In Tasha Ausman’s biology class, students raise caterpillars into monarch butterflies, then release them. In Grade 10 science, she has teens turning gears and cranks into mini feats of engineering.
For the final assessment of a recent forensics unit, the Gatineau, Que., teacher staged a mock crime scene, enlisted colleagues as witnesses and had students investigate the “vandalized” schoolyard shed to demonstrate what they’d learned.
Ausman knows how hands-on learning engages students and deepens understanding of the curriculum. But she’s worried that strict, sometimes murky “buy local” directives introduced amid tariff turmoil with the U.S. will hinder teachers from getting the supplies they rely on for students.
In March, the message that trickled down to Ausman and fellow educators in her board was that purchases must now come from in-province retailers with storefronts — an education ministry directive that had board officials telling schools their hands were tied, she said.
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