Blog – Page 92

December 31, 2018January 5, 2019 Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Climate Change, Global Warming, Science, Weather

Importance of Teaching Climate Change

Most teachers agree that teaching climate change is important … but why is climate change really important? Given humans will be facing impending global climate change, why don’t all people care about climate change?

What climate change is and what it is not.

An important thing students need to know is the difference between climate and weather. Climate is seasonal and regional and weather is daily and local. Just because we have a big snow storm does not mean that climate change is not happening. Scientists look at trends over long periods to document regional and worldwide changes in climate.

Another thing students need to know is that climate change does not cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions but earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can cause climate change. In our recent past, earthquakes and volcanoes have lowered the Earth’s temperature on a short term basis.

In 1816, Indonesia’s Mount Tambora exploded in a massive ash and gas cloud, destroying the city of Tambora and killing about 92000 people. The ash and sulphuric acid cloud was so great it blocked the sun and cooled the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere by 3 degrees. That year, the explosion resulted in summer frosts in North American and widespread crop failures as well as outbreaks of diseases and famines in Europe and Britain (Williams, 2016). In 1816, another eruption caused the Earth to cool 2 degrees due to Mount Krakatau’s volcanic eruption.

Further, we need to know that global warming is caused by the release of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Global climate change is the result of this burning of carbon creating a warming greenhouse effect on the Earth’s atmosphere.

What’s up with the importance of climate change?

When humans face serious hazards like terrorism, flu outbreaks, global market crashes, and the result of large exploding volcanoes, we deal with their short term impacts. These impacts do not have the chance of “ravaging the natural world and collapsing civilization” (Gardner, 2018) like the permanent changes that can happen to global climates. Most people understand and accept that global warming is happening, but they are not immediately and directly impacted by the change in climates as these changes come in increments. Global climate change is not an imminent threat … yet.

As humans, we have challenges understanding the long term abstract probability of climate change. We can understand the short term probability of weather as it is felt and directly experienced – like an 80% chance of a large snowfall and very cold weather. We also can understand local warming when our weather changes over time. Climate change is the probability of weather impacting humans (Gardner, 2018).

Humans don’t get long term risks.

We know that smoking causes cancer but people still smoke (Gardener, 2018). We know that consuming alcohol causes health and social problems but we still consume it (Bishop-Stall, 2018). Humans still build houses in flood plains and are surprised when their houses are periodically flooded – as a Red Cross volunteer, people showed me the flood lines in their basements over a 100 year period but were again surprised at the level of flooding in Calgary in 2013.

It is our human psychology that keeps us distant from the abstract impending consequences. Climate change is complex and abstract and we need to trust scientists to help us understand its impact on the long term of human well being.

Humans have stopped global impacts due to human activities.

In the 1980’s, governments met to put policies in place to limit ozone depletion and acid rain by managing the release of ozone depleting and acid rain causing chemicals into our global atmosphere. This is proof that when humans work together, we can affect change.

Real Impacts of Climate Change

As a human, I have been a witness to the impact of climate change on Canadians. As a Red Cross volunteer, I have listened to the stories of people who have dealt with flooding in Burlington, Ontario, in Gooderham, Ontario, and in Calgary, Alberta. I have listened to the stories shared as a result of the life changing impact fires had on people in Fort McMurray.

At home, I have lost 6 trees due to invasive beetles. I have a 3 year old snow blower that has only been used once. As a former geologist, I know that it took millions and millions and millions of years to capture all the carbon we are now releasing into our environment over 300 years up until today – that’s got to have an impact on our global climate.

People cannot feel the threats measured in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide but we can listen to the stories of others who have been directly impacted by the result of global warming. By making and following policies to limit gases that result in global warming and climate change, we can limit the imminent change in our global climate.

Below are some excellent teacher and student resources.

Have a safe and healthy 2019.

Collaboratively Yours,

Dr. Deb Weston, PhD

Resources

Climate Kids Canada- Information, Games, Activities, Advocacy

Climate Kids NASA – Big Questions, Weather & Climate, Atmosphere, Using resources wisely, Clean energy.

National Geographic- Climate Change for Kids

Tiki the Penguin’s Guide to Climate Change

Ecoschools Today

Ecoschools Lesson Plans for Teachers

Videos

Climate Change (according to a kid) Video (all grades)

Crash Course in Climate Change Video (Junior/Intermediate)

Climate Change | Educational Video for Kids (Primary/Junior)

References

Bishop-Stall, S. (December 30, 2018) Drink. Hungover. Repeat. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? The Globe and Mail. Downloaded from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-drink-hungover-repeat-why-do-we-keep-doing-this-to-ourselves/

Gardner, D. (December 22, 2018). Why don’t we care about climate change. The Globe and Mail. Downloaded from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-why-dont-we-care-about-climate-change/

Williams, J. (June 10, 2016). The epic volcano eruption that led to the “Year Without a Summer”, The Washington Post, Downloaded from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/04/24/the-epic-volcano-eruption-that-led-to-the-year-without-a-summer/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1908892a962e

December 31, 2018 Arianna Lambert 21st Century Learning, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Professional Judgement, Resilience, Resources, Wellness, wellness

Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resource

As January and the new year approaches, I start to reflect on balance and keeping true to what I believe to be most important. When in the classroom, I always thought that it was a great time to press the reset button with students and gear up for the next half of the year. Over the break, I often take some time to check out resources that I think will help me along this goal so that I can add fresh ideas to lessons that I know have allowed students to reflect on themselves as they start to set goals. This year was no different even though I’m not in the classroom. While taking a look through some of the amazing ETFO resources available online, I found the Everyday Mental Health Classroom resource that I think is absolutely fantastic and essential for classrooms.

Co-developed over the past two years by School Mental Health ASSIST and ETFO, this resource is designed to provide K – 8 educators with evidence-based strategies to help develop the Social Emotional learning skills of students. The great part about this resource is that the activities contained have been tested by ETFO members and not only that, but a research project was done to determine the efficacy in classrooms. It’s definitely a resource that educators should consider using in their classrooms.

Here’s why! The resource:

offers the evidence and need for this work in classrooms;
honours the professional judgement of teachers;
focuses on core skills;
is online and easily accessible.

In this post, I’ll dig into why I think it’s a great resource for using in classrooms in the hopes that you’ll try it with students and if you already have, share what you’ve noticed with others.

Evidence-Based

When I think of a resource being evidence-based, I understand that it is informed objectively. In that there is a perceived need for the development of the resource and that there is time taken and reflection made to truly understand the impacts of what is being proposed as good pedagogy in the classroom.

The Everyday Mental Health Classroom resource offers a great deal of background on the rationale for the project and the findings. The resource honours and speaks to the fact that as educators, we are not expected to me experts in mental health and yet we have an important role in working with a diverse group of students. We do have the responsibility to create safe and caring classroom environments for all and for helping our students further develop the core skills that I’ll get into later. The idea is that the lessons and activities can be easily embedded into daily classroom practices with this goal in mind. Of educators who participated in the study, 84% found the resource extremely or very useful; while 95% would recommend the resource to other educators within and outside of their division and roles. The background page on the site offers a wealth of information on the benefits of Social Emotional Learning for students (1). I encourage your to take a look.

Honours Professional Judgement

In Understanding Your Professional Judgement, Professional Judgement is defined as, “judgement that is informed by professional knowledge of curriculum expectations, context, evidence of learning, methods of instruction and assessment and the criteria and standards that indicate success in student learning. In professional practice, judgement involves a purposeful and systematic thinking process that evolves in terms of accuracy and insight with ongoing reflection and self-correction”. ETFO has provided support for teacher and occasional teacher members in exercising their professional judgement.

One thing that makes this resource unique is that right on the landing page, there is mention of the importance of professional judgement. The site further encourages educators to consider their students and exercise professional judgement to maximize growth in students. It also states that, “Using professional judgement, educators can select from a variety of practices within the Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resource to enhance classroom conditions and build social emotional skills in ways that best meet the needs of their students”.

This is so empowering! While I may not be an expert in mental health, knowing that I can use my professional judgement to select and embed activities that will develop core skills that can potentially have a positive impact on students mental health and wellbeing is amazing. Sometimes hearing this is just the thing that a teacher needs to gain that confidence in trying something new.

Focuses On Core Skills

This resource focuses on developing 6 core skills:

Stress Management and Coping Skills

Everyday, we face challenges. How we manage these challenges and stresses is key to our success. Different people use different strategies in stress management. This section contains activities that helps students to develop skills and build their own toolboxes with strategies that work best for them.

Emotion Identification Skills

I’ve heard that there is power in naming emotions. We all face a variety of different emotions throughout the day. This section contains activities that help students to identify and appropriately express their feelings, further developing their ability to effectively self-regulate.

Positive Motivation Skills

This section reminds me of the importance of Growth Mindset. This section contains activities that help students in the areas of expressing gratitude, practicing optimising and perseverance, as well as reframing.

Relationship Skills

Positive relationships are important to have and are essential for a safe and caring classroom environment. This section contains activities that focus on acts of kindness, being a good friend, respect, conflict resolution, empathy and listening.

Self Confidence and Identity Skills

We all have qualities that make us unique. Understanding our identities and who we are is an important part of building our own self-confidence. This section contains activities that will help students to learn about and appreciate their identities while empowering them to hold firm to their beliefs when faced with challenging decisions.

Executive Functioning Skills

When we think of executive functioning skills, I think of the skills needed to plan, organize and complete tasks. This section contains activities that help students develop and master these skills through repeated opportunities for practice.

Online and Easily Accessible

This free resource is available online with challenge cards that can be printed for easy access while the activity is in progress. Each activity provides the teacher with information on the purpose and the time required so that they can best determine which might be best to embed into their day. The filter allows for teachers to search by division and also has a great feature that allows for Occasional Teachers to be able to search for activities that they can also use during their time with students. I think this is fantastic!

I know that this post just gives you a taste of this resource and I hope that you take some time to take a deeper look into it and consider using it in your classrooms. By developing these skills in students, we can prepare them to succeed beyond the classroom. The evidence is there, what are you waiting for?

1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11gM59_aU_enXWpED03URIPUpS0iLjxI1/view

December 31, 2018 Arianna Lambert Communication with Parents and Guardians, Making a Difference Through Education

Parents: Key Partners In Education

While in the classroom, I think that I had a pretty good understanding of the value in parents being key partners in education. Over the past few weeks, while speaking with friends and family about their experiences as parents in the world of education, I’ve learned that there is much more to this complex partnership.

Parents genuinely want the best for their children and may be more open than perceived. Keeping this at the forefront when working with parents is key. While I would like to believe that I kept this at the forefront of every conversation or interaction with parents, when I reflect on interactions where we didn’t quite see eye to eye, I recognize that it is possible that I may have had a greater focus on an outcome that I hoped to achieve. While this was always centered on a positive outcome for the student, I wonder if we could have achieved more had I collaborated differently with the parent. I recently spoke with a friend who has a child on an IEP and she shared that in her experience, it wasn’t that she didn’t want the help offered for her child, she just didn’t understand the process or how having the IEP would impact her child. Because it was wholly new and not well explained – in her perspective – she felt defensive and didn’t feel heard or understood by those in the meeting. Her once positive sentiments around education were now tainted because she felt as though she wasn’t truly heard and her questions weren’t clearly answered. Through other conversations with educators, she’s understanding that the supports offered through the IEP are in addition to what she can do at home to support her child’s learning. She’s learning that it’s a living document that can be updated and reviewed. She genuinely wants for her child to be able succeed and I wonder if taking the time to ensure that she felt heard, if this process could have been a more positive experience for her.

Great learning is already happening in homes. I’ve never been a fan of homework. I’ve always seen it as “keep busy work” that can’t be assessed and is often a source of great frustration in the evenings for families. After sharing my thoughts on homework, while many parents have appreciated that I valued the learning that was happening through extra-curricular or other activities in the home, every year, I’ve had parents ask for homework. It was always challenging to balance the two extremes but understanding the value or perceived importance of homework was something that I was after. Through conversations with parents, many felt that it would help their child get ahead or make sure that they kept practicing what was being learned in the classroom. During these conversations, we often spoke about the skills needed beyond memorization of facts and content and activities that might further develop these skills. I shared with parents activities such as:

Draw a map to your friends house. Include measurements and different ways to get there.
“Invent” something using the various items in your recycle bin.
Take something apart to see how it works – Reassemble it if possible or create something new with the parts.
Look for geometric shapes in the yard, the store, or at home. Cut them out. Measure them.
Listen to different genres of music and discuss the differences.

In my searches for other family-friendly activities, I found this link with more alternative homework ideas.

Great learning is already happening in homes. For a variety of reasons, parents are looking for creative ways to work with their children and help to give them an advantage. By helping to parents to understand the value in developing learning skills, they might just be ready to jump in and give these ideas a try with their children. Potentially helping to build even greater family bonds and connections.

Nothing! Without a doubt the answer to the question of, “What did you learn today in school?”. I’m amazed every time that I hear it and understand that it’s a challenge for parents to truly get a picture of what happens for the hours that their children are in our classrooms. It was one of the main reasons why I started a weekly classroom blog. It was my way of sharing with parents what we were learning and by adding a calendar to my site, it allowed for them to keep up-to-date with current events in our classroom and school. I found that the more parents knew, the more they felt informed about and engaged in their child’s learning, which is incredibly important. Several times the answer was still nothing, and this was a great opportunity to check-in with the student and to see how best to further support them in their learning.

Making parents feel heard. Understand that there is great learning already happening in homes. Support by sharing what is happening in the classroom. These are just 3 ways in which we might be better able to partner with parents to achieve even greater success in student learning.

December 31, 2018 Tammy Axt Communication with Parents and Guardians, Diverse Learning Needs, General

Helping our Parents Find the Supports They Need

This is my first year in the role of classroom teacher for students with developmental disabilities and looking back over the past four months, I have really learned a lot. I have written my first IEPs, programmed for 9 different children and learned new assessment techniques. However, some of the biggest learning I have had was understanding what my families needed help with outside of school.

Parent teacher interviews were very eye opening for me. I introduced some of the community resources available to my families and all of them had never accessed the support they needed before. Parents spoke about their need for help with funding and support at home. They also spoke about the challenges accessing answers to their questions about having a child with special needs. I was very surprised that all of my families had never had this discussion before as most of my students have had a formal diagnosis for many years and my students have all been in school for eight years.

Then it hit me, before my new job would I have been able to direct my families to the right organization for assistance? The answer would have been a resounding NO! No wonder my student’s families have not received support until grade 6 for this reason. Community resources are not always part of Professional development and often times parents are referred to special education teachers or ESL teachers.

Some may say ISRC or IPRC may be a good time for these conversations, however, it is very intimidating for both families and teachers to attend these meetings in many cases. There are usually about 10 people in the room, most of whom you have no relationship with. It is hard to ask questions or be vulnerable in that environment. Parents often prefer to ask these questions during a conversation with the one person the parent knows and trusts- the classroom teacher.

I did a simple google search to understand what my parents were facing and put in “Special needs support” in my area. The organization that does intake service and assigns case managers for my families came up eighth. This would be the recommended first place to start in my community and I am not sure it would have been possible to figure that out for my parents. I also explored the government of Ontario’s website’s section for parents of special needs children. It would be incredibly challenging for my parents to navigate. There is very little explanation or resources for parents with children with developmental disabilities compared to the section on autism. The website would not be helpful for my parents in finding the answers that they need.

This year my board funded training for all of our contained teachers to learn about assessment strategies for kids who are on alternative IEPs. Within that training, there was a short portion about community resources for families with special needs. Every single teacher in that room was so grateful to have this relevant and important training that often gets overlooked. Due to this important training, I will be able to support nine families get the caring guidance that is needed. I wish every school in Ontario did this very short information session to help teachers support our families.

December 31, 2018 Tammy Axt General

Best December of Teaching

I just had the best December of teaching ever!! I left school on such a high note on December 21^st and have carried the joy right into my holidays. I have been trying to put my finger on what made this December so special and fantastic and I think it has to do with the amount of laughter in my class this month. The staff laughed a lot in our class this December. My students responded really well to our team’s approach and laughed and laughed right alongside with us. I know it is not always manageable to laugh when we have such a stressful job but it is sometimes the best medicine we have.

Here are some ways we found the joy throughout December:

We visited our old class and had a great day with friends that we hadn’t seen in a while.

We hung out in the gym

We tried new things.

We did really fun science experiements!!

We made sandwiches and fruit and it was delicious.

We took time out for holiday memory

We built structures

We worked with our friends to complete puzzles

We had dance parties for DPA.

We made great math patterns.

$math puzzles$

We did holiday song karaoke

We visited another class to play some games

Santa came to bring us some cheer

The staff decorated a pair of ugly socks as part of our team’s special gathering.

We opened our selfie Christmas crackers and took some funny pictures

We enjoyed our new scarfs that I knit for my class

It was the best December ever!!

December 30, 2018January 7, 2019 Laura Bottrell 21st Century Learning, General, Technology

Google Home in the Classroom

I’m going to try something new! I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate technology in my classroom and after being inspired by a colleague down the hall, I’ve decided to bring a Google Home back to school with me in January!

We absolutely love our Google Home. It controls our thermostat, turns on our lights, keeps our shopping lists, plays our music, casts our shows to the TV and does countless more tasks that make small things much easier!

Thinking of all the wonderful things it does at home, I’m excited about the possibilities in my classroom.

Inquiry

Sparking and enhancing inquiry is where I’m most excited to incorporate Google Home into my teaching. At first, I’ll need to model how to properly use it for my students but my goal will be to get them to do the following independently:

Asking Questions – A great excuse to model not knowing the answer to something and finding out – “Miss Bottrell, what do giraffes eat?”…. “Well, I don’t know – let’s ask Google!”

Finding Sources – “Hey Google, how can I learn more about giraffes?” / what are some books about… / what are some websites that teach about… / And then a trip to the school library!

Fun Facts – A fun fact each day can be a great starting point for further inquiry!

Literacy

Word Spelling – I’ve taught my students a process for problem solving an unknown word when writing, but when they reach the end of the process and are still dying to know how to properly spell a word, instead of “Miss Bottrell, how do you spell giraffe?”, they can ask, “Okay Google, how do you spell giraffe?”. This might free me up to answer other questions!

Storytelling – Google has a great storytelling feature. On demand, it’ll play five to ten minute long stories – both familiar and original – complete with engaging and entertaining voice effects. There are so many opportunities here for literacy, I could write a whole post just about that!

Language Translation – I love including the home languages of all of my students in the classroom, and the translating feature will enhance that. “Hey Google, how do you say ‘giraffe’ in Spanish?” What’s wonderful, too, is that it will pronounce it properly for you.

Book Recommendations – “Okay Google, what are some good books about giraffes?”, or “Who is the author of….?”

Word Definitions – When we come across an unknown word, students can ask Google for the definition. Google will also provide synonyms and use it in a sentence.

Numeracy

Math Answers – Of course, the use of problem solving skills and mental math strategies is most important, but that are certainly some benefits to a student asking “Okay Google, what is the sum of….?”, or “How many centimetres are in…?”, when appropriate.

Classroom Management

Timer – Throughout the day, I’ll use the timer feature to remind us of upcoming transitions, keep track of small group timing, and help remind my students when it’s time to pack up their lunches and get dressed for recess.

Heads or Tails – A quick and fair way to make a class decision!

Weather Forecasting – Before heading outdoors, we can ask Google, “What should I wear outside today?” and it will respond with the temperature, forecast and a suggestion of attire – an excellent connection to grade one/two science and math! This will also help my students make informed decisions when dressing themselves for outside.

Teacher’s Assistant

Reminders – I can set reminders for myself, such as to make a phone call or take afternoon attendance, because I am notoriously bad at remembering this – anyone else?

Shopping Lists – I can ask Google to keep a running list of classroom materials and supplies that we are running out of.

Community Building

Mad Libs – A fun way to spend an extra five minutes, and a great way to sneakily review nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs!

Joke of the Day – A fun incentive to use during transitions or when you’ve got just one or two minutes to fill between activities!

Mystery Animal – Google will play 20 Questions so you can guess the secret animal. My students love playing this game already, and it’s great practice with formulating questions.

A Cool Classroom Job – I suspect “Googler of the Day” might become the most coveted job in our classroom job market! One student could be responsible for all of the Google tasks, which is a great opportunity for them to take leadership.

Music Playlists – Paired with my Spotify account, I can use Google to play self-curated playlists suitable for different types of environments I want to create throughout the day – “Hey Google, play Brain Break music!”, or “Hey Google, play Dance Party music!”.

Be sure to create a new professional account (separate from your home) when setting up the speaker, and ensure that family friendly filters are activated in the settings!

Of course, it’s going to take some teaching and learning to get all of this up and running. I know my students and therefore I know there will be temptation to be silly with the technology. I suspect many of them might have one at home and will have figured out how to interrupt someone speaking to Google by shouting something silly when the microphone is activated. Or, they might think Google is here just to tell jokes.

My goal is to teach them otherwise – to formulate questions, to take turns, to be responsible, to recognize the valuable resource that it is, but most importantly, to embrace the technology that surrounds them to drive their curiosity.

I look forward to reporting back on how it goes! Does anyone else use Google Home, or something similar, in their classroom?

December 29, 2018 Michelle Fenn Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Inspiring Students, Integration, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Modern Learning, Use of Technology

The Almighty Meme

My teenage son is obsessed with memes. I remember my friends and I at his age, randomly quoting lines from John Hughes or Monty Python movies which confounded the adults around us but my friends and I would collapse into hysterics. I am now the confounded adult but instead of movies, the quotes are from internet memes and vines.

As a teacher I always seek to leverage whatever is important to my students in order to make language engaging and authentic. Last year I used their interest in Snapchat and connected it to “book snaps” in order to synthesize information about what they were reading. Over the holidays I played a game called, “What do you Meme?” which is an adult version of “Apples to Apples” but with pictures. Although the content was rather explicit (obviously not to be used in a classroom) and more than a little embarrassing to play with my 86 year old mother, I got to thinking afterwards about the language processing that it took in order to play this game and how could I turn it into an engaging teaching opportunity. The idea around the game itself is rather simple, choose what you consider to be the best “caption” for the meme (photo) and then another person chooses their favourite of those put forth by the players. The idea is to make it “relateable”.

I realized that there was a great deal of inferring going on while we were matching the statements to the pictures. We had to read the facial cues, look for other clues in the picture and then also relate what was happening in the picture to some kind of an emotion or shared human experience. I’ll give you an example.

“When you have beaten your big brother to the last piece of chocolate cake.”

In order to come up with that statement, I had to make some decisions. I really had to think about the photo and determine what was happening. For me, it looked as though the cat was laughing and feeling rather satisfied with himself. Then I had to think of something that would cause that reaction in someone to which other people might relate. It is rather complex thinking.

In the classroom before any writing would take place I would provide many examples of popular (and appropriate) meme photos that are being used in different ways and discuss these with my students over a period of time. What makes it funny or something with which people can relate? What about the human experience is being shared in this meme?

Then I would provide a photo something like the one above on the Smartboard for students at the beginning of the language period. Just one at a time at the beginning so that we can take the opportunity to break down the thinking. Students could then invent their own statement for the photo and justify their idea when they share it with others. In order to scaffold for some students, I might provide a variety of statements like the game itself and have them choose and justify their choice. Students could also take or choose their own photo and create their own memes using apps such as Canva or Pic Collage. This could also lead to an authentic digital citizenship opportunity with how to search and use photos that are public domain. In addition, these memes could then be shared on a class blog or social media to receive comments from others which provides feedback to students on their creations.

To take the idea of the memes further, the students could then use them as story prompts and create a narrative around the meme. I might also ask the students to create some memes like book snaps which relate to the books that they are reading. See the example below:

“When Fudge ate Dribble.”

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing-Judy Blume

A meme that needs an explanation isn’t a good meme, just like you shouldn’t need to explain a good joke. There is a kind of sophistication in the thinking process involved in the creation of memes and they connect us as human beings. Memes are this generation’s political cartoon, headline in the newspaper or funny birthday card from “The Far Side” creators; a visual paired with words that connects a shared human experience. Know what I Meme?

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education

Best to you in all you do (an alphabetic acronym for educators)

Happy New Year! Well at least the Gregorian one. What’s really neat about teaching in Ontario is the amount of cultural sharing that occurs as part of our school calender. January 1st marks the start of 2019 on most calenders and in the spirit of rebirth, new beginnings, and good will I wanted to share a prosaic attempt to encourage you all to savour the good from 2018 and prepare to embrace the awesome potential of another new year.

Always take time to reflect on the impact you are having on the lives of others.
Being present is the best present.
Channel your energy into lifting others up and creating community in your classroom.
Dedicate to change and learning even when it is uncomfortable.
Everyone matters, most importantly you.
Forget past hurts and move forward.
Give freely of your time and resources.
Homework doesn’t have to be a worksheet.
It can be a conversation or a chance to play.
Jump up and show your students why movement is important while learning.
Kinesthetic learners need to move. So do their teachers.
Leave the answers in the back of the book to explore other responses.
Make room for culturally responsive pedagogy.
Never doubt the impact you are making on the lives of others.
Open your mind to innovative practices and take risks trying something new.
Play + timely relevant instruction = learning.
Questions are bricks to build a solid foundation in learning. They are not meant to be thrown.
Respect is at the forefront of all we do. It presumes positive intentions in everyone.
Some days, some people are going to push your buttons. See R, Q, F, and C
“Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” Robert Shuller In case R, Q, F and C don’t work.
Understanding includes everyone. We need to seek it, model it, and share it daily.
Victories come in many forms. Somedays it will look different than others.
Wonder is the rocket fuel of enagement in education. We have the ability to send our students to the moon and beyond.
Xenophobia is an enemy that can only be defeated by dedicated educators.
You are a dedicated educator who has accomplished great things and will do so again in 2019
Zzzzzz. Sleep is your friend. Rest you deserve it.

Thank you for all you do to make education awesome. It is a privilege to share with you on this platform. Cheers to many great things in 2018, the many lessons too, and to all of the amazing potential that is to unfold in 2019. Will

December 27, 2018 Will Gourley General

Bonus Blog for December

Hi. I just had a few thoughts that extend out of my previous post The best present is one you can give year round.
I thought it would work best as a two minute reminder about the wonders of outdoor time for students even when the weather outside is frightful.
Stay warm and well. Will

What’s this about fresh air?

After all of that hard work and kindness, don’t forget to celebrate a little too. When the snow flies, there is nothing like an outdoor hike combined with a game of snow tag(not to be confused with snowball throwing). Students love the fresh air and physical movement too. The time spent preparing for the elements is well worth the mental health, exercise, and class unity that outdoor opportunities provide. It’s also a great chance for your learners to see you play and having fun too. You can wrap it up by serving hot cocoa and cookies(or approved health conscious treat) too.

Although outside time is one method to gift time to your class, it is not always possible. Sometimes students become schoolbound because of extreme weather(usually cold or rain). After a few days, the vibe of a school gets thrown off. The lackadaisical attitude becomes hard to miss except in the mischief department where students seem to be able to consistently achieve. I knew we had had too many indoor recesses in a row when a student called me dad.

It is important our students maximize the times when they are able to get outside. This is never more evident than in the older grades of 6-8 where students are routinely hiding in the bathrooms or going around rooms begging to help teachers. I think we have missed something when students celebrate when it is indoor recess instead of getting some fresh air.

There is so much to learn in an outdoor setting. It is calming and exciting at the same time. It allows for movement, engagement, and wonder. It can be as simple as a neighbourhood hike, a read aloud under a shady tree or a snow fort building lesson for structures and stability. For Math purists there can be hypothetical conversations about the number of snowflakes that it takes to cover a certain area?

Thanks for reading.

December 27, 2018 Will Gourley General, Great Gifts for Teachers, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education

The best present is one you can give year round

https://www.flickr.com/photos/72153088@N08/6510934443 CC BY 2.0

Like many gifts wrapped up during this Christmas/Winter Holiday season, this post could take a lot of forms. Whether it is with a bow, within a kindly worded card or if it is hidden in a neatly wrapped gift the feeling of giving and receiving gifts is a special one.

Classrooms can be gifts that keep on giving

Although, traditional presents are nice, it has been my experience to savour the moments when we are able to strengthen our class community through quality time together. Long after the sweetness of a treat or period off for a movie has been forgotten, students remember being part of something special that benefitted others.

When classrooms unite for a cause bigger than themselves, that is where true giving occurs. Raising funds to support schools in need of resources, supporting clean water projects, or collecting food/clothing for local charities are all ways for students to give. The holidays serve as a perfect time to make it happen, but the need does not stop in January. So why not make giving the focus year round?

Getting started is easy. Start by setting aside a little time to gather/chat about needs and goals for giving in support of others instead of getting down to the business of learning every period. There are numerous NGOs for a class to support such as Ryan’s Well, Plan Canada or Right to Play to name a few, but in 2019 I think it would be great for us to seek justice and equitable funding and access to education for our First Nations families. Most of our classrooms are embarassments of riches in my school board. I know there is room for us all to be generous.

What if we all provided time to interact and set our minds to support a common goal? Encouragement and a space to make it happen are simple gifts that teachers can offer their students. Then let them co-create and negotiate where they want to concentrate their efforts. Your class can divvy up responsibilities such as organizing awareness parties / fundraisers / whole-school events for everyone to look forward. They can plan and host inter-grade social games to include younger and older students. This way, everyone becomes connected to the event(s) in one form or another. That connection allows the community to grow closer together as they work on a common goal. Each time students work together to achieve something or are kind to one another is like a gift that keeps on giving beyond the moment. Start small, think locally, take some time, and grow from there. Remember to have fun. It will be like a breath of fresh air from the regular learning at school.

Although this post was shared in December, its message stretches well beyond any season. I’m hoping that it will serve as a reminder of the give and take that exists in our schools, as well.And, like most gifts, it is better to give than to receive. Especially in the classroom. Keep on giving your best to everyone and in all that you do.

Thank you for reading. Here’s to an amazing 2019 at the speed of learning and life.