The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Teachers are actively creative when they aren’t teaching. Some write books. Others produce podcasts, create art or make music. Here’s a collection of works produced by colleagues who are “out there.”

BOOKS

The Joy of Teaching: A Collection of Inspiring Moments & Memories 

This chapbook is a collection of classroom moments that celebrate both the joy of teaching and the unique energy received from it. Often, these special moments ­become priceless to us, and can form the basis of an ongoing joy and strength that endures across decades. It is this blessed empowerment—the ability to give, receive and give back—that embodies the essence of what we do. It is where the joy of teaching can truly be found.

RAY SUCHOW
Christ The King High School, Leduc
rsuchow@gmail.com
Self-published, 2019
Available on Amazon and Kindle

Adversity to Adaptability: Turn Life's Greatest Challenges into your Greatest Opportunities

I am a chapter contributor to a publication entitled Adversity to Adaptability: Turn Life's Greatest Challenges into your Greatest Opportunities. The title of my chapter is “Beginning Anew.” My writing is focused on the common life experience of starting over, or beginning anew. 

JENNIFER ALBRECHT
The Learning Connection, Edson
jennalbrecht1216@gmail.com
iUniverse, 2020
Available wherever books are sold in both print and digital formats.

 I am Empathetic, ­Teaching Kids About Empathy

Empathetic is a big word! Teaching kids to be empathetic and to understand empathy can be a challenge. Help the kids in your life understand empathy and build ­positive relationships. Being empathetic is an important skill that requires balance. If someone is overly empathetic, people and situations can take advantage of and deplete a ­person’s energy, leaving them feeling exhausted. It is important for kids to understand that when showing empathy, it is also so crucial to set boundaries and ensure that they are ­balanced and healthy first so they can truly help others.

AMANDA COTTRELL
Chaparral School, Calgary
amcottrell@cbe.ab.ca, www.artmindfulnessandcreativity.com
Self-published, 2019
Available on Amazon

From the Frying Pan into the Fire

Born in a rural village in 1965, in what was then Rhodesia, young Judith grew up in a large and extended family of subsistence farmers. She remembers her early years as being carefree, peaceful and close to nature. Like most in her village, she is unaware of the fomenting ­resentment against white ­minority rule. 
This heartfelt social history takes us behind the scenes to show how families were separated, villages bombed and strafed, people starved, civilians massacred and indigenous sons forced into the Rhodesian army. This first-hand account takes us into the horror of the 15-year guerilla war that finally led to Zimbabwean independence in April 1980, a war that ended Judith’s childhood and thrust her into the realities of a brutal 37-year dictatorship that would see rampant corruption and civil strife that is still widespread today. 

JUDITH MAWOKO
Ecole Providence School, Mclennan
judithmawoko@yahoo.ca
Friesen Press, 2018
Available at FriesenPress.com and Amazon