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IN THIS ISSUE
Economic justice features
How is economic justice intertwined with education?
Beyond recall: Forging future-ready learners with concept-based teaching and AI as our ally
How can AI support concept-based teaching?
Sexual health education is safety education
Where can you find resources for comprehensive sexual health education?
Teacher profile: Thais Pimentel Cabral
How is Thais Pimentel Cabral (pictured left) centring relationships in her anti-oppression work?
Read about these issues and more in the latest edition of Teacher.
FEATURED STORIES
Youth-led community projects to address youth health: BC Adolescent Health Survey lesson plan
The BC Adolescent Health Survey was first mentioned to me by a colleague at the BCTF. I had no idea what it was but after doing a deeper dive on Google, I was incredibly invested.
Economic justice: Unionization lesson plan
Objective: Learning how unions and collective bargaining help to raise the living standards of all workers and help reduce inequality, discrimination, and exploitation.
Living wages matter for everyone in the school community
As teachers, you witness daily the impact of economic hardship on students. You see the child who comes to class hungry because there was no breakfast, or the teenager anxious about their family’s risk of eviction.
Discovering Paldi: A journey of history, culture, and connections
As a high school teacher, one of my core missions is to provide students with opportunities to learn both inside and outside of the classroom. The best lessons often happen when students are immersed in the richness of history, culture, and the connections we share with the past.
President’s message
As we welcome the start of a new school year, I want to extend gratitude to each of you for the passion, care, and resilience you bring into our classrooms and schools every single day.
The PreVenture Program is making a big difference for student mental health
Foundry is a province-wide network of integrated health and wellness services for young people ages 12–24 and their caregivers.
Teacher profile: Thais Pimentel Cabral
Anti-oppression work has been the focus of Thais Pimentel Cabral’s pedagogy for her entire career. Last year, she was awarded the Intercultural Trust Award at the BC Multicultural and Anti-Racism Awards, which aim to honour advocates who combat racism and create a more inclusive province.
Well-fed generation: School food programs offer more than lunch
As educators know, a hungry child is not set up for learning. But hunger is not just a classroom issue—it’s a structural one.
Trauma-informed practices for school start up
Many of us have our go-to activities for the beginning of the school year that help us get to know the new students in our classrooms and start building community. Being mindful of the way we introduce these activities to students can make a big difference in making them feel welcome and accepted.
Have you heard of the No. 2 Construction Battalion? Highlighting the contributions of Black Canadians in WW1
It is never too late to learn about No. 2 Construction Battalion, also known as the Black Battalion. In the First World War, when so many brave young people enlisted to fight, there were many Black men who wanted to join, but many were denied because of racism from commanding officers.
Sexual health education is safety education
You’ve likely seen the infamous scene of Coach Carr delivering the sexual health lesson from the film Mean Girls. The coach says, “Don’t have sex; you will get chlamydia and die.”
Mirrors, windows, and voices: Building inclusive libraries through inquiry
Last school year, six teacher-librarians from School District 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith came together to form a Teacher Inquiry Program project focused on making our libraries more welcoming, inclusive spaces for all students.
From barriers to belonging
Twenty-one students sit in rows at xylophones and glockenspiels, mallets in hand, waiting to strike. While I teach them to wait for the conductor, they anticipate a count in and ready themselves to strike the bar with relative accuracy.
School food programs in action: Q&A with Fatima Da Silva, founder, executive director, and executive chef of Nourish Cowichan
Nourish Cowichan has been providing students with accessible food at school for eight years. The founder, Fatima Da Silva, has led the expansion of the program to remove barriers for more students to access food at school without stigma.
Beyond recall: Forging future-ready learners with concept-based teaching and AI as our ally
After three decades as a middle-school teacher in British Columbia, primarily supporting students with diverse learning needs, I’ve experienced many educational changes and reforms.
Building belonging through movement: The heart behind the Comox Valley Inclusive Track Meet
When we first envisioned an inclusive track meet here in the Comox Valley, it was with a simple but powerful goal: to create a space where students with disabilities could feel celebrated, empowered, and—most importantly—valued.
Sparking dialogue across districts: A sustainability conference for teachers and students
Sustainable development is not just a catchphrase or a current fad in our world; it is a way of living that helps advance policy development to create long-lasting change for future generations.
Public funds should fund public schools
As part of the public education system in beautiful British Columbia, we are proud of the work our colleagues do across the province. Most of us don’t choose the profession for the money, nor the ease, as any Kindergarten teacher can tell you, but for the love of learning and children.
New BCTF President was born to teach
Carole Gordon’s political journey from classroom teacher to President of the BC Teachers’ Federation began with the collective fight against the BC Liberals’ contract-stripping and an individual battle against Premier Christy Clark.
Bob Buzza: A life fully lived
Bob Buzza was BCTF President from 1967 to 1968 and went on to serve as BCTF Executive Director from 1973 to 1989. He passed away on January 5 ...
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