PDK International - University of Alberta Chapter

“Hope is holding a creative tension between what is and what could and should be, each day doing something to narrow the distance between the two. —Parker J. Palmer

Living with hope means I get up in the morning and ask again, “What is mine to do and who will go with me?” Carrie Newcomer

The second quote draws on Parker Palmer, a colleague of Carrie Newcomer. My (Ivon) scholarship focuses on hope, drawing on Parker Palmer, particularly in describing paradox.

Teaching is challenging work at the best of times and, during challenging times, which these are, it can be viewed as verging on impossible. In those moments, hope becomes a pedagogic necessity. This is more than wishful thinking. Paulo Freire suggests a critical hope, one with a clear-eyed view of a current reality and its inherent risks. Educators, at all levels, need to be realistic in their hopes and how they extend it to each student who are often in need of hope.

Politicians want numbers for the unquantifiable. There are valid reasons to design and use tests besides standardizing them. I enter K-12 schools that look much less like ones I taught in less than 15-years ago. Some have a majority of students from immigrant and refugee families, unaccustomed to a Canadian and Alberta way schooling. Despite this, we teach the same way we did as if the classes were homogeneous, which was ineffective.

As the title of Carrie Newcomer's article suggests, we need pedagogic hope that is persistent and tenacious, realistic in persistence and tenacity. As well, we need to invite each other into a collective grounded in critical, realistic, persistent, and tenacious hope.

The Persistence & Tenacity of Hope In defense of The Kumbaya moment

The reality of the contemporary educational landscape is technology in various forms are part of it. We need to decide how to best integrate in its various forms into teaching and learning.

There are interrelated caveats to consider. First, it is not intelligent, despite what advocates say. It is a super aggregator of information, accessing the Internet to gather information much more rapidly than humans.

Second and related, is how we frame questions is important. This suggests teachers need to focus on learning how to create good questions that do not lead down rabbit holes and help students learn. It maybe a two-way street in many cases as students come more advanced than their teachers. Even at my advanced age, I find myself teaching student-teachers how to create those questions.

Third, if asking questions is important, so is discerning validity and reliability of information. Just because something is on the Internet does not make it so. Critical thinking is imperative. Again, teachers play a significant role.

Paulo Freire wisely contended that teaching is vital to the learning of students, otherwise classrooms and learning dissolve into chaos.

I (Ivon Prefontaine) posted a longer response to this article on my LinkedIn account. It is too long for this purpose. I ask how we might sustain meaningful change in the face of a system and those who control it putting many barriers in the way: prohibitively, large class sizes, overwhelming teaching assignments, clamour for numbers to place teachers and students in buckets, etc.

These are the realities of many teachers in public schools, which does not include charter schools, specialized academies, and other subtle forms of privatizing and excluding. In Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit speaks to a need to acknowledge our realities, count our small victories, and understand work is always incomplete. This suggests we need networks of teachers and advocates who gather and take on this work rather than shrinking away and complying, which is what the system and its overlords want. They want us to spin our tires and reinvent the wheel every generation. It keeps our eyes off the ball.

Rethinking Grades to Reduce Teen Stress Student-friendly approaches to grading and assessment can ease anxiety and help adolescents feel more competent as learners.

There are challenges to assigning homework. It is beneficial to make sure several things are in place if and when a teacher assigns homework.

First, it has to be meaningful and engage students to help make them excited about their learning. Homework has to be I more than filling in blanks, completing problems, and regurgitating what was in the text or lecture. Using projects and giving manageable choices is critical to this process.

Second, are parents able to help if needed? Communicating with them they can play a role like a consultant pays dividends. Some teachers, parents, admin, etc. argue this leads to possible cheating. It might if poorly communicated, so that is essential.

Third, if students are to complete projects that require them to do some at home, will they understand the key concepts? Projects break down if students lack the necessary background knowledge. How much needs to be taught in the classroom before turning them loose?

Last, choice recognize some students will ask for latitude in this area. It is important to listen to what the student asks for and respond in ways that assist them. Does the choice make sense in terms of their readiness?

Why Teachers Still Assign Homework An EdWeek Research Center survey finds that educators see homework as building students' knowledge—and responsibility.

This articles points us in the right direction in terms of curiosity. I would tweak the wording a bit.

Begin by replacing curiosity with wonder. When we encounter a young child, they explore and experience the world as a place of wonder. It is more than curiosity. It provokes their emotions. How do we engage students in their learning by retaining their sense of wonder?

Reflection is essential to learning, to unlearning and relearning. It is more than a passing part of the learning experience. John Dewey spoke about reflecting on experience to make meaning and learn from it. It is also essential for teachers to be reflective practitioners and part of the process, rather than acting as observers. How do we integrate daily reflection practices in our teaching for the students and for ourselves?

Planning is essential. Having said this, spontaneity is also integral. It is something that comes from experience. Anticipating what might arises becomes part of the planning and being open to engaging in conversations about what emerges. Planning and spontaneity are complementary.

Lastly, the teacher plays a vial role. Paulo Freire, John Dewey, bell hooks, etc. all write about this. Planning, reflecting on what happens, adapting where needed, and forming safe boundaries for and with students are part of teaching. They are not side dishes where we become coaches, mentors, facilitators, etc. At various points, we assume those roles with teaching as the overarching umbrella.

Purposeful moments and planned journeys spark student curiosity - Kappan Online How can teachers create space for learning experiences — both moments and journeys — that will stick with students for life?

It has been while between posts. This article is relevant and part of pattern that emerged in education gradually. It is a bit like boiling a frog. Like it, we do not notice incremental erosion of agency and voice past the tipping point.

I spoke to administrators about my professional growth plan early and late in a school year. It appeared they did not read it and were winging it. I am unsure if this happens to the same extent as it did in my experience.

Last year, a teacher told me they and other teachers felt "PD'd to death" and how little choice they had in the process. This decontextualizes PD. What is relevant in a particular school, a particular classroom, and/or at a particular point in one's career. Those outside classrooms need to treat teachers as professionals who gradually gain voice and agency. They can learn to choose what is best for their students and themselves.

When PD Is Applied, Teacher Satisfaction Grows Survey data from 1,400 teachers reveals what makes professional learning stick—and what wastes everyone’s time.

I thought I would share this to understand how many decisions a teacher makes in a day and how teaching involves improvising.

https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/teachers-as-improvisers-2/

Teachers as Improvisers Every job has its share of surprises. A key piece of equipment breaks down. A traffic accident forces a change in delivery routes. A client calls to say you’ve won the contract–but they…

This is a longish read, but well worth it. When roughly 1/2 of teachers turn over in the first 5-7 years, if not the first year, it causes great instability, which unsettles students and their learning. This does not include those teachers who finish their degrees and choose to do something other than teach.

This what we get with a market driven system.

I received this flyer from the co-editors of a book, Nonviolence as Educational Praxis, which is due to come out on May 18, 2026. There are details about pre-ordering, with a 30% discount, for those who are interested.

I Ivon Prefontaine have a chapter in the book entitled RE-IMAGINING TEACHER EDUCATION: ANDRAGOGY OF HOPE AND NONVIOLENCE. Drawing on range of scholarship and thinkers, I conclude we need to integrate nonviolence education into teacher education when teachers first begin their educational journey in Kindergarten.

I am beginning to work on the next step in this project e.g. syllabi and looking for partners at the post-secondary and K-12 levels

I came across a thought provoking blog post today at https://blogs.und.edu/und-today/2026/02/i-asked-students-whether-theyd-want-to-be-teachers/. It raises concerns and questions about the future of teaching as a profession.

It is American, so take care in extrapolating points made. However, some points take on meaning in different contexts a e.g. respect for teachers, complex needs, discipline issues, increasing external mandates, etc.

The concerns would revolve around the future of the profession. Without teachers, do we have effective public education? Without public education, do we have a well-educated and well-informed citizenry?

PDK and its chapters, including the University of Alberta Chapter, take on greater importance in these times. Please support us by joining us and sharing your concerns.

I asked students whether they’d want to be teachers - UND Today Long hours, below average pay among factors driving teacher shortages, writes UND’s Lee Ann Rawlins Williams in The Conversation