Keynote speaker Valerie Jerome addressing the PDP students

On November 20, 2006, a symposium for PDP students was held at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School. The theme of the symposium was “Relationship Matters” and was attended by over 400 student teachers, members of the SFU’s Faculty of Education and the opening keynote speaker was Valerie Jerome, an educator, Olympian and social activist. The symposium concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Charles Bingham from SFU's Faculty of Education.

Over a dozen topics were presented in the symposium, which included teacher-student relationships, ethics of care, social responsibility, dramatic relationships, international teachings and relationships with parents as supporters of learning. The purpose of this event is to give SFU’s PDP students awareness of the importance of professional relationships when they pursue their careers in teaching.