Good pedagogy is teaching that is tailored to the individual needs, interests, and learning styles of all students. Currently, the big buzz term for this is Differentiated Instruction. I believe that differentiated instruction is not just about meeting students’ intellectual needs. It is also about addressing their physical, emotional, socio-cultural and spiritual needs as well. This is a very learner-centered approach. It implies that we, as teachers, are not just transmitters of information, but also active participants in the learning process with our students. In turn, students become active participants in their own learning. It places more emphasis on who we teach rather than on what we teach and what we teach also needs to have relevance for our students. If we want them to succeed then we must create an environment where they feel validated and empowered. In my opinion, the way to do this is to give students a voice. We need to relinquish some of our control in the classroom and to stop being the ‘sage on stage’ all the time. We must abandon the transmission view of teaching that still exists in too many of our classrooms and adopt a more critical pedagogy. I like Paolo Freire’s thinking, “Whatever children say becomes the text.” I recently heard David Booth speak and he echoed this sentiment. In his book, Whatever Happened to Language Arts, he suggests that “the children are the text and all other resources are the enrichment.” He goes on to say that “when children are the text, their norms emerge.” What a great way to learn! Begin where the children are and where they come from. This is how we build meaningful relationships with our students; relationships based on trust and hope. My daughter recently shared with me her frustration with her Grade 11 Biology course. She said that in most of the classes the teacher stood at the front of the classroom with an overhead projector. As she lectured, she wrote notes on the overhead and the students spent the entire class copying those notes. There was no inquiry. There was no discovery. There was no talking. There was only copying. To make a long story short, when I spoke to the teacher about my daughter’s struggles in her course, her response was that this was a Grade 11 University Course and how it was taught was determined by the curriculum and the members of the Science department (notice she didn’t say determined ‘by the students’ needs’). Her only justification for teaching in this manner was that she was preparing students for university. In the end, she suggested that perhaps my daughter would be more successful in the college level course. Unfortunately, this way of thinking still plagues too many of our classrooms. Dr. Rick Stiggins said, “We need to be merchants of hope for our students.” Let’s face it. If we believe in them, then they will believe in themselves. It’s so simple, isn’t it?