I recently had the opportunity to join Dr. Sheldon Eakins for a thoughtful conversation about school discipline, student voice, and what it means for schools to truly serve students. We discussed blanket policies, exclusion, facilitation versus control, and why healthy learning communities cannot be built on compliance alone.

When governments move quickly for industry but ask schools to absorb deeper strain, it tells us something about public priorities. Students are not a budget problem. They are the reason public education exists.

A rights-informed approach to classroom management: the Web of Rights, democratic school process, and how to build student voice without losing structure.

The 2x10 relationship move is a simple way to rebuild trust with a student in just minutes a day. Here’s how to use it, what to say, and how it supports safety, dignity, and student voice.

Before classroom culture shifts, teachers need a clear view of what is already happening in the room. This post introduces two new reflection pages in the Web of Rights Starter Guide to help teachers notice patterns, protect dignity, and choose a stronger starting point.

Every school community is made up of many cultures, yet one culture tends to dominate. In my work as an educator, I am part of that dominant culture. I think about this constantly, before a post, a conversation, or a decision at school. How does my position shape the system? And more importantly, how can I use it to support students from non-dominant cultures?

What happens when student voice feels like it makes the classroom harder to manage? This post introduces the first Office Hours conversation, where we sit with the tension between control, responsibility, and meaningful student participation.

Struggling to balance student voice, classroom management, and equity without losing authority? The Web of Rights framework offers a structured, rights informed approach that helps teachers reduce conflict, clarify boundaries, and make student participation sustainable. Learn how to strengthen classroom community without adding to your workload.

The Democratic School Model thrives on participation and shared decision-making. Success starts with critical mass—enough staff support to influence leadership. Once implementation begins, modeling the approach to students, educators, and the community builds momentum. As more people see its benefits, the model spreads, creating a positive impact across the entire school.

Honouring student voice in schools must be a foundational aspect of institutionalized education. Society relies on culture and language to function - communication is the thread that weaves together the diverse cultures of society into a cohesive whole. Schools exist to prepare children for life in society and should reflect this in microcosm. In this microcosm, students need opportunities to communicate effectively with people who hold different opinions. Through these exper

Taking the Good, Leaving the Bad:  An essay on how one school administrator blends system level policy with school level  leadership  The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), my school district, operates a  leadership model consisting of a top-down hierarchy of policy creation which contradicts  its vision statement, resulting in disingenuous attempts at incorporating equitable  practices and an avoidance of honouring the voices of those who matter most, the  students

It was my third year teaching in a full day kindergarten class under Ontario, Canada’s relatively  new play and inquiry based learning model. One of the students in my class, who we will refer to as Mike, presented me with the catalyst to dive into social change. Mike was of dark  complexion and his father was raising him alone. His father had told me that Mike’s mother was  addicted to drugs and alcohol during pregnancy and that Mike had a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol  Spectru

What if one of the most misleading signals in education is the quiet classroom? From the hallway, it can look like peak efficiency. Students are seated. Voices are low or absent. The room appears stable, streamlined, almost frictionless. For decades, schooling has often treated that visual as a kind of performance metric, proof that the system is functioning well and the adult is firmly in control.

Educators often talk about student rights, voice, and participation, but far less often are we given concrete tools to support those ideas in everyday classroom life. The Web of Rights infographic was created as a simple, accessible reference for educators who are working toward more democratic, rights-based classrooms and schools. It is not a behaviour chart, a compliance tool, or a list of rules. Instead, it offers a shared language for thinking about rights, responsibilit