May/June2024 | Teacher magazine

Student’s self-advocacy builds inclusive school community

Hi, my name is Keirnan, and I am a Grade 9 student in Kamloops, BC...

Disability justice in action: Changing the game

From May 25 to June 1 Canada will recognize and celebrate the contributions of Canadians with disabilities during National Accessibility...

Celebrating disability justice: Interdependence and community

In early April of this year, the BCTF hosted its second Disability Justice Summit. An event where members from across the province who...

The life that chose me: Navigating the education system with Tourette syndrome

A neurological condition that one is born with, TS affects 1 in every 100 children in Canada...

A teacher’s journey to an ADHD diagnosis

I have ADHD. I am a teacher. I am a man. A husband. A father. A runner. I am many things, but I don’t let any one of my identities...

The Spices of Life: Student-led neurodiversity club

Neurodiversity is a paradigm that asserts that human brains are naturally different and that there is no “normal” or “ideal” brain...

How assignment-based grading hurts disabled students

The focus on outcomes, rather than assignments, means that teachers now have more flexibility when it comes to assessment...

Reflections on teaching and concussions

Last fall, an unexpected incident changed my school year dramatically. Up until that point, I was being creative in my classroom...

School counselling: Perspectives from rural BC

We know that things are changing in the lives of the students we teach. There are so many things that affect the mental health...

President's message

Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping not just minds but also societal attitudes toward disability justice and excellence...

Moving forward as allies: Working toward reconciliation in the Vancouver Island West Teachers’ Union

For those of us living in BC’s urban centres, it’s easy to forget just how remote parts of our province can be...

Swipe right for reading: Speed dating with books at Hamber Secondary

Two weeks into teaching four blocks of English 11 at my new school, Eric Hamber Secondary, my class was invited to the school library...

“I want to be an engineer!” How to keep girls in STEM through inclusive education

It’s time to change how we approach STEM education by giving girls an equal footing with inclusive...

Identity Day to foster connection and belonging

This fall at Fairview Elementary School, we decided to set a positive tone for the new school year by launching a school-wide celebration...

Student Vote: Empowering future voters

For the last 20 years, educators throughout the country have been engaging their schools in a program that brings democracy into the...

Teaching: A love story

When I was seven, I wrote that I wanted to be a teacher on the back of a story we were writing for our creative writing unit...