September 1992.
As I huddled in homeroom English, I glanced at the clock, willing it to inch forward. It was Monday, and I knew what was coming – my grade 9 English teacher, Mrs. Meredith, would soon ask me to return to her class after school. Her newspaper club met then, and she was anxious for me to become a member. I suppose she spotted potential still unknown to me; a geeky, chubby 14-year old with coke-bottle glasses and frizzy hair – but I continually declined, theorizing that joining the writing geeks would certainly not elevate my already non-existent status.
But she was persistent, and creative – the very next Monday morning, Mrs. Meredith slapped me with detention for a questionable, minor offense. Bewildered, I stuttered an apology and agreed to return that afternoon. And so, I was sucked into the meeting, and into the club, and before I knew it, I was the first 9th grade Editor-in-Chief in newspaper club history.
We’re Facebook friends now. And she still calls me “chief” from time to time.
These were the days of dot matrix printers and 13-inch computer monitors. When electronics were limited to your boyfriend’s pager and your oversized boombox. When technology was a luxury.
Today, 88% of Canadian teachers and 80% of parents agree with the use of technology in the classroom. Providing a national voice to those closest to students, Parents and Teachers on Education asked both groups to share their perspective on Canada’s education system. …