Greetings, to all of our OHASSTA Colleagues. This is the first installment, in what we hope is a long line of professional profiles. OHASSTA would like to highlight both new and expert teachers dedicated to the pursuit of exemplary teaching. We at OHASSTA, hope that you are both inspired and motivated by these portraits. Please feel free to nominate a great teacher in your district for future portraits!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Korto Zambeli-Tardif. Korto, a native Torontonian, has been teaching with the Toronto Catholic District School Board for the past two years. He teaches Social Sciences in both English and French, and also teaches Core French. While starting his career during the pandemic was certainly a challenge, Korto has found a lot of positive occurrences to fill his bucket. He enjoys planning lessons that are engaging and feed his perfectionism. When students do well on assignments and are proud of themselves, this also provides Korto with positive feedback that keeps him motivated.
While teaching hybrid has been isolating for many teachers, Korto was able to find community by taking part in OHASSTA webinars. While he was a student teacher, Korto first learned of OHASSTA from his instructor Rose Fine-Meyer, and associate teacher Diane Vautour. He joined the OHASSTA webinars because he felt it was the place to meet with like-minded individuals with a clear direction on where education, especially in regards to history and social sciences, is going. During these webinars, Korto always participates enthusiastically in discussions with other educators about educational research and best practices. Discussing texts with colleagues is another motivating factor in Korto’s teaching practice.
With young, vibrant teachers like Korto Zambeli-Tardiff joining our ranks, history and social science students are fortunate indeed. OHASSTA is certainly looking forward to all he has to offer!
