Behavioural Bridges

The schools of the Canadian North require special teachers. Teachers who work outside the box and create bridges of opportunity where there is only misbehaviour, violence and profanity. Thousands of students in the north come from broken homes and live in communities that are bogged down in addictions, poverty and crime. Teachers, often in their first placement, move to isolated northern communities and try to help. Teaching here you learn that control is an illusion and sitting still and being quiet are distant forms of colonialism.

Our universities must train teachers to build 'behavioural bridges.' The bridge begins where the student hurts, traverses the 'terrain of school' and arrives at the 'student self.' Teachers who can find these bridges make long lasting connections that see through chronic behaviour challenges and find the source of the students 'confusion.' Today I had the privilege to travel with one courageous teacher to an isolated home of a difficult student. The student beamed with pride as he toured his teacher through his home and showed him his ATV and snow mobile. It was wonderful!!! It didn't solve all of the problems but it created a 'behavioural bridge' that helped the teacher understand the 'student self.' This is when education becomes really exciting!!! This is where excellence in teaching is defined. TJS 2009