Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Equity, Making a Difference Through Education, Professional Learning and Growth

Partnerships

This past week allowed me an amazing opportunity to work with a very committed and compassionate group of Early Childhood Educators. They are part of ETFO and as such are able to partake in a variety of services that are offered including workshops. The topic of this session was on poverty (Why Poverty? is the official name for the provincial workshop). So on a Monday evening in the month of June, twenty ECE staff showed up after a full day of work to talk and discuss the topic of poverty.

At first I was quite nervous, as I had never facilitated a workshop for anyone but teachers. Over the two hours that we worked together the titles faded away and we just became a group of like-minded people who were seeking ways to help level the playing field for the children in our care.

Then it happened, that aha moment where the idea of partners and partnerships became very real for me. So on my drive home from Hamilton I began to ask myself where else could I find partnerships? Who could also partner with me to enhance the educational experience of my students? The answer was astonishingly simple. I need to look no further then the staff room in my school. I just needed to look with a different lens in order to see the amazing wealth of talent that exists within each school (Child and Youth Workers, Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, volunteers).

Yes, right before my eyes existed a wealth of ideas, passions, skill sets and people who chose a career that focussed on helping young people be successful. The task is to work on bringing them all together, to create an environment that values each person, their profession and not their title. This approach is alive and well in our Kindergarten programs. How do we transfer that to our entire school? How do we bring support staff and teachers together in workshops to learn side-by-side?

I highly encourage the readers to please share their ideas or current practices on how to best create, maintain and foster growth in these types of partnerships. In closing, I would like to thank the Early Childhood Educators from Hamilton who helped me experience the power of a partnership.

Will Gourley Building Inclusion, English Language Learners (ELLs), FSL, General, Making a Difference Through Education

Welcome Boozhoo ᐊᕆᐅᙵᐃᐹ Bienvenue

front-entrance-v2Welcome Boozhoo  ᐊᕆᐅᙵᐃᐹ  Bienvenue مرحبا بكم  בברכה  欢迎  환영  स्वागत

It’s been over a year since Canada opened its doors and hearts to thousands of Syrian refugees. They, along with countless others from nearly every country, chose to make Canada their new home.

Along with the joy, angst, and tumult of moving must also come stress and bit of culture shock from so many new routines, signs, systems, official languages, and day to day decisions. Each of these are indeed daunting to any new arrival at our border including my own. Here’s my story.

In this post I wanted to parallel some of the memories, experiences, and feelings. Since the PM’s name hasn’t changed, I wondered if there were other things that still mirror the experience of moving to Canada nearly 40 years later. As the expression goes, “plus ça change plus c’est la même chose”. However, this time I’m not the nervous student stepping across the threshold of the unknown and into a new classroom. I am the smiling face that greets them on the other side. Here are three tips that help out in my learning space.

Firstly, remember immigration to Canada is nothing new. This can be a great chance for students to learn more about one another in the context that almost all of us have an arrival story to be discovered. That’s how my ancestors got here in the early 1900s.

Our nation was able to flourish because of the generosity of our its First Nations People, it is our privilege to continue making it greater by making room in our hearts and neighbourhoods for newcomers. This is not different in our classrooms whether it is by providing time to learn about a new arrival’s country, culture, and customs or a little extra ELL support. In doing so, teachers can plant seeds of cultural literacy in the classroom and foster an inclusive environment around everything we have in common.

Secondly, not everyone is equipped or able to embrace each new member to the community, but as a family of learners we can always be respectful, polite, and supportive. Whether it is having students initiate a brief conversation, offer help navigating the halls at school, or an invitation to play at recess – a bit of kindness goes a long way to making someone feel welcome. With a little time and encouragement, educators can turn this into an incredible mentorship opportunity that develops and empowers students into school ambassadors.

Thirdly, have students share classroom norms and expectations, not you. Instead, why not build in time for whole-class inclusion activities and ice breakers when new students arrive? Whether it is a game of Octopus, Hoedown tag(Chain tag), or Electricity students get to interact with one another through movement instead.

Over the past 4 decades, I have come to love our move back to Canada in 1978. Reflecting on this is what got me thinking about my own quasi-immigrant (repatriation actually) experience that prompted this post in the first place.* The lessons and lenses gained from all of this now guide my instructional practice and ensure that there is room in our hearts, minds, and classroom to welcome and support new citizens to Canada.

*It’s been a while since I’ve hauled these memories out of the vault – my first through the lens of an educator rather than student.

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians

Positive vs Negative Student Balances

When you look at your bank account you work extremely hard to ensure you always have a positive balance. By having a positive balance you are able to pursue so many options in how you may use that surplus. When you are not able to keep a positive balance, you become very limited in the options you have and may in the worst circumstance go bankrupt.

I look at each and every child and each and every family in that way. I start in September with a zero balance as I am just opening up that account. From the first minute I interact with each child as well as their family, I am either making deposits or withdrawals. Each and every positive statement I make, word of encouragement I offer, inflating vs deflating statement said, either builds that account or reduces that account balance.

When a conflict occurs (and it will) you are now having to look at the account you have created and will make a withdrawal as you help that child understand the choice they made and how to learn from it. If you have a built up a strong, positive balance with that child you are able to make that withdrawal without having any ill effects on the relationship that exists between the both of you. If it is a call home in regards to a negative scenario that occurred at school, the family’s reaction will be either supportive or defensive depending on the balance you have established at home with the parent(s).

I use a variety of tools to help foster a positive balance. The two most effective for me are ‘Sunshine Calls’ and rephrasing my comments when I react to the day-to-day events that unravel in my room. In a sunshine call I am truly just trying to send a positive message to each family about their child. It can be as simple as a comment about a great writing effort that occurred today, how their child read aloud for the first time in front of his/her peers or what a positive decision they made not make a small problem bigger. Over time I can actually hear the change in how the parent reacts to me once they recognize their child’s teacher is calling. Within a few months, the calls home are very sociable and appreciated by the family.

The second strategy took me a while to develop. I had to literally think about how and what I would say when events occurred. First I had to examine my approach and found that my initial comments were deflating or withdrawing from that account balance. For example if a student made a mess, I would say, “ You need to be more careful and not make a mess”. This type of statement always puts a student on the defensive. I am learning to rephrase my comments to be able to send a message but not put a student on the defensive. I now say “ Are you okay, accidents happen to everyone. How can we clean it up?”

A very unintentional but amazing benefit of this approach was that I was modelling for my students each day how to be respectful to each other in the way they communicate. Soon, this type of positive communication becomes the norm of the class. There are less and less conflicts between students simply due to the way they learn to communicate with each other and the people around them.

 

Beverly Papove First Week Reflections

Something’s Old, Something’s New

I am at a new school this year and so I am once again learning new routines of the collective culture of the school community as well as the various cultures of the individual students. We have a big crop of Junior Kindergarten students and a handful of Seniors. So far, it is rolling merrily along. Yes, some little ones have had tears, especially a few of the ESL students whose separation anxiety is immense, and a few 3 year olds who are understandably confused about just how long they will be away from their families, but all in all, I think our crews are really coming together in a very happy way.

Last year, in the French Immersion senior kindergarten program at my previous school, the students alternated between a day of English with my colleague and a day of French with me. We were the ones who switched classrooms while the students remained in the familiar setting of their own classroom. We felt that the transition each day was far easier for us than for a whole group of 5 year olds, especially since the classrooms were down the hall from each other. It may have been easier on the students, but there were many times I was in room 3 and something key to the lesson I was teaching was down the hall in room 2…I have a hard time keeping track of my stuff as it is without constantly being on the move! Nonetheless, it worked rather well and it certainly cut down on the organization of the students’ belongings.

This year, in a different setting, my English colleague is right across the hall from me – in 2 giant steps I can knock on her door. Like last year, we, too, alternate a day of French Immersion with a day of English. We have named our two groups of students after trees – birch and maple – and on the bulletin board between our doors (we are at the end of a hallway) there are 2 arrows – one pointing to my room and the other pointing to hers. We switch the pictures of the trees each day so that students and their families know which classroom to go to, should they arrive late and miss our entry from the school yard.

I love having my own classroom again. I am able to concentrate on the one language in the signage and messages I post, and I am able to use all of the (limited) wall space for a French word wall, student work and our inquiry board (“Mur des merveilles”). Also, any resources in the room are mine or the school’s to be used for the French Immersion classroom. Perhaps the biggest improvement is the fact that I don’t lose stuff (as easily…). While there are the many positives, there is still the fact that the students can find such daily transitions very confusing – “Is my hat in this classroom or the other one?”, however we anticipate that that will improve as time goes by and the routine becomes more fluid.

At my previous school, only the teachers moved each day while the ECEs stayed with the students. This year, our principal has set up our program so that the teacher and ECE stay together while the students switch classrooms each day. His belief is that the ECE/teacher team is the most important relationship, and can only properly develop when both individuals are working side-by-side each day. I am very lucky in that I have a great relationship with my ECE – we have similar philosophies regarding every aspect of the program and we share a respect for each other’s knowledge and experience. I know it is not always the case and have heard of some extremely challenging relationships in the kinder program that would understandably make for a difficult year, but I can see myself learning a great deal working with my new teaching partner.

One thing we are still trying to hammer out is regular planning time involving all the kinder colleagues; teachers together, ECEs together, teacher and ECE together, and finally, both teachers and ECEs together. Not an easy thing to coordinate, but an important one. At the moment, we do what we can and we actually make it work, catching a few moments to chat, or grabbing opportunities to stay a little longer after school from time to time. The close proximity of the classrooms helps considerably, as well as the fact that, although the activities, projects and teaching style may be unique to each educator, we still work within the framework of the curriculum. There is always room for improvement, of course, and I expect that things will change down the road as the need arises, but at the moment, I feel as if it has been a pretty smooth start to the year.

Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Student Ownership

Get, Give or Pass

As part of our end of the week celebration my class convenes with our daily circle discussion. In addition to our debrief of the week’s events, we add our ‘Get, Give or Pass’ activity. Each person in the circle is asked whether they would like to give a compliment to another person, get a compliment from a fellow student or pass. This is truly a very powerful measure of the level of community that my class has evolved into.

In order for this level of comfort to be present in my group I have to spend time daily working on team building tasks that facilitate a comfort level between all members of the class. In addition, there is extensive time spent modelling and supporting effective communication skills. As with any other outcome, this has to be scaffolded over time in order for the activity to be successful. If this activity is done without the time spent in building to this level of trust it could and will most often produce negative results.

Two pieces of advice I would offer to teachers in implementing this strategy are first and foremost to spend daily time reinforcing the expectations you have around how people are expected to treat each other in your room. This is best done by finding and recognizing students who are exhibiting the target behaviours you seek to develop.These expectations must be clear and consistently followed through on. The second critical piece is the modelling by  you of the way to speak, to listen and how to give and receive compliments from other people.

Tisha Nelson Building Inclusion, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, physically active, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

How do we nurture positive relationships amongst our colleagues?

“We come to work for our students but isn’t it nice when we get along with the adults? (Heart and Art Book of Teaching and Learning, pg. 12)

As teachers, we are so careful to nurture positive learning environments for our students to learn and thrive in. We are mindful of the social, emotional, physical and mental well-being of our students and work diligently to ensure that they are safe and secure in our care. Our families are grateful for the love in which we care for our learners and they are resolved in knowing that the adults in the building are committed to their personal well-being of their children. How then, do we nurture this same kind of environment for ourselves and our colleagues? After many years of working with many different educators, I’ve come to realize that adults are super comfortable addressing the needs of students but act in ways that are incongruent with how we take care of ourselves. Collectively, we are intentional about teaching students to be respectful and cooperative, but how might we nurture these great habits amongst ourselves? The following, though not an exhaustive list, are some things we can try tomorrow to foster healthy working relationships amongst our colleagues:

  • Send a thank you note or email to express gratitude.
  • Visit the staffroom for lunch at least once a week. Sharing a meal lends itself to conversation that allows you to get to know those you work with and appreciate the diversity they bring.
  • Start a wellness club that encourages physical, social and mental well-being through physical activity and healthy eating.
  • Escape your “divisional cubical” and reach out to those you may not have the opportunity to work with. We have more in common than we think.
  • Start-up a book club. My favourite thing about reading a good book is talking about it. Why not explore a text together and see how much that ignites collegiality amongst the staff.
  • Say “please” and “thank you”. Manners just makes the world a better place.
  • Presume positive intentions but also be honest when an offence has occurred. Talking it out with the presumed offender will invite a learning opportunity, as opposed to engendering future conflict and harbouring resentment.
  • Smile wide and laugh loud. The radiance of a smile and the joy of laughter always makes for a welcoming.

As the adults in the building, we really need to take care of each other. We are growing the adults of the future and the model we set is read more nuanced than the one we say we expect. Let our actions speak volumes in our commitment to serving our learners. Let us serve the community. Let us serve each other.

Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Outdoor Learning, physically active

That Chickadee Feeling

This classroom field trip is based on a book written by Frank Glew. It is a regular part of my classroom in the winter. Each year in my attempts to keep my students winter active I use this read aloud as a focus for my students to connect to their natural world in all seasons. The precise of the book is about how a young child is bored and has nothing to do. So the parent decides to take them on a hike. The child experiences for the first time that Chickadee feeling.

Finally the day has arrived where my class and I will be heading to our local outdoor education centre where we will try and experience in real life what we witnessed in the picture book. The snow is gently falling and the forest is covered in white with only the underside of branches showing their natural colour. It is a perfect day for what we are wanting to do as there are very few natural food sources available for our winged hosts. As we hike toward their feeding area, the Chickadees know we are coming and they start to follow us, knowing that human presence means it will soon be feeding time. My students start to both hear and see the tiny birds as they stay close to cover to avoid any natural predators.

Finally we arrive at the location where we will attempt to experience that Chickadee feeling. I take a few moments to talk about the best techniques to try and get the tiny winged marvels to land and feed from their hand. One-by-one the students collect some black sunflower seeds (Chickadees are very fussy eaters) and move to a location where we will serve as a human bird feeder.

Within minutes the word has spread somehow in Chickadee language and it seems like dozens of birds arrive and carefully scout out the sudden feast that awaits them. Then, it happens! The first Chickadee lands and perches on my student’s outstretched hand, grabs a seed, looks at my student and flies quickly away. This first landing creates a chain reaction of the same scenario and they feast for the next 10 minutes. Like a proud father I carefully observe my students to ensure that each and everyone of them have that opportunity to experience the Chickadee feeling. The smiles, the chorus of oohs and ah that echo in the forest tells me that they know they have just become a part of the infamous Chickadee Feeling Club. I hope you do one day as well.P1050784 P1050792 P1050786

Tammy Axt Building Inclusion, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, General

Modifications and Accommodations in the Music Room

Modifications and accommodations happen daily in every classroom in Ontario. Teachers strive hard to make sure that their students have the necessary tools and supports to help them achieve the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum or modified goals. The following are some of the accommodations and/or modifications that I have used this year with a focus on the most common tool used in music…instruments!

When you ask my students what their favorite part of music is, many of them would answer quickly that they like using the instruments. I agree, instruments are AWESOME, but they can also be very challenging for students with impairments in fine motor skills, breath control, impulse control or visual acuity. To help these students, try a few of the following tricks…

  1. Xylophones- Most xylophones have removable bars for students who are overwhelmed with all of the notes laid out before them. I take the bars off that the students don’t need to play a particular song. I also rearrange the bars to make sections of the music more playable for some students. For example, I will move the E and F bars away from the G and A bars so that the student can more easily see the space between the two and identify them as separate. Selecting only part of the melody or accompaniment can also give students with processing difficulties a chance to keep up with the pace of the music. For my students with impulse control challenges, I give them a heads up that while I am giving the instructions I will be holding their mallets and as soon as we start playing I will return them. Furthermore, improvisation can be your student’s best friend on the xylophone as it takes the pressure off of playing specific notes. Finally, metallophones have much better contrast for students with visual impairments than regular xylophones.
  2. Recorders- To help students match their fingers to the right holes on the recorder, I have used small pieces of coloured electrical tape. I put a small piece of blue on the first hole of the recorder and put a small piece of blue on their pointer finger of their left hand. I add one finger at a time and work towards removing the tape when the student is ready. I have also matched a colour coded system to the music that they are reading. For students who have large challenges in fine motor skills, I have also taped the back hole for the first section of the year to let them focus on the front holes.
  3. Drums and Percussion Instruments- When it comes to the percussion family, instrument choice becomes very important. Maracas, bells and guiros are some of the more difficult instruments to use to produce clear rhythms. Rhythm sticks and bucket drums are a much better choice as the sound is more easily produced and controlled. Another helpful tool is to use words to learn rhythms. Using words to help students learn rhythms is great for all students but is especially important for students who need extra support. From the tabla in India to the taiko drum in Japan, there are so many countries that use words to share rhythms. Simple or repetitive words are much more accessible than musical notation for many students.

 

Beverly Papove Building Inclusion, Inquiry, Wellness

This is who I am

Through the winter inquiry my senior kindergarten students and I are involved in at the moment, I have recently been reminded of the importance of seizing opportunities for students that can spark a sense of self and place within the school setting. 

In one of our classes, we have a five-year old Inuk girl who is from Pangnirtung (on Baffin Island), and who was adopted by a family from the south. When we began talking about how people stay warm in the winter, her mother spoke to me of an opportunity for her daughter to bring in and share some of the clothing she has received from her family in Pangnirtung; a spring amauti (anorak), sealskin slippers and mittens, and a pair of sealskin kamik (boots).

Elisapie (not her real name) is a quiet student who plays happily with her friends and who engages in a variety of activities and learning opportunities during her school day without making a big splash. However, since beginning this journey of exploring the wonders of the north with her classmates and her unique connection to it, Elisapie has become a bit of a superstar. She is definitely proud of her uniqueness and this inquiry seems to have offered her an opportunity to step up and claim a place which is her own within the school setting. We have all noticed how she has become more engaged in class – asking where her amauti is every morning and wanting to put it on to go visit other classrooms in the school to show and tell all about it. When one classmate came back to school after an absence, Elisapie said, “I have to show her my amauti and slippers. When can I do that?” I am finding I occasionally need to open a window to get some cool, fresh air in the classroom before her cheeks start to glow red (sealskin is very warm), because she likes to wear them during centre time now. According to her mother, Elisapie talks more about her school day when she goes home in the afternoon, and also mentioned that Elisapie is showing an interest in going to Inuktitut classes to begin learning her language again. In class the other day, Elisapie and two of her best friends took an Inuktitut early reader from the class library and used it to write a message in Inuktitut. It is a collection of words that no one can read at this point, but it is definitely an exercise in writing in Inuktitut.

Because of the nature of inquiry, you never know where it will take you and your students. While our winter inquiry is not quite finished, I am very inspired by the learning journey and where it has taken Elisapie in particular and the whole class in general.

We may all have taken workshops on diversity and inclusion which remind us how representation in a school of every child’s culture and people can have a positive impact on their sense of self and place. As teachers, we understand that learning in a school and seeing people and images that, for a change, are familiar rather than largely representative of the dominant white culture, is not only important but imperative for a child’s well-being. None the less, seeing the world from the unique perspective of all of your students may be hard to consider. Furthermore, if you find that each of your students seems relatively well-integrated and engaged in school life, you may not seize on opportunities that may make their school experience even more worthwhile and personal. That is why I feel that workshops, books, and discussions which encourage you to make diversity and inclusion regular aspects of your teaching day are invaluable to individual students as well as the broader school community.

 

Will Gourley Building Inclusion, Classroom Layouts, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction

Desks on the move

Christopher Sessums UF McCarty Desks
The only time my seats are arranged like this is for EQAO.

I did it. I rearranged the classroom. Strike up the band!

And I promise to do it again in the future. Even sooner if it suits the needs of our class. Admittedly, as a bonus, I enjoy seeing the reactions of students as they discover their new, albeit temporary, learning spots.

Our classroom is on its 4th layout since September*, and the response from students remains positive. In fact, for the past 5 years, I have intentionally reorganized every  -learning space. And what’s resulted has helped my class room management, provided necessary/preferential seating opportunities for some learners, and contributed to a greater overall sense of community in class.

I like the way that August (Sandy) Merz III explains strategic seating in her Edweek.org post. In it Merz writes about “power seats and safe zones” for students that are intended to “magnify a student’s presence or…downplay a student’s actions on class dynamics.” I find changing the physical space provides a not so subtle, yet effective way to allow students to bloom where they’re planted. All the while maintaining a mindful eye on the specific needs of learners.

I’ve observed that each time the desks get rearranged, there is potential for new conversations, collaborations, fresh perspectives, and even friendships. It can also be a strategic, and crucial component of effective classroom management. Changing the classroom layout also allows students an opportunity to develop problem solving and inter-personal skills. Although infrequent, whenever students are unable to work within an iteration of the seating plan it becomes a teachable moment.

Allowing students a voice in the process leads to advocacy skills too. If students are not taking to their new spots, or ask to move, they must be able to provide a good reason why. This includes some evidence of how they tried to resolve/overcome the issues before a request is considered.

After 3 months and 4 seating plans, with more to come, our class continues to evolve its own zones of power and safety where students are empowered to share, safe to collaborate, and grow as modern learners.

 

*To start the year students are allowed to choose their own seats from a pre-set arrangement of desks. This way I am allowed a glimpse at existing friendships, and the way the layout allows for sight lines to the various teaching spots(tech cart, whiteboard, middle of the class). This is especially important this year to provide a completely accessible space for a student using a motorized wheel chair. This means function must mesh with form like no other year. With 30 students in a class designed for 25, layout must be intentional, fluid and serve the needs of all students.