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??