TDSB & Me is a staff storytelling series that celebrates the people who help our schools and workplaces thrive. Each profile recognizes the everyday leadership, creativity, and care that shapes our system and supports student success.
Christine Kim
Elementary Teacher, Dunlace Public School
For Christine Kim, some of the most meaningful lessons begin around the table.
Growing up, she remembers wishing the Korean food her mother packed for lunch looked and smelled a little more like everyone else's lunches. Today, as a Grade 2 teacher at Dunlace Public School, she creates opportunities for her students to share their own food traditions and celebrate the cultures that make up their classroom community.
"It's really full circle for me," says Kim, who has been an educator with the Toronto District School Board for 18 years. "Seeing my students proudly share their own cultures through food was really special."
Her approach to teaching reflects a belief that learning is most meaningful when students can connect it to their own lives. With a background in kinesiology and a longstanding interest in health and nutrition, Kim has found that food offers a natural way to explore a range of subjects, from health and science to culture, identity and global communities.
Over the past school year, her Grade 2 students explored agriculture, healthy eating and food-related careers through hands-on experiences that included cooking, gardening, farm visits, workshops and partnerships with community and industry organizations.
Her thoughtful approach recently earned her AgScape's 2026 Teaching Excellence in Agriculture and Food Education Award. The provincial recognition celebrates Ontario educators who bring agriculture and food education into their classrooms and inspire students to become informed, food-literate citizens.
"I was really grateful for the recognition, but what meant the most to me was what it represented," she says. "It affirmed that giving students opportunities to learn about real things, in hands-on and meaningful ways, has an important place in our classrooms."
Kim says it is often the smallest moments that remind her why she became a teacher. She loves watching a student's confidence grow when something finally clicks but also values the everyday opportunities to help children develop independence, empathy and consideration for others. Whether it's understanding why they need to walk quietly through the hallway while other classes are learning, respecting that everyone learns differently or taking the time to pronounce a classmate's name correctly, these moments matter.
"They're learning how to care about the people around them," she says.
Kim also believes that teaching requires listening and understanding. One lesson her students have taught her is not to measure their feelings by the size of their problems. Something that may seem small to an adult can feel very big to a child, and acknowledging that is important.
When asked what she hopes her students remember most about their time in her classroom, Kim points to the daily practices of deep breathing and gratitude that help students navigate difficult moments and recognize the good around them. And, with a little humour, she adds one more hope, "Mostly, I hope they remember to tuck in their chair!"
