Pondering Hallowe'en

When my kids were little and I was a keener young teacher, I used to go a little Hallowe'en crazy - costumes for all of us, pumpkin carving, seed roasting, baking, special treats, creepy music, black and orange everything. Compared to today's standards, my efforts then would be considered very modest. It seems the whole world has gone wildly overboard about Hallowe'en. There are entire stores now that pop up for October and specialize in a huge assortment of everything you could imagine - and much that you couldn't!
Many schools also have allowed the celebrations to grow, and we often see an extravagance of costume parades, haunted rooms, smorgasbords of sweet treats, and so much more. And all of this happens even though so many of our students, particularly children from our new immigrant families, do not celebrate, or maybe haven't even heard of, this very 'westernized' tradition.
One common solution to the fact that some students don't celebrate is to designate a room in the school, often the library, as a location where these students can go for an 'alternate' program. Even at my first school 35 years ago, I was uncomfortable with this solution. It separated my students into the 'included' and the 'excluded'. My excluded students felt very left out, not only on that day, but it tended to set them up to be excluded from other things as well. Of course, some parents would choose to keep their children home, but this never seemed appropriate to me either. It's a public school - shouldn't all children be welcome to participate in all events?
There is another solution: to create an inclusive space with inclusive activities in which all children can participate. It may mean examining and perhaps unlearning traditions from the past in which some children cannot participate, then designing a day or week which is intentionally inclusive.
What might this look like? Well, to start with, costumes are a very real challenge for families in poverty, new Canadians who may just be getting settled, refugee families who may have experienced violence, families in crisis and others. Parading costumed children around a school and choosing costume winners are a blatant display of privilege in every case I've ever seen. If we truly believe in creating inclusive schools, then costumes have no place, unless they are created at school in an activity that everyone can do. Some schools have changed their practice recently and ask children not to wear costumes. Sadly, there is a lot of backlash to this. It's not uncommon to hear from some angry parents that schools who have opted for no costumes are 'spoiling children's fun'. These parents really need our help to understand that in a classroom or school that is inclusive, we create events and activities where all of our students can enjoy the fun. All families are welcome to celebrate at home in whatever manner is preferred, but one person's wishes for school 'fun' cannot dictate what happens or doesn't happen in an intentionally inclusive place. There is much unlearning and learning to happen in this area, among parents, children .... and teachers.
Our classrooms, like our communities and our country, look different than they used to. To create a peaceful world, we need to examine our traditions, maintain some, let go of others, and do some reinventing. When we celebrate our rich diversity and include everyone in our plans, the results are truly rewarding.
Thank you to my friend Deepa for sharing this quote:
"Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.: ~ George Dei

Blue Jay Fever

It's been many years since I've felt such enthusiasm for our Blue Jays, but wow, this fall has been a very exciting season! These play off games have rekindled my fandom and brought back so many memories. My kids all played ball when they were younger and being a baseball fan came with the parenting territory, so we were all Blue Jays fans in those days. We were lucky enough to attend a few big games as well. We had tickets to the 1991 All Star Game at the Skydome. As it turned out, Luke was born that day - what were the chances?? Matthew's first visit with his new baby brother was in full ball gear just before he hit the road with dad to head to the game! I'm pretty sure I know what he was more excited about :)

We also took Matthew and Danny to World Series games in '92 and '93. In fact, we were at the winning game in '93 - it was amazing! I dug these pictures out of old albums last week when everyone was asking "Where were you in '93?" Here's our proof - we were there!!
Too bad the Jays didn't make it to the World Series this year, but their fans seemed pretty thrilled to support them through this exciting season and if social media is any indication, Blue Jay fans are already looking forward to next year.
I'm with them! Go Jays!

Fall Colours

The fall colours this year have been especially beautiful. Most people say it's because of the regular rain we had throughout the summer, the timing of the first frost and the gentleness of the winds and rain.
Whatever the reason, we've had weeks of glorious colour.

These pictures are from around (or near) our home - the front door, the vines growing up the side, our big maple tree and the back deck.
The birds continue to empty our feeders every couple of days, but it's such a pleasure to watch them!

Fall beauty is one of the wonderful things about living in Canada.

Slow down, you move too fast.

"Life is what happens when you are making other plans" ~ John Lennon

Busy busy busy busy busy!
I'm tired of being busy, saying I'm busy, and listening to other people tell me about their busy-ness.
Life is more than a list of to-dos.
I am more than what I accomplish in a day.
It's time to slow down.
Find some peace and quiet.
And embrace this wonderful time of life.

Binge Watching

One of my favorite days this fall was the Monday following our Britain trip when I came down with a nasty virus and spent the entire day in bed. Every teacher I know will appreciate how much I loved getting sick and not having to spend a single second thinking about what I'd miss at work if I wasn't there, whether or not to call in sick, did I have the energy to write up plans, bla bla bla. It's almost fun to get sick when you know that the best thing you can do for yourself is nothing, and that you can actually do that! The bonus is that you get well quicker when you are able to look after yourself, and when there is no stress piled on top of the illness. There's a lesson in that for all of us isn't there?
So what did I do for the day? Well, I couldn't read 'cause my head hurt too much, so no books, magazines, or iPad. It felt like the perfect opportunity to find something new on Netflix. After not much browsing, I settled on Scandal - it looked entertaining and not too heavy. The opener was awesome - engaging and fast-paced with an interesting cast of characters and just a tad of sleaziness to make it extra addicting. Each episode ended in a cliff-hanger, so several times that day I revisited whether or not I should really watch another episode, but answered yes every time. 7 times. I watched the whole first season and the beginning of season 2.
Binge watching is a great way to watch TV. You choose the time, take breaks whenever you need them, or don't take any and watch for hours! We've enjoyed many binge evenings since and we both love it. It's hard to imagine going back to a week between episodes and commercials! It's a whole new world of TV watching. I see no need to go back.
And I'm already looking forward to my next virus.

LGBTQ Video

In the spring of 2014, Trish and I were invited to be involved in an ETFO project, led by the provincial Equity department. Their goal was to create an information/support video about the experiences of LGBTQ teachers in elementary schools. The filming team went to 4 locations across the province to create the video segments, including Kitchener, where Trish and I took part.
It has felt like a long wait til the video release this fall! The finished product has been imminent for months now, however, the creation of supporting resources in both English and French held things up a little.
The big release was October 8 at ETFO's Annual Equity Leadership Summit and we were invited to be there. It was pretty exciting and nerve wracking to see yourself on a big screen! That was certainly a first for me! Anyhow, we both did well, as did everyone else in the video. The audience that night was very positive, however, we both confessed afterward that in the moment, we were much more focussed on ourselves than the overall effect! I was also on a discussion panel following the video. Here I am with Rico, one of the other panelists, Adam Peer from ETFO and Karen Shopsowitz, the wonderful film maker.
The video is now being released to locals across the province to use for teacher professional learning. There is an accompanying workshop for which I applied to be a presenter. Training is in December and workshops could feasibly begin in January. ETFO does such amazing work in this area - we are very proud to have been part of this project.
A little treat of this event was staying at the Hyatt once again - it is ETFO's hotel of choice for union events, so we've been there lots. This time, we got to stay in the Pink Room, where all funds are donated to breast cancer research. Every single thing was pink - it was so fun!
The next day, while Trish was at an equity meeting, I spent a wonderful day at the AGO. I took my time walking there, enjoyed a little guided tour of the main areas which I'd never done before, saw many of my favorite works, and appreciated every minute of the leisurely pace of the day. Now this is retirement!
Lastly, because of our involvement in this project, we received our own copies of the video in the mail the other day. We look forward to watching it again privately and perhaps even sharing.
Movie night anyone??

Anniversary Weekend

Our 6th Anniversary was October 3, just a couple of days after I got back from Britain. It fell on Saturday this year, so it felt extra special to celebrate on the same day of the week as we got married.
We spent the day in the Owen Sound area, an area we have visited before and always enjoyed. We had actually planned to spend the night at Waterview on the Bay at Colpoy's Bay near Wiarton, however, a booking screw up messed up those plans so it ended up being a day trip after all. We did have a lovely day though.

We started with a short hike in the Ingliss Falls Conservation Area. The colours weren't spectacular - we were a bit early - however, we really enjoyed the time outdoors.
Trish had done some research into the Owen Sound Salmon Tour, and had found out that the salmon head upriver each year right at this time and are quite a sight!
We didn't see any of them actually jumping, however, there were definitely salmon in the river and we spent quite a bit of time on a little bridge, as well as right on the side of the stream, watching them struggle through the babbling waters. It was really fascinating!
After our little hotel disappointment, we drove home, then cooked a deliciously yummy steak dinner to celebrate.
This salted caramel Baileys was our special after dinner anniversary treat. Oh, yum. A very nice, and well deserved treat indeed!

Off to Britain Again!

Last fall, Mum and I travelled to Scotland over Thanksgiving weekend for Kirstie and Andy's wedding, and, although it was wonderful, it was a little tricky figuring out how to get the time off work. No problem any longer!  Travelling in the 'off' season is definitely one of the benefits of retirement!
This year, Mum and I returned to Britain in September and spent a spectacular 2+ weeks in Aberdeen, Bristol and London. I have to confess, it was pretty nice spending the first week of school getting organized and packing for a trip!
Last year, I created a travel blog to keep in touch with family and friends, and keep a record for ourselves. We decided to use the same blog this year. I posted pretty much daily while we were away. Check it out at this link > http://wattatrip.blogspot.ca. I hope you enjoy sharing in our travel adventures!