Snow Day

Wow, I cannot believe that Brock actually closed for a day! I do however feel that I missed out on some good workshops. There were to be free materials given to us, on top of the knowledge that we were to gain. I do hope that we can get our hands on this material at some point, but that looks to not be possible with the way our schedules look.

I would also like to add how messed up it is that I had to actually drive to Bethany to find out that the day was cancelled because Brock took so long to alert everyone. Maybe if I was going to show up fashionably late, then I may have gotten the warning in time, but I had to wake up early, shovel my way out of my drive way and deal with wicked conditions to get there, just to be sent home with nothing. All I have to say is smarten up Brock and think about these things before procrastinating with the snow alerts. I hope everyone else had a productive day off and stayed safe. I cannot wait for the warm weather to come back, too much cold for me.

Second Term - What the Heck?

I just have to say how stupid I think it is that we are having one class of term 2 before the holiday break. The schedule should work so that we finish a term, go on break, then return to start a new one.

Just had to say something, it just seems weird to me :p

Use your days off wisely

I am currently sitting in a Grade 7 classroom in a London Public School. I am currently in the Catholic Pre-service program, but I felt compelled to see how the two Boards differ as well as how they are related, since it is quite possible I may be working in either one.

In short, this is incredible, each classroom has computers, a smartboard, fantastic teachers and great students. I have never been in a public school before and I love the experience. I can definitely see myslef teaching in either school board because they are simply that similar. The only difference is the presence of God in the classroom. I am a man of beliefs and I continuously attempt to allow God into my everyday activities, but in this type of school I would have to keep my beliefs to myself. However, I think I would be capable of this and it excites me to see how easy it is for me to fit in to an intermediate classroom, even though I am in P/J.

I even met the principal and she is one heck of a cool lady. She is a biker, like myself, so we talked of motorcycles for a while and just laughed and joked about the most random things. I really feel welcomed here and it has only been three hours, as I type this over lunch. I wish I could do a placement at this school, but it is simply too far from home and in a different Board.

I would like to tell everyone that they should find time during one of their reading days to do a volunteer placement in a different classroom or different Board so that they can truly get a feel of where they feel they most belong, as well as seeing the other options that are available. I say use your time wisely, because this is quite possibly the best type of social issue day I have had this year. I have learned more today than any other social day Brock has given me yet this year.

Aboriginal Workshops

As you all know, last wednesday was our social issues day on education related to aboriginals and we all took part in various workshops. However, I feel that I spent the day re-learning things that I already previously new.

The morning was fun once we got to sing about sponge Bob and dance around the room, but the rest of the presentation did not help me as a future educator. I know that our history taught in the classroom may differ from what aboriginal children may believe in terms of their own history; however, what can I do to improve, don't just tell me that it is different and we have to be aware of this. I know that every culture holds their own beliefs and views on the history of their people, but if we as educators are not given any suggestions at all on how we can help the situation, other than the fact that it is up to us to help the situation, then change can not really be expected, because we are bound by the Board Documents to cover specific expectations for each subject strand. I am aware that this may lead to boredom or confrontation in the classroom if there are students present with varying beliefs, but the seminar never gave any suggestions on how to improve the situation, other than being aware of it and looking for old legends in used book stores. And again, what books are valid and which are not?

With the seminars, I first attended the Religious issues in the classroom, and the focus simply looked at the different religions in the world and approximately how many people fall into each section. Okay, what does this have to do with what I encounter in the class? So some individuals may need to leave the room to pray, or some holidays prevent others from coming to class or writing a test. I cannot be expected to be fully aware of every holiday from every religion. I believe that if a family is strong in a particular faith, it is up to them to ensure that the teacher is aware of it. Yes, you must be sensitive to every students beliefs, but some responsibility falls on the family to ensure that the teacher is aware of their beliefs.

Also, attending a Catholic retreat last night, I was made aware that if I am teaching in a Catholic school, then the students there are expected to follow the traditions of the school and that if we start allowing students to outwardly express their exemption from the Catholic faith,then we might as well lock the doors to the school. Again, we must respect the faith of others, but in a school such as this, you come in with an expectations to participate in the community, if you are not willing to fully participate in the life of the school community,then you must re-assess where you faith allows you to feel more comfortable.

The second seminar was of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. This started off giving us valuable information on what it is and how it affects individuals who have it, but the guest who is a victim of FAS only gave a personal account of the issue and was unable to give suggestions as to how teachers can improve the learning experience in the class. I felt for her and I deeply respect the need to be aware of the situation and get to know the students, but I was hoping to come away with teaching strategies about how to specifically help these students, but like before, it focused on the fact that we must be aware of it and keep a certain sensitivity towards it.

I felt like the day was interesting, but at the end of it all, I cannot give a proper summary of learning events. I did not learn anything new. I heard a few personal accounts relating to the situation, as well as reaffirming my prior knowledge of certain issues.

For future sessions, I would suggest a better focus on tying the experience in with how we may instruct our students, or how we can structure the class or school community to foster respect and help with the integration of all students into our school system. Feel free to comment, I have talked with many who agree and I would like to hear from everyone.

Almost forgot to mention

One of my students in the classroom during the art lesson, who is also on an IEP was working at the paint station next to one of the young girls in my class. This little girl wears glasses and in about 10 seconds of addressing another studnets questions her glasses were just covered with black paint. The paint was water-based, thank heavens, and it washed off easily. The paint also got all over the students face, but it was cleaned with no further incidence. The event was a complete accident, as this student likes to talk by moving his arms around and simply caught those in his path of travel.

Many other studnets went home covered in paint as well that day. However, I did not worry because it was water based and could easily be washed away. Just remember, when it comes to painting with young children, use water-based, not acrylic!

Lots of Paint

I just had to say to all those who are thinking about having an art lesson involving paint and Grade 3's. No matter how hard I tried, I still had to stay for an extra hour after school trying to scrub all the desks clean. I didn't have to stay, but the custodian hardly every comes out to clean the portable I am in and the children's desks were just covered with paint and crayon. All of this somehow got on the desks, even though I covered them with newspaper to save myself the hassle of cleaning up after the activity.
The art work turned out great and in the end everyone was happy. I however will be more thoughful and considerate of my after school availability the next time I plan a lesson such as that one. The lesson was fun and everyone enjoyed themselves and got a lot out of it, but I was simply surprised with the amount of cleaning that was to follow. I will be ready next time and I just hope that all of those who are considering to do something new in their art class are considering the extra time that will go into preparing the lessons, material and the cleaning process afterwards.

First Days of Block

I just wanted to post a general update on how things are going so far. I am really enjoying my Block and I definitely feel that this is where we must all take advantage of our resources because this is the setting in which we will learn the most this year about becoming future educators. The theory behind the classroom environment may be an important ingredient to one's success, however, there is much going on in the classroom that you just tend to never learn about in class.

My students are great, but they still have good and bad days and on those bad days I must be ready to switch gears at any moment. I have learned to not be afraid to change my lesson on the fly to follow the interest of the students and I am definitely not afraid to scratch a lesson completely to do something more interactive and fun with my students. I was initially enjoying the fact that I was given my information well in advance to plan all my lessons and prepare myself for the class, but I am finding that I would rather wait until the last moment to plan lessons so that I can be sure of what they are currently interested in and to give me an idea of how much work they are capable of performing.

My first two lessons were well planned with lots of material available to be covered; however, I had to exclude many of my extension tasks because of the limited amount of time and the pace at which my students work. Other factors such as getting changed before and after recess, getting snack time and long transition times have all affected the length of my lessons as well as limiting my choices of activities for the students. These factors were taken to mind, but never fully considered while lesson planning, but I feel that I can now make more effective lesson plans that will accomodate for these minor disturbances, as well as creating better management techniques to ensure that we move quickly enough to not waste any time in our limited day.

I hope everyone is having a great time at their placements and I wish you all the luck in succeeding with your lesson planning and teaching.