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Will Gourley 21st Century Learning, Advocacy for change, Black Lives Matter, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Equity, Inclusion, Inspiring Students, LGBTQ2S

About those special days at school Pt 2.

This post is a continuation of About those special days at school Pt 1. Both seek to make sense of a number of events in and out of the classroom over the month of October. I believe it serves as an excellent snapshot of the incredible amounts of effort, organization, and attention that educators put into this calling on behalf of students even when faced with the extraordinary circumstances of 2020. In that context alone there is nothing to refute. However, my goal is to continue working through this month’s mind purge along the contiuum towards anti-racist education and equity – something that cannot be contained by a day, a month or a year. Hence…

I get it. I feel the fatigue of being an educator during a pandemic.
I see it in your eyes and via your posts on social media.

I get that not everyone is at the same place on the anti-racist continuum.
This is not a virtue signalling contest. We are not playing.

I’ve heard that we have to tread lightly for fear of offending someone’s feelings(privilege). This is not about codling your fragility or mine at the expense of someone else’s existence. There will be no emotional power plays allowed here, but that doesn’t mean we don’t hold power. In fact that has been one of the biggest barriers to authentic change in the past and now because we are part of a system that has held all of the power. I’ll let that sink in.

You, me, us have benefitted for a long time from the systems that have been created to oppress others. Don’t run away. I promise something good can come from all of this if we listen, unlearn, and work together.

I know that acknowledging and reconciling issues of systemic racism take a lot of emotional energy. I hear it directly from friends, in group chats, and through the silences about how draining and frightening it can be. There has never been a better time to recharge your batteries than by taking the next steps along the continuum with others on the same journey. You’ll find you have more stamina to overcome your fears than you thought.

Tired or not, this does not mean we cannot take on the necessary work that needs to be done to undo 400+ years of colonialism and systemic racism in our country and education system. I fear that failing to face our discomfort(fear) or to foster learning around systemic issues will be far more detrimental to the future than any ignorantly bliss days we have without it. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines of history. There is too much at stake, but with so much happening all at the same time, it is easy to see how it can be put on the back burner in our schools. It doesn’t have to mean that the heat is off though.

My October

October started at a brisk pace. If by brisk you mean tornadic and unpredicatable for students and staff in class and online, you nailed it. So, it should surprise no one that there was not a lot of time to tackle tough topics during that first week with a reorganized larger class and new schedule. Did I mention it was Islamic Heritage Month? Reminder to self. Share with students and ask them what it means to them and how should be approach learning more about it?  Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate that! Remember that the history of Thanksgiving has ties to settlers who broke treaties with First Nations across North America. No school on Monday.

Week 2 – routines falling into place. Did someone switch the hand sanitizer for some cheap booze? Students nearly retching as the virus killing juice splashes their hands. Wipe down markers, pencils, technology, and anything with a surface repeatedly. The realization that some concepts taught during Emergency Distance Education may not be easily recallable or cemented. Looking your way Math. Hey, don’t forget to wear purple to show support and solidarity for  2SLGBTQ+ youth who have been bullied for their identities. Reminder to self. Revist conversation about Islamic Heritage month.

Week 3 – Math, Language, AP level Sanitizing and distancing, classroom closure due to possible COVID 19 Case. Staff and students on edge. Conversations around the Mi’kmaq First Nation and  about Black Lives Matter that leave my bucket filled by students asking more questions and forming some critical connections. Don’t forget to talk to your parents about virtual meet the teacher night next week. Reminder to self. Visit board web site for resources and events for Islamic Heritage month and share with staff. Done and done. Make sure to mention the significant contributions to Math from Islamic and Indian mathematicians. Wonder how to extend learning about Islamic heritage further into future months.

Week 4 – See prior week and add in 2 sessions of virtual meet the teacher night, a morning of PD planning for our staff leadership team, an assessment or two, a realization that Friday is the day before Hallowe’en and that the place is already going a bit bonkers with the excitement. Debate over decorations or not? Not. Debate over distribution of candy in class to students and how to do it safely in times of COVID 19 while tying it into a wonderful Data Management and Number Sense activity. Done and done with a few sweet treats to spare. Send students home happy, safe, and full of treats.

Throughout the entire month we tried to tackle issues that are relevant beyond a single day. No pumpkin spiced worksheets, word searches, or TPT drivel was necessary to make the month meaningful. My only regret was not taking more time to check in one on one with my newer students a bit more. We had a few rough days that still need refining, and their resilience has been admirable despite the long shadows of COVID 19. Next month will be better.

With November smashing down the door, my class will be embracing the learning from a whole new set of special days. Many of them specific to November such as Holocaust education week and Remembrance Day. It is my goal to make each one meaningful and relevant for my students while continuing to instruct through culturally responsive relevant pedagogy and anti-BIPOC racism focus. Sorry, there will be no themed worksheets this month either.

Note to self: Complete progress reports and confirm virtual parent interviews. Stay safe. Stay strong.

 

Tammy Axt General, Special Education

Down’s, Downs, DS?

I know I am bias, but I truly believe that I have one of the best jobs in education.

I am the proud teacher of the most amazing group of students, many of whom have Down Syndrome.  The school and the community that we visit often (under normal cirucumstances) have been so kind and welcoming to us over the past three years. However, what I have seen over the past three years is that there are a lot of errors that people make when referring or speaking about people with Down Syndrome.

Student with Down’s / Down’s Kid / Down’s Person

This is the most common error that I hear people make. They often refer to Down Syndrome as Down’s and until I took this job, I made this error as well.  To clarify, Down Syndrome was name named after John Langdon Down  because he was the doctor that first described the genetic condition not because he had Down Syndrome himself. Therefore, the possessive apostrophe s is incorrect.

Down Syndrome Kid / Down Syndrome Students / Down Syndrome child

Another common error is to speak about student’s with Down Syndrome by using their disability first.  This really diminishes who my students are and focuses only on one part of what makes them amazing. The goal should always be to use person first language.

They are so great / They are amazing / Wow, they are fantastic

This happens in my school and community often when we are out and about. Many people speak about my students to me when my students are standing right there. My advice is instead of speaking to the teacher, speak directly to the child. Instead of “they are so great”, use the phrase, “you are so great” and look directly at the child. Imagine how you would feel if everyone spoke about you when you were standing right there.

Suffering From Down Syndrome 

This is another common thing that I hear. I can assure you, my students are not suffering. They are vibrant, energetic, creative and brilliant members of our class. They teach me many things every day. They contribute a lot to our class, school and community. They do not suffer from Down Syndrome.

Downs / Child with Downs

Another common mistake when abbreviated Down Syndrome is to add the S onto the word Down. The correct way to abbreviate Down Syndrome is by using the term DS not Downs.

Your students are so happy / People with Down Syndrome are so happy

This is something that I often hear about my class. The reality is that all of my students have been upset or angry and they don’t spend every day, all day as happy people. I have some students who are incredibly shy and some who are incredibly outgoing. Every child in my class is unique and each have the same emotions as the rest of society.

If you are teaching a student with Down Syndrome, The Canadian Down Syndrome society has created a fantastic Educator Package for you to use in helping to support your student in class.

Will Gourley Equity, General, Inclusion

About those special days at school pt 1.

The end of October finds me at an intriguing intellectual crossroad this year, and I wonder if anyone else has come to it too? You see, I have noticed that there seems to be a lot more hype around certain, let’s call them superficial things, than others this month. This got me thinking about why it is this way, and what I could do about preventing more of the same for the rest of the year and beyond?

To be clear, respect and equity are at the heart of all this. Other than the Mike Harris years, teachers at all points in their careers are overcoming challenges unlike any time in our history. So I know this post might cause a few jocular utterances and for some retrospection to occur, but it is solely written to strengthen the spirit of education and the heart and art of teaching.

Inclusion and equity.

Two incredibly important words that we hear at the start of the school year and then only infrequently afterwards. After all there is so much curriculum to teach and damn you if you miss a single specific expectation for some reason even though the meaningful and culturally relevant lessons you’re sharing mean a world of difference to students marginalized by systems of oppression such as poverty and racism. So how are you prioritizing Inclusion and equity in your classroom? I am thinking through this question too and to be completely transparent, it has its difficult moments. So I work towards what works in my practice – relationship building.

For me it starts with knowing the students beyond their assignments and test scores. This means listening, and it is harder than it seems. Especially, when educators are falsely tricked into believing that their voices are the ones to be heard the most. I have learned that the more listening that I lead in the classroom, the deeper we are able to go in our level of care towards one another, the stronger our classroom community grows, and the more committed that each student becomes towards their learning.

In order to ensure that each student is comfortable and feels included; here are a few things to consider for now and the future that have helped me when it comes to special days in my classroom.

Start at the beginning

Discuss the history behind the special days with your students. Sharing origin stories, values, and beliefs can be really engaging. It is a wonderful way to remove assumptions and to create an interactive and open space. When it comes to special days it is good to know whether learners observe these days or not. This can vary from community to community too. October is a month filled with many opportunities to build bridges in your classroom each time students are able to share. By and large though, the most prevalent are Thanksgiving, Islamic Heritage(month), Purple Shirt Day(s), and Hallowe’en.

For all the right reasons I may have intentionally bypassed Thanksgiving. Not out of ingratitude, but more out of a deeper need to remain focused on continuing our deeper inquiry into Residential Schools as an extension of Orange Shirt Day. Remember that conversations around Truth and Reconciliation do not need to be confined to a single day. In fact, my grade 4/5s extended their learning into thoughtful conversations around the injustice and racist behaviour of settlers towards the Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia. This was a direct extension of the critical thinking work students developed as a result of not celebrating Orange Shirt Day, and will serve as a lens for future work we interleave this year.

What I found very powerful from our collective learning was how students were willing to call it like they saw it. In some ways, teachers have to be prepared for the blunt and brutal honestly of students in a way that does not lead to a perception that they are being disrespectful. It then becomes our job to refine these moments, but not censure them as behavioural or compliance issues. Students are entitled to be angry when they learn of injustices and inequities in the world around them.

Imagine how mad they were when they began to read about Black Lives Matter and the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other victims at the hands of racist oppressors. Here’s what mine said:

Why would anyone be racist?
Racism is stupid!
Racists are stupid! What is wrong with these people?

It took courage to say this. It took a safe place to make it happen. Grade 4 and 5 students speaking truth with clarity and wisdom that excedes many. Watching all of this unfold told me that students are more than able to process and respond to issues around systemic racism as evidenced in our discussions and responses around Residential Schools, the Mi’kmaq First Nation, and Black Lives Matter. Is it possible that we as educators have placed an invisible age barrier between our students and the world around them when we do not include them in our classrooms?

I’ll leave this part with one more question to ponder.

Is it easier to share a seasonally themed non-confrontational worksheet instead?

In About those special days at school Pt 2, I will continue sharing some of my approaches to teaching tough subject material to students and how to approach calender cliches with caution. Please click on.

 

Tammy Axt General

This Sucks!

The Prime Minister is right. This sucks!

Covid has really put a damper on everything this year. It has made so many things crummy and having a positive outlook is hard right now. This was supposed to be the most amazing school year with my class. I have been with them for three years and they are graduating to high school this year. We were supposed to be going on epic field trips, having graduation parties and celebrating how much they have learned over the past three years. Understandably, many of the families that I serve have decided to keep their children at home and have them engage in online learning. I see them twice a day on the computer and I am trying to make it as meaningful as I can, but it is not the same. I miss them.

This was also supposed to be the year that all sorts of other amazing things were supposed to happen. I was supposed to be an assistant soccer coach at school for the first time, learn new teaching strategies at conferences and work to bring an amazing workshop to teachers about anti-indigeneity.

My students were supposed to learn new sports in gym, enjoy weekly trips to the grocery store and utilize the skills they worked SO hard to gain over the past two years.

The rest of the school was supposed to enjoy my students outgoing and friendly presence.

It sucks!

Some days I just want to stand in the middle of the school and scream THIS SUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKSSSSSS so that the whole neighborhood can hear.

Other days I just try to look at everything with a sense of gratitude.

If today is the day where you want to yell, stop reading now.

Read on to the next part of my blog, if you need a shot of positivity.

Even though things suck…

I am thankful for my job. The unemployment rate in Canada right now is at record high. So many people are worried about the financial security of their family and they go to bed every night incredibly worried about their future. I have had so many difficult conversations with my student’s families about the stress they are under. It reminds me daily that even though my job is not the same, I am very thankful to have it.

I am thankful that my job has benefits that provides counselling Like many, the return to work has provided some anxieties. Having access to a professional to speak with about some of these unsettling feelings has been profoundly impactful and helpful.

I am thankful for my health This may seem obvious, but I am very thankful for my health right now. `

I am thankful for technology that allows me to talk to my family I miss my family like many of us. However,  I think about the last pandemic in 1919 and I bet they wish they had Zoom and Smart phones to use.

I am thankful for the incredibly beautiful fall we had Wow! The fall colours were so bold and bright this year.

Whether you are feeling a sense of gratitude or frustration today, know that it is okay.

This pandemic does suck!

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Local Involvment

A Year in the Life: Being a School Steward

This is the second in an ongoing series about what it can look like to be an active, engaged ETFO member. Find the first entry here.

My first foray into union involvement was when I was encouraged to attend a monthly union meeting with the steward for my school. We went to the meeting, and there I listened to passionate educators discuss issues of importance in our local. I listened to my local president and released officers answer steward questions with compassion, patience, and wisdom.

When my steward asked me to be the official alternate a few weeks later, I was excited to take on the opportunity and learn more about being a steward. What does a steward do, exactly? 

Allow me to tell you a little bit about what it’s like to act as steward for your school. (The finer details of being a steward will vary from local to local, so keep that in mind.)

Attend regular union meetings. In my local, they’re held once a month. At those meetings, we hear updates from released officers on various issues in the board, committee reports, and equity presentations. We have an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns. 

Forward key information to colleagues at school. As a steward, I receive information via e-mail and board mail that needs to be distributed to fellow ETFO members. This can include meeting minutes, info on upcoming PD opportunities, important memos about key issues (e.g., report card guidance), etc.

Support colleagues at the school level as needed. The most common type of support that I provide is through advice to colleagues when they ask me questions. Sometimes those questions go beyond my ability to answer, so I reach out to released officers. Sometimes, supporting my colleagues means helping them approach admin with concerns.

Defend the collective agreement. When ETFO members are asked to do something that contravenes our collective agreement, it’s my responsibility as steward to approach admin and have a discussion about it. I’ve been fortunate to have many excellent, supportive principals and vice-principals, so this has been a very rare part of my responsibilities.

Act as picket captain during job action. I’m sure picketing is fresh in most ETFO members’ minds this year. As picket captain, my responsibilities were mainly organizing shifts, getting information out to everyone, gathering questions, and making sure safety guidelines were being followed.

Being steward is a great opportunity to take on a leadership role in your school. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about your federation while helping your colleagues at the same time. If it’s something you think you might be interested in, chat with the steward at your school and see if you can tag along to a meeting some time!

Arianna Lambert Literacy, Science, Technology

Literacy, Science & So Much More!

During Distance Learning, I saw first-hand how engaged my students were in listening to the Six Minutes podcast. From learning to write summaries to engaging discussions prompting students to justify their thinking, the podcasts offered a new and exciting way to interact with media.

This year, I have some of my former students again so I knew that we couldn’t do a repeat on Six Minutes so I picked The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, based on the recommendation of a friend. I have to say that it has definitely been a thrilling journey! Before listening, we started off the year by examining the elements of narratives. Once we understood the elements, we started to think about how authors use creative ways to develop their stories. In listening to previous podcasts, students realized that there were often many twists and turns and that each episode often ended up being its own short story with more parts unfolding as new characters are added.  After listening to season 1, students made predictions for season 2 and also wrote their own scripts for the first episode. Along the way, we had mini-lessons on quotations, punctuation and making revisions. After starting to listen to the season, many realized that they were so far off in their predictions, which made for great conversations as students explained the reasons for their predictions. During this time, it’s been incredible to see how attentively students have been in listening so as to not miss anything in each episode. To keep track of everything going on, students have been also writing short summaries. They’ve had quite a bit of practice so far and they’re learning how to succinctly write what has happened and how to apply this to other texts. 

Not only has this been great for Literacy but as we have listened, we’ve also participated in a couple of STEM challenges. These challenges have been great for building collaboration and problem solving skills.  After listening to season 1, episode 3, students were tasked with building their own boats to try to travel over to Gale Island. With minimal materials and limited time, they had to use what they knew about structures in order to create a boat that floated; withstood giant waves; and carried a load. They had 5 minutes to take a look at their materials and come up with a plan. After 20 minutes to build, we put the boats through a rigorous test – walking each boat a few meters in a giant bucket while shaking it to simulate the waves.  While many failed, it was incredible to see students cheering each other on as the tests progressed and how students were reflecting on what they would have done differently, given the opportunity to try it again. 

After listening to season 1, episode 9, their second challenge was to build catapults. This time, students seemed better prepared for the and less disappointed when things didn’t quite work out according to plan. This time, we visited each group to see their design and they tested the success of their catapult at hitting their target – Oliver Pruitt.  As we went from group to group, it was amazing to hear how students were giving each other ideas for improvements. Some were talking about changing the angle of their spoons while others were talking about the amount of force used to launch the marshmallows. I stood back and watched as they supported each other in the learning. It was pretty amazing to watch.

What was our work for Literacy has become so much more. It led us into our first Science unit on forces acting on structures and has led to building a space where students can discuss divergent ideas, all while supporting each other through their failures. Who would have thought that listening to a podcast would be so powerful? Certainly not me and I’m looking forward to where season 3 takes us!

Arianna Lambert Building Inclusion, Inclusion, Math

Creating a Classroom Action Plan Through Data Management

In a year unlike any other, I found myself so unsure as to what to expect as we worked to build our classroom community. Early on in the year we read the book, The Day You Begin and had several conversations about the things that make us each unique. This also started our conversations around the type of space we want to create – one in which everyone is honoured for who they are. Of course the word “bullying” came up in our conversations. The TDSB defines bullying as “aggressive behaviour that is typically repeated over time. It is meant to cause harm, fear or distress or create a negative environment at school for another person. Bullying can take on a number of different forms: physical, verbal, social or electronic, often called cyber-bullying.”1 With this understanding we realized that there are also many reasons why someone might be bullied. This was a great segue into our Data Management unit. 

Students were tasked with finding data on different forms of bullying. With so much data on the internet, students found graphs and statistics that were all quite shocking. Many resolved to think about ways in which we could prevent forms of bullying from happening. To me, this analysis spoke directly to a specific expectation in the Data strand of the Math curriculum: D1.6 analyse different sets of data presented in various ways, including in stacked-bar graphs and in misleading graphs, by asking and answering questions about the data, challenging preconceived notions, and drawing conclusions, then make convincing arguments and informed decisions. Based on data, we were going to see how best we could make better decisions about our interactions with one-another. 

One of the pieces of Data that we looked at was from a Brief Examination of Bullying Statistics in Canada from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada from 2013. Now I don’t know much about the organization but it was definitely exciting to find statistics related to Canada when so often, the statistics  are American. Contained within the report, we found a variety of graphs that we could use to interpret. One of the graphs that we looked at was the one below.

Students were surprised at first but when they actually sat for a moment and thought about the information presented, they agreed that the data makes sense and wondered what has changed in the last 14 years. For us, we started having conversations around times when we may have been made to feel uncomfortable about any of these factors or were indeed bullied, and the impact. Many students agreed that being treated unfairly or bullied based on these factors was something that shouldn’t happen in classrooms or schools. Now was the time for us to act!

Like every year, I try to create a space where everyone feels valued for who they are; one in which the statistics we had been discussing didn’t occur. I think all students also want this type of environment in which to learn. With this in mind, we created our Classroom Action Plan. With steps on how we would interact with one another, we created “the rules” around how everyone could expect to be treated in our learning space. Everyone contributed after a brainstorming session. Next, we all signed it and it’s up on our classroom wall. Some of the expectations include:

  • Everyone is different. If there is something about someone that makes you curious, respectfully ask about it so that you are able to understand things from their perspective. Let’s learn about each other from each other, instead of making assumptions.
  • Appreciate that everyone may have different ideas. Actively listen to what people are saying.
  • When someone is hurt either physically or emotionally, take the time to stop and check-in to see if there is anything that you can do to support or help.
  • When conflicts occur, seek help from the teacher or another trusting adult so that you are able to get the help needed to resolve the problem.

It’s quite the list and we have had moments where we have needed to go back to it as a reminder of the agreements we made with one another. With the changes after reorganization, we’re growing as a classroom community and I’m so looking forward to continuing to learn and grow together as a class this year.

  1. https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Elementary-School/Supporting-You/Bullying
Velvet Lacasse Assessment and Evaluation, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Differentiated Instruction, Equity, Pedagogical Documentation, Professional Judgement, Professional Learning and Growth, Report Cards

Progressing With Difficulty

As the deadline for completing Progress Reports approaches, I am reflecting on the word “evaluation” and thinking critically about the ways educators and schools “value” knowledge and measure “success”.   

Despite the challenges and loss created by COVID-19, my young students continue to demonstrate compassion and resiliency.  They are actively engaged in learning and happy to be together at school.  They are working hard, and with support, they are rising to meet my high expectations.  I believe they are progressing very well.

The problem is that when educators measure student “success” against a standardized level of achievement, some students are constructed as “failures”.  This can be very discouraging.  We know that how students feel about themselves impacts how they learn.

We also know that report cards and standardized assessments, like EQAO, reflect a colonial and Eurocentric approach to education that often excludes or disadvantages many students.  Educators need to think critically about how assessment and evaluation practices reinforce racial inequity, and privilege student “success” and belonging.

How might we transform assessment and evaluation so that all students are empowered to achieve excellence, and feel successful?

For the last twelve years, I have been exploring collaborative assessment as an alternative to traditional forms of assessment.  I am inspired by the possibilities of self-assessment and goal setting to engage our students and families in the teaching and learning process in meaningful ways.

What is collaborative assessment?

Collaborative assessment involves students, families and educators as co-learners in the process of gathering and sharing formative assessment.  It helps to build trusting relationships and strengthen the home-school connection.  Collaboration assessment may include any of the following strategies: an introduction letter about a child written by a parent, inventories or surveys, individual goal setting, self-and peer-assessment, checklists, rubrics, portfolios, journals, and Student-Led Conferences.

What are the benefits of collaborative assessment for students, families and educators? 

The Ontario Ministry of Education has published several resources to support collaborative assessment because there are many benefits for students, families and educators.  Collaborative assessment invites students, families and educators to actively engage in the teaching and learning process, and creates a reciprocal relationship where students, families and educators share responsibility for learning.

Research has shown that the use of goal setting and self-assessment in the classroom engages student voice and supports critical thinking and meta-cognition skills:

“Self-assessment has been shown to impact both increased student achievement and improved student behaviour.  Involvement in the classroom assessment processes can increase student engagement and motivation.”

Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. “Student Self-Assessment”. Capacity Building Series K-12.  (December 2007)

When educators empower students to make choices about how they will demonstrate their learning, and evaluate how well they have met the learning expectations, it helps to create an inclusive environment that honours and celebrates the multiple and diverse ways that students learn and share knowledge.  Additional benefits of collaborative assessment include:

*accountability by students for their own learning

*pride in achievement among students

*confidence by students to take on leadership roles

*learning independence in students

*parent participation in school life

*improved communication with parents resulting in deeper understanding and confidence in what happens at school

*more positive student-teacher relationships

*valuable feedback for teachers and families

*common understanding of the language of assessment

Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Webcast Professional Learning Series. (2010) Viewer’s Guide: Student-Led Conferences.

What does collaborative assessment look like in the classroom?

In our Grade 2 classroom, we will focus on goal-setting, portfolios, and Student-Led Conferences.

Throughout the year, students will be supported to set individual short-term academic and social goals.  These goals will be achievable and meaningful.  Students will have many opportunities to reflect on their goals, develop and evaluate their own success criteria, and celebrate their achievements.  I will send home these goals as we create them together, so that families can support their child to work towards achieving these goals.  When students set individual goals that are “just right” for them, they will feel successful.

All students will have a portfolio in-class and on-line.  A portfolio is a collection of work samples chosen by the student and/or by the teacher.  Students will be encouraged to select several pieces and reflect on their own work and process throughout the year.  Portfolios offer an opportunity to explore growth and learning in concrete ways.  Students will share their portfolios with their families in February, and at the end of the year in a Student-Led Conference.  Families will also have an opportunity to explore their child’s portfolio at Parent-Teacher conferences.

Student-Led Conferences are powerful opportunities for students to identify their strengths and share evidence of how well they are meeting their learning goals.  Usually, there are 4-5 conferences happening in the classroom at one time, and I will rotate between them to listen and add to the discussion.  Last year, we used technology to facilitate Student-Led Conferences virtually.  I will write more about how to support Student-Led Conferences in another blog post.

How can families support collaborative assessment?

Family involvement is a crucial part of collaborative assessment.  Families are encouraged to be involved in the assessment process in any of the following ways:

*writing a letter of introduction, which includes their own goals/hopes for the school year

*helping their child to develop appropriate goals

*supporting their child to achieve these goals at home

*sharing observations, asking questions during Parent-Teacher conferences

*participating in Student-Led Conferences

*providing feedback after interviews and conferences

*understanding the curriculum expectations

*reading the report card

Self-reflection:

I believe that one of the most important skills that students and educators can learn is self-reflection.  As an educator, I am always actively reflecting on the choices that I make inside and outside of the classroom.  I know that I am not the only one who struggles with assessment and evaluation.  It is a critical part of our work, and an opportunity to think about how we share power with students.

Learning is an emergent and collaborative process, and I believe assessment and evaluation should reflect this.  I want to create brave spaces that acknowledge and celebrate different ways of knowing and learning, provide students with authentic and multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding, and use collaborative forms of assessment and evaluation so that all students can feel successful.

 

 

Michelle Fenn Challenging Topics, COVID19, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Modern Learning, Questioning, Resilience, self reflection, social emotional learning, Teacher Wellness, Teacher Working Conditions, wellness, Wellness

Toxic Positivity in a Brave New World

I am a huge science fiction fan and was excited to start the new TV series “Brave New World”.  I read the book for my “The Science in Science Fiction Literature” course (I know, cool course right?) in University and I was looking forward to the TV series. In the futuristic “Brave New World”, society has developed mood altering drugs that everyone is required to take to maintain their “levels” so that they can have calm, happy dispositions all of the time.  The result is that the characters don’t really have to “feel” anything deeply.  If there is discomfort or grief they can take a “soma” from their Pez dispenser-type tool and go on with life in peace and harmony.  The struggle for the characters is that once they discover the power of feeling true human emotion they want to experience it, thus going against the social norm.

The “Brave New World” narrative parallels the dangers of toxic positivity.  Psychologygroup.com defines toxic positivity as: “the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations. The process of toxic positivity results in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.”  Think of it like too much of a good thing can be bad for you.  Phrases like, “It could be worse,” or “Focus on the positive,” “Don’t worry, be happy,” may seem innocuous, but in fact reject, repress or deny negative emotions. The message is that it is not OK to feel anything except positive and happy.

So what does this have to do with education?  First of all, teachers excel at wearing stress and being busy as a badge of honour.  I’m guilty of doing it. I’ve heard myself say that I worked all weekend preparing for the upcoming week. We have established this as a norm in educational culture.  Human beings work best when they give themselves time to rejuvenate.  Teacher burn out is a real thing. I honestly think if I walked into a staff room and announced, “I totally relaxed all weekend and just read my novel.” I would face sneers and hear “Must be nice,” muttered around me. Not because teachers are bad people, but because as a culture we don’t value taking care of ourselves as much as we value productivity. Being positive about being overworked and stressed out is toxic positivity, and it is rampant in education.

The problem isn’t with genuinely upbeat and effusive people. Those people are rare.  Treasure them. The problem lies in people denying, repressing, minimizing or invalidating negative emotions.  Keeping calm and carrying on can be counterproductive and harmful to mental health.  While there are well intentioned people providing “just do it” kind of strategies and messages about being positive; those intentions may end up making people feel bad about feeling bad, adding guilt and shame to the mix of emotions.

So, what can we do?  We can try to shift the narrative to value and validate the real emotions that people are feeling.  We can try to give ourselves permission to say, “You know what, I’m not ok right now. I’m grieving the way in which I used to work and live.  I’m hoping that it will soon change.” It is OK to be sad and yet still feel positive about the future.  You can feel both things.

When someone shares their sadness, anger, grief or frustration with you, try to sincerely validate those emotions.  True empathy is saying, “I’m here to embrace the suck with you,” not minimizing the emotions of others.  You can be curious and ask questions, “That must be frustrating, tell me more about that, I’m here to listen.”  Then, do that.  Just listen.

I try to give myself grace and forgiveness.  I have not learned to knit, bake bread or trained to run a marathon during the pandemic. Some days, just putting two feet on the carpet beside my bed is a big win.  I have to remind myself daily that is OK not to be the “Quarantine Queen.” It is OK not to be productive beyond my wildest imagination during a global pandemic. I try to avoid offering platitudes about positivity. I try to validate the feelings of the people around me. I will try to give up “soma” in my Brave New Covid-19 World, throw out the fake positivity, and feel all of the range of emotions – good, bad and ugly.

 

 

Velvet Lacasse Assessment, Assessment and Evaluation, Building Inclusion, General, Learning About Your Students, Literacy, Mindfulness, Play-Based Learning, Start of the year, The Arts

Write On!

I love to write, and I hope that my enthusiasm for the writing process inspires and encourages my Grade 2 students to write on!

VIP:

At the beginning of the year, we are working together to create a brave and inclusive community where everyone is recognized as a “very important person”.  The VIP program celebrates one student each day.  Everybody has a story, and we learn about the VIP by listening and asking questions.  Together, we talk about what good writers do as we write several sentences about the VIP.  We notice the letters in their name and practice printing them correctly.  Then, everyone draws a picture and writes about the VIP.  These pages are collected and sent home as a book for the VIP to share with their family.

On the first day of school, I was the VIP to model the process.  Yes, I was wearing a cape at the time, to demonstrate our superhero arms-distance protocol, and to reinforce that we all have superpowers.

The Peace Book:

Every year on September 21, we recognize the International Day of Peace as part of Peace Week.  Peace Week is an excellent opportunity to introduce and/or review the Zones of Regulation and practice mindfulness strategies.  We share ideas about when we feel peaceful, and brainstorm agreements for how we might resolve conflicts and solve problems in our community.  We sing songs and read stories about peace and justice.  After reading “The Peace Book,” by Todd Parr, we created our own classroom book inspired by his book.

Poetry:

In the early primary years, students are growing as readers and writers.  We all require support to become more independent and confident in our new learning.  Writing prompts and predictable structures can help emergent writers to get started and complete their work.

On the first day of fall, we wrote short poems called “Good-Bye Summer!  Hello Fall!”  We generated ideas for our writing by sharing what we love about summer and fall in a Knowledge Building Circle.  We also used Drama to play out our favourite activities and connect our bodies to our learning.  We sang songs about the signs of fall, drew pictures, and wrote about what we noticed in our Nature Journals.

MSI:

In my first year of teaching, I started as a Long-Term Occasional from October-June.  The teacher who left was exemplary, and she had established a program called MSI: Math-Science Investigation, which I continue to this day.  Before STEAM, there was MSI.  It involves solving problems through building.

During MSI, I invite students to build a structure connected to our current inquiry (e.g., build a structure that includes a repeating pattern, build a habitat for an animal, etc.)  After building with different materials (e.g., pattern blocks, straws and connectors, corks, Lego, etc.) students will write and draw about their structures in their Math Journals.

 

When I asked students to build a structure connected to water, they made: a hydroelectric dam, salmon, a lake, pipes, a boat, and a machine that turns saltwater into freshwater.

Toy Day:

Every 6-8 weeks, I organize a Toy Day in our classroom.  On this day, everyone is invited to bring a toy to share.  We use these toys as provocations for many learning activities in the classroom, including Drama, Math, Writing, Media Literacy, Art, etc.

At the beginning of Grade 2, I am collecting diagnostic assessment data about my students, and I always use the Grade 1 Ministry of Education writing exemplar, which is descriptive writing about My Toy.  After sharing and playing with our toys, students are motivated to write and draw about their toy.

Goal-Setting:

COVID-19 has impacted student learning in different ways.  There might be gaps in achievement, which need to be identified before we can build new skills.  I will use the assessment data to develop individual short-term writing goals with each student, and support everyone to work towards meeting their goals.  When students work towards individual goals that are “just right” for them, they can always feel successful.  These writing goals will also be shared with families, to strengthen the home-school connection and encourage a relationship of collaborative assessment.