The 2022-2023 school year up until this weekend has been a absolute blur. Prior to the school year, I had full intentions to take the summer to relax and rejuvenate. That plan quickly turned into an unexpected house sale and a three week move followed by the last two months of unpacking. What does all of this have to do with the school year? The answer to that question is a lot. Plain and simple, our mental and physical well-being as educators is the most integral part of ability to perform everyday in the classroom. With that being said, the Thanksgiving weekend has allowed me to rest and try to get both mentally and physically ready for the next few weeks of school. More importantly, the break has allowed my to catch up on some reading. That reading has also turned to thinking which will hopefully turn to action.

To shed some light on my reading, thoughts, and future actions, I will start with the reading. The first piece that I would like to share is Bob Joseph’s book “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.” Great read, great resource to use when speaking the truth. The second piece that I will point to is “Digital Citizenship in Saskatchewan Schools” written by Alec Couros, and Katia Hildebrandt and published by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education in 2015. Great resource that is under-utilized by school divisions across the province. The final piece that I will point to is “The Impacts of Technology Integration” written by Chloe D’Angelo in the summer of 2018.

How are these three readings related? How did these three readings shape my thoughts? At first glance, the three pieces are not related, but upon closer inspection I have come to a conclusion that all three pieces play an integral role in reshaping society. First and foremost, digital citizenship in Saskatchewan schools is an after thought. Connections can be made to the curriculum but those connections are not clearly defined. In most cases, digital citizenship is not even touched upon by classroom teachers until we begin to see the problems. Secondly, technology integration is still not a common practice across the province and in many cases there is an equity issue with regards to access to the said technology. Finally, my take away from the book “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act” is that there is a disconnect from the actual truth and it is the truth that will lead us to the path of reconciliation.

Again, you may ask how there three pieces are connected and how will the three pieces shape my future plans. Here is how I see it. I feel that there needs to be a renewed focus on teaching citizenship and digital citizenship in Saskatchewan schools. We need to focus our efforts on being proactive rather than reactive. We need to incorporate technology into the classroom and take a look at our own teaching practices to improve student engagement. We need to differentiate instruction and use UDL (Universal Design for Learning) strategies in our classrooms to increase student engagement. Finally, we need to understand the where we are at with regards to the truth on all fronts in order to move our students forward.

In conclusion, “Reading Week was Also Thinking Week” for me and it has only just begun. It is time to start putting my thoughts into action and setting up concrete plans for myself, my staff, and my students.