It’s being described as a watershed moment in B.C. education.
Six school districts have embarked on a project that views self-regulation as the key to addressing the mental, physical and psychological diversity in classrooms that sometimes disrupts learning and creates a stressful environment for teachers.
Leaders in those districts have embraced the philosophy of York University professor Stuart Shanker, that teaching children to self-regulate — in other words, remain calm, focused and alert — is the best way to help them learn. It’s a theory backed by education ministry officials.
Surrey superintendent Mike McKay, who is leading the B.C. project, says the goal is to apply brain research in designated classrooms while working with Shanker’s research team. The districts — Surrey, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, Victoria, Bulkley Valley and Nanaimo-Ladysmith — are simply the “first wave” of an effort McKay hopes will spread provincewide.