Even with the good and welcomed news of a negotiated settlement, both sides of the teachers' dispute took it on the chin from radio commentators the other day.
There will obviously be some good and some bad in the deal for the government and the union. There will be lots of time to question the details through the term of the settlement but I am hoping that emotions can remain in check, at least for now, so the positives can be embraced by everyone, but mostly by families and children.
One of the recurring themes during the dispute was the observation that perhaps families could become more involved in school activities. It's tough volunteering. Not everybody has the time. Really, though, only a half-hour a week can make a huge difference.
We are lucky in Delta to have a school district that is committed to a "Bold Vision." If you are unaware of the vision, I would encourage you to read it on their website at web.deltasd.bc.ca.
If you are a parent of schoolaged children here in Delta, you should be proud of what administrators and educators are doing here. Created in 2011, the district's "Bold Vision" attempts to ensure: "The Delta School District is a leading district for innovative teaching and learner success."
The district's academy program is a fine example of this innovation. This year the district is going to expand upon its unit based agriliteracy program Project Pickle to support the International Year of Family Farming.
This will see the district further its quest for innovation by bringing awareness to the Year of Family Farming and invite interested families, through "Hort in the Hood," to manage portions of school neighbourhood farms with their children at various times of the year.
Through Year of Family Farming, the United Nations is trying to tell the world such facts as family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in both developed and developing countries and that there are over 500 million family farms in the world.
In the Western world, we all know by now that the average age of farmers is around 56 years and climbing. There are signs that younger farmers are making an effort to understand and make a living from the craft, but governments, agencies, the private sector and educators have to do more to promote agri-literacy with young people on the ground.
Schools have and will continue to be meeting places for friends, families and neighbours.
By affording an opportunity to work side-by-side growing, harvesting and ultimately sharing and eating food that they have grown themselves right on their own school neighbourhood farms, the broader school family will only serve to strengthen local social fabric.
The effort here is to build community, and is certainly not intended to change the world.
Rather, it is hoped that meaningful memories will be created in the minds of young people who may wish to pursue careers in the greater food economy or be happy to make their own killer salad with homegrown veggies.
If a farmer or 10 comes out of the mix at some point in the future, that's a bonus!
