever your story, at home in Saskatchewan. in Calgary, as one of the staff please summarize He was a pilot and was shot had a parent living there. The it in up to 300 words down by the Nazis, declared residents were doing a fund- and email it to managing missing in action and, after an raiser, and our class bought editor Cory Hare at agonizing wait, pronounced two $300 bricks—no small feat [email protected]. deceased. It was life-changing for a school in rural Alberta! for my students to read his It was then that I realized words and realize that he was that, although curriculum is just a few years older than important, bringing humanity they were. to the classroom is how we At the beginning of the make a lifelong impact on unit, I challenged the students our students. ATA

48 THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION ai157929930217_ATA Be one with your finances_FINAL_01.17.2020.pdf 1 2020-01-17 3:15:03 PM you ith r F w in e a n n o c e

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