I’ve been thinking a lot recently about superheroes. Not the capital “S” kind of superheroes, but lower case “s” superheroes, the everyday kind of superheroes that we often neglect to recognize. Sometimes, it seems, the extraordinary efforts of a caring soul, an individual that seeks to improve the world they encounter leaving it in a better state than what they discovered it in, sometimes we fail to see their accomplishments for what they are.

When it comes to children, lower case “s” superheroes are everywhere. In fact, in my wanderings around Eastern Ontario I’ve come to realize that schools are a hotbed for these superheroes. And real-world learning, the pedagogy that this podcast seeks to enliven, seems the impetus for so much superheroing: irrespective of age, grade, and perceived ability the UCDSB is a veritable wellspring of superheroes.

At South Crosby Public School in Elgin, Ontario, students in Leanne Huffman’s Power UP Two class have been quietly reaching beyond the walls of their school, disguised as average children who just want to help others, applying their superhuman strengths to feed a community. The irony, of course, is that superheroes have always been suspect of celebrity. They know that saving a planet, or feeding a community, warrants stardom, but is better served in quiet acknowledgements from the people you serve. And so, these mild-mannered, unassuming children at South Crosby have directed their hands and their hearts and their minds towards making healthy food more accessible one offering of produce at a time. What began as a bag of lettuce became fifty bags became one hundred; what started as an effort to help one community food hub became five community food hubs, serving all the communities that call South Crosby PS home.

If you ask these students to talk about the change-making they’re leading, they’ll likely give you a glance, and get back to work in earnest. They don’t have time for the story, they’re too busy making a difference. What’s more, with their purpose of feeding a community firmly in place, these superheroes are learning to read, and write, converse and do math in support of their real-world learning project. How do you make foundational skills engaging, you might ask? Make them part of the superhero as a whole. Teach a child to read, write and do math in service of a project that changes the world, and that child will spend a lifetime changing the world while helping others to see how they can join the pursuit.

Not all powers are created equally, but together they empower the superhero to be “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!”