A first-person essay on the ways that Cégep teaching is different from teaching at a university. The reflection explores how belonging -- an "inness" -- is enacted within a creative arts department by focusing on various experiences from being hired to navigating teaching online during the pandemic. By doing so, the author recognizes how…

In this position paper, I argue that a focus on achieving and increasing social presence in online courses tends to derail a consideration of the ethical implications and dimensions of the essential facelessness of asynchronous education. Drawing upon the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Nel Noddings, who contended that the face is the basis of…

The author brings together Paulo Freire and Jurgen Habermas to ask whether dialogue is possible in the classroom or whether, in a culture of rational debate, the classroom becomes more oppressive than democratic? In a voice and style that attempts to invite the skeletons out of the classroom closet, the author asks scholarly readers to lend an…

Teachers are often exhorted by creationists to "teach the controversy." Although such encouragement sounds on the surface like a proposal for critical thinking instruction, the history of the creationist movement in North America belies this claim. Rather than teach students to analyze and evaluate actual scientific controversies, the intent of…

At an elementary school in inner city Toronto, I am working with the principal, a kernel group of primary teachers, and the school's technician to develop children's digital literacies. Main Street School is dedicated to the pursuit of social equity for its population of grade K-5 students who are characterized by high multiculturalism and low…

In this article the author interprets a teaching story, written over a decade ago, about a troubling student who failed her course. Using George Lakoff's and Mark Johnson's cognitive linguistic theory, she shows how the conceptual metaphors implicit in her interactions with the student prevented her from responding helpfully to the student's…

In this paper, I share stories that provide sites of inquiry for the (re)interpretation of my own educative experience. Crossing time, I (re)visit and (re)construct seminal events in my life using knowledge gleaned in the intervening years to come to see how these life stories inform and guide me in the present. I use my own stories to enhance my…

Stories that were written by my grandfather at the turn of the 20th century spiraled into my daily life as a nurse-teacher at the turn of the 21st century. In this paper, I explore a common plotline of my Afi (Islandic for grandfather) and me as pioneers by linking his life stories to the tensions I experience in my contemporary professional…

This paper argues that recent Charter decisions concerning the off duty expressive conduct of teachers have involved a narrow or "orthodox" interpretation of the reasonable limits on such expression. The author illustrates what he describes as a "messy area" by taking us through the controversial and well-known examples of…

In this paper, I examine some of the past and current issues in anti-colonial discourse by briefly reviewing the ideas of thirteen anti-colonial scholars from different regions of the world. I relate these ideas to the discussion of knowledge production and indigenous knowledges. I also examine some critical areas that require more attention from…

Who are we as teachers and what constitutes a desirable educational experience? Two teachers, one Chinese and the other a white Canadian, tell "a single story [of teaching], integrated by our sense of ourselves" (Crites, 1971, p. 303). Our storytelling is enabled by metaphors and images that serve as tools for reflecting on our actions…

The notion that second language instruction is more effective if begun at an early age is seen as arising from cognitive-nativist and neuropsychological postulates, and from the argument of "affective purity." Each of these positions is reviewed, along with frequently-heard objections to each. A fresh perspective on the issue is thus…

Advocates moving multicultural education beyond ethnic awareness into a more theoretical and constructive phase. Argues for incorporating epistemological theories regarding the subjectivity of knowledge with an awareness of the interdependence of different cultures. (MJP)

Argues for a dialog between reductionist (task analysis and specific skill training) and holistic (constructing new knowledge through experience) philosophies in special education. Claims exclusive adherence to either approach shortchanges special education students. Discusses specific strengths and weaknesses of both philosophies. (MJP)

Argues for the establishment of "African-centered" schools on an experimental basis, in direct consultation and partnership with students, educators, administrators, and the local community. Maintains that most mainstream public schools reinforce concepts and values of the dominant culture and alienate students of color. (MJP)