The foundations for the future Variety Learning Centre were laid in 1986 when educational programs were initiated by the Vancouver School Board to stimulate the learning potential of First Nation’s learners. It was soon recognized that the programs could significantly enhance learning of all students regardless of their cultural background or their learning handicaps, leading to growth of the programs in elementary schools, secondary schools, adult learning centres, and alternate programs. This development culminated in the official opening of the Variety Learning Centre, a registered charitable organization, in September 1992.

The Variety Learning Centre is committed to helping individuals become successful learners. We believe that everyone has a need to feel competent and a desire to develop to their full potential. The Variety Learning Centre provides the tools and the encouragement for effective thinking and problem solving which empowers and motivates students with development delay or learning difficulties towards change and growth.

The Variety Learning Centre uses a method called mediated learning. A mediated learning approach to teaching involves more than teaching individuals what they should know. It helps them reflect upon what they already know and understand, connecting new learning with real world experiences. Individuals learn to know themselves as learners and improve their approach to learning in a way that leads to more success. This approach was developed by the renowned Israeli psychologist, Professor Reuven Feuerstein. Professor Feuerstein was the recipient of the 1991 International Humanitarian Award from Variety Club International for his life work with children that others have labelled “unteachable”.

Many individuals today face seemingly insurmountable challenges and have not acquired the necessary thinking and learning skills to cope. Increasing immigration and flow of refugees into British Columbia coincides with an increased incidence of learning difficulties associated with the disruption of lives and the discontinuity of the cultural context of learning. Other factors that may contribute to this increase in learning difficulties include the rise in substance abuse, the breakdown of the nuclear family, and improved survival rates of infants at-risk. Our mediated learning programs provide real hope for change for such individuals.

To date, our activities have focused primarily on Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, but we are increasingly reaching out to many other communities throughout British Columbia. Our work has included summer programs for elementary and secondary students, after school programs, individual tutoring, individual and group assessment, parent programs, consultations, training workshops for professionals and parents, and in services to schools and other organizations. The Variety Learning Centre is a resource centre for all those who practise mediated learning. We are very proud of our accomplishments over the past years and look forward with confidence to continued success in the future.