Raison d'etre

I'm a teacher.

That's not all I am. I'm also a mother, a writer, a friend, a student, and many other labels which I don't always acknowledge in public. Like the rest of the world, I'm multi-faceted and like to think that sometimes I sparkle.

But this blog is about my professional life and thoughts, not those other things. They'll show up here, because multi-faceted people can't hide all but one facet at will, even if they try. I don't see a good reason to try that hard. Mostly, though, this blog is for discussing big issues in education, especially the shift we're in the middle of right now - the shift towards a constructivist model of education.

I'll talk about the theories, and the research that backs them up. I'll talk about the theories that are being replaced, and why, as I respectfully relegate them to the history books. They've served their purpose. I'll talk about the specifics - the lessons, the groupings, the reasons for classroom decisions that may make those unfamiliar with this trend in public education raise their eyebrows or call me a fool. I'll even talk about my failures and what I've learned from them.

I am based in Ontario, Canada, which is why my posts center around public education in my province. When I'm aware of trends elsewhere, I'll talk about them. The big lines of my experience are, I believe, applicable everywhere. Change is coming, slowly as institutional change does, hopefully to every jurisdiction that purports to provide an education for its young citizens. I hope you can take my experience and use it to create change where you are.