Technology

Choosing Sides in Education

/ Dave Eberwein / 5 Comments

One of the things I’ve noticed over my almost 40 years in public education is that we love a good debate.

If you’ve spent any time in schools, you’ve likely heard the back-and-forth conversations:

  • Knowledge versus competencies
  • Direct instruction versus inquiry
  • Technology versus books
  • Traditional practice versus innovation

Before long, people find themselves in camps, defending positions as though educational success depends on choosing the “right” side.

The problem? Most of the important questions in education aren’t ‘either-or’ questions. They’re ‘both-and’ questions.

Direct Teaching & Discovery Learning

I am reminded of this when I visit classrooms. In one room, a teacher may be explicitly teaching a concept, carefully modelling thinking and providing students with clear direction. At another time, those same students can be working collaboratively, asking questions, solving problems, and applying their learning in ways that were meaningful to them.

So which approach is better?

Neither … and both.

The real success isn’t found in the strategy. It’s found in the teacher’s ability to understand what those learners need at that moment.

As parents, we’ve all likely seen something similar at home. There are moments when our children need structure, routine, and clear expectations. There are other moments when they need freedom, exploration, and the opportunity to figure things out for themselves. Most of us intuitively know that effective parenting requires both. Yet in education, we sometimes act as though we need to choose one side or the other.

Why?

Perhaps because labels are easier than complexity.

It’s easier to advocate for a program, a methodology, or a philosophy than it is to wrestle with the reality that learners are wonderfully diverse. What works brilliantly for one child may not work for another. What transforms learning in one classroom may need significant adaptation in the classroom next door.

That’s the challenge and the beauty of education.

I’ve often written about the importance of asking why. When we become overly attached to a particular approach, we can lose sight of the reason we adopted it in the first place. The conversation shifts from “What are students learning?” to “Which method is best?” These are not the same questions.

Parents know that teaching children and allowing them to build their independent abilities are both critical for strong development

The schools I most admire are not defined by educational extremes. They are not constantly searching for the next silver bullet or defending every existing practice. Instead, they remain relentlessly focused on learners and being open to change.

They ask:

  • What do our students need at this time?
  • What evidence do we have that learning is occurring?
  • How might we adapt our approaches right now to better serve the learners in front of us?

Those questions create much richer conversations than debates about instructional camps.

The reality is that great teaching has always been both science and art. Research matters. Evidence matters. Effective practices matter — but, so do professional judgement, relationships, timing, and context. A strategy that is powerful in one setting may be ineffective in another. A teacher’s expertise lies not simply in knowing a collection of strategies, but in knowing when and why to use them.

That requires flexibility. It requires humility. And most importantly, it requires an openness to doing something differently.

When we do these things, many of education’s most polarizing debates begin to fade into the background.

The question is no longer whether we should choose direct instruction or inquiry, knowledge or competencies, technology or books.

The question becomes much simpler: “In this moment, what will best help this learner thrive?”

When we start there, we stop choosing sides. And we start finding solutions.

The Invisible Work of Education

/ Dave Eberwein / 1 Comment

As educators, we often find ourselves talking about the visible things:

  • Programs
  • Resources
  • Technology
  • Learning spaces

These are the aspects of schooling that people notice first. They are tangible. Easy to discuss. Easy to photograph. Easy to quantify.

Yet, the most important aspects of education are often invisible:

  • Trust
  • Belonging
  • Purpose
  • Hope

You will not find many of these things neatly organized in a budget document. They do not fit comfortably into spreadsheets, dashboards, purchase orders, or annual reports.

Belonging is at the Core of What We Do in Education

And yet they shape everything.

When I think about the three school districts I have been fortunate to be a part of over my career, the schools that stand out as leaders are never defined by their architecture, the technology and resources they adopted, or the initiatives they launched.

They are defined by how they made people feel. They are the places where students felt seen. Where staff felt valued. Where families felt welcomed. Where people knew they belonged.

In a recent blog post, I reflected on how public education has evolved over the past forty years. I wrote that education has moved beyond simply delivering content toward “a broader and more human-centered vision” that recognizes learning as deeply connected to identity, well-being, and belonging. That idea continues to resonate with me because it speaks to a fundamental truth — learning is a human endeavour before it is an academic one.

Consider any learning environment where students are thriving. What do you notice?

  • You may see engaging instruction.
  • You may observe innovative learning spaces.
  • You may notice purposeful use of technology.

But if you look a little deeper, you will often discover something even more significant.

You will find students who feel known, adults who care, and relationships that are regularly and consistently reinforced which builds trust and respect. You will find a culture where people feel safe enough to take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, and grow. People flourish when they feel connected and safe.

Everything else is secondary.

This is one of the reasons that meaningful educational change can be so challenging.

  • It is relatively easy to purchase resources. It is much harder to build a positive culture.
  • It is relatively easy to launch an initiative. It is much harder to sustain a shared sense of purpose and belonging.

And yet those deeper elements are where the real work lives.

As I reflected in my year-end blog this past June, one of the strongest themes emerging across our district was student belonging. Not because it was a stand-alone initiative, but because we increasingly understand that belonging is foundational to everything else we hope to achieve. Academic growth matters. Literacy matters. Numeracy matters. Career readiness matters. But all of these outcomes become more attainable when students feel connected, supported, and challenged.

Purpose and belonging are not nice additions to learning. They are the foundations for learning.

Throughout this blog, I often return to the idea of “why.” The reason is simple. When we become disconnected from our purpose, it becomes easy to focus exclusively on the mechanics of education rather than its deeper mission.

The question is never simply, “What are we doing?” The more important question is, “Why are we doing it?” The answer to that question shapes every decision that follows.

It influences how we design schools — how we allocate resources — how we support students — how we work together.

It influences whether our efforts become transformational or merely transactional.

When I wrote recently about Truth and Reconciliation, I reflected on the unique role that schools play in bringing together young people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Schools remain one of the few places in our society where an entire generation learns alongside one another. That reality is powerful. It reminds us that education is not simply about preparing students for employment. It is about preparing them to participate meaningfully in communities and contribute to a better future for all of us.

In other words, it is about helping young people find both belonging and purpose.

As I look back on the many innovations that have moved through education over the years, I continue to arrive at the same conclusion. Most successful initiatives are not successful because of what they introduce. They are successful because of what they reinforce – connection, agency, curiosity and human potential.

Because in the end, the most important work in education has never been the visible work. It is the invisible work of helping people feel that they belong, that they matter, and that their lives have purpose.

And that work changes everything.

My Reflections from 2025-2026

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

June is a great month — a time when we celebrate student successes. It is also a great time of reflection — not just on what we did, but on why it mattered.

A Year of Reflections

As usual, the school year has been busy — full of change, full of momentum, and, as always, full of people doing great work on behalf of students. As I look back — both on the year and on the blog posts that helped me process it — a few themes rise to the surface.

Leading With Our “Why”

If there’s a thread that continues to run through everything I write, it’s this idea of why.

Throughout the year — from late summer planning to mid-year check-ins to my spring reflections — I found myself returning to the same reality — public education is about people creating the conditions where students feel connected, supported, and challenged.

Many of my posts this year explored the why of public education — the purpose of what we do. And when things felt complex — which they often do — remembering to come back to our why helped to ground the conversations.

Because when we’re clear on why we exist as a system, decision-making becomes a little less noisy and a lot more focused.

The 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: Progress You Can Feel

The Board of Education’s 2022–2027 Strategic Plan is the big why for the District, as it continues to shape the direction we take as a system — but more importantly, it’s also shaping day-to-day experiences in our classrooms.

We check on our success against the plan in our annual Enhancing Student Learning Report which gives us a meaningful opportunity to step back and ask: Are we making a difference?

What stood out wasn’t just the data — although there are encouraging signs there — it was the story behind it:

  • Increasing attention to student voice and belonging
  • Ongoing work to support Indigenous learners and embed local ways of knowing
  • A continued focus on literacy and inclusive practices
  • A growing recognition that personal well-being and learning are deeply connected

Progress in education is rarely linear, and it’s never fast enough for those of us working inside it. But there is something powerful happening when you start to see alignment — when classroom, school, and district priorities move in synergy.

This year is one of those moments.

The Reality of AI… and the Case for Being Human

It would be impossible to reflect on this school year without acknowledging one of the biggest shifts we’re seeing– the rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence. AI is now part of our landscape — in classrooms as well as in the district office.

Our position on AI in Saanich Schools has been articulated in our Framework for Artificial Intelligence. We’ve taken a stance that’s grounded and realistic.

We’re not ignoring it. We’re not fearing it. We’re learning alongside it.

Human Intelligence is the Point

But at the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about what this means for education. AI might be everywhere — but Human Intelligence is the point. Because the future isn’t going to reward students for simply having answers. AI already does that. The future belongs to those who can:

  • Ask thoughtful questions
  • Think critically
  • Show empathy
  • Collaborate meaningfully
  • Make sense of complexity

In other words, the future belongs to people who are deeply human. And so, as much as we continue to look at how AI might integrate into learning, we’re also doubling down on the things that make education irreplaceable — relationships, curiosity, and connection.

The Power of Relationships

If there’s one thing that continues to stand out across our schools, it’s this: relationships are still the most powerful driver of learning.

Throughout the year, I had the opportunity to see this in action — in classrooms, hallways, meetings, and community spaces.

  • A teacher taking the time to check in with a student who’s struggling.
  • A team collaborating to support a learner in a more inclusive way.
  • A school creating space for student voice to genuinely influence decisions.

These aren’t new ideas. But in a world that increasingly values efficiency, they are more important than ever. And they showed up again and again in the stories I found myself writing about this year. Because no matter how much education evolves, the human connection at the center of it doesn’t change.

Heading Into Summer … and What Comes Next

As we close out the 2025–2026 school year, there’s a lot to be proud of — but also a recognition that the work continues.

Education doesn’t really have a finish line. It evolves. It adapts. It responds to the world around it. And right now, our world is moving quickly. But if there’s one thing I’m confident in, it’s this — we have people across Saanich Schools who are committed to doing this work thoughtfully, collaboratively, and with purpose.

So as we head into summer, my hope is that everyone finds a bit of time to rest and recharge — but also to reflect. Not just on what we accomplished, but on why it matters. Because when September comes that clarity of purpose will matter more than ever.

Thanks for reading along this year — for being part of my thinking and the conversation.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer break …