Sometimes the smallest change can make a huge difference, especially in education. Things such as greeting students individually upon arrival at school can set the tone for the entire day. Small changes in habitual behaviours can improve communication and relationships with students. Over the last few months I’ve been reading the work of Michael Bungay […]
Resilience
The Gender Gap in Technology
According to a recent report* by ICTC (the Information and Technology Information Council) Canadian women represent about 50% of the overall workforce but represent only 25% of the technology industry workforce. Of the 100 major tech companies in Canada only 5 have female CEOs and 1 Co-CEO. 26% of the tech companies have no women in senior leadership at […]
Let’s Talk About Shame
Author Brené Brown from her book “The Gifts of Imperfection” writes that there are three things that people need to understand about shame: 1. We all have it. Shame is universal and one of the most primitive human emotions that we experience. The only people who don’t experience shame lack the capacity for empathy and human […]
Beating the winter blahs
Brrrr! If my teeth weren’t chattering so much I’d be able to truly describe how b-b-b-barbarically c-c-c-cold it is outside right n-n-n-now. Not surprisingly, with such brutally un-balmy temps comes some interesting behaviour at school. Perhaps it’s a function of daylight hours(or lack thereof) or our proximity to one another as we cocoon indoors(achoo), or maybe due to […]
Coding with Microbits
Twice I have attended the Ontario Teachers’ Federation “Pedagogy before Technology” conference in the summer. This year I attended a design workshop that the InkSmith company provided and would never have been able to predict the chain of events that would follow. In the workshop we were grouped with people at our table to come up with […]
Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resource
As January and the new year approaches, I start to reflect on balance and keeping true to what I believe to be most important. When in the classroom, I always thought that it was a great time to press the reset button with students and gear up for the next half of the year. Over […]
Mindful Pause, with or without Technology?
Everywhere I turn I see the effects of our technologically advanced world. Gains have been made in medical research, communication abilities, and advancements toward an easier life? Some of the effects on individuals are now coming to light. Many people are connected to the internet 24/7. This is causing sleep disturbances, eye issues, addiction behaviours, […]
Why Coding is Important Part One
I consider myself a fairly techie teacher. However, until recently I hadn’t really tried my hand at coding or robotics. Well, I had, but I had lost interest as I quickly felt as though I was out of my depth. So, I did what I always do when I really want to learn something about […]
Teacher Guilt
I have felt guilty about my job since the first year that I started teaching. I have always felt that I did not do enough, didn’t contact parents enough, didn’t make it fun enough, didn’t write down observations or assessments enough, didn’t do enough intervention with those struggling readers, writers, mathematicians, didn’t do all of […]