After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Geoff Johnson


Geoff Johnson worked in public education 35 years as teacher, vice-principal, secondary, principal, elementary, supervisor of instruction, assistant superintendent, deputy superintendent, superintendent. He currently works as a consultant, speaker, and writer.

When technology enters the classroom

“That’s it class – you’ll find the notes and the PowerPoint on the S-Drive and a version on Moodle, there is also some relevant info on my edublog”. Eh? It was a Social Studies 10 class and the topic...

Finland's education system well worth studying

While B.C.'s school crisis grows worse, the Finnish education system is setting the gold standard for public education. Here are some things Canada can learn from Finland's schools.

Combining BC school districts will not benefit communities or students

Let's examine the ongoing discussion about amalgamating school districts, including the notion of a single centralized province wide and province run school district.    Education historian...

BC's public school system is deteriorating. Has anyone noticed?


Many districts cannot afford to run their schools for five days each week. In many districts, spring break has been expanded to two weeks. This has caused a resultant decline in working productivity