At the very highest level of an education system are people, and people, no matter their titles are human.  In this episode, we speak to Brendan Browne, father, son, husband...and Director of Education for one of the largest school boards in Canada. Yet, despite his role and responsibilities, Brendan--as he asked me to call him--listens to the inner voice informed by his trusted friends, family, and core beliefs.  It is his humanity that shapes his actions, and not the other way around.  The episode will be a reminder that, no matter our title, things always go best when we re ..read more

Today's episode is all about how hard it is to build anti-racist classroom. It's not just hard for our racialized students, but it's also hard for white teachers (myself included) doing the hard work of examining whatever biases we hold. But we have to do it. In this episode, Asante Haughton tells us his own story of becoming a father, a mental health advocate, a 2XTed Talk speaker and an inspirational human being.  Yet, as a poor, black man he had to endure more than many of us ever will.   He was not always able to be authentic to who he was, dealt with tokenism in his school com ..read more

In this week’s conversation I’m talking to one of the most wholehearted educators I’ve ever met: Skye Bowen. Skye is an activist, a community builder, a champion, and is working actively to dismantle systems that oppress racialized students.  This conversation will give you confidence to engage in those conversations that can shift thinking and change systems. One by one, Skye addresses some common reactions and objections we hear when we really push for anti-racism classrooms: 1. "You can't hire someone just because they're racialized" (17:30) 2. "Like everything in education, there is ..read more

Vulnerability, making mistakes and accepting ourselves exactly as we are are all topics that we discuss today with our guest and award-winning teacher, Barb Russell.  10 years as an emergency room Nurse followed by 25 years in the classroom has given Barb a unique and often hilarious take on what it means to work with young people .  Through true stories that will tug at your heart, Barb's stories and experience embracing her mistakes is exactly what every teacher needs to hear.  Barb will remind you that WHO YOU ARE TODAY IS EXACTLY WHO YOU NEED TO BE...AND THAT'S OK ..read more

This question-- WHY ARE YOU IN EDUCATION??-- frames our conversation today.  If you stop to think about that, what would you say? My guest, Salima Kassam is a principal with the Toronto District School Board and has given her life to the work of anti-racism and anti-oppression. She is as wholehearted as they come. In this episode, Salima reminds  us that anti-racism is not a lens (that can be taken on and off) but is actually a stance. A stance becomes who you are whether we are inside the classroom or not. But most importantly, Salima reminds us that true anti-racism works require ..read more

Going off the beaten path, challenging formal education practices, and untethering teachers to bring their own passions to the classroom are all the topics that we discuss with our guest, teaching legend and critically acclaimed writer, Anthony De Sa. This conversation is more raw than some of the others: you'll hear the frustrations that often accompany teaching, especially in 2020.  But what Anthony reminded me of was that a teacher's passions--coupled with a willingness to break from tradition--is something that will leave a lasting impact on students and result in the very best learn ..read more

This week's conversation is meant to help teachers-- particularly white teachers-- move from feelings of shame that immobilize us to connecting with healthy guilt that can guide us forward.  Guilt moves us to anti-racism work and that work is full of love. Our guest, Registered Psychotherapist Kristen Hodges, helps us understand the difference between shame-- the feeling that makes us feel like there is something wrong with us-- from guilt-- a healthy feeling that actually moves us towards action. At the end of the episode, I bid farewell to my good friend, Atticus Finch. It's a sad far ..read more

This episode shows that strong teaching has all the same attributes as strong families: an emphasis on following your passions, finding ways to serve others, collaborating together and, most importantly, a cohesion between what happens in the classroom and what happens in the household.  In this episode, I talk with a whole family of teachers: John Notten, a retired teacher of 30 years and his two sons, Nic and Lukas, who are both just starting off in their teaching careers.  The boys talk about what they saw in their father, and their father tells  why he is so proud of his so ..read more

"This is a love story" are the first words of Penny Kittle's  book, Book Love.  They are words that may change how you see the students you teach. No one has been more influential on my classroom than Penny and I was so honoured that she was willing to sit down with me.  In our conversation, we speak about the wonder of the classroom, the necessity of developing lifelong readers, the opportunities of challenging traditional ways of thinking, the role of Shakespeare and making joy your teaching stance. So, so many wonderful take-aways. We also speak about a tweet that Penny wro ..read more

When I first reached out to Kimberly Dixon, Superintendent in the Toronto Catholic DSB, I was hoping we would talk about intersectionality for much of the conversation. I assumed that because Kimberly is only the second black, female superintendent in the TCDSB, her story would be full of examples of how she had to rise above obstacles in what has been called the "dinosaur" of education systems.   But this conversation turned into more than I expected.   Kimberly's story is one that celebrates diversity and richness in the TCDSB. She talks the wonderful people and communities she ha ..read more