Come In. I Think We Can Do Better.

Hi, I'm Brian,

Welcome to my virtual classroom. I spent most of my life teaching, and I continue in retirement.

I think about the good teachers we're losing, the students we're struggling to engage and how much harder we've made teaching than it needs to be.

So, in retirement, I built SWAY Canada—a collection of ideas for gradually changing the way a classroom works through games, technology and real-world projects.

You don't have to change everything tomorrow. Start with one idea. Try it. Then take the next step.

I'm not here to tell teachers how to teach. I'm inviting you to explore what I've built, make it your own and see where it takes you.

No expensive training. No complicated rollout. No waiting for permission.

Brian

So, What Is SWAY Canada?

SWAY Canada is a gradual, self-directed approach to creating more engaging classrooms by giving students greater responsibility for learning and teachers better tools for teaching.

“Because learning should be something students do—not something done to them.”

Lessons become the raw material for Game Cards students create, share and use to challenge one another.

Students become creators, teammates, captains and judges—taking greater responsibility for learning, behaviour and one another.

The goal isn't simply to make school more fun. It's to give learning purpose and give teachers their classroom back.

“Because great teaching shouldn't have to start over every September.”

Build a lesson once. Teach it. Reflect on it. Improve it. Add resources, activities, video and AI. Use it again next year—or share it with another teacher.

Over time, you're not simply planning tomorrow's lesson. You're building a professional library.

Then make this the graphic element:

PLAN ONCE → TEACH → REFLECT → IMPROVE → REUSE → SHARE

Less time reinventing lessons. More time teaching students.

“Because students need opportunities to turn what they know into something real.”

PUT ON A SHOW
RUN A BUSINESS
ORGANIZE AN EVENT
SOLVE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM

Give students time to take an idea from beginning to end—to plan, collaborate, manage money and time, solve problems, recover from mistakes and take responsibility for the result.

Don't just prepare students for the next test. Prepare them for what comes next.

“Brian, When am I Supposed to do All This, and How?”

Take your time; integrate at a pace you and your class are comfortable with. Include students and their parents in the journey. Practice Teacher Autonomy - teachers are [or need to be] in charge of HOW they teach. The WAY Game is pure PROCESS Education, helping students learn HOW to learn.

YEAR 1

PLAY
Engage students. Introduce the WAY Game, CAP Notes and student responsibility.

→

YEAR 2

PLAN
Build reusable SMART digital lessons.

→

YEAR 3

CREATE
Introduce ambitious real-world entrepreneurial projects.

You Don't Implement the WAY Game and SWAY. You Grow Into It.

Term 1 Students

CAP Notebook Cover Student Term 1

Term 2 Students

CAP Notebook Cover Term 2 Studentsribe your image

CAP Notebook Portugal Edition

Cover CAP Notes Portugal

Term 1 Students

CAP Notebook Cover Student Term 1

1/8

Great Ideas Shouldn’t Need Permission

Teachers shouldn't have to wait for the entire education system to change before improving one classroom.

Start with what you can change. Try something. Measure what happens. Keep what works. Share it.

That's Permissionless Education.

START SMALL. START WHERE YOU ARE. BUT START!

Permissionless Doesn't Mean Reckless.

Permissionless Education means teachers should feel empowered to experiment, create and improve learning within their professional responsibilities.

It doesn't mean ignoring school policies, student privacy, or parents.

Teacher autonomy and transparency belong together.

SWAY encourages teachers to start small, communicate openly, protect students and share what they learn.

I asked ChatGPT: How can the WAY Game help solve problems classroom teachers face?

I think the WAY Game is strongest when you describe it not as a game teachers add to an already crowded day, but as a way of addressing problems they already have.

Students aren't engaged. The WAY Game gives students something to do with what they learn—create, challenge, compete, collaborate and play.
The teacher carries too much responsibility. Captains, Judges, teams, Game Card creators and other roles gradually transfer classroom responsibilities to students.
Lessons don't have a strong ending. CAP Notes provide a structured closing routine: What was taught? What did I learn? How can I represent it?
Students take notes without really processing information. CAP Notes require students to summarize, associate, sequence, visualize, question and evaluate learning rather than simply copy information.
Students don't see a purpose for their work. Their notes and learning can become Game Cards that other students actually use. Their work has an audience.
Classroom management consumes too much teacher energy. The WAY Game creates routines, roles, expectations and peer responsibility. Students have something productive to anticipate and work toward.
Review is too teacher-directed. Instead of the teacher constantly creating review questions, students create the questions and activities themselves through Game Cards.
The same students participate while others disappear. WAY Cards, teams and rotating roles create more opportunities for every student to contribute rather than relying on volunteers.
Students need practice with human skills. Playing requires communication, cooperation, leadership, fairness, conflict resolution, creativity and learning how to win and lose appropriately.
Teachers struggle to give students genuine ownership. This may be the biggest one. The WAY Game gradually changes the classroom from “the teacher runs everything” toward “students help run their learning.”