Blog Posts

I have recently had some conversations with youth in our schools regarding what matters to them in their education. They point to having adults who care about them, opportunities to engage in different kinds of activities, and social groups that they feel a part of. This seems to make sense and I would argue this is what we hope to achieve in our middle schools for all of our learners. Given our middle school vision of “joyful, inquiry-based approaches that create access to experience and opportunities to develop agency, identity, and belonging”, we are headed down the right path.

The Honourable Senator Murray Sinclair remarked in an impassioned plea that “we need to pursue reconciliation consistently and passionately. Education has gotten us into this mess, and education will get us out. We see this as our challenge and our hope.”

Each day in school represents an opportunity to be inspired and learn. Throughout September, staff at Clayburn Middle School were actively engaged in teaching lessons of great importance in the days and weeks leading up to September 29, Orange Shirt Day and September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Learning and correcting miseducation about the history and teachings of Indigenous people in Canada is the first step towards repairing harm done in the past and giving hope for the future.

“Opportunity is the precursor of ability.” This phrase, coined by Norm Kunc and Emma Van der Klift, advocates for individuals with disabilities. At a presentation they led on the topic of opportunity, they stated that “You can’t learn to swim in the parking lot of a swimming pool.” This is something that resonated with me. Learning is contextual, and students need to be provided opportunities to grow.