Author Archives: rootstoroutes

ChatGPT is the talk of the decade, shaping how we can simplify communication. It is a software that will explore the internet, and pieces of writing previously written by the user, to produce a human-like response to any question. Now, schools are afraid of how to monitor plagiarism coming from the use of ChatGPT, particularly for the purpose of writing essays. Schools and teachers are in conversation about whether or not this tool should be used at school. Some believe it should be prohibited by students to prevent academic dishonesty while others believe that it should be embraced to help students to become critical thinkers and understand the biases presented within the content ChatGPT creates. All this and more in today’s episode ChatGPT in Education.

A person with a creative mind is someone who relates their experiences and existing knowledge to create. Creation can take the form of paintings, poetry writing and even math solutions. This means that students need to be taught mathematics in a way that relates their personal experiences to their lived experiences. This and more in today’s episode!

You might have seen the analogy of the burning house. This became a trendy way to explain to people why “Black Lives Matter”. Of course all houses matter, but when there is a house on fire and nothing is being done to put it out, it is our responsibility to get help to put out the fire. However, by neglecting to help a neighbour with a house on fire, it may spread to the other houses which would also leave you in a position of need. As Martin Luther King famously said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. This is the foundation of true allyship.

There are so many components within a language that are organized to evaluate a student’s fluency such as comprehension, reading, writing and oral communication. However, even with all of these aspects fulfilled, you can still be perceived as a foreigner in another country. Even with a perfect accent, you might find yourself feeling like an outsider linguistically. This is because languages are embedded in the culture of a society. Language is a direct reflection of the cultural context of the people. In this episode, we go into cultural literacy and how it impacts our ability to communicate with others.

As the years progress, classroom sizes have increased steadily to an average of 35+ students. As much as it may be “working” as per the education system it has also caused for many issues among students and staff. Our children deserve to have an environment where they can ask questions, seek support and develop their confidence. However, due to a lack of investments in the education system, our children are left to take the personal initiatives to self-advocate to clarify their understanding. This and more on our episode Classroom Size Matters. Please feel free to reach out to us if you would like to share your feedback on the episode! We would love to make a Part 2 on any other questions that are unanswered!

This episode is dedicated to all parents who have gone through many hardships and have thrived through it all and yet still don’t understand why their children are having mental health issues and how they didn’t. Well, Korina and Ramya have made it easy to understand in this episode of “Is it Mental Health?” with their 5 step process on how to help your children achieve their full potential! Also, if you are interested in learning more about the Mental Health Line BeanBagChat, please check out their page here.

Why is it week after week there’s always something on the news about our Ontario public education? It makes you think that your tax dollars aren’t being used to their full potential. Well it’s true. Public school is heading towards private and we have all the tea in this episode. Tune in to hear more about the frustrations we see in the public sector and the reasons behind parents considering private schools for their children.

Your child needs help? We instantly have the urge to get a tutor! Sadly, that’s not always the solution and I’ll tell you why.

Not feeling heard at your child’s school? You are not alone.

Many parents have mentioned that their children — more so after the pandemic — are feeling lost or uninterested in their studies. They aren’t as engaged or as informed in the options they have for their future. Korina, a teacher at the TDSB, noticed this and decided to pursue a masters that focuses on how university graduates achieved success in their academics. These students expressed that their support system helped them through hardships. They not only had their family and friends, but some relied on their extracurricular activities to offload their frustrations at school.  Some even fell back on their religion to help them find their way through their educational journey. In this Episode we will explore faith and how that has help some children and how faith has been implemented in some public education systems in Ontario.