Teaching is so much more than literacy and numeracy. Teachers show up in different forms and in many chapters of a child’s life, and often, the biggest teachable moments happen in the quiet moments in classrooms. And on the school bus. And at the ball diamond. You see, the heart of teaching is relationships. It’s showing up with your whole heart. It’s walking them—and yourself—through the hardest conversations about trauma, loss, grief, racism, or violence.
One of my favourite teachers, Laurie McIntosh and I believe that the definition of a teacher is so much more inclusive than a K – 12 educator, or someone with a formal education degree. Although it’s critical to acknowledge what it takes to get a degree and teach in the classroom, we believe to our core that we are all teachers.
We know in the education system, the “teacher” is the primary instructor and that it is a craft that takes years to build. We honor that so incredibly. We also know that some of our best teachers have not been educators or instructors in a classroom, lab, or a lecture hall. They have been bus drivers, custodians, EAs, hockey coaches, administrators or our best friend’s mom.
Our definition of a teacher:
- one who instructs by precept, example, or experience
- one who guides the study of
- one who imparts knowledge
If this is you, we’re so glad you’re here. We wanted to remind you of your power to change the trajectory of a child’s life – so we wrote a book, Teachers These Days: Stories and Strategies for Reconnection
People don’t often understand the gravity of teaching and educating without hearing the stories of what it’s like to be a teacher – the heartbreak, the joy. As two privileged straight, white, able bodied women, the purpose of this book was to hold space for diverse stories about trauma, grief, bias, and raise the voices of teachers so that we can start a conversation.
So, we asked teachers and included 26 stories from bus drivers, custodians, EAs, superintendents, professors – people in various forms of what we consider a teacher to be. These stories shaped the words and ideas you will find and we hope that you will see yourself in these heroes. Theory and practice are brought together to provide the science embedded in human development with real-life, tangible strategies that can be brought into the classroom.
This book is a collaboration between two souls, one a psychologist and one a teacher, who care deeply about connecting to kids and families, and who believe that such connection is the currency necessary to change the world. It is our honour to hold and share these stories and we can’t wait to get this book into your hands and hearts. Our hope is that sharing these real stories will start important conversations and foster reconnection – a place for you to land when you need a reminder about what really matters in education – relationships.
Teachers These Days will be widely released on August 21st but you can sign up today to our pre-sale email list and be the first to grab a copy!
Now, go change the world, that’s what we’re here to do. The next, right, kind thing. Never underestimate your power – we’re all teachers in some sense. Xo
