A Pandemic and a New Direction

I have lived through the tragedy of Canada's residential schools. I saw the start and end of the Vietnamese War. I was here when the Kennedys and Martin Luther King were assasinated. I experienced the break up of the Soviet Union, the taking down of the Berlin Wall and I saw the twin towers fall in 9/11. I was here when appartaid ended in South Africa and when the US elected Barack Obama, their first black president. I was one of the many shocked as the US elected Donald Trump their president. I have lived through many things.

Today' pandemic is as world changing as any I have seen.

This pandemic will have some major and lasting effects on my personal and on my professional lives.

As I write this in mid-May, ready or not, the world seems to be on the verge of reopening. It will  reopen with severe restrictions. It will reopen but likely not ever be the same. Change is usually good and in this case, good might come of it.

For certain, this new reality will affect what I do and how I do it.

I accept the need for change and have already embraced it.

My friend/manager/partner Chris Patrick and I have  decided to aggressively attack remote-learning.

We have already hosted two webinars that were both well attended.

What we will attempt to put in place is a programme by which I can go on doing what I have done for the past 20 years only working from home. The carbon footprint I have left on the environment during years of travel will be greatly diminished. Through remote-learning, I will reach many more students, educators and parents because travel, hotels, etc...are expensive. And finally, I will be in a better position to customize what I do to a greater extent.


I picture my reading with kids, sharing ideas and answering questions remotely in classrooms from kindergarden to post secondary.

I am ready to start sharing with teachers through staff meetings and pro-d as well as parents durinig PAC meetings or parent conferences.

I will, of course, continue to make myself available in person as this type of presentation is not going to disappear.

Change is a-comin' and we are embracing it for all the good things it offers.

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