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Education

Books for teachers to help make the world a better place

Education

Students are not software

Recently I have been hearing more about teaching sprints. For those who are unfamiliar, a teaching sprint is a process where a team of teachers pick a focus, something they would like to

Canadian

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation

To prepare for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this year I chose to explore The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation, by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson. This non-fiction text talks

Antiracism

So You Want to Talk About Race

So You Want to Talk About Race, written by Ijeoma Oluo, offers knowledge and tools to help people engage in conversations about race. Oluo teaches about racism and pushes people to view it

Education

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a book that weaves together Indigenous teachings and worldviews with scientific knowledge about plants and our natural world. The book was

Antiracism

New Kid and Not Talking About Race

This year, I was able to teach my identity literature circle for the first time. Having put together the text sets before going on parental leave, I was excited to finally dive into

Education

The Skin We're In/Policing Black Lives

Counter-stories are important. Counter-storytelling is defined by Solórzano and Yosso as "a method of telling the stories of those people whose experiences are not often told (i.e. those on the margins

Education

Restoring Safe Schools: A Teacher's Perspective

Is it safe to reopen schools? How do I stay safe? How do I keep my students safe? Should I wear a mask? How about my students? What if they refuse to wear

Education

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

When I write about books under the Education tag on my blog, I aim to recommend books I think teachers should read. Often I think these books give useful insights when it comes

Education

Repeating the Mistakes of Underground to Canada: Examining my own Biases

While I was in middle school, I only read one novel with Black characters for language arts class: Underground to Canada. This novel told the story of four Black people escaping from slavery

Indigenous

Indigenous Writes

Indigneous Writes by Chelsea Vowel is a guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit issues in Canada. The book provides a dialogue about the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and settlers in Canada. Chelsea

Environment

The Failings of Climate Change Fiction

Young adult and middle grade fiction are useful tools for teaching about tough issues. Problems like the refugee crisis or poverty are difficult and stories are important to help us better understand these

Education

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, is an essential book for people who want to better understand how racism is embedded in our society and how we can work more

Environment

Drawdown - Climate Crisis Solutions and the Classroom

As I write this blog entry, it is the early hours of the morning in Winnipeg and the Climate Strike is underway on the other side of the world. Early reports suggest the

Environment

Don't Panic: Big Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Today's blog post is about the climate crisis and I'd like to preface everything by saying Don't Panic. It is easy to get overwhelmed, but solutions do exist that can help us address

Education

White Fragility and the Canadian Classroom

Four months ago, I finished reading White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo. Appreciating this excellent book, I opened a tab to create a

Education

Teaching with the World on Fire

Warnings about climate change have been around for years, but increasingly it feels like a problem no longer in the remote future. Living in Manitoba, climate change has been a problem we see

Indigenous

Path to Reconciliation

A few weeks ago I attended the Manitoba Adolescent Literacy Summit and listened to author David Alexander Robertson's keynote entitled the Path to Reconciliation. It was a highlight of the conference, as his

Education

Open Letter to the Manitoba Education Review Commission

Dear Commissioners of the Manitoba Education Review, This week, I attended the first Education Review Workshop at the Caboto Centre in Winnipeg. I began the workshop feeling energized. I was in a room

Education

What Kind of Citizen?

A key purpose of education is to prepare students to be good citizens. Few people would argue with this statement, but what does it mean to be a good citizen? What kind of

Education

Being the Change

Being the Change, by Sara K. Ahmed, is a book in dire need of a new subtitle. Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension sounds like a book that teaches basic social skills.

Indigenous

Seven Fallen Feathers and Systemic Racism in Schools

This week I finished reading Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City, by Tanya Talaga. The book is about the deaths of seven Indigenous high school students in

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