Today's topic is "Relationships" and joining us for Episode 3 is Sue Montabello! A former principal, teacher, faculty associate coordinator at Simon Fraser University, and a mentor to many educators in the Lower Mainland, we are excited to sit down with her and talk about building community through relationships. We ask her questions about expulsion and suspension in schools, the role of community officers, how she built community in her schools, and much more!

QUOTES:
- “Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people–they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress.” - Paolo Freire

- "It was when I began my work teaching student teachers at the university and embarked on my Master's Degree, that this consciousness began to find words. I remember vividly my first attempt to give voice to what I knew. It was a graduate class in Philosophy. We were discussing what was necessary to be a good teacher. 'Content knowledge', 'pedagogical understandings', 'critical thinking', 'curriculum', were the words bantered around the table. There was, I knew, something missing, and yet I was hesitant to speak. This was not a class for tentative thinking; it was a class where definitive statements and clearly thought out propositions were expected if one was to be considered a rigorous thinker. I began slowly, 'relationships. Relationships with our students are key. Our students need to feel cared for'. There was silence for a moment, and then the reply came. Those were the kind of teachers I didn't really respect. I could wrap them around my finger. They didn't really challenge me with my thinking; I was appropriately, silenced'." - Sue Montabello