As your newly elected president, I want to begin with a heartfelt thank you. Being trusted to serve this community means a great deal to me. Since 1967, BC TEAL has brought educators together around a shared commitment to our learners and our profession. I follow presidents, board members, and volunteers whose generosity and hard work have helped sustain that community for nearly six decades. I am proud, honoured, and very aware of the responsibility of carrying their work forward.
I wish I were stepping into this role at an easier time.
The recent closures of private language schools have brought painful disruption to our sector. Changes to immigration policy and settlement funding are also reshaping language education in British Columbia. Behind every announcement are people: teachers wondering what comes next, colleagues saying goodbye, and learners facing interruptions to plans they have worked hard to make.
Across the world, artificial intelligence is changing how languages are taught and learned. There are possibilities worth exploring, alongside understandable questions about employment, professional recognition, and the place of human teachers. It is possible to be curious about these tools and worried about your future at the same time. Many of us are.
Choosing to take on the presidency in this moment has felt like a brave decision. There have certainly been moments when I have wondered what I am taking on. But then I think about the people I am taking it on with.
Teachers know something about courage.
Our profession may not appear on every list of the world’s most difficult jobs, but we know what it asks of us. We walk into classrooms carrying the same worries as everyone else: bills, family responsibilities, health concerns, unanswered questions about tomorrow. Somehow, we make room for someone else’s questions. We notice the learner who has gone quiet. We find another way to explain. We offer encouragement when someone is ready to give up.
We try to leave our worries at the classroom door, even when they follow us inside. Still, we open our eyes, our arms, and our hearts to the people in front of us.
That everyday care deserves care in return.
As president, I want to work with our board and members to make BC TEAL a place where teachers feel heard and supported. My priorities include advocating for our profession, creating opportunities for professional learning and connection, and helping colleagues share knowledge, find opportunities, and navigate change. I also want us to make room for honest conversations about how we are doing.
Some efforts will take time to bear fruit. A workshop cannot undo a job loss, and a conversation cannot pay the rent. We need to be honest about that. Yet a useful connection, a shared opportunity, or someone taking your concerns seriously can help you find your next step. Those are things we can keep working to offer.
We spend so much of our working lives encouraging learners to persevere: ask for help, try again, learn with others, allow yourself time. Perhaps we need to offer ourselves that same patience now.
And perseverance can include resting. You do not have to be endlessly available, cheerful, or strong to belong here.
If you have lost work, are facing change, or simply feel tired, please know that you still have a place in this community. Your experience matters. So do your ideas and your hopes for what comes next.
I cannot promise calm waters. I can promise my commitment to helping us navigate them together, listening carefully and keeping teachers’ needs in view.
I believe better days are possible. Until then, let us keep reaching out, sharing what we can, and showing up for one another with the care we bring to our classrooms.