Blog – Page 140

November 23, 2015 Tisha Nelson Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, English As Second Language (ESL), English Language Learners (ELLs), Equity, General, Integration, Literacy, Math, Use of Technology

Suggestions for Making Your Classroom ELL Friendly

This year I have the opportunity to serve my school as an English as Second Language (ESL) teacher for the first time. This privilege allows me to support students in Primary, Junior and Intermediate grades as they navigate the landscape of school and English language acquisition. But to be honest, I have alway been an ESL teacher. Since my very first year of teaching, my classes have always had students for whom English was not their first language. In this way, we are all ESL teachers regardless of if we have the designation or not. Similarly, if we take the notion of learning English literally, all of our students are English Language learners because they are constantly being introduced to new vocabulary and are learning the nuances of academic language for oral communication, reading and writing. In Ontario, however, the term English Language Learner or ELL, is defined as a student “born in Canada or newcomers whose first language is other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools” (Many Roots, p. 51). Knowing this, how might classroom teachers tweak their practice to make their classrooms ELL friendly? I offer 4 easy teacher practices that will support ELLs in any classroom.

1. Keep expectations developmentally appropriate.
The ways we view our students determines the kind of learning we invite them to. This sentiment is particularly important to understand when designing programs that address the learning needs of students for whom English is a new language. Learning a new language, by any account, is a task of both perseverance and determination. As such, we need to be mindful that our English language learners have a multitasked learning situation. Focusing on the skills they bring from their native language as opposed to the limitations they have as they acquire English nurtures an asset based approach to engaging students as capable learners. When we embrace this mindset towards teaching English language learners, we can maintain high expectations for all students. Valuing the prior learning of all students, including ELLs in imperative in building upward to new understandings. Inviting students to share what they already know about a topic is always a great starting point for learning. Students who are English language learners have prior knowledge and this knowledge may or may not exist in their native Language. Regardless, valuing students’ prior knowledge solidifies the difference between cognition and language acquisition as two separate and distinct processes. For the most part, English language learners are developmentally ready for the learning that their peers are engaged in – they simply need to acquire the English skills to make the thinking that is already taking place in their minds visible in English.

2. Value students’ first language.
Nurturing an inclusive classroom community lets students know that they are both valued and respected as learners. Inviting students to continue to use and develop their native language is another way not only to accommodate ELLs but also to keep the learning expectations high. When students are able to use their native language to demonstrate their understanding and thinking in tasks that invite cognitive demand, the transition to English does not lower the expectation but rather accommodate the student’s opportunity for engaging deeply with ideas. The English language is further acquired when students translate their thoughts into English rather than the other way around. Valuing students’ first language can also be demonstrated by creating dual language or multilingual learning resources. With the partnership of students who are also native speakers of additional languages, parent volunteers, colleges and community partnerships, teachers can prepare translated learning resources for all students to use.

Students are invited to participate in collaborative learning experiences by expressing their ideas using their first language

Dual Language posters translated in traditional Chinese to support English Language learners in my class.

3. Develop new vocabulary in context with the help of online resources.
When students are invited to continue to use and development their fluency of their native languages, teachers can employ many new technologies that can support English acquisition while yet maintaining native language fluency. Using tools such as Google Translate can serve as a bridge between a student’s first language and English. Similarly, introducing new vocabulary in context makes both social academic learning more meaningful in English. An idea or word may not be unfamiliar to a student learning English in that they may already have an understanding of the concept in their native language. When this happens, using tools such as Google Images and YouTube can serve as a bridge to comprehension of and acquiring English words. Word walls are also useful resources for students in all grade levels and for all subject areas. It is a tool to support students as they acquire new vocabulary in the context of their learning. In this way, all students can be viewed as English language learners as they engage in expanding their academic vocabulary. The inclusion of students’ native language on word walls is a simple accommodation that goes a long way to supporting student learning. The gesture speaks to the value for the student’s native language and a respect for the process of learning English. Native English speakers can also benefit from the dual language approach in that they can be exposed to the languages of the world and additional ways of knowing.

I asked my students to add Chinese translations to our Math word wall. This highlighted the relationships between numbers, as the ideas of addition and multiplication are embedded in the ways Chinese numerals are written.

This is a screenshot of what a Grade 2 student, a stage 1 ELL, wrote as she was communicating an idea with me. I used Google Translate to take a picture of her writing and was able to translate and further communicate with her.

4. Embrace inclusive practices when communicating with parents.
When a student is an English language learner, it is important to also be aware of their parent or guardian’s experience with English as well. Whenever possible, supporting parents in the journey of their child’s language acquisition should be considered. Using resources mentioned above in addition to school-board translators and parent volunteers when communicating with parents is also crucial when English is also being acquired by parents. Ensuring that partnerships between students, teachers and parents is essential for the success of all children. We should be mindful to support parents who are English language learners in the context of the kind of communication that goes home, the necessary accommodations in place for parent-teacher meetings and the information needed for navigating the Ontario school system are essential in order to leverage the playing field for success.

The first page of a presentation to the parents of my students during Curriculum Night.

An assessment report sent home as communication to parents about student achievement.

Teachers in Ontario school are all ESL teachers and our students all, English language learners. Designing classroom spaces and learning opportunities with the principles of universal design will support English language learners but also enhance the learning experience of native English speakers. Keeping learning expectations high for all students, valuing students native languages and inviting parents as partners are essential ingredients to providing an enriched learning experience for English language learners. For more information check out the ministry document Many Roots Many Voices:Supporting English Language Learners in Every Classroom A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/manyroots.pdf.

November 22, 2015November 22, 2015 Will Gourley Constant Learning, General, Professional Learning and Growth

Teachers need to get away from each other. Once in a while.

I love teaching.
Like you’ve never read that before?

I get excited when I learn something new and get to share it with my class and others in our profession – or with any one else, for that matter. Also not news.

I’m not alone in a relentless pursuit of learning. My wife can attest that my personality changes gears whenever the conversations turn to education. And why not? It’s like a spark plug ignites and a fire lights my mind.

With education, I’m in my happy place.* When it comes to gatherings of educators, I always want to be there too. However, I recently declined to attend a conference. I even surprised myself by this decision, but was really happy my pass was able to allow another colleague to go in my place. This got me wondering. Why am I eschewing some educational events while gravitating towards others?

To wrestle with this I need to purge some myths(real or perceived) that might be affecting my decision to say yes or no to attend certain conferences going forward.

Myth 1: Everybody loves sitting and listening to speakers prattle on for endless hours? UGH!!! This is the antithesis to the differentiation we embody in the classroom. So why is it this way at education conferences so conferences? If I have to endure one more power point slide show with content I could read from home I’m done.

Many conferences feature speakers who are bringing published research and or their brand of common sense content to conferences. Theirs are messages which have already been shared among those actively engaged in a Twitter PLN. The exception being they are in the same room for a conference. Is it worth it? How do we extract a greater value from keynote speakers that cannot be taken from their books?

After 5 years of conferences, I struggle to find anything to rival Sir Ken Robinson, Sugata Mitra or Rita Pierson’s TED Talks as the last times my mind has been set ablaze with such a lasting impact. How can we curate moments like this when they only come around so rarely?

Yet, if you ask me about student speakers who have rocked my thought life? I only have to go back to my own school’s TED Ed Club weekly meeting, or the recently held TED Youth to find Ishita Katyal, Marta Botet Borras, Chelsea Ha or Raymond Wang. Perhaps a stronger student presence at educational conferences is necessary to bring the truth to educators?

Myth 2:
Everyone wants to view data sets gleaned from standardized tests ranking different nations, and then to applaud delegations from other countries supposedly doing education better than us? This bugs me. There seems to be an idolization of success from other countries around PISA results et al, but no tangible road map, context, funding models or political will to genuinely support change if that is what’s truly desired from seeing whether the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

I find this a Catch-22. They should pay our experts to visit them, and share what we do well. We have excellent systems in place that serve our students in an incredibly effective and affordable manner. Better yet, as an act of fiscal restraint and responsibility, why not cancel the visits and make a couple of Skype calls instead?

Myth 3:

Everyone feels good after their heart strings have been tugged on or torn out by a powerful narrative about the nobility of our calling? Me too. The myth is that the feeling lasts. I am touched by triumph, but am also disappointed that the fire cannot be stoked, maintained, and spread further beyond the ride home or at the next staff meeting.

How do we keep the fires burning by authoring our own every day success stories in the classroom. This might mean blogging, micro-blogging(Instagram, Twitter), and creating leadership opportunities beyond our comfort zones. If we stay close and connected we share in the warmth and encouragement of one another. This is a powerful tool against educational apathy that can happen after messages from educational conferences are long forgotten.

This year I have attended 2 Edtech conferences (Connect 2015 & BIT15), a GAPPS type summit, 2 Ignite events, a TED conference, and most recently a Pechakucha. Of course, there were teachers at all of them hoping to learn, unlearn, and innovate what we love to do. What I discovered surprised me. The more the conferences were open to other voices and experiences, the better the level of engagement and interaction. Would education conferences benefit from having speakers and attendees from outside our hallowed halls?

Admittedly, I am a bit disappointed that the vibe and messages given at conferences dedicated solely to education have remained static year after year with few exceptions. Few, if any, big ideas from the past have been usurped by revolutionary and achievable new ones. There are some perennial favourite themes that have stood the test of time; engagement, mental health, literacy, numeracy, technology, student voice, and inclusion. Worth noting that each plays a vital role in creating the conditions for successful modern learning. As the proverb says, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Did I miss any? Trust me. That’s enough for a decade’s worth of growth and learning. So how about some time to embrace the messages in a meaningful and manageable manner?

Should there be a pause in education so that education can catch up with all of its ideas? How are any of these ideas ever going to be implemented without more time, commitment, and guidance/leadership?

And so it goes. Teachers gather, share ideas, share experiences, commiserate, and collaborate. Every week there is another conference somewhere, another keynote speaker plucked to expound the latest wisdom culled from a data herd unlike any other. Is that all there is left for us to change the world of education? What if we started meeting other professions at conferences and working alongside of them in workshops to solve real world problems facing our youth?

I propose to take a break from educational conferences to put into place some of the ideas that have been shared over the past few years. We all have some catching up to do.

*Anyone familiar with couple dynamics knows this can be a bone of contention in relationship politics. I am not prepared to admit this is a problem. However, let the record show, my wife is an understanding and patient person in this and several other areas of our 22 years of marriage.

November 17, 2015 Tammy Axt Mental Health, Wellness

Personal Wellness

It is that time of year where your steps are getting a little slower and your energy is starting to dwindle. There are concerts coming up, progress reports to write and a million other little things to do before the next five and a half weeks wrap up. Usually I handle this chaos with a steady stream of caffeine and a total stoppage to all things at my home including cleaning, shopping and spending time with friends. However, this year, a member of my family and my teaching partner are both suffering with a critical illness. This has forced me to slow down and take care of my personal wellness.

This year, I am trying to take time to exercise regularly. I attend swimming lessons and belong to a running group. I attend them at least a couple times of week. Nothing like a good sweat or your face in the water to let go of the day and just relax. The weather has been fantastic this fall which has also made being outside just awesome!

I also have committed to only one extracurricular this fall. This was a tough one for me but necessary. Only giving up two breaks a week will ensure that my sense of humour, energy and general cheeriness stay intact.

At my school, my team and I decided to change some long standing practices around things like the Remembrance Day assembly. I realized that doing an elaborate wreath processional, a choir, and a tableau presentation was not necessary for the act of showing respect to the members of the military. This year, I taught all of my classes the same songs and we sang them together. We all stopped for a moment of silence and watched a beautiful tribute on our screen. The singing sounded awesome with 300 students singing together. It was a simple but meaningful tribute to the amazing men and women who deserve our reflection on the eleventh.

Overall, I am trying to find a balance between home and work. This is something that I am definitely still working on and will continue to strive towards for the next 27 years.

November 15, 2015November 25, 2015 Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teaching, Planning

Occasional Teachers As Partners

In my classroom an Occasional Teacher is referred to as a Guest Teacher for many reasons. The most important being that the person who arrives that day is first and foremost a teacher. That individual is a qualified teacher who is there to help students continue on their daily academic journey. They are not there to keep students busy nor are they there to just supervise for the day.

It is very important that in my plans I both value and allow that incoming expertise to be shared with my students. Of course I have developed plans that will be a continuation of what is going on in my classroom but have left instructions that are open ended and allow the guest teacher to be able to adjust them based on the needs of the students they are working with as well as the expertise and experience they bring into our classroom. In that way, my students are able to enjoy and share the uniqueness of each teacher they work with.

My experience has taught me that one of the worst things I can do is to set up the guest teacher for failure or classroom management problems by assigning work that is not relevant or connected to the day-to-day academics that are occurring in that room. My students need to know that each and every task they are working on is important to their overall growth and academic success.

I truly enjoy the day after a Guest Teacher has been in my room and the students remember their name, tell me something personal they learned about that individual and are eager to share the work they completed. That type of response provides very valuable feedback about how well my students are transferring the classroom agreement to all individuals they come into contact with.

I want to tell Occasional Teachers how important your role is and how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into my students. Thank you for everything you do as partners to contract teachers.

November 9, 2015November 27, 2015 Beverly Papove Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

Fall Gardening with Kinders

Because we have made it part of our timetable to spend the first and last block of every day outdoors with our SK students, we have become pretty regular weather watchers. So when we noticed that they were calling for 20 degrees on a Thursday in November, we decided to plan for a full morning of activities outside.

The first thing we did was brainstorm what learning opportunities we could provide that were a little different from the regular. Then we let the parents know of our plans, reminding them of the importance of dressing their children appropriately for a day of exploring outdoors, a day that included a filled water table. We also included the principal in our communications and were very happy when she had no objections or concerns.

With 2 ECEs, 2 teachers, a parent volunteer and a Child and Youth Worker placement student, we were able to put together a good variety of activities 2 days ahead of time. Besides the climbing structure which is always a big draw any day, we had cooperative games on the pavement; a reading area under a tree with a basket of books on a tarp; and a water table and Lego ship building. We also provided metres and metres of mural paper attached to the school wall for painting on; dump trucks, watering cans, shovels and pails for digging and building with; and a chance to do some gardening in the raised vegetable garden beds.

I was in charge of gardening. I brought some gardening tools from home (trowels, sequiturs, forks, and cultivators) which the students could easily manipulate. We set about pulling up the dead plants in the vegetable garden, trimming the perennial herb garden plants (lots of great things to smell and taste), planting about 20 bulbs of garlic, and covering the four raised beds with leaf mulch from the school yard. We had so much fun! We dug up a small Rosemary plant to overwinter in the classroom and a small maple seedling that was out of place growing in the middle of the vegetable bed. The students decided that we should dig the seedling up, bring it into the classroom and look after it until spring, at which time we could plant it in the school yard.

The students were so enthusiastic about the plants, but even more so about the bugs they discovered in the garden. Although many of them were hoping to find worms, we found slugs, grubs, potato bugs, and spiders, all of which they handled gently for closer inspection. One student asked if we could bring one of the slugs into our classroom. Since we already had a small aquarium set up for observing worms from the vermicomposter, we discussed whether we could use it as a slug habitat. Now we have worms AND a slug in our classroom. I mentioned in last month’s blog what great class pets worms could be. Slugs are even easier!

November 2, 2015November 2, 2015 Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, General, Resilience, Wellness

Celebrating You

As my all time favourite author Dr. Seuss said, “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” If you are like me at all, you have difficulty accepting compliments from colleagues, administrators, students and/or parents for the commitment that you put forth in your role as a teacher. Yet we are open to criticism each and every day. Why is that?

Well this past weekend while I was doing some work in my office area I looked at the bare walls around me and thought to myself. Today I am going to hang up my diplomas that I received over 30 years ago. Yes, that is right, they have never seen daylight, never been hung and thus never been admired for the accomplishments I had reached. I scoured through a variety of storage bins and found them still in their original holder from the university. So off I went to get them framed. Within a few hours and a few extra holes in my wall, I sat back and admired my accomplishments (albeit a few years later). What I hadn’t expected was the renewed sense of pride and enthusiasm that followed that small action of recognizing my work.

As we know ever so well, positive feedback, sincere compliments and celebrating small and big successes with our students is an essential component to helping students be triumphant in their educational journey. So to it is for teachers. Take the time and not only smell the roses on your grand tour, pick a few and put them on display!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

October 31, 2015 Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews, Report Cards

Time Management and Reporting

One of the greatest challenges teachers face is developing a healthy work-life balance, particularly when it comes time to write reports or meet with parents/guardians. While I am by no means an expert on this topic (as anyone who knows me will attest), I have learned a few strategies which have helped me immensely during the busiest times of year. I spent so much of my early career feeling overwhelmed during these times that if even one of these things helps someone out there, I’ll be happy.

1) Use jot notes to stay focused.

Before sitting down to write detailed comments on academic subjects or learning skills, I take a few minutes to go over my class list and write some point-form notes, particularly for learning skills. This gives me an overview to refer to while writing them in full later. It also helps me to keep my thoughts focused, as my “jot notes” are typically divided into categories: what the student does well, areas for improvement, and a specific next step or two.

Jot notes are also key for staying focused during parent/teacher interviews. I keep a notebook with a page for each student. I write my thoughts on the page in point form and refer to it during interviews. I can also use the space to write down anything important that comes up in the interviews.

2) Write comments as units are finished.

With subjects where you are expected to report on multiple strands, particularly Mathematics, you can easily find yourself needing to write comments about a unit you haven’t touched since the early part of the term. My teaching partner (who teaches English and Mathematics to my French Immersion students) introduced me to the idea of writing comments for a particular strand as he finishes the units. It had never occurred to me before, but it really does save time and it makes your comments more meaningful as the information is fresh in your mind.

3) Start early and do a little bit each day.

You know reporting deadlines well in advance, and we all have at least a few students whose comments could be written several weeks early (again, particularly for learning skills). Your student who came to you as an independent, respectful, hard working student on the first day of school and has continued to be exemplary in all the learning skills throughout the term? You can probably write that comment earlier than others. I don’t say this to take away from that student’s work or achievement – I just personally find that those comments can often be “safely” written a few weeks earlier than some others, and that doing so helps me free up time later on. You can always tweak comments as needed closer to the deadline.

I also try to break the work up into chunks – either by working on a few students a day or by working on a specific subject each day. 40 minutes of prep time isn’t much to work with, but when you’re doing a little bit at a time, it makes it feel like much less of a daunting task.

4) Write your comments in a word processor so that you can save them.

There are a lot of good reasons to want to work in a word processor (like Microsoft Word or Open Office) rather than your board’s reporting software. For one thing, word processors aren’t subject to system downtime, so you don’t have to worry about the board software being updated or worked on. I also find that my board’s software tends to suffer from some crashing problems from time to time, which can cause me to lose work even though the software is supposed to save your input regularly. There is nothing more frustrating than spending twenty minutes on a student’s learning skills comments only to have the browser crash and all of that work disappear. Word processors are often better at identifying and correcting spelling/grammar mistakes than your board software, so you save time proofreading.

I also like to save my comments from term to term (and year to year) because they can help me out when writing reports the next time. I will often refer back to my previous comments on a student’s learning skills when writing reports, and I would really rather not take out and re-file 30 earlier report cards to do so. Sometimes when I’m feeling lost or stuck on how to say something, I refer back to previous years when I know I’ve made a similar comment. It helps with inspiration!

You can also easily work on reports from school and home (not that I’m advocating taking work home… in a perfect world, that wouldn’t be necessary) when you’ve been working in a Word document. I save it on a flash drive that I keep on my keychain, so I’m not likely to forget it in one place or the other.

5) Use a timer for parent/teacher interviews.

We are given very little time in my board (and I suspect many others) for conducting interviews. It can be very hard to cut off an interview at the 15 minute mark, but it’s really vital to do so if you are going to keep your interviews rolling, keep waiting families happy, and keep you from being there way longer than you should be. I’m not suggesting that you use a loud buzzer to let parents/guardians know that time is up, but a simple timer with an inoffensive beep (or a phone set to vibrate) can be enough to keep things moving. Often they don’t realize how short 15 minutes really is and don’t know when they are going past their allotted time.

6) Communicate regularly with parents/guardians.

You really shouldn’t be meeting with every single student’s family during interview time. You shouldn’t need to. In some cases it’s unavoidable, I suppose, but I have found that by communicating regularly about students’ work in class, some interviews can be avoided. Many parents/guardians “just want to know how (their child) is doing” and would be satisfied by quick notes home in the agenda, quick e-mails or phone calls, etc. throughout the term.

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If anyone out there has other tips to stay on top of things during reporting periods, I’m all ears! I can always use more help developing a balance.

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 Tammy Axt Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Diverse Learning Needs

Is Beethoven in heaven?

Every day in our classrooms, we are asked a million questions. Where do I write my name? How long does this have to be? Where do I sit? Most are easily answered quickly. However, every once in a while a question is asked that can be incredibly difficult to answer. This kind of question came up in my class yesterday. We have been learning about Beethoven in my grade three classes and during O Canada one of my students was staring at my poster of Beethoven on the wall. Once O Canada was over, his hand shot up and immediately he asked “ Is Beethoven in heaven?” The whole class sat in silence waiting for a response.

I took a minute to decide how to respond. My classroom is very diverse with many different cultures and religions being represented. I didn’t want to say an immediate yes and exclude those in my class that didn’t believe in heaven. I also didn’t want to dismiss the idea of heaven to those who hold it as a belief. There seemed to be no right answer to this question. So I decided the only way to handle this question was to acknowledge and respect the different beliefs that are represented in my student population.

I explained to the class that different cultures and religions have different beliefs about what happens to us after we pass away. Some religions believe there is a heaven while others believe in reincarnation. I also explained that some cultures or religions do not believe in an afterlife at all. We further discussed how our familial, religious and cultural beliefs make us all special.

We then had an amazing discussion about the music that represents our culture and religion. The students taught me all about the songs and instruments played in their Gurdwara and others told me about singing in the choir at church. I am really glad I took the time to answer the difficult question as the sharing that followed was so important to creating our community as a class.

As the class went on, I began to wonder why the initial question popped into my student’s head. I wondered if someone in his life has passed away recently. I quietly asked him the question after the students were busy working on their assignment. He told me that he just wanted to know.

I am very glad that he asked.

October 31, 2015 Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Equity

Creating an Inclusive Space in the Classroom

(Disclaimer: I suppose some of this could be considered controversial or unpopular. This is obviously being written as my personal opinions/beliefs and not meant to suggest that anyone who is doing things differently is doing something wrong.)

I work hard to make all students and their families feel welcome in my classroom. It’s important to me that everyone feels that their family has been considered carefully in my teaching and correspondence. Sometimes, it can be hard to see just how much bias is out there; it isn’t intentional, it isn’t malicious, but it can be hurtful just the same. A few years ago I took a step back and looked at what I was doing in the classroom. I examined everything carefully for any signs of bias. Here are a few of the changes I made after that critical thought:

1) I changed the wording on my class contact information sheet.

– I got rid of the words “mother” and “father”. By using “Parent/Guardian” instead, I was properly reflecting families with same sex parents, families where other relatives are caring for the child, and foster families. It’s a very simple thing but really can make someone feel valued and respected right from the start of the year.

– I added two spaces for parent/guardian, bringing the total up to four. For the child whose family is best reflected by using all of these spaces, such as blended families or polyamorous families, it can be very meaningful to be “allowed” and encouraged to include all of the guardians in their lives on their contact sheet.

– I included a space for parents to identify their child’s preferred name. I teach a program where many students are coming to our school from feeder schools. They are sometimes anxious, shy, and overwhelmed the first few days of school – not confident enough to tell a new teacher, who is a stranger, that they prefer a name other than what was on my board-issued class list.

2) My classroom is gender neutral.

– My bathroom passes are not a “boys’ pass” and a “girls’ pass”. I have two passes for the washroom. They are identical. I realize some people won’t like this and feel strongly that they should have one of each because they don’t want two students in the same washroom at the same time. I’m just telling you what works for me. You may have a student in your class who doesn’t identify with their biological sex, and asking them to take the girls’ pass when they don’t identify as female can cause some harm.

– I make an effort not to divide things by gender, such as in Phys Ed. Many students love playing “girls versus boys” in group games, but what they (and adults) often don’t realize is that this may be hurtful to some students in the class. Some of my transgender friends have told me that they knew they were transgender at a very young age, often before the age I teach (Grade 4), and for that reason I try to be cognizant of not asking students to identify with a particular gender.

3) I generally don’t celebrate holidays in the classroom. (This is contentious, I know. This is just what works for me and you may have strong feelings about this. That’s okay!)

– I don’t want my students to feel they need to miss an entire day of school if they don’t celebrate a particular holiday, such as Halloween. I let the school handle any Halloween celebration (such as a costume parade) but in my classroom, it’s generally a pretty standard day aside from changes to the schedule. I don’t mind costumes in the classroom, but I don’t do a day full of Halloween-centric activities and I don’t throw a party.

– Mother’s Day/Father’s Day activities can be very hurtful to students whose parents are estranged, deceased, or never existed (such as same sex couples where there is no mother or no father). I appreciate the sentiment behind having students create cards, crafts, etc. for their parents for these holidays, but we need to be aware of the harm we can do by making these activities part of our lessons for all students. Instead, I let students know that they can stay in during lunch/recess and I will provide them with supplies and help to create things for their parents if they choose.

– We don’t sing Christmas songs. There are many winter-themed songs you can sing with your class which aren’t about specific holidays. For the students in your class who don’t celebrate Christmas, being asked to sing songs about it can be a little uncomfortable.

– I don’t give out Christmas cards. I do give cards to my students on the last day before the break, but they generally wish students a happy new year. If I know that family celebrates Christmas, I may add a note about that.

That isn’t an exhaustive list of all the things I do to try and make an inclusive space, but it’s a start. This doesn’t come from a place of “political correctness” – rather, a place of kindness and compassion. If even one more person feels appreciated and celebrated in my classroom because I did these things, I consider it a worthwhile venture.

October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 Tisha Nelson General, Inspiring Students, Professional Learning and Growth

LOL – Learn Out Loud

Would you buy a new car from a salesperson who is driving the competitor’s vehicle? Could you eat from a chef who refuses to taste his own food? Might you trust your life with a lifeguard who questions their own ability to swim? Would you follow a leader who delivers the message of do as I say and not as I do? In the same ways we would like those who are selling us a particular product or idea to be consumers of their own assurance, teachers can promote the joy of learning by the ways they model their commitment to lifelong learning to their students. Learning out loud as an educator has the ability to ignite a fire for learning in the students we teach.

Learning out loud is a teacher’s permission to practice what they preach. As teachers our vital role is to be a provoker of learning: inviting students to deep levels of thought by problematizing the ordinary and investigating the mundane. With information accessible to the masses, teachers need to model the essential skills that students need essential skills students need to navigate a world of information overload. Students are watching; so by being critical consumers of information, perseverant problem solvers, collaborative colleagues and future-ready risk takers, we are modelling for them the importance of learning and growing every day.

What might learning out loud look like? Opportunities for teachers to learn are never limited to taking a course, or attending workshops, but rather, teachers can learn out loud by being transparent in the risks they take in their own practice, the open reflection they model and the invitation for feedback they present to their students. In short, teachers can model their willingness to learn simply by openly trying something new.

One of my fondest memories of intentionally learning out loud was in 2010 during my first experience teaching grade 6 math. The previous summer I had taken my first Math AQ and I was conscious about staying accountable to the new learning I had encountered in an effort to continue to grow in my practice. At the start of the year I made my learning process transparent before my students by letting them know that I was learning how to be a more effective math teacher. I labeled a wall space above my desk as Ms. Nelson’s Learning Wall where I place prompts for the teaching/learning strategies that I wanted to be mindful of including in my practice. I told my students that I would be referencing my learning wall for help in the same ways they reference anchor charts when they are learning. When trying something new, I would start by telling my students that this was a risk I was taking then I would invite them to reflect on the process with me by giving me feedback from a participant’s perspective. When mistakes happened, I acknowledged them and would redo lessons. I would let my students know that my mistakes were evidence that I was trying and that mistakes were always welcomed in my class. When I experienced struggle in my practice, I highlighted it, and would celebrate the aha moments when a breakthrough came. My transparency as a learner leveraged the playing field in my class where my students saw me learning alongside them and I engaged them as resources.

Professional Learning Wall

Learning out loud continues to fuel my teaching practice. When I am confused, I confess it. When I am unsure, I model resourcefulness. When I am excited about a new Idea, I take risks. When I learn something new, especially when that learning comes from my students, I celebrate it. The more enthusiastic I am about my own learning,the more enthusiastic students are about their own. I once encountered a quote about teaching that read, “Teaching is my passion, getting better at it is my job.” This philosophy speaks to a teacher’s commitment to lifelong learning. Essentially, we need to ensure that we buy the product that we are in effect selling – an education.