One day at a time, right? Sometimes on hour at a time. 💔

The hard thing is that it always does break them, like it would any of us. It just takes time to show. And years later they’re struggling in another class and the teacher is mad at them and you’re there saying, “Ummm, there’s something you should know…” 😭

“Shout out to the classics, but a book doesn’t need to be timeless in order to be effective for the generations that are reading it.“

🎤🫳

A newspaper headline from the National Post describing a residential school denier as “the standard bearer for free thought”.

Why is Apple News pushing residential school denialism articles?

A blond man with glasses and a gray-tinged gingery beard smiles at the camera as if he totally loves the fact that you exist on this planet.

Such a joy to get to talk with 350 SFU student teachers today about relational learning. One of the highlights of my career. So many lovely people. Such sweet engagement. So absorbed I almost forgot to take a photo. 🤩 Thank you for the invitation, @sfueducation.bsky.social!

The consequences are the damage this has caused to the trust you had in the child. It’s relational damage. I would tell this to the child, and I would give them a path to rebuild that trust. I would also notify the family and have the kid retake it outside of class time. Good luck!

Jaylene Tyme, live at the @bctela.bsky.social conference: a surthrivor!

Teachers of #bced! The @bctela.bsky.social conference has a magnificent lineup this year, with a keynote from Billy-Ray Belcourt, drag with Jaylene Tyme, and two dozen workshops that will deepen your K-12 ELA practice! Join ussssss!
www.bctelaconference.ca

What does Reconciliation mean to you? Check out what Indigenous educators in Surrey Schools have to say! #sd36learn
surreyschoolsone.ca/trc/

See www.bctelaconference.ca to sign up for the fantastic sessions, as well as the keynote by Billy-Ray Belcourt and opening performance from drag artist Jaylene Tyme!

Join us for this year's @bctela.bsky.social conference this October! In the morning Dr. Joaquin Munoz and I will share our learning progressions for engaging with Indigenous topics, and in the afternoon Dr. Kessey Jemmott and I will dig deep into the joy & decolonizing power of creative nonfiction!

Conferences - BC Teachers of English Language Arts BC Teachers of English Language Arts  October 2025 Conference!!   Gather Around: Story As Resistance, Story As Hope Date: October 23-24, 2025 Thursday night it’s showtime with a twist! Join us for a p...

Gather Around! Story at Resistance, Story as Hope!
Register now for BCTELA's Oct. 2025 conference!!
bctela.ca/conferences/

For Teachers Useful files for teachers!

If you're looking for *free* rubrics, ELA course plans, conferencing docs, literacy support, links to powerful contemporary poems, and more, check out my class site: mistermckillop.wordpress.com/for-teachers/.
#ela

Day 7 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club!
We know you have some important thoughts we can learn from in response to these questions. Contribute to our thinking in the comments section below.

Prompts! Writing stations! (Though they choose their own destination; no one hits all the stations.) Exemplars and discussions! Visiting poets! Modelling and co-writing! Drafts! In-the-moment feedback!

Day 5 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club!
Let's learn a bit about you...share your reflections in the comments section below.

Day 4 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club
Going big with this prompt. Share your thoughts in the comments section and support conversation by replying to others.

Just beware of the binary: there is always some showing & some telling, and the balance adjusts for the writing’s form and audience and style.

Student Creations Check out student work from Mr. McKillop’s classroom!

See past student Rupam’s example here: mistermckillop.wordpress.com/students/

And I write more about prose poems as a form for students here: surreyenglishta.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/t...

My favourite definition of poetry: intense language. So there’s an intensity to prose poetry, a densification with strong verbs and nouns. There’s often a focus on showing over telling, leaving the reader to infer. A GOOD prose poem takes us somewhere we didn’t expect.

The Joyful Current: Essay as Art Form An essay is just an exploration of an idea, which makes the genre shimmer with opportunity for writers like students and teachers.

surreyenglishta.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/t...

Student Creations Check out student work from Mr. McKillop’s classroom!

See Rupan’s example here: mistermckillop.wordpress.com/students/.
And I talk about prose poems a little more in this essay about essays:

My favourite definition of poetry: intense language. So there’s an intensity to prose poetry, a densification with strong verbs and nouns. There’s often a focus on showing over telling, leaving the reader to infer. A GOOD prose poem takes us somewhere we didn’t expect.

Day 3 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club
Share your ideas below in the comment section and don't forget to respond or reply to others. 🙂 Love this learning community!

Day 2 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club
Share your thoughts in the comments section and please also respond to others' contributions!

Day 1 of 8 2025 BCTELA: BC Teachers of English Language Arts Summer Book Club! This collection of poems is a powerful read! Please respond to the quote, the question or the reflections below in the comment section.

Happy August everyone! A few short days until our 2025 summer book club chats begin for NDN Coping Mechanisms by Billy-Ray Belcourt, our conference keynote! Questions to provoke your thinking and responses start August 20th and go until the 27th!
We are eagerly anticipating your contributions!!

first two questions of our monthly anonymous check-in survey

last two questions of our monthly anonymous check-in survey

Once a month I give this anonymous Google Form survey to all my classes + then turn around and share the results with them the following week

Adapted from what @jimmayers.bsky.social does in his room, having this monthly "pulse check" has been a game-changer

(Especially the debrief conversations!)

An annotated one pager on how to teach theme

Since @marcusluther.bsky.social has been making his teaching practices explicit, I want to share how I teach theme. It’s not new, but it’s the best AND it’s a sure-fire way to tell if a student has used AI at this point.

poetry in the park July 16th Wednesday 6:30pm Queen's Park Bandshell Pictures of poets on green and purple ombre flyer with leaves on the left.

Join us for Poetry in the Park July 16th with features Cecily Nicholson and Rita Wong, followed by open mic and host @jessicaleemcmillan.com. 6:30pm Queen's Park Bandshell.

rclas.com/recurring/po...