Winter 2020

I’ve always thought that teachers are a resilient group of people but never has this been more evident to me than during this year of uncertainty. We have had to and continue to twist and turn and adjust and readjust. We make hard decisions and enter situations we never expected to be in. We are teaching with new approaches and with new protocols. This is weighing heavily on many of us. I hope you are finding ways to take care of yourself and I urge you to seek out help and connect when you need it. Thank you to those of you who have shared your experiences with me so I can better represent you in my work with the BCTF and the Ministry of Education.

While the work we are doing might feel and look different this year, I believe the impact educators are making in students’ lives is more evident than ever. I truly hope you know what a refuge you are to your students as they, too, try to navigate this evolving pandemic. You are lights of brightness for the children that enter into your classroom just by being you and doing the work that you do as you help them discover and explore and design and make.

As many of you know, we hosted our conference virtually for the first time this past October. I loved seeing you in the Zoom meetings and I felt a synergy as we learned together while spread out across the province and beyond! We were inspired by our keynote Tisha Richmond in the morning. The rest of the day was spent learning and participating. Many of you expressed how much you enjoyed the sessions that were offered - whether you were making a Thai curry, considering decolonization and anti-racism in home economics, or being inspired to gamify your classroom. We do not know what the future holds for the 2021 conference but we feel like the learning that we undertook this summer as we planned our 2020 conference will support us in planning for 2021. I would like to extend another sincere “thank you” to the THESA executive members for volunteering their time to make the 2020 conference happen.

If you are excited about more professional development this school year or are interested in sharing some of your own musings, I encourage you to register or apply to present at the 16th Canadian Symposium on Home Economics. It is being held virtually on February 26-28, 2021 and is sure to be a weekend of thoughtful, challenging sharing. I am looking forward to participating with home economics educators and scholars from around the world and would love to see you there too!

I hope you are able to find some respite and refuge this winter.

Melissa Edstrom

THESA President