As I composed this piece in the last weeks of December, I was aware that it has the potential of being more than a 2 part piece. I continue to notice questions in everyday professional spaces. Questions asked around me stand out because the language that goes from seemingly innocuous talk to formal texts that in turn guide trajectories of educational work and the outcomes for students.
If those outcomes unfold on paths of equity and social justice, I always look deeper for the driving gear: who is the person – parent, family friend, educational worker or combination of all three or more who have made it their mission to ensure that that student achieves their fullest potential.
Also, sometimes the topics I write about invite readers to take a deep and honest look around so that we can be authentically inclusive in our professional practice towards all with whom we interact. A twinge here and there is therefore okay, it helps us sharpen out growth mindset as ETFO members.
Some Spaces Are Special
A Special Park Bench (Karnad-Jani, 2024)
Notice this beautiful bench situated along the walking track around the cricket pitch beside the school with the gorgeous sunrise where I worked for 14 years. In 2018, after considering many factors, mostly around breathing room and well being, I had decided to move to another school. But I still walk here every season as long as the paths are ice-free. So it was that one late summer in the last week of August, shall we say, I met up with a former student now an educator who wanted to talk through some career decisions.
Such walks are mutually supportive as I can give back to the communities of practice that steady me and another educator can have an unconditional space to air their ideas and possibilities. We walked a few laps and sat down to take in the view. A warm breeze was blowing and I was thinking of 6 students in my last three years at this school with whom our team used to walk this track daily for our observation skills, social skills, and conversational and communication goals with our flip and talk books etc. One student had clearly described this very bench as “A park bench is like a chair that’s outside. It is longer than the chair inside our class and you can’t pick it up.” How delighted we were at this description! It is one of the special memories of that time
What are YOU doing here?
Just then, someone I knew from years ago stopped in front of me and demanded, “What are you doing here?” and without waiting for a response, walked on. My walking companion was as startled as I was at this interaction if one could call it that. “What was that, Ms. Karnad-Jani? They did not even wait for a response.”
My heart beat quickened from past memories of having faced this question in various spaces.
Deep breath in. Look around. Exhale. I was glad I was in a beautiful space outside that helped me compose myself. We walked some more and that was that.
I have thought about this question often as it appears in our lives in many ways.
When one is asked “What are YOU doing here?” we can claim space individually and collectively to support one another when this question comes up that may challenge our very presence in some, many, any spaces.
Also, always consult and implement the guidelines outlined in ETFO’s Terms of Use when using any published materials in professional learning and elsewhere because all of us who write academically and professionally work very diligently to think about the ideas we share with you.
Hindsight is a gift, and I have never appreciated it more than when I talk with newer teachers and share the things I wish I knew when I was in their position. So what advice would I give to a new teacher? The number one piece of advice I would give is to protect your energy. You will need your energy for yourself, your family, and for all the other demands that teaching can bring.
I have distinct memories of putting my head down at the end of the day and nearly falling asleep, taking bags of student work home that I inevitably would not mark that night because I was just too tired to face it. When I became a parent, it became clear that I needed to preserve my energy since there was no longer an option to take a break after school and a long commute.
I’m thankful when I consider how much experience has made my life easier. I spend less time stressing over things that I cannot change, working “smarter” instead of harder to be more efficient, and knowing when it is time to stop working and focus on what matters – health, family, and relationships.
Teaching a new class, and planning units and lessons is so much better when you know where to start. As a new teacher, it was overwhelming to face the realities of planning, classroom management, and school events every day.
Here are the top 4 things I would do to protect my energy if I were a new teacher – and even if you are not “new” to the profession, perhaps you will find something you can bring to your practice.
Rethink Classroom Management
When I started teaching, I foolishly believed that all my energy should be focused on creating great lessons and planning activities. Let’s be clear – this is all very important – but you’ll never get to implement those plans if you don’t have a well-managed class.
Classroom management is so much more than setting high expectations for achievement and behaviour and setting up routines and roles (though those are all important elements to have in place). It is also about determining which times of the day will be most conducive for teaching certain subjects and running certain activities.
For example, in my experience, mornings are usually the best time for teaching essential core subjects like literacy and numeracy. The later part of the morning and later afternoons are times well spent for independent or group work. These are great times to take your foot “off the pedal” and create space for collaboration, relationship-building, and student conferencing.
It can be exhausting when you feel like you are constantly trying to calm students down, or motivate students to self-regulate when you are in the middle of a lesson. Know when your lesson simply isn’t working, and when it is time to shift gears. A good “red flag” is when you can feel your own emotions – frustration, anger, or despair – bubbling up.
Focus on Time-Saving and Efficiency when Planning
When I started teaching, I found that resources were scarce, and my colleagues were rather protective of the content they had created. To be fair, the internet was nowhere near as useful as it is today and educators were deeply dependent on textbooks and blackline masters (no, we didn’t have Google Drive to keep all those documents close at hand). I spent endless hours trying to develop lessons and content, and naturally never had the time to get my lessons exactly the way I envisioned.
Avoid spending excessive time researching and creating content – this can be a drain on your valuable planning time minutes and after school time. Focus instead on building on the content that is already available to you – whether you find something great online that aligns with the Ontario curriculum (always be critical of what you discover on the internet), at a professional learning session, a teacher resource, or content a colleague has shared.
As an experienced teacher, I now know that most, if not all of my energy on the job should be spent teaching, working with and managing my class, and adapting content for neurodiverse and multilingual learners. Sure, it can be fun and even rewarding to develop a brand new lesson – but if you are teaching multiple subjects avoid doing this for everything all the time.
Another great energy-saving strategy is to co-teach a unit or lesson with a teacher whose schedule aligns with yours, or that knows your class. Swap classrooms to implement a lesson you know well. For example, I had a colleague who was great at teaching podcasting, so I’d teach his class a lesson in news article writing while he’d teach a podcasting lesson to my class.
Get Connected with the Right People and their Resources
It’s amazing how much time and energy you’ll save by networking with the right people and leveraging their resources, knowledge, and experience. There are so many other educators in your school and board that have expertise and can share their “tried and true” strategies, tools, and resources.
For example, you may have teachers who have a role where their purpose is to share resourcesand consult in areas like educational technology, literacy, mathematics, the arts, or or social studies. They may have the title of coach, itinerant, or resource teacher – it can vary from one board to another.
You may have people you work with that are particularly passionate or skilled in an area like math or reading. They can tell you exactly what practices are most effective, which will save you a lot of research and time spent on trial and error.
Optimize Assessment
I remember being a teacher that gathered piles and piles of student work, only to be overwhelmed when reporting time came near. Save yourself a lot of marking time by taking a triangulated approach where you are not only collecting products, but frequently gathering evidence from conversations and observations.
It is important for students to be assessed through multiple means, so gather assessment as much as possible through activities like group work, presentations, and media creation. Assess students in the moment, and focus on providing 2-3 pieces of feedback at a time (and share it in the moment, if possible). Use an tablet or mobile device to gather assessment data quickly and take photos of student work and collaboration for your records.
Final thoughts
Your time and energy is precious. Protecting your energy as a teacher is critical for work-life balance – ensuring that you are investing your efforts wisely is key to longevity in the job and maintaining your mental wellness.
I am always grateful for the opportunity of being with students in the schools where I have worked and the classrooms in which I now co-teach. These interactions with students in the hallway, school yard or while entering the school are very precious because they always remind of my purpose in this work.
In a Grade 1 classroom the other day, there was talk of dinosaurs because one backpack had them and several sweaters did too. I was waiting with the students for their teacher to come in from supervision duty. For a short time, I was in the spotlight because they remembered from a previous visit.
Then one of the students had a bright idea: “Let us see if Ms. Kaar-naad knows the names of at least two of the dinosaurs” The whispers of “she may not know them, we may need to help her” were very heartwarming. It is humbling that children are gracious and kind towards the grown-ups in their lives.
I could name at least 2 dinosaurs as asked and I was in!
The System and Our Work
One of the Big Words that comes up often in school-related work is The System
When I was in the classroom as a teacher from 2004 to 2020 and since then, working side by side with colleagues’ in their classrooms, it often felt (and still does) as if it was just me, students, colleagues and families. But there are times, when in spite of of the strongest efforts and best intentions, things move slowly or do not move at all.
At such times, I say and we say: “It is the System.” Out of sight, yet in our lives always – The System towers over us. Educational work, whether done in our classrooms or in the homes of our students by their families, unfolds in its shadow.
This pervasive and powerful System is everywhere and we speak of it often. We tacitly know that it exists. We say that The System determines the inequities in education, social and professional spaces. We notice and name Systemic Barriers that hold back student outcomes, and even our Higher Ed admissions to programs that we plan to get into, as educators.
We also see systemic barriers interlock with families’ home lives that in turn impact our working conditions and students’ learning conditions. This last issue often occurs when internationally trained professionals are invited to Canada through various pathways, and when they settle in Ontario, they go through many, sometimes never ending cycles of under-employment or unemployment.
So where do we go from here, when The System holds all of us in its grasp and impacts the lives of so many?
Learning Together: The Triangle of Power
ETFO’s Anti-Oppressive Framework: A Primer is an important document for all of us to review and become familiar with. I am pleased to share that it was also intentionally brought into view for members by the York Region local’s Anti-Oppression Task Force a few years ago.
It is a very readable and relatable resource and allows the reader to actually see in a new light, the everyday work spaces in which we are immersed. What stands out for me and many who have made this resource a key aspect of our practice is The Triangle of Power (p.9).
The Triangle of Power (Anti-Oppressive Primer, ETFO, 2021)
The Triangle of Power highlights three vertices: Ideology, Individual Action and Institutional Barriers and explains them in very easy-to-understand language. ETFO members can connect with this visual in our busy lives and weave the learning into our jobs, the conversations in which we participate, in professional learning that we develop, deliver or attend as well as ways in which we engage with families, students, as well as with one another.
The Anti-Oppressive Framework Primer explains the 3 vertices as Ideology, Individual Action and Institutional Barriers.
For the purpose of this conversation, I have changed the order as below:
Institutional Barriers
“The corners of the triangle — ideas and actions inform and result in institutional inequities. This can be seen in systems/structures such as the media, the justice system, politics, education, religious institutions and union spaces where inequities based on lack of representation, over-representation, omissions, discriminatory policies are present.”
The reason I have placed Institutional Barriers as the first consideration is because they tower above us as we go about our day as they do for students and families. Institutional Barriers are high up above the classrooms and other spaces where you and I do our work. Their impact is also felt all around us but they are invisibilized in the busy pace of our lives and we do not always notice them.
Ideology
“If we are to consider that as human beings, we are all informed by our ideas (ideology) which in this case, can be displayed through generalizations, assumptions, implicit or explicit biases and stereotypes that one may hold about individuals or groups, it is these constructed and learned ideas that inform the way one behaves towards people.”
I have placed Ideology 2nd in this list of 3 vertices because our ideas are so well marinated in our implicit and explicit biases that they become tacit knowledge and then evolve into “a fact.” This can apply to stereotypes about one another, students, their families, the places colleagues and families got their educational degrees and so on.
“Who, me?”, people may say when you speak of ideology to them. And that’s exactly it. Ideology is also invisibilized and quite easily deniable.
Individual Action
“Discriminatory behaviours, often unintentional, can take the form of actions towards individuals or groups of people. These acts may appear in the form of conducts such as name-calling, inappropriate comments to more violent and pervasive physical acts such as bullying, assault, segregation or omissions. Some behaviours are more insidious and less able to be obviously detected. For example, comments about a racialized or Indigenous person’s hair, or asking someone where they are from, can be identified as microaggressions.”
I have placed Individual Action as the last vertex so that you and I can focus our attention on it and remember it well.
I am inviting you to join me in critically examining the role that you and I can play in upholding oppressive practices unless we hold ourselves accountable everyday, in every interaction.
We are (also) The System
The Triangle of Power makes it very clear that We are (also) The System because each corner (vertex) holds a specific part of oppression.
If you and I choose to hold up a specific part of oppression through our individual action, we are (also) a part of oppressive practices. Mathematically, if the third vertex (individual action) is not there to hold the structure in place, it is not a closed figure. It is not a triangle anymore.
While I do not think that Individual Action alone can break down Institutional Barriers or shift ideology because they are very powerful, I do believe that each one of us has an important role to play in how the other two vertices have an impact.
After all, oppression is action: it occurs when someone does something oppressive.
Thankfully, anti-oppressive practices are actions too. You and I have to actually do something anti-oppressive.
Let’s dismantle the Triangle of Power at every opportunity we get by making our Individual Actions in educational settings anti-oppressive.
When you feel wobbly, reach out. There are many fellow travellers engaged in anti-oppressive practices in local and provincial settings.
We will help one another. I also invite you to read, practice and share ETFO’s Anti-Oppression Primer.
Ever since I heard last June that I was going to be able to connect with all of you, as my colleagues and readers of Heart and Art Blog, my first thought was about what I would like to say to you first. How shall I begin? Then I thought the new-ness of this connection is very similar to the feelings before each new school year: “I can’t wait to meet you”
As I went about July and August, there was excitement in the air: I was receiving news from friends and colleagues as well as reading on social media, posts from people I have not met, about how happy they are to be hired for a contract or for a Long Term Occasional position at a school. This was usually followed by a request for connection: to people, resources, and all the other things we know we are going to need to do our jobs and support our students. People were getting together to prepare for school.
The excitement at such a time is palpable: whether it is a new job or a new grade one is teaching, whether it is a new school or one where one may have taught three children in a family in a long career. Although many ETFO members take Additional Qualification courses over the summer, engage in other self directed professional learning, there is also apprehension because you and I do not know what lies ahead.
Perhaps you paused in those busy weeks before the start of school and wondered what it was going to be like that first day, first week back. After all, whether new or experienced, whether you have gained professional experience in Ontario or elsewhere, every September feels like the first September sometimes.
What do we do when we feel wobbly?
A system leader once said to us in a large departmental meeting “Sometimes we get wobbly”. At the time of publication, it is almost the end of September. Some of us may be feeling wobbly with all that we carry on our long lists of things to do. I know I feel this way. So what do I do then? I think of people who have steadied me at such times and I try and reach within and reach over.
Self, Students, Families and Fellow-travellers
While there are many formal supports available in school districts within Ontario, some of us are either far away from accessing them or these supports may be hidden under links on a massive website and that takes time.
I would therefore like to begin with the connections that are accessible and nearby. Although they have the potential to be fulfilling and frustrating before becoming fulfilling again, I am sharing below some key connections that have helped me during two decades of this work I have been privileged to do when I feel wobbly.
Self
While there are many ways to seek support, I find that for me and many (a term I use often as I hesitate to say “we” because it may not be so for all) it helps to sit with oneself and think about what matters to me in this job, who matters to me in this job and how can I use what I already know in this job? That often is a calming space because I then know that I have done The Work to get to this point. While I shall continue to learn, I also know that I am able to take the first steps I need. There, I feel better already.
Students
Students have always been the guiding heartbeat for the work of educators. Our youngest learners whether they willingly enter a space or cry for a few minutes before joining their peers in a conversation or exploration show us what they like or dislike, how they want to be seen and spoken to and how they will engage with the carefully planned lessons and materials you or I have laid out. In times when things didn’t go as I planned whether in a Grade 7 classroom or a kindergarten space, after the initial wave of “what now?” had passed, I learned that examining the “why” of that communication helped me and the student connect just a little better the next day. Or perhaps the day after. What was the student trying to tell me? Did I listen, notice, connect and understand? This helps.
Families
One of the invisible aspects of a teacher’s work is to engage with families and to work in partnership with them. Families do not always fit into what is seen as the Standard North American Family, or a two-parent, heterosexual family where the father’s work allows the mother to attend to the children’s schooling and educational outcomes as I had shared in 2021 through ETFO’s Voice The school-family connection is mainly the connection between the primary caregiver of the student and you, their educator. However different from me the family of my student may be, when I relate to the humanity of the person in front of me and when I listen without taking things personally, I am able to see that there are ways that I can work towards positive partnership possibilities. After all educational work unfolds in the murkiness of social problems and when we think through that, we can access resources that can help. Families are also rich sources of information and aspirations for our student and seeing that early on, helps.
Fellow Travellers
Although the formal word is colleague, I choose the word fellow traveller (or hum-suf-ur in Hindi and Urdu, two of the few languages that I speak). Our fellow travellers have walked this way before, either as educators through ethical practice and professional experience in the situation that is challenging me that day. Talking to our colleagues helps us make meaning of the struggles and also reminds us to look forward to the sunshine. I hope we all have that one person who listens without judgement and then asks, “How can I help? One cannot thank these mentors enough therefore one strives to pay it forward whenever the opportunity arises.
Learning Together
As we approach Orange Shirt Day, I recognize the deep responsibility to learn everyday so that I can continue to make a positive difference in the way I engage with the people and spaces around me. This month the youngest students in Ontario schools started their journey to and through our classrooms where they will spend a decade of their lives, either in one building or perhaps after Grade 5 going to another building to complete their middle school years.
I googled “kids these days” to see what would pop up on my browser and was neither surprised nor happy. In fact there was a complete absence of anything necessary to help me create a catchy opening. By necessary, I mean humorous.
Of the 4.1 billion possibilities: a bunch of clichéd book titles, a podcast, and some music videos were all that filled the first page. Despite my optimism, all I got was not a lot. So much for this roundabout approach yielding anything interesting as a way to set this piece up. I gave it a shot, and based solely on such underwhelming search results, it is on to plan B.
Plan B: In other, more accurate, words, “the kids are alright”.
For the past month, I have been working with a teacher candidate (TC) from a Toronto area university. Happily, I might add. He now joins a mighty group of amazing educators (14+) who have patiently pursued and plied their practice in my classroom. For the record, the expression shared in the title of this post has yet to enter my thoughts when I consider the preparation, professionalism, and passion being shared each day through our interactions, in the classroom with students, and among the rest of our school community. And when you thought that things couldn’t get any better, our school has been fortunate enough to welcome an additional 3 other teacher candidates into our classes.
Life is good and it is happening at the speed of education everyday at my school, and it is aided, in part, by the presence of 4 teacher’s in training. We are fortunate to be sure, but it could and needs to happen more often. Which was why it came as a surprise prior to welcoming my TC, to learn it has been a struggle to find host teachers.
Granted, the last 2 or 3 years must have been very difficult for new teachers to find placements in host schools due to reasons well beyond anyone’s control. At first it was understandable as we were all forced back and forth between our school and home bases to teach on line for the first two years of COVID19, and then came the soul murdering hy&r!dlearning model that still triggers my gag reflex each time I think about it. Despite the pile up of so many uncontrollable obstacles, pivots, and uncertainties I still happily welcomed 3 teacher and 4 CYW candidates into our school community. Difficult yes, yet still possible and worth it every time.
I get that the idea of hosting a student teacher right now might be something educators have put to the side for a while, but now that we are back to school, for now, there is still a lot of upside to a TC in the new non-normal we are teaching in. With another practicum cycle only 5-6 weeks away, I wanted to share this post to encourage you all to consider being a host teacher/mentor at your school. Yes there is additional work to do, and it is worth it.
So here is my pitch: we need more teachers to host teacher candidates.
Here goes: firstly, without adding too much sentimentality, we all owe our host teachers some props for helping us as we were getting started. This friendly yet simple reminder never hurts once in a while. I know that my experiences as a TC all those years ago continue to anchor my practice in some way. Whether it was based in inquiry, equity, or photocopied busy work, the potential impact of those first 100 days in the classroom are what equipped me to become a host teacher. For the record, I left the photocopying busy work behind almost immediately.
Imagine if you could go back to when you were a student teacher. What advice would you have wanted to hear? What noise would you have tuned out? This is what pushes our profession forward. My goal remains to help each student teacher turn ripples of potential into limitless waves of possibility long beyond their practicums.
Even those who have not considered because they are newer to the profession I encourage you to do it. Imagine the opportunity to reflect on the growth you have made since you were in their shoes? Imagine the wisdom you have gained since you walked into the classroom as an OT, an LTO, and now as a teacher with a contract? It’s time to give back and get even more in return.
Are there benefits?
Yes. No classroom is ever hindered by having a well prepared and supportive additional educator in the room. Need more? Sprinkle in daily doses of fresh thinking around curriculum, assessment, and educational philosophy as part of the deal. The daily conversations with my TC have been reflective and thought provoking. It is a two way superhighway of ideas and next steps. Still on the fence? Student teachers are extremely enthusiastic about planning units and lessons, and make good collaborators whether it is in planning or co-moderated assessment.
Are there drawbacks?
I have asked folx from different schools what their take on the idea of hosting TCs, and the answers have lined up pretty consistently in favour of them. I have also heard, “Oh, they are a lot of work and I don’t want to take that on that responsibility and paperwork.” This is a valid answer at times, and yes there is a bit of paperwork (mostly digital now), but is often used far too often without realizing the benefits, ideas, and support that a TC brings as well. Any additional work is far outweighed by their contributions in support of students.
“I had a student teacher once, and they tried to take over my class.” There is always a possibility that a very excited and ambitious educator will come bouncing through your door for their practicum, but it is also a chance for you to impart that wisdom you’ve worked so hard on accumulating. If it is not going to be a good fit, be honest about it right away. I did have occasion to decline working with a candidate after the first day it became very clear they were neither prepared nor able to work respectfully with the students in my classroom.
“I am not used to giving over control of my classroom.” I get it. We are used to ‘be the one and only’ in our classrooms however fresh views and voices bring a level of excitement along with them and it is good to learn how to let go knowing that you are not abdicating your role, but making room to equip the next generation.
By sheer amount of space on the page devoted to the pros and cons of having a student teacher, it might appear that there are more downsides, but that is only a visual ruse. By far, working with teacher candidates over the past decade has provided a great deal of personal growth along with it. I hope you can make room for them in yours.
If you have ever taught grade eight, you are currently a grade eight teacher or you have a child (or had a child) in grade eight then you might appreciate how exciting and stressful this time of the year can be for so many grade eight students as they prepare to transition from elementary to secondary school. As a former intermediate classroom teacher and a guidance counsellor who has worked with many grade eight students, I can certainly say that the process of choosing a high school, applying for a specialized program of study and/or completing course selections for grade nine can be a bag of mixed emotions for students, depending on the level of knowledge and support students have at school and at home. Regardless of the grade students are in, teachers can create opportunities for students to develop strategies and skills that can support them in their transition process. Even though students might feel overwhelmed and isolated at times, they are never alone in the process. They also need to know that our support is non-judgmental, though intentional at times especially for the most vulnerable students, and that our intention is to empower students to make choices about their own life and their own future pathways.
Stress and Anxiety
There is no doubt that the transition from elementary to secondary school can be stressful for many students, especially during the current pandemic when more students are isolated and social support for their transition may not be readily available. Adults and students alike are all experiencing an increased level of stress and anxiety in these uncertain times. For the most part, adults have developed strategies to manage their anxiety, however young children are, more so than ever, depending on the adults in their lives to support them throughout this journey. So, how do we as educators monitor their emotional wellbeing and offer sustainable support?
Here are some suggestions that might be of value to you, regardless of your work circumstances or guidance model in your area:
Get to know your students, whether they are in kindergarten or up to grade eight, and understand their emotional strengths and needs. Pinpoint which parts of the situation students are experiencing that you as an educator have the power to change or influence for the better, and then offer your support accordingly.
Communicate regularly with families/caregivers about their role in supporting student achievement and well-being, as they are the ultimate decision maker in this process
Chances are, you cannot do this alone, so get support to support students. Talk to colleagues, your admin and other school-based support personnel. Keep in mind the best interest of the individual student, the nature of the situation for the student and your Board’s policies around confidentiality.
Be socially and culturally sensitive to each student’s situation and lived experiences. Above all, be intentional in supporting (without dictating or pigeonhole) vulnerable students, marginalized students and racialized students and ensure they have equitable access to programs and services
Support students in a specialized program or with an Individual Education Plan in having a successful transition
Show care and empathy, and offer assistance to students who might need social/emotional support that best meets their needs
Your support to students is crucial now more than ever. Students of all ages and abilities continue to navigate through the pandemic, as well as managing other social and family challenges, and intermediate students also have to adjust to a new destreaming program in grade nine. Some students may find this time of year overwhelming and might need to develop strategies to self-advocate for themselves to ensure all their needs are met. There are many ways to embed self-advocacy in your assessment Of learning and assessment As learning to support student achievement and well-being. With a strong sense of self, students are more likely to see themselves as owners of their own destiny and can independently advocate for themselves. I see this as a gradual release of responsibility and an opportunity to empower students to take charge of their learning and their own future.
Here is a Self-Advocacy Toolkit that was shared with me that could be of some support to you in your classroom (regardless of the grade you teach). This Self-Advocacy Toolkit is intended to be completed by each student. Teachers may wish to facilitate this as part of their instructional day.
Ultimately, when it comes to transition and course selections, students and families/caregivers make the final decision about their destination and pathways. We will offer support and guidance to ensure success and a seamless transition from elementary into secondary, and this support can begin as early as kindergarten. When we work together, support each other and respect each other’s choices, even when our perspectives are different, we enable individuals to self-actualize and reach their full potential.
This New Year, I wanted to encourage you to manage your time, your busy time, your spare time and alone time. I can’t think of a better time to blog about this topic than now as we make new years resolutions for the up coming year ahead.
I can honestly say that if you organize your time well as a teacher, you will be able to have work during work hours and build your family and friendship lives separately and explore life the way you would like…
As a mentor or mentee at any given moment in your teaching career, time management skills will help you accomplish everything you want and not burn out in your profession. Remember it’s a career and you need to explore the learning opportunities, balance life and enjoy the moments as we teach daily. So, here are my thoughts. Please feel free to share yours…
Strategies that have worked for me!
Using a calendar that is user friendly
Goal setting weekly
Timed To Do List with daily, weekly and monthly goals
Plan with a Backwards Design in mind
Plan the ending of your lesson first.
Then plan your teaching goals.
Then plan the steps that will take you to the goal.
Consider student input in how you plan things out.
Set those learning goals for your students and lesson.
Maslow vs. Vygotsky vs. Bloom
Put the needs of the students first, with high expectations on what you expect them to do.
Remember all students have to feel like the belong to make significant contributions.
Let students guide the lesson pace and ideas.
Make the space so that you can advocate for your students.
Remember “RELATIONSHIPS” are the key.
Inquiry with gradual release of responsibility has been my secret to being successful.
It is always important to draw connections between Maslow’s basic needs to ensure they are met and Vygotsky’s learning expectations as we develop skills for students.
We build amazing lesson expectations so that we can guide discussions and lead students to think with higher order thinking skills when approaching problems. We encourage students to look at situations that they face with a problem solving mentality in order to develop their comprehension skills, and resilience.
Reflection: What were your New Year’s resolutions as an educator? Write them down with timelines. SMART goal them. That’s my goal for you as a reader of my blog!
Welcome to the profession. Please know that you are seen and that during these times that many seem to call unprecedented, it’s ok to be nervous and uncertain about what it means to be a teacher this year. As a teacher of 12 years, I feel the same. I write to you in hopes that you will not give up as I sometimes am tempted to do, but that you will push through the tough moments that may come your way. I also write with a few pieces of advice that have been weighing on my heart and wished someone would have told me in my earlier years. Here goes.
You are more than a teacher
For years I thought much of my worth came from being a brilliant teacher. I gave so much to the profession both inside and outside of the school day. If someone needed something done, I often raised a hand, sometimes at the expense of myself. What the last few years have taught me is that I am so much more than my career. At the end of the day, teaching is rewarding, And yet, there will be times like the challenges that we have had over the last few years, where the reward may seem delayed or small in comparison to the work required. It’s in those times that we may need to dig deep and find our sources of inspiration from elsewhere. I urge you to take time and know what brings you joy. For me, it’s been walking and spending time with like-minded people with whom I can freely speak and who call me to critically think about my practice and life. In these relationships, there have been many moments to express the frustrations that come and moments to laugh and experience deep and lasting joy. My family has also been central in helping to take stock of what is most important. Time is fleeting so I’m making sure that I spend each day with those who matter most. When words elude me or I’m deep in thought about the work that needs to be done, art has been a source of expression. What brings you joy beyond the profession? What makes you get up in the morning, ready to embrace a new day? I urge you to take some time to find out because balance is essential in this profession.
Mistakes will happen
I think sometimes we forget that teaching is a practice. I think of this word in its verb form: to perform an activity or skill repeatedly in order to improve or maintain one’s expertise. Practice implies that there is improvement being made and I think we need to leave room for and accept that mistakes will happen and it’s from those mistakes that we have the opportunity to learn. As I mentioned before, this is my twelfth year teaching, and I’m teaching something new and not what I had expected. You see, for the last few years, I have been working on my junior program, particularly in literacy, and have had some great ideas as I watched goals on my annual learning plan become accomplished. I had hope that this year, I would be able to further create with students but things have taken a different direction. Teaching prep, I’m learning how to time activities and lessons for 30 or 40 minute periods and doing this from grades 1 to 5. It’s the beginning and I’ve decided to be gracious with myself and to do my best. I’m learning from mistakes as I go and keeping my expectations reasonable. When you walk into your new building, I hope that you will try your best every day and be ok with the result. If things don’t work the first time, it’s ok. Try that lesson again or abandon it altogether. Your worth isn’t wrapped up in how successful or unsuccessful your lesson was. Reflect and try again tomorrow if you choose. It’s ok.
Speak up
When you don’t understand or when you see something wrong, I urge you to speak up. The more you do, the easier it becomes for others to continue to do the same and to be heard. As one who has spoken up time and again, I know that it’s hard and that the risk is great. The fear of reprisal is something that many of us hold within and yet if we don’t speak up, nothing changes. If you are speaking from a place of privilege, I challenge you to consider what you are willing to give up so that others may have greater access. You will hear lots of talk of equity, I would ask you to consider what this talk really means and how we might move beyond the talk. I’ve heard it described as a “journey”. To me, this is a way of saying that it will take an undefined amount of time to learn and eventually, act. We can also take stops along the way at the things we like and move quickly past the things we don’t or that are uncomfortable. I ask you to demand tangible action when these talks arise. Ask what will be actually done in classrooms and schools to implement true equity. If you yourself don’t know what to do, take some time to learn. Reach out to others with whom you can learn. For far too long, there has been a small group who continues to put themselves on the line for what is right. Imagine the impact you can have by speaking up and doing what you know to be right for students and colleagues in your school. Please speak up.
So there you have it. My words of advice. Not that you needed any but I thought I would just share. Mistakes will happen, so take it easy on yourself. Know that you are more than a teacher. Speak up. This year will certainly not be an easy one. I hope you take some moments to reflect and really sit with what it means to be a teacher in 2021. Once again, welcome to the profession.
Many years ago I remember watching a gratitude themed Oprah episode. There was a gratitude journal that the guest had developed and was relaying all of the benefits of writing down things that you were grateful for each day. The power of suggestion (I’m a sucker for an impulse buy for self-improvement) lead me to the nearest Chapters to purchase one of those journals that weekend. I certainly didn’t fill that journal. I think I lost interest in a couple of months because it felt as though I was writing the same thing over and over again. I realize now that gratitude, like mindfulness and meditation, is a “practice.”
Gratitude practice is most effective when life is rough. It sounds counterintuitive. It is much easier to be grateful when things are going well right? Easy to “count your blessings” when you are sitting on a beach in a resort in the Dominican Republic. I personally feel the power of the gratitude practice when life isn’t going according to plan. Though, I want to be clear here, there is a fine line between true gratitude practice and “looking on the bright side” or “finding the silver lining.” That bright-side-silver-lining thinking can border on toxic positivity which isn’t helpful.
Gratitude practice means different things to different people. For me, it is connected to daily journaling. Each night since the fall I have been writing about my day in terms of gratitude before going to bed. Some nights I might write for 5 minutes. Some nights I write for a half hour. It might read something like, “I’m grateful that we got outside for a walk, that my son felt good about his essay after all of the struggles and tears, that we were able to eat a healthy meal, for Hello Fresh being delivered to my door and for the opportunity to reach out and connect to some new teachers through professional learning today.” I try to reflect on the events of my day in terms of gratitude. I could write in my journal that the technology in my professional learning session that day was glitchy, we got off to a rocky start trying to get everyone into the WebEx room, and there were links that didn’t work even though I had tested them twice. Instead, I choose to be grateful for the connection and discussion that I had with the teachers that day. It isn’t that I ignore that bad things happen or think about how things can be improved, but ruminating on the bad things that happened during the day right before going to bed isn’t going to ensure much of a restful sleep.
In some of the professional learning opportunities that I have recently hosted with new teachers we have discussed the struggles of the current climate in the classroom. It is important to have a safe place for teachers to voice those concerns and have someone listen with compassion and empathy and ask curious questions. I will often say that there are many things that I can’t help them with, but that I am there to “embrace the suck” with them. At the conclusion of those discussions my final question is always, “What is a recent personal or professional success that you’ve experienced that you would like to share with the group?” This ends the discussion on a note of gratitude. It is SO easy to get caught up in venting and complaining about the situation in education right now. Teaching it is NOT an easy job on any given day but the difficulties have grown exponentially with the pressures that COVID has added. So when we can take a moment to remember why we continue to go to work each day, why we got into the job in the first place and what our recent wins have been, I think it brings a feeling of hope.
Sometimes I practice gratitude in a less formal way that is more like mindfulness. Recently while walking on a treed trail on a bright, sunny, winter day with my best friend, I stopped mid sentence and just looked around at the beauty. I said to my friend, “I just had to take a minute to take this in. We are so fortunate to be able to walk here.” It only took a moment. I don’t do that all of the time, we’d never get anywhere on our walks! However, remembering to do it every so often helps me to deal with stress and the bad things when they do happen. If in the moment of a stressful situation I can take a moment to breathe and practice gratitude it sometimes keeps the emotions from escalating. When conversing with someone who is frustrated and perhaps complaining or lashing out I try to remember that this person is doing the best they can at that moment and that each opportunity to interact with someone who is suffering is a chance to learn and I try to be grateful for that. Author Andrea Owen in her book, “How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t” would call it an AFOG-another flipping opportunity for growth. When I remember to think about gratitude in a not so great moment, I might do it raised shoulders and through gritted teeth, but I keep trying. It is, after all a practice.
“If the opposite of scarcity is enough, then practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there’s enough and that we’re enough.” -Brene Brown
Just like most people in all of Canada these past few weeks, I have been watching a crazy amount of basketball. Go Raptors!! One thing I love about basketball is that every time one of the players is on the floor, his teammate is there to put his hand out and pick him up. I think teachers need to take the same approach with each other.
I have a brand-new role this year and there have been some days that I have left school and thought well “that sucked”. I didn’t say the exact right thing to a parent, I didn’t handle a behaviour situation correctly and today my one student flat out told me I was not her friend. Not exactly sunshine and rainbows. We are generally very hard on ourselves because we want the best for our students every day. Since we are so hard on ourselves, it is important that we pick each other up every time we are lying down on the court.
There are so many days in my current role where I lack confidence. I am new to the role and I second guess myself a lot. I guess that comes with being an experienced teacher. I was very confident and experienced in my previous role and it was hard to go some place new and feel like I was back at the beginning of my learning.
Some of my colleagues have been amazing at picking me up off the floor on those tough days. My favourite was a friend putting her plans aside and saying let’s have a coffee and talk through this issue that is worrying you. She asked me some amazing guiding questions and then looked at me and said this is hard and there is no easy answer. She then asked “Do you have the supports to help you learn how to help this student?” “Is there anything I can do to support?” And finally she looked at me with all the confidence in the world and said “You will get this, it will just take time”. She picked me up about 7 times during the conversation and I left the coffee shop feeling so much better!
Over my career, I have heard some colleagues be less supportive with each other. There are two common things that are sometimes said amongst teachers that definitely leave teachers on the court stranded.
“That doesn’t happen in my room.” This sentence always drives me absolutely crazy!!!!!!! There are always so many factors that could contribute to difficulty in a different setting that has nothing to do with the teacher or teaching. Depending on the subject it may include noise levels, physical structure to the space, interest in the subject etc. Even if it is the teaching style saying “this doesn’t happen in my room” is not really helpful. Instead, if a colleague approaches with a concern about a student it would be so much better to ask them if there is anything you can do to help make the situation better.
My number 2 pet peeve is “If that student was in my class, I’d straighten them out/they wouldn’t be having these problems.”I have yet to meet a teacher who didn’t have a challenging student at some point in their career. We have all been there. It is important that we offer help to each other when we are taking time to figure out our students.
Our job is hard, we need to be kind to each other. Make sure that you put out your hand to pick someone else when they are on the court.
