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Shawna Rothgeb-Bird General, Social Media

Follow Recommendations from a Twitter-Obsessed Nerd

I love Twitter. I spend an unhealthy amount of time on Twitter. I know what you might be thinking: “This is a terrible idea. Why would someone be on that site? Isn’t it all trolls?”

Look, reader, you’re not wrong. There are a lot of trolls on Twitter. There are a lot of people who are not very… diplomatic… about how much they hate educators.

But those people aren’t why I’m on Twitter. I mute them (or block the really bad ones) and carry on.

The real reason I’m on Twitter is that there are so many incredible, knowledgeable, passionate educators and education advocates on there who give me a lot of insight into the world, both as an educator and just a human being, that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

It’s hard to know where to start, though. I get that. It took me a few months to build up a feed that I felt was really worthwhile and meaningful. When I look for people to follow, I’m looking for people who challenge my worldview, inspire me, show me how to see the world through a different lens.

There are a few people whose posts I always stop to read when I see them. I want to share a few accounts that I think are worth your time if you’re on Twitter or thinking about joining. I’m not going to try to describe what each Twitter account is about, because I tend to follow people who don’t just post about one thing. I can’t reduce them to one topic, one idea, one thing. They’re people.

These accounts are not educators, but I found them all through #onted (Ontario education) threads and discussions.

In no particular order (well, the order is ‘how they appeared in my Following list as I scrolled it looking for the ones I wanted to mention), here are some great Twitter accounts that I enjoy:

@joyhenderson78

@ms_simsimma

@OttawaLouise

@MsDhillon6A

@MzMcKeown

@DPAWestonPhD

@vickitabhatt

@DeborahBWal22

@JHallinPeel

@DrKateTO

@LouisaJulius

@yolanda_bdacy

@natasha_faroogh

@BBFarhadi

@Drawn2Intellect

@mclolcat

@Teach_Laidlaw

@ESL_fairy

@XME_ImSpeaking

 

You should check out some of those accounts if you have a few minutes. They’re worth your time. If you have any favourite Twitter accounts that you follow, please let me know!

Tammy Axt General, Indigenous Perspectives

Calls to Action for Educators: Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls

As part of the 2019 Final Report on the Inquiry of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, there was a list of calls to action created. As elementary educators our call to action is very clear:

We call upon all elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions and education authorities to educate and provide awareness to the public about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and about the issues and root causes of violence they experience. All curriculum development and programming should be done in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Such education and awareness must include historical and current truths about the genocide against Indigenous Peoples through state laws, policies, and colonial practices. It should include, but not be limited to, teaching Indigenous history, law, and practices from Indigenous perspectives and the use of Their Voices Will Guide Us with children and youth.

Here are three resources to use in your classroom in 2021 to teach your students about the tragedy of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls:

If I Go Missing by Ojibwe author Brianna Jonnie is an incredible adaptation from a letter that Ms. Jonnie wrote when she was 14 years old to the Winnepeg Police Service. At the time of the letter, Ms. Jonnie implored with the police to “do better” when investigating cases of missing Indigenous peoples. It uses a graphic novel format with incredible artwork by Nshannacappo. The artwork combined with the poignant text tell a very impactful story, especially for those students in the intermediate grades.  The book is also incredibly powerful as it challenges the common narratives of Indigenous girls and the messaging about them in the media.

 

 

We are More Than Murdered and Missing is an important TED Talk by Tamara Bernard. She shares her personal story of the intergenerational impact of her great grandmother being taken and the legacy of trauma that it had on her family. She also speaks about the portrayal in the media of Indigenous women and girls and how that shapes the self perception of many young Indigenous girls.  Ms. Bernard touches on some of the historical policies that created a system for Indigenous women to be devalued. This TED Talk would be valuable as an educator tool or for use in an intermediate classroom.

 

 

Their Voices Will Guide Us is an education initiative of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This Resource is for educators to begin to embed lessons in their program about the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls in order to take collectively responsibility for their safety. If you are an educator who has wanted to begin to introduce these kinds of lessons but have been hesitant because of lack of knowledge this is an amazing resource for you. It clearly speaks to the need for all educators to continue learning and to not let fear or not knowing everything be a deterrent of starting to introduce this very important topic to your classroom. The educator section is extensive and will provide you with many avenues to continue your learning. The resource also has sections for grades K-4, 5-8 and high school. In each section there are a list of themes that you may want to focus on in your lessons and a list of resources to support your instruction.

Tammy Axt General, Special Education

Weekly Plan for Online Learning: Special Education Classroom

Here is the plan for our first week of online instruction in January.

Have a wonderful first week back everyone!!

9:30-10:00 Small group instruction using a combination of Google Jamboards and Boom cards. Below are some pictures of the activities that we will be using.

10:00-10:30 Exercise Time!! All students will join in and do an exercise program to get moving and get our heart rates up!!

Here is my New Year’s Playlist for our excercise time this week:

Exercise:

Warm up/Stretches

  1. 20 seconds Running on the spot
  2. 20 Jumping Jacks
  3. 20 Leg lifts
  4. 20 Body Twists
  5. 20 push ups on the table or wall

Dance Break

Do at least 1 more set of movement exercises. 2 if time permits

Cool down/Stretches

Remind parents that their child needs a place to move, some running shoes and comfortable clothes. It is going to be a 2021 party!!

10:30-11:00 Morning Meeting- All students gather. We practice communication, math, reading and life skills through a series of slides and songs.

11:00-11:30 Small group instruction: focus on communication, functional mathematics and functional language.

Similar to the first period in the morning we will be using a combination of Boom cards and Google Jamboards. Jamboards are ideal if your students are able to click on a link in the chat box and move to a new page. If your students are unable to do that, Boom cards are a much better option.

11:30-12:30 Lunch

12:30-1:00 Small group instruction:focus on communication, functional mathematics and functional language.

1:00-1:30 Afternoon Meeting- All students gather. We practice communication, math, reading and life skills.

1:30– Art/Creation/Friday Favourites-

Art: We do a simple drawing that works on student’s listening skills and fine motor skills. I have found that having the students use either markers, pencil crayons or crayons works best as everyone has different materials in their home. I use pastels when showing the students as it shows up better on camera.

Creation: With everyone at home, it is time to get out the lego and other materials that work on fine motor skills.

Friday Favourties: What is your favourite sport?- Every Friday we take a poll about some of our favourite things. We graph the results and work on our communication and numeracy skills. Here are a few pictures of previous Friday Favourites.

 

 

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird General, Local Involvment, self reflection, Why unions matter

A Year in the Life: Collective Bargaining Committee

(This is post #3 in an ongoing series. For earlier posts, click here and here.) 

Around two years ago, I did something bold, for me: I put my name forward to run for a non-released position with my local. I’d been my school’s steward for several years by that point and had also attended the annual meeting in Toronto a few times. I’d served four years on a provincial standing committee. It felt like taking a more active leadership role within my local would be a good next step to get involved.

In my local, there are a variety of elected positions available to members, from released officers (our president, VPs, and chief negotiator) to non-released executive positions. The one I chose was the Collective Bargaining Committee – a group comprised of the chief negotiator and twelve others elected by the local. It’s a large committee whose responsibilities are primarily, as you might expect, related to bargaining and defending our collective agreement – but there are other duties, too, which I’ll get into in a minute.

Sending the e-mail to put my name forward was the easy part. Just a push of a button, really. It was everything that came after that which made me nervous. Despite having a job where I stand in front of people and talk all day, despite having done a lot of theatre in my youth, the idea of getting up in front of my local and giving a speech was terrifying. But I did it! I may have put off writing my speech until the last minute, as always, and I may have been petrified the entire time, but I got up there, made my case, and was elected to the CBC.

I’m in the second year of my 3-year term now. I’ve really enjoyed my time serving on the CBC, and boy, what a time I chose to be in this position. Between provincial bargaining, local bargaining, and the pandemic, it’s been… interesting, to say the least.

So, what does a member of the CBC do?

It’s worth noting that all locals have slightly different structures, and the position I have here may not exist in your local. Keep that in mind!

Naturally, our primary responsibility as CBC is to negotiate and administer the local collective agreement. During that process, we meet as a group to discuss membership priorities, collaborate on a preliminary submission for bargaining (our first presentation to the employer of what we’re looking for), and elect representatives from our committee to sit on the table team (the people who are actually there in the room when bargaining is happening).

I have to say, it can be very empowering to see your suggestions actually get put into the preliminary submission that goes to the table. Even if your suggestion feels like a small thing at the time, it’s exciting!

Beyond bargaining, however, we also have other duties throughout our terms. We have several committees which we serve on jointly with our employer, some which are a regular part of our year (such as staffing) and others which are shorter-term. During staffing, we collectively monitor the vacancy lists as they’re posted to ensure that nothing wonky happens along the way. There’s an annual survey sent to members to ensure that the CA is being followed and check in on members’ working conditions (e.g. 20 minute instructional blocks, adequate prep and supervision time, etc.) that we review. We hear about grievances (in vague details, to be clear) and discuss issues that we have heard or witnessed in schools.

We also discuss really important issues during our discussions on bargaining – such as when to go with what the majority of members have asked for and when we have a duty to fight for something even if it isn’t one of the highest-ranked priorities of members. Sometimes, the needs of the few must outweigh the needs of the many, particularly when dealing with equity issues.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I threw my name into the running for this position, but I’m really glad I did. My term will be up at the end of the 2021-22 school year, so I’ll need to decide if I’m going to try for a second term or look for other opportunities. No matter what I decide, though, this has been an incredibly valuable experience that taught me a lot about my local and collective bargaining.

Will Gourley Constant Learning, COVID19, Emergency Distance Learning, General, Indigneous Ways of Knowing, LGBTQ2S, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Resilience, self reflection, Student wellbeing, Teacher Wellness, Truth and Reconciliation, Wellbeing, Year End Reflection

Hindsight is…

Please don’t make me finish the title until the last second has ticked off the clock. I may have developed a defensive outlook about this trip around the sun. While I know this Gregorian Calender measurement of time will soon be in the rearview mirror of our lives, it is still a battle avoiding the queasiness and wincing that come when I think about all we have been through in 2020. Can resolutions be far behind?

Dang! I just wrote 2020

My understanding, perhaps acceptance, of this year is coming into clearer focus. It has been an extraordinary year on so many levels, and thus a great opportunity for personal growth. It has also been an educational year because, dang, I learnt a lot. 

Dang! I just wrote ‘dang’ again. 

I also taught a lot, and despite it feeling like a roller coaster ride from hell along the way, it meant that there were many lessons for me as an educator in 2020 too. Which made me happy to find this quote below after thinking I made it up myself. 

“If you are not learning, then you are not teaching.” Vernon L Smith*

A wise and gentle reminder that there was always something new to learn about ourselves, the students we teach, and the world around us during periods of unexpected loss, labour strife, professional uncertainty, and a global crisis. Smith’s words echoing loudly as I type. Here’s my version of it à la René Descartes. 

I learn, therefore I am a teacher.

So here is what I learnt from hindsight/2020:

  1. Take time to grieve and offer comfort first when students/families are hurting. The lessons can wait. It hurts to lose a student to senseless violence. Our school felt this very deeply last January. 
  2. Sometimes governments do not have the best interests of the population in their actions. Standing up to malfeasance and legislated tyranny is the right and a responsibility of all educators. 
  3. Mental health matters more than marks. Students/educators who struggle will not miraculously get better after a call to a helpline or a conversation with a social worker/psychologist. It is a process that takes time and patience before progress. I learned that there is much more to learn in this area to better support students, colleagues, and myself. 
    Remember that no matter how many times people tell you to take care of yourself first, there have to be reasonable boundaries and supports to make that happen. An encouraging message from admin, a Board Director’s email blast, or the Minister of Ed is not going to suffice. Set your boundaries. Do what you can do within them. Take time to be still. The work can and will wait. 
  4. Equity in schools needs to go way beyond a single day in the classroom, Orange/Pink/Purple shirt days are great starting points, but most not become performative events, but rather actionable beginnings to build on everyday in classrooms. There are so many amazing inclusion and equity resources being shared via school boards and social media for educators committed to allyship and activism in areas of Truth and Reconciliation, anti-black racism, LGBTQ2+, and culturally responsive relevant pedagogy. I learned that words in a classroom mean very little if they are not accompanied by opportunities to critically engage learners to become agents of change. 
  5. I learned not all educators are ready to confront their privilege and unearned advantage. I also learned that acknowledging my own privilege comes with the responsibility to examine my pedagogy and practice. It is a chance to unlearn, learn, and then teach. 
  6. If you are going to move into emergency distance learning within a short period of time, take it slow and make sure you have an ergonomic work space for those extended hours of screen time ahead. I learned that not all students have the same amounts of available space or bandwidth required for virtual school. I also had to accept that some students checked out the moment learning became asynchronous. 
  7. Rethink, question, iterate, bend, blend, and break everything you have done in the past to teach. Say goodbye to “we’ve always done it this way thinking”. Reimagine your reading lists, your math instruction, your use of worksheets, your classroom management, and your assessment approaches. This will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Embrace the discomfort. Learn from it, and then teach forward knowing 2020 taught us all so much. 

Thank you for a wonderful year at the speed of education. Please feel free to add what 2020 taught you in the comments below. Cheers to you all, and to a safe trip around the sun in 2021. 

*  There is comfort in the knowledge that the quote above is attributed to a Nobel Prize winning thinker because before checking, I thought the words above were mined straight out of my mind. Needless to say, I am happy to share a common thought in esteemed company. Searching out the source of the quote also allowed me to discover some of Smith’s other vast body of work in economics.

 

Velvet Lacasse Advocacy for change, Anti-Racism, Black History Month, Black Lives Matter, Constant Learning, Inclusion, Professional Learning and Growth, Social Justice, Violence in Schools

Anti-Racism and the Fight for Black Lives

I recently joined educators from across the province to participate in ETFO’s powerful four-part webinar series called, “Anti-Racism and the Fight for Black Lives”.  It was an amazing professional learning opportunity, and it should be mandatory for all ETFO staff and members.

The program involves watching a short video clip each week, and engaging in courageous and critical conversations about anti-Black racism with other educators.  ETFO released the video, “Anti-Racism and the Fight for Black Lives” during the 2020 Annual Meeting, as part of the ETFO’s Anti-Black Racism Strategy.  This video is available to all members on www.etfo.ca, along with guiding questions to explore on your own or with your colleagues. 

In the video, we hear the voices of Sandy Hudson, who is a political activist, writer and the founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, and Phillip Dwight Morgan, who is a journalist, poet and researcher.  The interview is moderated by Alejandra Bravo, who has a history of working for progressive social change with grassroots, immigrant and labour groups. 

What does it mean to fight for Black lives?

Throughout the interview, Sandy Hudson and Phillip Dwight Morgan share knowledge and insights about how educators might use this moment of “awakening” to fight for Black lives and demand systemic change.  One of the issues that we discussed each week was the impact of police in schools and in communities, and the call to action to defund or abolish the police, and re-imagine different ways to respond and care for each other.

Each session was organized and facilitated by ETFO staff Alice Te and Matthew Sinclair, and included opportunities to break out into smaller groups to share ideas and reflect on the guiding questions.  The active and deep engagement of the participants was inspiring.  Educators from Kindergarten-Grade 8 leaned in to listen, learn, ask questions and share resources. 

What is your positionality?

In our first session, the facilitators shared a definition of anti-oppression work as the “active and consistent process of change to eliminate individual and systemic oppression”.  Alice Te and Matthew Sinclair acknowledged that we are all in different places on our learning journey towards equity and racial justice, and that being an ally sometimes means standing UP, standing BEHIND, or standing WITH others, depending on your positionality.  

Throughout the program, we were encouraged to move from individual to collective action, and think critically about how we can use our privilege as educators to work towards systemic change.  As an educator who is committed to learning and unlearning what anti-oppression looks like in schools, I am always grateful for the opportunity to learn from and with other educators about how to disrupt institutional racism.

How can we transform Canadian institutions?    

In order to change or transform systems of education, we must first recognize that schools are not safe or equitable spaces for all students, families, staff and community members.  Schools continue to reinforce White privilege, and create barriers for Black, Indigenous and other racialized students.  Please read the following ETFO VOICE articles about the impact of institutionalized racism in schools:

Anti-Black Racism in Education and Black Students Navigating the Pandemic by Stephanie Fearon

Sisters in the Struggles: Racialized Women and Microaggressions in the Workplace by Angelique Cancino-Thompson

Can you spare some change?

In Part #1, Sandy Hudson invites us to think about the difference between fighting FOR Black lives and fighting AGAINST anti-Black racism.  She says, “It is not enough to be a good person.  You have to be ready to accept a change in your living conditions, so that everyone else’s living conditions, in particular Black people’s living conditions can change.”  Alejandra Bravo agrees: “Solidarity is only real if it costs you something.”  

Educators have a lot of political and economic privilege, which can be used to fight against anti-Black racism.  As we consider how we might change or transform our institutions, we need to be ready to put our money where our mouth is, and fund direct action.  We also need to recognize how institutions are interconnected and advocate for change so that all communities have equal access to health care, housing, paid sick days, food security, accessible transit, etc.  

Two organizations that are working hard and deserve our financial support are: parentsofblackchildren.org and showingupforracialjustice.org  

Why defund police?

Part #2 focuses on defunding the police.  In the video, Sandy Hudson challenges us to shift how we think of safety and security in our society.  She explains that police have historically harmed many communities, including Black, racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and the underhoused.  This harm and violence is still ongoing, and police actually make some folks feel less safe.  Hudson shares facts about how police budgets are allocated, and argues that funding must be provided to support services that are more effective, and to build alternatives.  

Why are police in schools?

As part of this program, we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Phillip Dwight Morgan, and hear more about his personal experiences and his advocacy work.  Morgan encouraged us to critically reflect on the role of School Resource Officers (SRO’s) and police in schools, and to consider the impact for Black staff, students and their families.  He also questioned where police are located in Toronto schools, and the racial bias of defining “high priority” neighbourhoods as areas that have a higher percentage of racialized families.  These discussions helped me to understand where the call to defund the police comes from, and how it connects to the fight for Black lives.

What is the role of educators?

In Part #3, we discussed other forms of anti-Black racism, racial profiling and bias that need to be addressed in schools and other spaces for youth.  We also shared ideas about how we can use our position to best create and promote changes in our school and local community.  

In our break-out groups, we talked about the importance of representation, and the need to hire more Black educators.  We also talked about centering stories of Black resilience and pride, innovation, love and joy.  Educators from rural and northern communities talked about how they might teach students about anti-oppression without “othering” or reinforcing “us/them” inequities in their predominantly White communities.  Everyone agreed that addressing anti-Black racism in our schools benefits everyone.   

ETFO has developed many resources to support educators to engage in this work, including White Privilege Lesson Plans and ETFO Black 365 Canadian Curriculum.  Please share any resources that you have used in the comments below.  

What does solidarity look like?

Part #4 focuses on the need for awareness and action.  In the video, Alejandra Bravo asks if changing our individual behaviour will help make Black lives better.  Sandy Hudson and Phillip Dwight Morgan criticize the impact of individual acts of solidarity, if they do not include the call to action for systemic change.  For example, many folks are comfortable hanging a poster that says, “Black Lives Matter” or posting a black square on their social media, but they are not comfortable advocating for the abolishment of police.  

The discussion in our break-out group was interesting because we all have colleagues that are at the beginning of their learning journey, and need to do the individual work to recognize how they are impacted by and complicit in reinforcing oppression and privilege.  We talked about how we might support all members in our school community to engage in courageous conversations about racial justice and anti-oppression work.  After participating in this program, I understand that fighting for Black lives must also include advocating for systemic change and funding direct action to fight against anti-Black racism.

What are the next steps?

ETFO has a lot of privilege and political power to advocate for systemic change.  I look forward to hearing about the next steps that ETFO will take to continue to fight for Black lives.   

I am grateful to ETFO and all of the educators who created this professional learning opportunity, and I am inspired by the members who showed up every week to actively engage in this critical work.  I encourage everyone to watch the videos, and to participate in the webinar series when it is offered again.  

 

Kelly.McLaughlin e-learning, Engaging students with online learning, General, self reflection, Teaching online, Wellbeing, Year End Reflection

New Year’s Resolutions

Hello all and I hope you had a lovely Christmas with whomever you were “allowed” to surround yourself with.I spent the holidays with my close family and enjoyed some quality time at home this year rather than visiting our favourite mouse in Florida. We are thankfully booked in for next Christmas as we are hoping the world will be almost back to normal by then or at least it will be safe to travel.

As we look forward to 2021, I find myself thinking about that time of year when everyone makes some resolutions for the new year. Mine have always been teaching related. Whether it be creating a fundraiser, making a basketball event for the school, planning soccer tournaments or this time last year, we were looking toward to the strike hopefully ending. Being virtual this year and knowing that we are in another lockdown, I find it hard to plan short term. Therefore, I am thinking about making  long-term personal goals this year.

  1. To see friends and family more. I think during the regular year I am always focused on what I want to do. The pandemic has allowed for lots of “me time” so I will look forward to planning gatherings with all of the new babies that were just born in my friend circle. Sadly I have not held any of the new babies as they were all born in June, July, November and two weeks ago!
  2. I will also look forward to re-booking a trip with my sister which was cancelled March Break 2020. I was so looking forward to travelling with her and hope to re-book soon.
  3. I look forward to re-doing the backyard of my new home. When I bought this house two months ago, the only thing which needed fixing was the backyard so I look forward to doing that in spring 2021, along with building a deck.

I hope everyone else is looking at the future in a hopeful way and not feeling too sad/stressed with the second lockdown in effect. I am interested in hearing from any virtual teachers if they have any exciting first week back activities. I find it hard to plan during the two week break and always leave it towards the end. I was thinking of continuing with my Monday morning activity “Brag, drag and goal” and maybe I will make that goal a New Year’s Resolution for my students as well. I also start off every new year with an essay writing activity about the MVP of the previous year. I always find a good youtube video about famous people who had a successful year in whatever field they are in. Then, students brainstorm who they nominate and write an essay about why they deserve the award. This is a fun but educational way to wrap up the previous year.

Let me know if there is anything else you have planned 🙂

Wishing everyone a happy new year and here’s to more moments with friends and family in 2021!

 

Melissa Turnbull 21st Century Learning, Celebrating Success, Occasional Teaching, Remote Learning, Resilience

Occasional Teaching Online (part 3 of 3): My Favourite Things

"I love school"

 

If I had to pick my favourite thing about Occasional Teaching online the answer would easily be the students I meet each day. This picture was a screenshot from one of my supply days right before the winter break. “I love school” a student commented, randomly and unprompted in the chat box of Google Meet. Needless to say this reinforced my realization of how resilient students are. Comments like this keep me grounded during increasingly challenging times. 

 

What is it like to supply teach in an FRL classroom? 

 

I’ve put together some ideas in hopes to paint a picture of what it is like for my fellow OT’s out there.

Classroom management: Google add ons are helpful to download to view students who are using the ‘raise hand’ or ‘nod’ features. In FRL settings, I have found it important to emphasize many of the same things I do in the classroom, such as reminders to be respectful if someone else is talking or coming up with hand signals when students want to talk, agree, or need to use the washroom during a lesson. Each classroom teacher has different ways of doing this, so I find checking in with the students at the beginning of each day to be the most helpful.  

Social and emotional learning: Expect to enjoy some time each day for sharing, community circles and brain breaks. 

Academic learning:

 

Yet again as we head back into the unknown, remember to find what grounds you… find your favourite things.

Will Gourley Constant Learning, COVID19, Emergency Distance Learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Resilience, self reflection, Year End Reflection

2020 – the roller coaster no one in education asked to ride

Please secure any loose items and keep your hands inside the car at all times.
Do not exit the ride until it comes to a full and complete stop.

Most of the time the exhilaration of a fast fun paced ride, filled with brief mind boggling G-forces, would come next. At an amusement park perhaps, but it is 2020 after all, and this ain’t your average roller coaster of a year. From the get go, it was destined to be different as it was determined to distinguish itself from the decades of other “normal” years before it. To add even more gravity to the moment, we all had take this ride, and hold on for dear life regardless of height. I want to share what it felt like for me this year.

2020 AsAroLLerCoaSTerInEdUcatIon

Instead of the fun and excitement that might normally have been anticipated, this year felt more like being in a time warped slow motion sequence while being suffocated inside of a dumpster that was on fire and rolling down a steep mountain. WEEEE! quickly gave way to AAAGHH!!!

Everytime I opened the lid of my own flaming dumpster car to look out at 2020, I saw flashes of things to grieve, endure, flee, confront, fix, stretch, and learn from.

It was as if the ride was designed to keep going non-stop and at a nauseating speed while everyone was expected to remain strapped in and trying not to lose what they brought on the ride. At times, it felt like working in a vacuum. My lungs empty of air while my mind and body rush up and over the same structure over and over again.

2020 AsAroLLerCoaSTerInEDucaTIon

A year.
A strike.
A job action.
A global pandemic.
A great deal of uncertainty.
A move to emergency distance learning.
A realization that not everything is equitable.
A lack of direction, support and resources at times.
A realization that things may never be the same again.
A new virtual space to occupy, connect, and teach within.
A nagging concern that students may not be coping with this.
A continuous uncertainty around teaching in September.
A cautious return to the classroom – or virtual school.
A heightened vigilance around masks and sanitizing.
A disruptive reorganization with new schedules.
A newly updated math curriculum added in.
A cough that clears crowded classrooms.
A constant need for mask checks.
A need to maintain distances.
A muting mask and shield.
A gasp for fresh air.
A firm resolve.
A bit of hope.
A new year.
A dream.

As this ride finally runs out of track, I’m thankful to be physically in one piece, but still in need of greater peace of mind over this winter break. Recovering from this ride is going to take time. While figuratively staggering off of this year’s roller coaster, I am already heading back to the line to wait and go again.

Looking back on the past 52 weeks of this ride, I am trying to see how this year shaped my personal practice as an educator. I mean, the 2020 roller coaster possessed all the thrilling twists, stomach churning turns, dizzying highs, and sinking lows which no one could have expected. It came as no surprise then that enjoying the ride, catching my breath, or being able to re-orient myself relative to the world around me would not come easy. Despite it all, I find myself resolved to bend, blend or break what has been my instructional practice in order to do better in 2021.

It is perhaps because of this discombobulation, I have questioned everything that I have ever done as an educator. Stay tuned to see where this goes.

In the meantime expressions of gratitude, encouragement, and optimism to all educators who held on through the tumultuous ride that was education in 2020. You have indeed been the models of grace, resilience, resolve, creativity, persistance, and integrity in our profession. You have been inspirations to me whenever I lifted the lid of my flaming dumpster car to look out and take a breath. I’m looking forward to teaching in 2021 because of y0u.

 

Arianna Lambert Homework, Literacy

Reading Response Journals

During parent-teacher interviews this year, there were a number of parents asking for homework. Now, if you know me, you know my thoughts on homework – it’s a waste of time! Ok…before getting upset with me, please hear me out. A child either understands a concept or they don’t. Without guidance and specific support, sending home that same concept that they struggled with all day, just brings the struggle into their home life and I don’t think that’s fair. If they get it, why are they having to do more practice? Students also have lives outside of the classroom where rich learning is happening. Through sports, clubs, or areas of interest that they are investigating on their own, valuable life lessons are being learned, some of which aren’t or can’t be taught in the classroom. I have a bunch of other reasons that I can add and perhaps that’s a whole other blog post! Back to my point. Parents were asking for additional practice at home, many holding a genuine fear that their child would be “behind” due to the effects of the pandemic on schooling, particularly at the end of the last school year. Wanting to honour their feeling, we started Reading Response Journals. 

I teach Grade 5 students and have asked them to read for at least 20 minutes a day.  I have noticed that many have been unsure of what they like reading and I was worried that attaching a task to the reading might take away from the enjoyment of reading for some. I also knew that for others, this “task” might encourage them to read and possibly explore different texts. That being said, I know that it is challenging for some to find texts at this time due to library closures. In class, we have had discussions about texts and students are aware of our virtual library where they can find texts online and I also shared the link to chapters of short stories that I like reading. I also gifted students 2 books this year so that we could ensure that they had something to read, particularly since the expectation is to respond to what they read. Equipped with something to read, we identified that this journal is a place where students can write about their reactions to what they are reading. A place for students to try to explain why a text made them laugh, or cry, or angry, or surprised, or made them think of something entirely unrelated. It is a place to write down their questions or predictions about what will happen next. Students were given a variety of prompts to help get them started. Some of which include:

  • This is different from …
  • I wish …
  • I wonder if …/  I wonder why…
  • This gives me an idea to …
  • It is hard to believe that…

I also wanted the journal to be a place to also have students reflect on themselves as a reader. As such, they were also given questions to consider. Some of which include:

  • Give your own opinions about issues that have arisen from your reading the book. In what ways has reading this text helped you to better understand some of the issues in the world?
  • Didn’t quite like a book? Why is that? Please share your difficulties and struggles as you read the book or your reason for abandoning it.
  • As you read, what difficulties did you find in understanding the text? What strategies did you use to help you overcome this challenge?
  • How do you know when you are not understanding during reading? What do you notice? What changes do you make?

The goal of the journal is to also help students further develop their writing fluency, confidence, and personal writing style. Students are asked to remember to re-read their work before handing it in; being sure to check for the writing conventions we have spoken about – punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. 

Due on Friday mornings, the goal is to be able to have at least 3 entries to share with me every week. One of the first questions that I got was about length. “Ms. Lambert, how long does each entry have to be?” I told them that I was looking at quality over quantity and that I really wanted them to take the time to read, and then share with me what they felt about what they were reading. Every weekend, I’ve taken their response journals home and have truly enjoyed reading them.  Sure some have forgotten to hand in their work and others have written anthologies. It’s also really neat to see how excited they are to share them with each other. Many have asked to read them aloud or have me read them. All-in-all, the feedback on our reading response journals has been positive and while there is no grade attached to their response journals, students are taking the time to write and the feedback is leading to an improvement in their writing. I still stick by my feelings against homework but I must admit that I enjoy reading their thoughts on the books they are reading. Speaking of which, I have a stack that I need to get back to!