University is over. Now what?

Wow, I haven't posted on here since the summer...and that is largely attributed to the fact that I was finishing my last semester at UVic. My 8-week practicum was a fantastic experience: I taught 3 Grade 10 classes at a wonderful school with awesome mentors and equally awesome kids (or teens, I should say). It was actually quite a whirlwind this time around- I thought at the beginning that the 8 weeks would drag on, but by the last week I was shocked that it had been 2 months! I had 4 other student teachers there with me, and I got the chance to get to know some pretty fantastic (and overwhelmingly funny) people that will be great teachers. Practicum ended at the start of December, and I subsequently enjoyed a month off, minus 8-ish hours/week of work at the pool.

January: I am working more than 8 hours/week (luckily, otherwise I would go insane), but I still have most of my daytime off- minus sporadic appointments. In all this time of lounging, I've realized that school took up a LOT of my time! Not having to get myself back and forth to class, actual class time, homework...when that is no longer there (and a 9-5 job hasn't taken its place), there is a lot of time left in the day. I'm still waiting for my teaching license- which has helped me procrastinate in applying anywhere- but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for the next couple years. I loved my practicum school, but unfortunately it was in the smallest district in Victoria- and the least likely to open up their TOC list on account of their shrinking student population. I've been told that I could possibly still get hired if I really pursue it (ie. keep asking admin and continually visit the school to keep my face familiar), but that the Victoria district is the largest- and the only one that is officially hiring. Unfortunately, I don't have any connections whatsoever in the Victoria district, so I'd be starting at square one in terms of even getting calls for TOC work. Combine that with that ever-so-lovely statistic of "7-10 years on a sub list in Victoria" that we were continually told at UVic, and it's not looking so good.

Now what? 
At this point, I am considering a couple options. 
1) Apply for a Victoria district, get on a sub list. Keep working at the pool to maintain a stable income. Please excuse the improper description, but essentially I would need to whore myself out to all the schools in order to get my name out there, and hope that eventually the calls would start coming in. Advantage: My name gets known= more work, hopefully a contract one day!

2) Leave Victoria, go somewhere smaller where I could actually get some teaching experience. I'd get to live somewhere new, meet new people, have a completely different experience than the one I've had here for the 26 years I've spent in Vic. One of my good friends from the teaching program said she would be willing to move to, and I think we would have a great time living somewhere new- and it makes the idea of leaving here and going somewhere totally new a bit less scary (yes, I know it would only be somewhere else in BC- but for someone that's never lived anywhere else, it might be a shocker for me) Disadvantage: I would get experience, but if I was to return to Vic, my name wouldn't be known and I could essentially be back to where I am right now.

So that is where it stands-- and this is the mental debate I have on my days off...when I'm not on Facebook or watching episodes of Intervention on my PVR. I've still got some time to figure it out, so I hope that the path becomes clear to me soon!

Bad Vibrations!

This is the comic I created last week in which we took some of the aspects we discussed about graphic novels/visual literacy and combined them with some practicum experiences!

I had a tough battle with cell phones the first couple days of teaching, but once the students realized that I wasnt kidding when I said I'd take their phones away if I saw them during class- they disappeared pretty quickly!

I'm not against cell phones in the school by any means (heck, we can't even stay off them...), but I think it is a symbol of respect when you don't use your phone when someone else is taking the time to teach you something. I have always done that in my classes, and it is something I will expect out of my students. Besides, we can all stand to be disconnected from the world now and again:)

The Importance of Being Idle.

*I'm listening to that song by Oasis at the moment, and realizing that I need to not be idle and get on top of projects NOW as opposed to March....but for now, I'll just enjoy the song- and you can too by clicking below:

Also- I also dont want my blog to become idle! Which it has been, since December 18th. Despite the fact that we dont technically have to maintain them any longer for ICT class, I'd still like to use it as a forum to share teaching information and experiences on here- especially when we all venture out on our respective practicums in April.

It's almost the end of January, and we are full-steam ahead into our Winter courses. So far, I am liking them- but thinking that this semester is going to be a lot more work than the last.  An additional set of stress- on top of all those term-end projects and finals- will be getting lesson plans organized and done for practicum; I'm heading back to Wellington Secondary, but still not sure what grades I will be teaching. I do know however that I have two fantastic English teachers lined up as mentors, so I am really happy to get to teach in front of/alongside them. I'm excited, but I'd be lying if I didnt mention that I'm still really nervous...but what are nerves if not to get our adrenaline pumping for the battle ahead! :)

"You are a mentor- do not disappoint."

On the last day of my 2-week observation, I had the opportunity to attend an Educators Against Racism Conference that was being held at my school.  The set-up for the conference was comprised of a keynote speaker, a morning workshop then afternoon workshop.  The keynote was Staff Sergeant Baltej Dhillon, who was the first turbaned Sikh police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  He gave a talk on racism in the classroom and how we as educators can work to combat it.  The two workshops I attended for the day were "Working with Aboriginal Youth" and "Poverty as a Classroom Issue".  In the first workshop, we first discussed what life was like for Aboriginal people prior to contact, and how we should try and integrate those ways of knowing in various ways within the classroom.  We also discussed the issues that are plaguing Aboriginal education in the Canadian school system; the instructor showed us a video on Residential Schools, and we then discussed how this event (and similar oppressions) are the roots of many social problems that affect the Aboriginal students we will work with.  In the second workshop, we discussed the various factors that constitute poverty, how to spot students that are living it in your classroom, and some ideas/resources on how you can make their school life an enriching experience- even an escape from the realities of home. 

The conference was extremely enriching as I got a chance to explore some issues that will be of the utmost importance in our classrooms. Listening to Sgt. Dhillon speak about his experiences with racism and prejudice in school (and how it continued throughout his career) made me realize how prevalent it is and how we as educators need to vigilant as to making sure our classrooms remain a place of tolerance and respect.  In the Aboriginal workshop, I picked up some great tips and approaches for supporting those students in the classroom while keeping in mind the social factors that affect many of them.  Our instructor gave us some techniques of how to adopt Indigenous cultural practices into the classroom, as well as reminding us that we have to work to change the mindset of school itself for many Indigenous families- as school has not been a positive experience for many.  In the poverty workshop, I received a number of fantastic resources that not only explain the various factors that constitute poverty among students, but ideas/approaches on how teachers can assist in making learning easier and more accessible to those that are struggling. 



Sgt. Dhillon



I went up to Sgt. Dhillon after his presentation and asked him what he thought was a best approach to encourage multicultural tolerance in the classroom- whether it be Indigenous, Sikh, Chinese, etc.  He told me that the most important tool we can use is the very thing we are supposed to be giving students- knowledge. If you have students of diverse cultures in your classroom (which we no doubt will), give that student a chance to explain their culture/beliefs in a way so that the other students understand.  Take field trips to cultural sites, bring in cultural foods,  or have guest speakers; there are a variety of approaches to both teaching and learning that you could use to expand the knowledge of the students so that they become more tolerant individuals. "When it comes down to it", he said, " we are all human and when dialogue is made- we look past the externalities." 

NOTE: The title of this post were the final words about teaching I heard from Sgt. Dhillon in his keynote speech.

Student Questionnaire

As I said earlier, I ran a student questionnaire last week with an Engl 10H class.  It was actually the teacher who asked me if I’d like to do it- he thought it might be something useful to not only me, but also my fellow student-teachers (all of you awesome people!)  He said he’d leave the room, I’d go over what I wanted them to do, read out the questions while they wrote out responses, and then I’d collect them and go over them later on.  I made sure to emphasize (and the teacher wanted me to as well) that they were anonymous, so I wanted their honest opinions and answers.

The first three questions were about teachers, the fourth was about bullying (it came out pretty even on whether or not they thought bullying was a problem- but leaned slightly more to NO), and the fifth question asked them to list the last book they read. I’m happy to report that only two of them (out of 27) said they couldn’t remember/don’t read outside of school. 

Like I also said in an earlier post, I’m going to post the full list of the survey answers in an e-portfolio entry (then link it on here), but for the first 3 questions I asked, here are the top-rated answers:

1) What do teachers do (or have done) that you really like?

•  Show films that are relevant to the topic (17)

·        In-class discussions- both in partners and groups (11)

·        Mix up the activities (4)

2) What do teachers do (or have done) that you really dislike?

·        Making us present in front of the class (10)

·        Lecturing for the entire period (9)

·        Giving work at the end of the class- we would like time in class to do it (6)

3) What do you think makes a great teacher?

·        Having a sense of humour (9)

·        Diverse teaching techniques/methods (6)

·        Easily approachable (4)

·        Allows us to express ideas and doesn’t put them down (4)

·        Keeps monotonous questions to a minimum, and favouring discussions instead (4)

·        Being understanding of students (4)

·        Connect with students and cares about them (4)

Some of the popular points students raised weren’t surprising (watching movies, for example), but I liked how for the third question, many of the students touched on the same qualities we did when we brainstormed about what makes a good teacher on the first day of seminar.  That means that what we recognized as a good teacher is still relevant in schools today- so we should try very hard to become a teacher with those qualities as well!

And it's Over!

So it’s Thursday, and observation at Wellington is officially done. It’s a pretty nice feeling to know we can go back to the regular life routine on Monday, but I’m a bit sad to leave this school behind. I met some fantastic teachers, and they were kind enough to share tons of ideas and materials with me (including a rather hefty photocopy pile I am bringing home of Lord of the Flies and grammar lesson materials that one of the Engl 11 teachers so graciously gave to me for a block to go through!) I really enjoyed the students and the school community, so I’d love to be able to return here in April.

Some highlights this week…

• I forgot to mention this earlier, but I got to run a student questionnaire last week!  I did the questionnaire with an Engl 10H class, in which I read them five questions, they answered anonymously, then I went through all 27 responses and compiled them into some form of a results sheet.  I’m going to post my results document on my e-portfolio hopefully next week at some point to share, but just to give you a sense of what I was doing, here are the questions:

1) What do teachers do (or have done) in the classroom that you really like?

2) What do teachers do (or have done) in the classroom that you really dislike?

3) What do you think makes a great teacher?

4) Do you think bullying is a problem at Wellington? *

5) What was the last book you read?

* that question was originally supposed to be about the classroom setting, but I’d been reading so much about the gay teen bullying that’s been in the media spotlight recently that I was really interested to hear what the students thought!

• I attended the Parent/Teacher Conferences on Wednesday night! I asked the VP if I could just mill around and check out how the night is run, but I ended up being invited to sit with the Engl 8 teacher I’ve been shadowing this week and watched her run interviews for nearly two hours! It was really great to get to see that student/teacher dynamic when a new factor- parent- is thrown into the mix.  I really liked how the teacher not only gave feedback to the parents, but included the student in the discussion as to how they might improve their performance in the classroom.

• I got to teach a (brief) lesson on Sustainability to a SS 11 class today! I’m going to do another blog post where I discuss this in more detail, but I just wanted to mention that it was a great chance to jump into the waters and try it out.  I ended up being in front of the class for almost 40 minutes (I’ll get to that later), but I felt great! I’m really glad I took the teacher up on the offer because it was a great learning experience- I initially turned it down when he asked me on Tuesday last week.  Then again, it was my first day in the school and I could barely find my way around! I felt very confident today, and I’m glad I’ve got some solid feedback to work with.

Okay, it’s off to bed now- I’m going to an Educators against Racism Conference tomorrow at the Well, and then back to Victoria tomorrow night. Hope you all have a fantastic long weekend and see you on Monday:)

Sex Ed Class. Better known as, “Okay kids, just get your giggles out now and then we’ll get on with it!”

Just to be clear, I’m not blogging about getting to go to two Sex Ed. Classes just because I know you’ll all be jealous (heehee). It’s actually because I was so impressed by the teacher and the students.  When the teacher told me the Health and Career 9 class was just about to start their 3 or so days of Sex. Ed, I thought it would be a great chance to see how a teacher delivers this information to a group of 13-year olds with the constant comments/giggling. I remember doing this class in middle school, and that reaction seems to be part and parcel to the class- so I was interested to see how this teacher handled it.  I also thought that, despite our subject areas, we may be asked one day to teach this subject to our students- and to some people, the idea of going over private parts in detail to 30 Grade 9’s is a nightmare-ish concept. So I was hoping that I would get to see a teacher that made it look easy- even a bit fun.

The first day was going over male/female body parts, bodily functions that accompany puberty, condom use, and then anonymous Q&A’s at the end. The teacher did a fantastic job of getting through the material and handling every question with such a patient and relaxed (yet serious to the topics) attitude.  Rather than deliver the material to the students as if none of them had ever heard of these topics before, she gave them the information very honestly and was very open to any questions they had.  I think that by delivering it in this manner that respected the students, it in turn gained her more respect and willingness to participate from them. Rather than vilifying the topic (“You’d better NOT be having sex!”), she taught the information with a balance of caution and openness.  When I asked her afterwards how she taught it so effectively, she said that she tried to keep in mind that yes, they shouldn’t be having sex at this age,  but in reality- some of them are.

Surprisingly enough, I was really impressed by the students! That isn’t to say there wasn’t muffled laughter most of the time (and some of the anonymous questions fell into the category of ridiculous), but on the whole the students were attentive, gave thoughtful answers when asked, and successfully completed the assignments.  In Friday’s class, the students had to create Lovers Licenses (yep, like a drivers license)- where they had to write down the traits/qualifications/knowledge they thought someone ought to have before they start having sex. I looked at the cards after they had handed them in…and wow. For 13-years old, some of them were really thinking!  Some of the examples included: Current medical examinations, maturity, commitment, respect for their partner, at least 2 weeks of Sex. Ed classes, even a successful pass of a lie-detector test! The students really seemed to be engaged in the activity. 

This is not to say that all classes are going to be able to work so efficiently and maturely on this topic, but in this case I think all 30 students gained at least a bit more awareness about the bird and the bees.

Soapbox Fridays!

I just HAVE to share this idea- I love it! I sat in on a Comp Civ 12 class for the last two days of the school week, and I am inspired by this classroom (and the teacher- he’s fantastic!). It’s completely covered in posters, ranging from maps to newspaper clippings to student projects.  He has quotes chosen by the students- glued to coloured paper- hanging from the ceiling.  I don’t exactly know how to describe the seating arrangement, but if you’re sitting at the back, it looks like a big L with a little L in front of it on the left side and the opposite on the right- so that the teacher’s desk is in the centre.  On Fridays, the teacher’s desk becomes the soapbox and the students come up and present an issue to the class- then facilitate group discussion. Each student signs up for a date, then two present each Friday. They choose an issue, explain it, give some kind of thesis statement, and then pose questions to the class to facilitate debates. It’s AWESOME! The two topics I watched were vaccinations (the presenter argued against them) and gender equality (the speaker argued that females were starting to get higher rights than men) - both very heated topics! It was fantastic to watch the students get into these topics, as well as listen to the teacher pop in there with questions/comments as well. I had to get in there too- I just couldn’t help it! It was such a great way to get students not only aware of current/important issues, but also for them to practice public speaking- something that most of them will have to face outside of the high school walls (especially if they attend university!). I’m going to make sure I’m in this classroom on Thursday to watch one more…

Sifting through the Book Room.

In the last waning minutes before early dismissal on Friday, I wandered into the library to check out the book sets and video resources available to staff at Wellington. As soon as I was let into the room, I noticed there were no book sets in there (?). So I was told to go chat with the Dept. head afterwards to find out what book sets were in stock. I still decided to take a look around the resource room, and I was impressed to find numerous reference books (ESL, Special Needs, Grad Transitions, etc.) as well as over 1,000 videos/DVDs spanning all subject areas for teacher use.  I then headed off to find the Dept. head (who I’ve also been observing this week), and he gave me all the details on book sets.  It’s pretty much standard fare in terms of the books for this district, and the teachers generally follow the grade recommendations so teachers can build on previous knowledge gained from the novels they know the students read last year.  Some of those titles (that I’m sure most of us remember reading) include: The Outsiders, The Chrysalids, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, and 1984. He also showed me a cabinet full of various unit plan binders for all the novels- which is a fantastic resource for the teachers!

On the topic of book choices, I talked to an Engl 11 teacher who was in the process of trying to get Testimony by Anita Shreve approved to teach in her class. I haven’t read the novel, but she said that the first 15 pages are a particularly graphic rape scene- hence the issue getting it approved. She said that she really wanted to do this novel because she could relate it not only to Lord of the Flies (the other novel they’re reading), but it could also be related to the issue of rape- an important discussion to have with high school kids. As it stood last week, it was sitting at the superintendent level, waiting to get approved. It certainly raises the issue- how risky can novels be at a high school level? Should we choose literature that plays to the most naïve student? Or should our goal be to jar their worlds and (hopefully) inspire them to greater heights of knowledge? I think it would have to be a happy medium, but how one would define that? I’m not too sure.

Technology in the Classroom (Inspired by Lauren’s SMART board-equipped library experience)

Hi everyone!

The first week is over, and I’m having a great time at the Well (I’ve even got the nickname down)! I’ve got a bunch of topics to post about, but I haven’t been blogging as much as I should. However I’ve got the whole weekend now, so I promise to get a few posts done in the next couple days!

Of all the interesting things I have seen and heard at Wellington so far, the technology in the school has really intrigued me- mostly because they haven’t joined the world of wikispaces and tweets yet.  There are only 3 or 4 classrooms equipped with computers (along with the library), and of those locations, there are no Macs in sight. The computers are big, bulky, and straight outta 1998.  This is certainly not the fault of any of the teachers, it’s just that the school doesn’t have the budget to revamp and acquire computers for its 1,000 students- and certainly not laptops that can be loaned out to students.  When talking to one of the English teachers about how we’ve been introduced to all these digital tools and their promise in the classroom, she said that they were certainly fantastic ideas- in theory. But when the school can’t afford/make sure computer access is available to everyone, she said, it makes online teaching difficult.

The principal has started an initiative this year to get each teacher a laptop, to start the process of connecting Wellington staff and students to the online world. So the shift is happening slowly. Maybe one day soon, English classes will be tweeting about Hamlet while watching Kenneth Branaugh lament on-screen. But for now, the extra copies folder in the English 11 classroom will continue to be stocked daily.

“Everything is strange when you’re a stranger...”

  My Social Studies prof quoted this song lyric in class on Friday, and told us that it would be very much the feeling we’d have walking into a brand-new school….and I have to agree.  Everything was strange to me, and I was the stranger! However, after the initial confusion faded, I felt pretty comfortable navigating the halls of Wellington.

  I arrived bright and early at 8:00am to avoid any parking issues, but there is plenty of road parking around the school so it wasn’t an issue.  The VP met with me around 8:15, gave me a master timetable list, a map, and a copy the staff handbook (to read up on all those policies).  She told me that I could basically wander around/in and out of classes as desired, so I did just that! I first took a walk around the school, that holds 60 staff and 1,000 students.  Wellington is fairly easy to navigate, and it helps that the school wings are based around a circle- we’re all well aware of that set-upJ 

  The first class I dropped in on was a SS 11 class, which was in the middle of a current events debate when I arrived.  I was impressed at the level of maturity and participation in the class- especially after the teacher told me that the class was 30 students, 6 of which were designated but had no EA’s. He did a fantastic job of keeping the students on task, and used a variety of activities over the class period.  He also asked me if I wanted to teach at all next week- to which I said I’d get back to him. I’m not sure I’m feeling comfortable (and knowledgeable) enough at this point to take the plunge, but we’ll see how I’m feeling by Monday!

  The next class was an English 10H, and the classroom reminded me of UVic- tiered seating with a podium at the front. The teacher was totally sarcastic and comfortable with the students, I loved it! He also tried to make the material (we were looking at Romeo and Juliet) relatable to the students- for example, he argued that Romeo was emo. It was pretty entertaining watching the students generate ideas with him!

  Third class was an English 8, but I only watched part of the class since I hadn’t gotten a chance to check out the library/other areas- and the teacher told me that it was going to be a very slooow day because everyone was still in turkey comas.  So I explored the bookroom, checked out the counseling office, the gym, multipurpose room, etc.  Read the staff handbook to gain knowledge on their policies- for example, Wellington doesn’t ban cell phones, but I barely saw any during classes, so I suppose students have more self-control than I assumed.

  Last class of the day was English 11, and it was a really good demo of some of the teaching strategies we’ve been talking about for the last month! They did AB partner work, class discussions, and exit slips. The teacher, much like the English 10 teacher, was very relaxed with the students, which made it a really good learning environment.

  So all in all, it was a good day. I’m hoping to bust out of the SS/English mold tomorrow and view some other classes and activities if I can- I want to see as many teaching styles as possible. The good or the bad...it all helps us to design our own distinct teaching style!

Off to the Harbour City!

Finally. The wait is over. We know where we are headed for the next two weeks…and they certainly didn’t disappoint with building up the suspense!

As I sat in seminar today, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about that elusive form we’ve been after since September- nor could I stop myself from dropping not-so-subtle verbal cues to our practicum prof that we really wanted to see where we were heading. He finally gave into our pleas, and distributed the forms to the elated cheers of the class.  It wasn’t until the silence, signaling that all names had been called, that I realized I didn’t have a form in my hands.  I raced up to see Betty and Phil in the office, and they told me that they were about 80% sure where I was going, but they hadn’t gotten the official confirmation yet- so they would e-mail me once they knew. Phil consoled me by giving me a chocolate and telling me that I was the last student in the program to be placed- so at least I felt special to have been left to the last minute!

Back to class I went, dejected that I didn’t have a pretty placement form in my hands. Less than one minute later, Phil was at the door telling me to come back up- as they’d received the confirmation e-mail about 30 seconds after I’d headed back downstairs.  I headed back up to the office, and left holding that form I'd been waiting days to read...

And with that, I’m off to Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo next week!

I chose Nanaimo because I have quite a few friends that live there (and offered me a place to stay), it’s not too far away from home, and I actually quite like the city! I wouldn’t mind living there for a couple years after finishing the program, although from what I’ve heard the prospects of getting a job there are much like Victoria- along the lines of impossible.

At any case, I’m excited to explore this school and meet the teachers, students and administrators- this will be my first real taste of high school from the other side of the desk.