Blog – Page 119

January 13, 2018 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health

The detour

Wanderers, tourists, sight seers, visitors, escape artists, runners…”Hey!” this teacher asks, with a smile, “See any cool artwork today?” or maybe the exchanges are in passing such as, “How are you? How’s your day going?” However, what rarely gets asked is, “Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

Have you ever observed a student or few who seem to be conspicuously far away from their usual classroom or floor? Have you ever watched them take the long way around the school to complete an errand? How about the students who take the time to ponder every single art exhibition or piece of student work in the hallways? Not surprisingly, these are the same students who are frequently found quenching their thirsts at the farthest drinking fountains or outside of their friend’s classes waving as well.

At first, I paid little attention to moments like these. Perhaps those students were delivering messages to the office or helping another teacher? Of course it’s a possibility, but I was able to discern the difference quite quickly when the students being observed were empty handed, on the opposite side of the school building relative to the office, and not in possession of a good reason for being in that particular space and time. I have to empathize with students like this. That was me too. I used to take lots of notes to the office for my teachers. I wonder if those notes said, “Please keep William busy for a few minutes and then send him back. Thank you.”?

The Thinking Lap

Maybe the students that I’m seeing are taking a lap to think? Most times I use this option as a means to support anxious, stressed, and or physically active learners. A walkabout is an excellent mental health strategy for all of us, but then I started to see some patterns that piqued my attention. The students who I was regularly seeing in the hallways, were showing up at around the same times each day? Was there something going on that they needed to get out of class at the same time each day? It was then that I began to see this through a different lens.

In my role as SERT, I provide resource support in a number of classes throughout the school. Recently, I observed a student from the intermediate panel at a water fountain on a different floor about 30 minutes into the first period of the day. Harmless enough in itself, but what struck me about all of this was the fact that the student would have had to pass at least 2 other fountains along the way. 45 minutes later they were skipping down an empty hall during class to their locker. 30 minutes after that, back at the faraway fountain. I smiled, said hello, and went about my morning.

Perhaps they are enjoying an extended walk to work out some stress? If so, what are the underlying factors that explain this student’s to need be out of class so often? Could all of their self-navigated detours be coincidence? Barring medical issues, this is less likely to be believable based on frequency and time of day. What’s worth noting as well, are the other students who might be taking their own detours around the school.

3 Questions and 3 Answers

Q1. Would these students like to have someone to walk alongside and listen?
Q2. How many others feel like doing the same, but don’t act on it?
Q3. How can wonderlust be infused into these learners’ days to go with their wanderlust?

A1. It depends on whether they will be heard or given a hard time for being in the wrong place at the wrong time without any understanding by others.
A2. If there is one, there are others. Albeit subtle, shifting, shuffling, and staring into space are good indicators to teachers that students need a break.
A3. Throw the map away sometimes. Keeping the learning space, active, challenged, and engaged is often a trip to an undiscovered land. It is an act of re-invention and creativity that takes practice, patience, and persistence. Don’t be afraid to change directions by throwing in detours of your own.

Thank you for reading this post. Please take time to comment and share to keep the conversation going. Enjoy your detours.

January 13, 2018February 1, 2018 Michelle Fenn Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, The Arts

Teaching Dramatic Arts-Resource Recommendations

My first Additional Qualification Specialist was in Dramatic Arts. When I signed on at my current school board I worked as an overlay teacher between two schools and taught whatever I was assigned by the Teachers for whom I provided preparation time. I was mostly asked to teach art, drama, dance, and music. These curriculum areas are my passions but not all Teachers feel qualified or comfortable teaching these subjects. Drama seems to be one of those courses that some Teachers “tack on” for a week or two just before a reporting period and with good reason, they aren’t comfortable teaching it and it can become difficult to manage behaviour during dramatic arts.

Drama lends itself well to all areas of the language curriculum. There is a misconception that Drama and Theatre are the same thing and that scripts and plays are the end goal of the Dramatic Arts curriculum. However, there are many ways in which to incorporate Dramatic Arts activities into the daily language curriculum and you don’t ever have to mount a full scale production. Drama doesn’t have to be scary.

One of the best resources that I recommend to Teachers who have Dramatic Arts Anxiety is the DramaNotebook website. It has all of the Drama games you will ever need all in one place and is especially handy for Occasional Teachers for transition times. In addition, it has poems and scripts that you can access from 2 parts up to 30 parts. There is a sign up for a cost, but there is also many free items including 40 drama games for teachers.

Another great Canadian source for drama lessons is Larry Swartz. He is an Educational Consultant, author, speaker and Dramatic Arts specialist. His book, “Dramathemes” is in it’s 3rd edition and is used in many Education Faculties in Ontario. It not only provides “activities” but it creates units that are easily integrated into the language curriculum.

The Council of Drama and Dance Educators has a fantastic website and there are many free resources which are written by educators and can be accessed even if you are not a member of CODE. In addition, they have a conference each year held in the fall which provides opportunities to learn along with other Educators.

I would also highly recommend the Arts resources from ETFO. The Primary ETFO Arts and Revised ETFO Arts resources provide an integrated approach to all of the Arts. You can find them at Shop ETFO on the website by following the link below.

http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Resources/pages/shopetfo.aspx

Revised ETFO Arts (2014) $23

Ref. #91.129 The Revised ETFO Arts book is a practical step-by-step handbook for junior/intermediate grade teachers who want to include the Arts in their classroom program by introducing all the elements of dance, drama, music and visual arts.

Primary ETFO Arts (2013) $20

Ref. #91.169 Primary ETFO Arts is a publication that features 10 picture books that will pique children’s interest with their universal themes, issues and questions. Each section of Primary ETFO Arts includes engaging verbal and non-verbal activities to stimulate imagination, communication and critical thinking.

I hope that these resources provide you with some ideas and inspiration. I am always looking for more. If you have some other resources to recommend; please add a comment.

January 8, 2018 Deb Weston Health & Safety

Health & Safety … Make it Happen!

As a classroom teacher in a school, I often forget I am also classified as a worker in a workplace. For teachers, health and safety is an important part of our work environment. It’s crucial that teachers have a safe workplace in order to do their jobs and students have safe places to learn. I know about many of the commonly occurring issues because I’ve experienced them first hand.

Health and safety is important to all workers

Many teachers think that health and safety issues are the responsibility of the custodial staff and/or the health and safety designated inspectors/workers. In fact, health and safety is the responsibility of all workers and workers have a duty of care to report health and safety concerns to the administration immediately. Without these health and safety reports, workers can get injured. Injured workers increase costs as they need to take time off to heal from injuries or sometimes must change jobs if injuries are extensive.

Let’s bring this down to a classroom teacher level …

Teachers love paper!

Teachers love to plaster their classroom walls and doors with student work and messages of inspiration. So what’s the big health and safety issue with paper? Paper catches fire easily and can prevent students and teachers from exiting their classrooms. This is especially a problem when paper is plastered on classroom doors as decorations.

How can students leave their class if their steel classroom door is on fire? A common measurement of excessive paper is about 20% of paper covering the wall space. As a trained designated health and safety worker/inspector, I use bulletin boards to estimate the amount of paper that should be on the walls. Paper should also not be on the ceiling or over doorways as it could fall on students and teachers upon exiting the classroom. Fortunately, I have not had any paper fires in my classroom, but I have had paper fall from my classroom door onto students as they were exiting during a fire drill … it happened when I was a new teacher, Yup.

Advice to new teachers: Keep your doors clear of paper so your classroom exit is clear.

Setting off school sensors is BAD!

Another thing falling paper can do (be it on walls or doors) is set off the school fire and security sensors. Setting off sensors costs money as it means a custodian or security person needs to come in to investigate the sensor trigger. Before being aware of this issue, I was guilty of setting off the security sensors in my classroom which made a custodian upset because it took her 2 hours to find the source of the sensor disruption!

Advice to new teachers: Never get the custodians “annoyed” with you.

Teachers love to decorate their classroom and bring stuff to school!

Teachers love to make their classrooms look inviting. I understand this as a classroom teacher. But did you know that anything electrical needs to be approved? – check out the ESA Recognized Certification Marks for Ontario.

https://www.esasafe.com/consumers/safety-and-security/product-safety/recognized-marks

Inexpensive lamps, lights, and electrical appliances may not have this approval and they could be at risk of catching fire! Appliances can catch fire … I once had my classroom mini fridge catch fire, really, it was bad. Fortunately, I put out the fire before it set off alarms and alerted the office and my principal.

Some teachers have a mini kitchen in their classrooms with fridges, microwaves, kettles, and coffee makers. I’ve walked into some teachers classrooms were teachers could make a complete dinner without leaving their room. Extra kitchen appliances can flip electrical breakers which the principal finds out about. Fixing the breakers costs money. Once my son burnt his hand while heating up his lunch in his teacher’s classroom microwave. Fortunately, it was not a bad burn.

Advice to new teachers: Keep kitchen appliances out of your classroom.

Teachers love to decorate and hang things from the ceiling.

Teachers also bring in extra rugs, furniture, and curtains just to make their classroom feel inviting. But the problem is that these items may not pass fire or school safety standards. Rugs are especially notorious for being tripping hazards as they move when teachers step on them! Yes, as a teacher with a tendency to trip, I’ve tripped over my share of rugs, wires, chairs, and an assortment of school supplies. I was fortunately not hurt.

Teachers also love hanging things from ceilings like tree branches, curtains, mobiles, and other assorted decorations. Based on what I have already written, these hanging objects can be classified under fire hazards and security and fire sensor triggers. Yes, I have also set off a school fire alarm sensor during a winter storm … it was a long time ago before I knew better.

Advice to new teachers: Do not hang things from your classroom ceiling.

Teachers do not throw out their teaching stuff … in case they need it!

Teachers, including me, love to collect stuff … just in case they will need it later to teach a great unit. Stuff in the classroom is not a problem until it is not stored properly and becomes clutter. Proper storage means storing things on secured shelving that is attached to walls. Proper storage also means not storing things high up on shelves as it can fall down on people. Proper storage should not hinder exiting the classroom. Areas around classroom door exits need to be clear of clutter, shelving, toys, shoes, etc so students and teachers can get out of their classrooms fast.

Advice to new teachers: Store classroom items safely and get rid of clutter.

Make health and safety part of your teaching practice!

As a teacher I’ve learned much from my health and safety mistakes and fortunately no one was harmed. As a trained designated health and safety worker, I was educated to be aware of how dangerous a classroom can be for all learners. Keeping our classrooms and schools safe takes a critical eye to recognize hazards.

Remember, accidents can happen at any time. It is just as likely for a classroom door to catch fire, when the door is decorated for one day vs. being decorated every day of the school year. Think of health and safety like wearing seatbelts. We wear seatbelts all the time because car accidents can happen at any time. So practice your teaching with health and safety in mind at all times!

Let’s work collaboratively together to keep our classrooms and schools safe for all staff, students, and visitors.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

December 31, 2017 Deb Weston agency, Health & Safety, Mental Health, Violence in Schools

Duty to Report School Violence

As an elementary teacher, with 18 years experience, I’ve seen my share of violence in schools. In 3 lockdowns, I’ve had to keep my students quiet, calm, and safe. As a classroom teacher, I’ve had objects thrown at me (like chairs). More than once, I’ve been purposely hit and kicked so hard, bruises were left. I once had a student put an unknown substance in my tea. I’ve been harassed and threatened by students’ parents too many times to count. After making a call to the Children’s Aid Society, I had to be escorted to my car as my student’s mother was harassing me. I have personally witnessed students destroy/trash teachers’ classrooms and their personal property. And based on my own observations, the violence is increasing in schools.

There is research to support my anecdotal observations. Based on information from ETFO (Action on Violence in Schools), ETFO members are increasing facing violent incidents in schools and workplaces. This violence increases physical and mental harm to both adults and children. With violence, teaching and learning is disrupted. Teachers and students can develop anxiety that violence will occur again.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) completed a comprehensive member research survey in June 2017, carried out by Pollara. The survey noted that elementary schools tend to experience more threats and acts of violence than high schools.

The highlights of the report, OECTA Survey of Violence in Schools, were telling:

Nearly nine-in-ten teachers experienced or witnessed violence or harassment in schools
94% of all violent incidents were perpetrated by students
70% of teachers witnessed violence
60% of teachers personally experienced violence
15% of incidence involved weapons – 76% were classroom objects, 22% were a knife/blade, 8% were gun/fire arm/shotgun
elementary teachers experienced … threats of physical assault 43%; attempted physical assault 42%; actual physical assaults 36%

The resultant impact on teachers was also long term:

58% of teachers experienced significant psychological stress
56% of teachers experienced property damage
40% of teachers experienced physical harm
26% of teachers had to take time off work due to resultant health issues

So what are the schools doing about this violence in schools?

25% of teachers were either encouraged or actively pressured by administrators to not fill out a reporting form (often called Violent Incident Report)
25% of teachers who personally experienced violence were encouraged by administration to not report the incident to police

Teachers also reported that they felt administration did not take violent incidence seriously.

82% of teachers were not given appropriate resources/tools to deal with violent situations
74% of teachers who experienced violence and harassment reported they did not feel safe in their classrooms
72% of teachers reported that students and staff did not receive adequate protection against violence and harassment

ETFO has put an action plan in place, ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence, to make members’ schools and workplaces safer. This includes excellent videos, a brochure, and a poster. I strongly encourage you to check out these resources as they provide critical information to protect you, your colleagues, and your students against violence in schools.

So what can teachers do to support ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence?

Make schools and workplaces safe

ETFO’s call to action and strategy to address violence in school board workplaces involves many stakeholders and it starts with collaboration, training and accountability (from ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence).

2. Know your rights to a safe workplace (ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence Brochure)

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act:

Your principal has a duty to provide you with information about the risks of harm from a person with a history of violence.
You may refuse to work or do particular work where you have reason to believe that the work is likely to endanger you.
If you believe you are being endangered by workplace violence, then report your concerns to the principal right away and get immediate assistance.

School Boards & Principals

School boards and principals are required to investigate and deal with reports of workplace violence and serious student incidents.
Both, boards and principals, are required to conduct assessments of the risks of violence as often as necessary to continue to protect ETFO members from the risks of harm.
Both, boards and principals, are required to take measures and procedures to control identified risks. In the school setting, these steps could include, for example, a safety plan, a behaviour plan, staffing and supports.

You have a duty to report violence in schools (ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence Brochure)

Under the OHSA, ETFO members have specific duties to report workplace violence.
Under the Education Act, ETFO members have specific duties to report serious student incidents. These duties are further described in Ministry policies PPM 144 and PPM 145.
Should workplace violence cause an injury or illness, an accident/injury/illness report is required. It is just as important to seek medical attention for psychological and emotional harm as it is for physical injury when workplace violence happens.
Your duty to report workplace violence and serious student incidents cannot be limited by age, needs or other mitigating factors. If you are having difficulties making these required reports, get in touch with your steward or ETFO local as soon as possible to get support.

Support for ETFO Members

Contact your ETFO local for advice and support at etfo.ca/link/locals.
You can also contact ETFO provincial staff in Professional Relations Services at 416-962-3836/1-888-838-3836.
For information and resources on workplace violence and serious student incidents, visit etfohealthandsafety.ca .

Educate yourself and your colleagues on workplace violence

As noted above, ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence has been put in place to make members’ schools and workplaces safer. I strongly encourage you to check out these resources below as they provide critical information to protect you, your colleagues, and your students against violence in schools.

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools Poster

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools Brochure

Supporting ETFO Members – PRS Matters

I have experienced violence and harassment in schools but I have not been seriously injured. Based on the results from the OECTA Survey of Violence in Schools, I have been fortunate.

Know Your Rights to a Safe Workplace!

It’s up to you to support ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence.

It’s up to you to fulfill your Duty to Report school violence.

With your support, together, we can make schools safer for our schools, our colleagues, and our students.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

December 31, 2017 Arianna Lambert Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Goal Setting

As the year winds down, I take time to reflect on the year that has past and consider setting a few goals for the year to come. Not only do I do this personally but I’ve often seen the new year as a great opportunity to work with students to consider what they might like to achieve moving forward in the school year.

Over the years, I’ve considered different types of goal setting but have found SMART Goals as being the most effective, personally and in my work with students. SMART Goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. This year, I created a SMART Goal Action Plan to work on with my students. Using this Google Doc, students will decide on a goal that they would like to accomplish and answer questions to make sure that their goals are indeed SMART. Now I know that I’ve made New Year’s Resolutions in the past that were easily forgotten by January 3rd, but I also know that an essential part of achieving our goals is support and accountability. By having students turn-in their work in Google Classroom, I’ll have the opportunity to conference with them on their action plan and have ongoing discussions as they progress. Part of the learning is going through the process. I’m really excited to support students in achieving something that is of importance to them and the hope is that by participating in this process, they may gain the skills necessary to continue to set SMART goals, personally and academically.

What goals are you setting for yourself and for your students this year? All the best for 2018!

December 30, 2017January 1, 2018 Will Gourley Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, self reflection

The destination

This is the companion post to The drive shared on December 30, 2017. I wrote it because trips are always more fun with a partner.

When I was in grade school, there always seemed to be one adult whose job it was to ask students, “What do want to be when you grow up?” For some reason, this was more of a cruel conundrum rather than a sparkling conversational point. I hated hearing this question in my day. I still cringe whenever it gets asked today. Secretly, I hope students respond with something creative like Unicorn rancher or underwater coffee shop owner – anything will do, as long as it changes the subject.

I see the question more like asking students to pick the trip of their lifetime without ever having a chance to take a Geography lesson, browse a web-site or read any reviews on TripAdvisor.¹ Even though our jobs are to provide and guide our students, we still must let our learners decide their own destination(s).

This is cause for concern because I fear we’re running out of road(s) for some of our learners. For many, the destinations are leading to dead-ends instead of their dreams coming true. If we consider the ruthless nature of the real world our graduates will face, there will be many detours, breakdowns, and accidents outside of the classroom courtesy of life. And yes there will be traffic, road closures, and potholes. This makes it even more crucial for us to be paving new roads with our learners.

It’s hard to drive.
It’s even more difficult to discover what drives us.
Then there’s always the destination where departure times depend.
Decidedly, education helps define destiny and dignity.

Over the past 9 years of my teaching journey, I have sped past a few common sites along the way. Like the repeating background of an old cartoon or the cookie-cutter rest stops that line the highway – each with the same caffeine, food, and fuel options. They are;

A. Our students are taught to worry so much about the destination that they risk getting lost or forgetting the reason for their journey all together. If all they are taught to see is a mark, then it is time to redraw the maps and reprogram the GPS.

B. There is no amount of training to completely equip educators for every iteration of classroom they will work within. Some or most of the learning will come on the job, and that’s okay. Redrawing the map required, again.

C. Worksheets are neither the solution for active engagement, nor parents who demand homework for their child. They are most likely mind-numbing disengagement exercises destined for the recycling bin if not managed. How can students be free to think when the answers are fed to them to regurgitate on a page? Maybe this paper could be used for the maps instead?

D. No matter how much teachers care for their student’s well-being, academic achievement, or future they will still be allowed to fall through the cracks due to decisions made outside of our school walls. This is hard to understand, but we have to accept it and support these students where possible inside of the system.

E. Students have voices that need to be equipped and amplified. If we are not listening to our learners when they whisper, it will be too late to help when they are screaming at us. Asking students for feedback, ideas, and improvements has been one of my favourite and frightening activities. It can hurt the ego from time to time, but can also break down barriers in the classroom that can lead to more effective and honest feedback as learning.

Destination TBA is A-OK

Over the course of their learning, students will change their minds 1000s of times. They will find something interesting one week and then something different the next. What worked to inspire them last year may be the thing that gets in their way the next. As educators, we have to consider the importance of our work in preparing students to reach their destinations not ours. We must always be creating new roads for them to travel not just maintaining existing ones. We must also be teaching our students to read and draw the maps to their own future.

There will also be slamming brakes, reversing at full speed, doing donuts in snowy parking lots, and tearing out engines for rebuilding. We will fill their tanks, provide directions, and clean windshields. Yet, as elementary teachers, we rarely get to see our impact on students once they’ve traveled further down life’s roads.

Hopefully, they’ll send an occasional postcard and maybe a map to let us know they’ve arrived at their destination.

1. I used to tell people corporate lawyer so they would leave me alone. It seemed to cover all of the bases even though I would have rather pursued diplomatic or NGO work overseas. And now, here I am – a teacher, writer, and question askerer.

December 30, 2017January 8, 2018 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, self reflection

The drive

Hands up if you’ve ever wondered what goes on in the minds of the drivers on the road around you?

Recent commutes to school and to shopping feel more like scenes out of a Mad Max movie, except with snow storms instead of sand storms. Vehicles speeding, tailgating, weaving, cutting one another off, and then there were some drivers who provided visual proof that not all birds have flown south this winter. However, none of this reflects anything close to the spirit of kindness and giving this season is supposed to celebrate.

Lately, a combination of work-life/Geo-political stress, an over-abundance of festivities/holiday cheeriness, and wintry weather have made people significantly more interesting. And by interesting, I mean disagreeable, distracted and sometimes dangerous. Being easily distracted myself, I started thinking about self-driving cars and how an autonomous vehicle would handle this time of year?¹

Then came a realization that our current cohort of elementary students could be among the first to have self-driving cars by the time they get their driver’s licences. Will this be a good thing or will a Neo-Luddite backlash prevent this particular advancement in technology from coming? What about education? Could classrooms become more autonomous too?

Why hasn’t all of this happened sooner when it could be better and safer for everyone? Are there Edu-Luddites at work trying to preserve exhausted and traditional systems? As education ploughs into this century, will it keep pace with a modern world that is changing at the speed of learning? Will broke down dogmas of teach, test, report, and repeat finally be traded-in, repaired, or left on the side of the road? Is this why NASCAR is so popular?

Getting somewhere

Speaking of NASCAR, I wondered whether everyone travelling at the same rate was a good idea. Did you know there is something called a restrictor-plate? Isn’t that what’s happening in our classrooms already? Students race through their learning based on birth years, circling the track over and over until all of their age appropriate laps are completed, and then they’re towed or driven off at the end of Grade 12.

But what if they need to stop along the way? Are there pit-stops/provisions in place to support students who do not fit the factory learning model or who prefer a different pace? I get that special and alternative education options are already available, but what if more students need them and they are not available? Think of a racer who needs tires and gas at a pit-stop, but only being able to choose one. It’s only a matter of time before frustration and failure become the outcomes.

In my next post I want to continue driving home this theme, but will shift gears to consider where we and our students are heading. Please read my companion piece The destination to continue the journey.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please share and take time to comment.

1. Did you know that Tesla’s autonomous vehicles are logging over a million miles of data per day?

December 30, 2017 Arianna Lambert Assessment, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, self reflection, The Global Competencies

Embracing Creativity?

I’ve always been fascinated by teachers who are true life long learners. Those who understand that our work is a practice and that there are always professional development opportunities that are available to us to pursue for both personal and professional growth. I would have to say that my love for continued learning has in part been inspired by my parents who are constantly taking courses in order to grow. For the last few months, my mother has been taking a course in Critical Thinking and Creativity. I have to admit that I usually love following along in her modules to learn with her but didn’t get that opportunity this time because of my schedule. The course was developed to foster Critical Thinking and Creativity and yet when it came to her culminating activity, – in my opinion – the course fell short and this opened a discussion about how we might be doing the same in Elementary and Secondary classrooms.

In our board, consideration has been given to the understanding and implementation of the Global Competencies. We have even gone as far as creating a site with Learning Experiences that teachers can use in classrooms as we work towards helping our students to become globally competent. I found it interesting that my mom’s course would be in developing 2 of the competencies in participants. As mentioned before, I thought that her culminating activity was everything but creative and used very little critical thinking in order to put it together. When she first told me of the task, I was excited and wondered how I might be able to introduce something similar with my students but as the printer continued printing the long list of specific expectations, it became apparent that there was really only 1 way to be able to accomplish the task and the exemplars provided, solidified this understanding. As I watched my mother work through her assignment, I started to reflect on the assignments that I offer to students that are considered open, and wondered if in reality, they really foster creativity. Am I truly getting my students to think critically about information provided to them or simply getting them to regurgitate facts based on their research? How am I doing that? In the creation, am I encouraging students to be creative in their own way or am I limiting what they may create by what I hope to assess?

A few weeks ago, we started working on a board game project for Social Studies. The idea came from the book, Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student. My goal was to have students uncover parts of the Social Studies Curriculum and then create a board game, not a bored game. The grade 4s had a focus on the following expectations around the Political and Physical Regions of Canada.

The grade 5s focused on the following expectations based on the Role of Government and Responsible Citizenship.

Screenshot 2017-12-30 at 4.41.34 PM

After doing some research and learning collaboratively about Canada, they were asked to select the expectation that they would like to focus on. From there, they worked on their own individual research that they would submit with their board games at the end. Although we made some general guidelines about what was to be contained in their board games, it was open for students to create and for some, it appeared too open. Many wanted to know what they could do to get a B or an A and were expecting a list, similar to my mother’s. I struggled with finding a balance between providing enough support while at the same time giving them the freedom to try something, even if it didn’t quite work out the way that they expected. After investigating some of the qualities of games that we enjoyed as well as exploring some that were new to us, we worked together as a class to come up with our success criteria that was based on both the Social Studies and Language Curricula. Posted in the class, it was available for all students to review as they continued to work, not for the specific way to create the same cookie-cutter board game but rather to make sure that they were critically thinking about their research and their ability to communicate the learning by guiding players with their procedural writing. Screenshot 2017-12-30 at 5.34.40 PM

What I noticed during this activity was that students wanted to dig deeper into developing and sharing a plan of social or environmental action rather than merely providing facts about Canada. Many of my students looked at issues from bullying to deforestation and urbanization and considered creating games where people were given ways in which to have a positive impact in our country.

Screenshot 2017-12-30 at 5.32.24 PM As I mentioned before, we are well into the creation stage and will continue in the new year. I do wonder however, if by calling it a board game, if I have steered them into a specific direction. Could it have been just a game where I may have seen a greater diversity of materials being used from physical to online? Did I in reality just do the very thing that bothered me so much about my mother’s course? Ask students to create something that wasn’t bored and yet steered them all into asking for bristol board? I’m on a path to really reflect on the types of tasks that I design for students while expecting them to become critical thinkers who are creative. This has now become food for thought for future tasks that we’ll embark on. Please stay tuned!

December 30, 2017October 15, 2021 Deb Weston Indigenous Perspectives, Indigneous Ways of Knowing

Acknowledging First Nations Women in the development of Canada

If you have studied Canadian History, you will know that without the establishment of the fur trade, our nation of Canada may have been limited to the banks of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Saint Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean. Without the push of fur traders called Courier du Bois (i.e. Runners of the Woods) and their exploration carving out routes through forests, creeks, lakes, and rivers, Canada may have not been established in the west as it is today.

We know that European and Aboriginal men traveled through these routes transporting large quantities of fur, particularly Beaver fur. The men lived in harsh climates, especially in the Cree Woman Norway House HBC enhanced winter. The European men came to North American accustomed to a different less harsh weather, and faced dealing with different food sources and clothing unsuitable for the Canadian climate.

So how did these men survive and who provided the clothing and food needed to face a very different climate?

The answer is evident but not obvious to Canadians … it was the First Nations women who played a vital role in establishing Canada’s fur trade. It was First Nations women who provided travelers and fur traders with the tools they needed to explore Canada.

What tools did the First Nations Women provide?

Knowledge of the Land:

First nations women acted as guides and interpreters for fur trading as they knew the languages and trading customs of many First Nations groups. These women guided Europeans through well established aboriginal trails and trading routes and along Canada’s lakes and rivers. These women knew the best places to camp and how to set up a campsite with fires, meals, and comfortable bedding.

Food for Survival:

First Nations women knew which plants and animals could be eaten. Picking the wrong, leaves, roots, shoots, fruits, and berries to eat could result in sickness or worse, death!

pemmican-02 (1) Picking the right food could result in delicious, nourishing meals which provided enough calories to fuel long trips through the wilderness. These women taught Europeans how to fish and trap animals for food as well as preserve food for winter. They taught the Europeans how to plant corn and use it for bread, like bannock or corn stew like sagamit. The First Nations women provided fur traders with high calorie Pemmican made from dried bison, moose, caribou, or venison meat powder mixed with animal fat and berries (see recipe below). Apparently Pemmican can last over 50 years without going bad, now that’s the ultimate survival food!

Preparing Furs for Trade:

The First Nations women knew how to trap the animals to get the best fur for trade. Once caught, animal furs needed to be prepared for sale. Preparing furs for trade meant work. Furs had to be cleaned through scraping, strung and stretched while drying, and tanned so they did not rot. Well prepared furs sold for high prices.

fur trade clothing

Making Clothing for the Climate:

From the skins and furs, First Nations women made clothing perfect for the Canadian climate. They sewed moccasins, coats, mittens, and leggings to keep traders protected from the elements. They also wove blankets and used furs and skins to make shelters and bedding.

And with the addition to these tools, First Nations women provided the future of Canada with the most important resource, people. First Nations women had common-law marriages with European men who’s union produced a great many generations of hardy future Canadians, ready to survive and thrive in Canada’s northern climate.

Fort Albany family

In Fort Albany, in James Bay, Robert Goodwin (1761 – 1805) from Yoxford, England, a Hudson Bay Company surgeon, had “a la facon du pays” or a country common-law marriage with Cree Woman Mistigoose (1760-1797), a Goose Cree woman probably from the Lake Nipigon area. Their first child was Caroline Goodwin (1783-1832). Robert also took on a second Goose Cree wife, possibly a sister or close relatives of Cree Woman’s, called Jenny Mistigoose (1765-1864), daughter of Pukethewanisk. Both these First Nations women likely provided Robert with the supplies, food, and clothing he needed to do his work dealing with broken bones, cuts, infection, consumption (TB), scurvy, smallpox, malnutrition, frost bite, gangrene, gout, and STDs. In 1797, when Robert Goodwin took his son, William Adolphus Barmby Goodwin to England to get an education (and live with his lawyer), William’s Cree mother, Jenny drowned herself from grief in the bay of Fort Albany. In this death in his 45th year, Robert included the support and ongoing care of his wives and over 8 children in his will.

At around the same time, John Hodgson (1764-1833) from St Margaret’s, Westminster, London, was Hudson Bay Company’s Fort Albany Chief Factor (between 1800 & 1810). John Hodgson had a country marriage with Ann, a Cree Woman, possibly from Thunder Bay. Their union produced a first born son, James Hodgson (1782-1826) also know as James Hudson. Ann supported her husband by providing him with food, shelter, and clothing to sustain him in his work and at the same time gave birth to over 12 children.

Fort_Albany,_Ontario_(1898) tents

Caroline Goodwin married James Hudson and had over 16+ children together.

Their 7th child was Mary Ann Hudson, granddaughter to Robert Goodwin, Cree Woman (wife #1) Mistigoose, John Hodgson, and Ann Mistigoose.

Mary Ann Hudson was also my third great grandmother (discovered in 2017).

So, not only were the First Nations women important to the support and expansion of Canada’s fur trade, these women also helped establish the population of our future Canada. Today, like me, Canadians are here because they have, knowingly or unknowingly, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit ancestry.

So when Rosanna Deerchild on CBC Radio welcomes listeners as “your favourite cousin”, indeed, some Canadians may truly be all cousins.

Next time you look at a Beaver on the Canadian nickel … remember who did all the work to make the fur trade a success in Canada.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

PS: Unfortunately, none of the people in these pictures are related to me.

How To Make Pemmican

We recommend trying HQ’s recipe as stated above, but if you’re looking for more precise instructions, we found this pemmican recipe by the University of Minnesota. This recipe makes 3.5 lbs. http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/01/28/this-pemmican/

Ingredients:

4 cups dried meat (only deer, moose, caribou, or beef)
3 cups dried fruit (currents, dates, apricots, or apples)
2 cups rendered fat (only beef fat)
1 cup unsalted nuts (optional)
1 tbsp of honey (optional)

Supplies:

Cookie sheet
Mortar and pestle
Kitchen knife

Instructions:

First, dry the meat by spreading it thinly on a cookie sheet. Dry at 180° overnight, or until crispy and sinewy.

With the mortar and pestle, grind the dried meat into a powder.

Add the dried fruit and grind accordingly, leaving some larger fruit chunks to help bind the mixture.

Cut the beef fat into chunks.

Heat the stove to medium, and cook the beef until it turns to tallow (rendered fat).

Stir the fat into the powdered meat and fruit mixture.

Add nuts and honey to improve taste (optional)

Shape pemmican into balls or bars for easy and quick consumption. We recommend wrapping individual servings in wax paper or storing in plastic bags.

References

Rosanna Deerchild

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/rosanna-deerchild-1.2813088

Robert Goodwin

https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/g/goodwin_robert.pdf

http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/07205.Notes%20on%20Robert%20Goodwin.pdf

John Hudgson

https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/h/hodgson_john.pdf

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hodgson_john_6E.html

“She is Particularly Useful to Her Husband”: Strategic Marriages Between Hudson’s Bay Company Employees and Native Women – https://www.nps.gov/articles/hbcmarriages.htm

December 28, 2017 Michelle Fenn Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Equity, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mindfulness, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Planning, Professional Judgement, self reflection, solidarity, Wellness

Occasional Teachers; Unsung Heroes

Unfortunately, I have had many health challenges this year that have necessitated having to take a significant amount of time off of work to recuperate. These absences have provided me time to reflect on my practice as a classroom teacher and about how important occasional teachers are in our practice. I had the pleasure of working in our local ETFO office as a released officer for 3 years alongside the incredible Marsha Jones, Occasional Teacher President extraordinaire. She taught me a lot about Occasional Teachers, the obstacles they face and the little things that I could do to make their days go easier. I thought I would share a few of my insights.

Occasional Teachers that come to our school like to return because of the friendly atmosphere. In the staff room, they are included in our “tea days”, people engage them in conversation and always ask how they can be of help. It sounds like a simple thing, but many of the Occasional Teachers that come to our school comment on our friendly staff. So the next time you see an Occasional Teacher in your school, smile and say hello and ask them how their day is going.

Do NOT ask an Occasional Teacher “who” they are for the day. What an insult! You can ask who they are in for, who they are helping out, who they are rescuing or replacing, but they are themselves each and every day they come to work. We should appreciate the fact that we have access to qualified teachers to replace us for the day so that we can take sick days when we need them or go to conferences for professional learning.

Speaking of insults, please try not to call Occasional Teachers “substitute” or “supply” teachers. We rely on these colleagues. “Occasional Teacher” is their job title. Be respectful of it; we rely on them.

Remember to have a few days of “emergency” plans in advance of your absence. It takes the edge of having to type up plans in between trips to the washroom when you have the flu. Leave them in a place that is easy for the Occasional Teacher to find. This makes your life easier too.

If you generally have an active classroom that engages in centres, activities etc., then TRUST your Occasional Teacher and leave plans that include those lessons. Chances are your students know how this stuff runs and will let the Teacher know. It may mean giving up a bit of control; deal with it. If you leave all day seat work that you’ve photocopied or a movie that isn’t connected to anything that they are doing in the classroom, it will not be enjoyable for the students and likely your Occasional Teacher will have more behaviour issues. Consequently, you will not get the quality of work that you normally see from your students. Don’t have huge expectations. No matter how wonderful the Occasional Teacher may be, they are not you and the students know that. We also need to remember to trust the judgment of an Occasional Teacher. I’ve heard it and I’ve said it; “The ‘supply’ didn’t follow my day plan. I worked for hours on that detailed plan.” We don’t know what kind of a day that teacher had with our students. They may have experienced a lockdown, fire drill, class evacuation, pizza money, scholastic money, a student injury or even a skating field trip. (My sincere thanks to Occasional Teacher Rachel Johnston on that one!) We need to remember that they are qualified teachers and they have the right to exercise their professional judgment in order to keep the class calm and engaged. Let them do their job and thank them for it.

I write my day plans on my computer for myself each week. This makes writing a day plan for the Occasional Teacher much easier. I have all of my emergency information, how to deal with specific students, who to count on and the general rules and routines in a separate document to attach to daily plans. I always attach a class list. Try to keep your plans as close to the regular routine as possible. If I am going to be away for a meeting I will try to find out who will be replacing me for the day and I email them the plans in advance and ask if they have any questions. I include my cell phone number in case they can’t find a password or an item and few of them ever use it but if they do then I know that they care about my students and the plans that I have left for them.

Finally, show your gratitude. Some Occasional Teachers drive an hour to get to our school and in bad weather. Some are called at the very last minute, through traffic, to an unfamiliar school using GPS. Their mornings are often stressful before they even arrive on site. So when an Occasional Teacher has done a great job and your classroom is still standing when you go in the next day, write a quick email and say thank you. Occasional Teaching is often a thankless job but we can’t be sick without these wonderful people.