We asked BCTF members to tell us about a colleague who inspires them for the September/October edition. We received so many submissions that we extended the feature into the November/December edition.

Climate change is one of the most significant and widely discussed issues facing today’s students. Having studied and researched climate change for nearly a decade, I understand it as a complex, long-term environmental process that has been significantly influenced by human activities.

For the past 30 years, the BCTF has had an international solidarity partnership with SNTECD. Through this relationship, our union has had the opportunity to learn from the experiences of educators from across Cuba who are deeply committed to an inclusive and equitable education system for all children.

It has only been a little over three years since I began my involvement with the union. Since then, I’ve learned that union work is so much more than the bread and butter of negotiating salary.

We fought hard for what we have. The trouble is that “fine” has become its own kind of obstacle.

I felt like I was at the pinnacle of my career, ready to prove to myself and everyone around me that I had mastered how to support a diverse, inclusive Kindergarten program. Instead, I was confronted with the hardest group I have ever taught.

As an elementary music teacher, I can tell you that my music class’s curriculum goes far beyond “just music.” As I watch cuts being made to music education across our province, it is clear that the people who make budget and timetable decisions do not fully understand the breadth of what music teachers do in our programs.

Last year, my Grade 4 students taught their home languages to one another and to me. This is their story.

In a 2024 conversation with my co-author, we realized that upon completing our initial undergraduate degrees, a journey that began in Kindergarten and consisted of thousands of hours of schooling, neither of us could recall ever being asked to reflect on the purpose of education itself.

When we think about the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care’s vision of developing thoughtful, engaged and global citizens, it can sometimes feel abstract.

A teacher teaching on call (TTOC) never quite knows what the day will bring. One morning might involve leading a Kindergarten class through story time and carpet games, while the afternoon could mean supporting a high school science lab or supervising a gym full of energetic students.

Recently, I attended a concert with my son, a member of Gen Z, and it truly opened my eyes. It was my first time seeing a Gen Z artist perform for a Gen Z audience. Most kids recorded the whole show, and the artist had it livestreamed.

This issue of Teacher brings together stories about the work we do as a union, the challenges facing members and public education, and teachers’ ideas and experiences in bringing the curriculum to life in their classrooms.