Two weeks ago I attended an alumni event at my old high school, Madonna Catholic Secondary School in Toronto, Ontario. It’s an all-girl Catholic high school founded in 1963 and that I had the honour of attending from the years 1993-1998, back when Ontario high schools still had “OAC” or grade 13 as some call... Continue Reading →

You know the feeling. I know you do. Because I'm a teacher too. Perhaps you are sitting in one of your school board's or districts teacher PD sessions as you read this. Maybe you've been given the Herculean task of planning your school's next PD Day. Or, if you're really lucky, you have only ever... Continue Reading →

The end of the school year inevitably brings with it many "goodbyes". We say goodbye to the stresses of the day to day grind, the memos, drills, mid-term grading periods, inappropriate student behaviour, problem/helicopter parents, and the plethora of administrative tasks that seem to take over what seems like months of our lives. Soon, our... Continue Reading →

The end of the school year is upon us. I think Alice Cooper put it best when he said: "The two most joyous times of the year are Christmas morning and the end of school". As teachers, by the time we get to June we are mentally and often physically exhausted. In the worst case... Continue Reading →

Midterm has come and gone. Books, papers, uniform policies, misunderstood memos and excuses for being late to class are all back in session. But what about our students? Are they? Let me begin by saying that I care tremendously about my students as people. Real human beings that live in a real - and often cruel... Continue Reading →