Another day on the hunt
Two years ago, a phenomenon hit toronto. People mingled on the street, walked, talked, and enjoyed life. Citizens came out to direct traffic and share melting icecream. It was the middle of August and all it took was a massive powerout that blacked out the city. And for 5 hours on a beautiful summer evening, there was community. Today’s TTC strike has produced a similar phenomenon in the 416. As I went up Yonge this morning, I saw people walking, talking, stopping in to local coffee shops, listening to music and biking. The starbucks at Rosedale was handing out water to the passers-by. My community was coming together organically, albeit briefly.
There is something very healthy feeling about such phenomena. A mix of faces, ages, a common experience. What was it that created this sense of community, the generosity, the humanity? (did I imagine this?) Is it proximity – perhaps the way we build our communities needs to make more sense. Maybe we need to slow down once in a while. We need to have common spaces where people can move, interact and relax.
What does this mean for our schools? If we want our schools to be healthy communities, we need to provide open safe spaces for the young to mix with the old; black and white with yellow and green; We need to give our communities time to share. We need to create opportunities for young people to be generous. And importantly, we need to create a culture where we value all members of a community – not just the ones with whom we best identify.
At Brent’s Urging
Okay okay, so waiting 1 day is waiting 1 day too long. Someone wise once told me that there are two major motivators in life: love and fear. My writing today is stimulated by a fear of receiving yet another light hearted ribbing from my only blog reader. (so yes, this message is for you). So here it is.
Friday was the final day of classes at OISE, ended with an awards ceremony to celebrate exemplary teachers and education faculty and students. This leads me to wonder, what did we value in educators ten years ago and has that changed? Do we truly value change or is the Culture of Teaching monolithic when it comes to public practice? And if it is (and in many cases, I have found that it is), WHY? What are we so attached to? If teachers promote innovation in curriculum, shouldn’t we also promote innovation in our own philosophies and practices?
A faculty advisor with whom I worked commented to me that OISE’s pick of award candidates almost invariably did equity work. Was it, he asked, an indication that OISE would put more emphasis on equity within its own ranks and practices? And how do we promote equity more effectively in all our teachers?
