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Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Classroom Layouts, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Planning, Wellness

Demonstrating Community

Last week my Grade 1/2 classroom was open as a demonstration classroom. In the morning, we went through a condensed version of our regular day, and in the afternoon we debriefed in the staff room. Every time I attend or host a demonstration classroom, I feel energized. And with the end of the year approaching, some re-charing is beneficial.

What interests me, is the feedback from the visiting teachers. There is always the usual talk about curriculum planning, instructional strategies, and classroom environment. But last week, there were comments about how the children shared their thoughts and ideas, and how they listened to one another with respect and patience. The visiting teachers also noticed that while at the carpet for dicussion, some of the children sat on chairs they brought over from their desks, and a few got up to perform a quick task, such as check on a date in their agenda to confirm a fact.

Although I am aware of our daily sharing and community building, it has become so interwoven into the fabric of the day now that it is less obvious. However, I know that back in September we spent most of our time on routines, expectations, and classroom community building. In The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning, all of Chapter 3 is devoted to Building Inclusion. There are other areas in the book that also provide ways to sustain community, such as the Morning Check In described on page 101. We started doing this exercise when we were studying our Big Idea, “What is Well-Being?” It gave us an opportunity to talk about how much sleep we had, whether family members were home or away, and how we felt in general. We have continued this in the morning – as it has informed us of one another’s feelings and encouraged empathy. Over the year we have also set limits but allowed a certain amount of movement, free choice, and variation to expectations throughout the day. This has resulted in a more engaged learning and responsibility for the children and less classroom management. Discussing with the visiting teachers the intentions in planning and community building that is needed in September, confirms how effective the outcomes are.

 

A sign that say No Bully Zone
Carmen.Oliveira Building Inclusion, Learning About Your Students, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, Wellness

No Bully Zone

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself. -Harvey S. Firestone

This past week I watched a screening of the upcoming movie/documentary “Bully” directed by Lee Hirsch.  It was a highly emotional experience for every educator in attendance and the conclusion many of us reached was the same: we think we know what’s going on with our students but in reality, that’s not always the case.  In fact, getting to know our students is an ongoing process and I believe that we, as educators, must be responsible for creating the safest environment possible and hold ourselves accountable if we fall short of that expectation.

One of the most powerful and emotional scenes was listening to a mother who lost her son after he committed suicide following years of being bullied. She expressed exactly what I, as a mother, also feel when I leave my son at school.  Our children are our precious babies, our treasures, the most important people in our life.  We entrust them to educators who we believe will teach them, guide them, and protect them from harm.  The responsibility we take on is immense but it’s our job to take it as seriously as a parent would.

I shared my thoughts and feelings with my students and they felt that we should take it a step further by creating a school initiative after looking deeper into the issue of bullying.  I will be sharing our unit and progress in a later blog.

I highly recommend that all educators, parents, and students over the age of 11 watch the movie/documentary.  It captures the raw and cruel reality millions of children face each day at school and opens the floodgates to conversations and issues we need to address in our classrooms and schools.

Here are some helpful links:

A good book to read:

Bullying: the bullies, the victims, the bystanders

 

Learning Goals: Today we are learning...This will help me...Question of the day,.. Reflection Question
Carmen.Oliveira Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Wellness

Just Let Us Be Kids!

Today, during our Gr.5/6 Writer’s Workshop, we were visited (as we regularly are) by a group of “kindies” who dropped by  to share what they had learned and created while exploring constellations.  The fact that the Kindergarten teacher and I have a similar view on the importance of celebrating children’s learning across the grades could in itself be an interesting topic to blog about but today’s visit lead us to another important topic: teachers should sometimes just let kids be kids, especially as they grow older.

The “kindies” very enthusiastically went on about their exciting day which started with “Show and Tell” and then moved on to exploring space.  Oh, yes, they also took a quick rest after lunch because they were very tired from all the work in the morning.  As they were leaving, I commented on how creative their work was and that my wish was that children never lose their curiosity or the simplicity with which they view the world around them.  I also confessed that I wouldn’t mind a nap myself after getting back into the work routine.  Suddenly, one of the little wonders turned around and said, “Well then, why don’t you guys be kids like us?  Why don’t you take a quick nap too sometimes?  That way, you’ll think better.”

I wasn’t expecting what happened next.  I had a class of junior students agreeing with the “kindie” and asking why we couldn’t sometimes take a 5 minute nap to relax before continuing with our work or having “Show and Tell” once a month to share what’s important and meaningful in their lives.  “It’s true Mrs. Oliveira,” one student said, “parents and teachers want us to grow up and be responsible and then they’re shocked that we grow up so fast.  If you let us just be kids more often then maybe we won’t lose our curiosity.”

Let’s just say we enjoyed our first nap to a 5-minute classical music piece and we have “Show and Tell” scheduled for the end of this month when students will be sharing an object that has special meaning in their life.

I expect to get a few calls from confused parents…

 

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Erin.Grewar Learning About Your Students, Planning, Wellness

Refreshed, Rejuvenated and Replenished

The beginning of the year is obviously a great time for fresh starts in all areas. With regards to teaching, I find that a break of two weeks does wonders to clear the mind and soul (not to over exaggerate or anything) from any built up negativity, grouchiness or even lackadaisical behaviour on the part of the teacher once the holiday countdown begins.

Coming back to school rested and refreshed allows me to regain a more centered sense of objectivity and balance. I always take this opportunity to switch up the seating plan, reorganize the classroom layout and generally try to freshen up the environment. In addition, I also use this window of opportunity when students come back with hopefully some of the same mindset to resolve any lingering and ongoing issues around behaviour, attitude or work ethic. I find that approaching them at this point, right at after the break, allows for a frank and productive conversation without the build up of aggravation, tiredness and downright animosity on the part of both parties.

In other words, now is a great time to reinvent or tackle anything that had previously been unsettling you before the onslaught of marking, report cards, form collecting, winter activity days, committee meetings, extra-curricular activities…brace yourselves!

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Samantha.Perrin Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning in a Real Life Context, Wellness

New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year!!!

The New Year is a great time to reflect on the previous year and to set goals and resolutions for the year ahead.  I spoke to my students about New Year’s resolutions and shared some of my personal goals for school and for myself at home. I felt it was important for the students to see that setting goals help to make a person ‘better’ and that it is no different than the practice and work that they put in every day into their learning.  The message was not lost on them, and they were enthusiastic to prove that you’re never too young to start goal setting. In fact, I think that my young students really understood the purpose and value of goal setting because they grow, learn and improve so quickly (for example, in learning how to read).

Together the students came up with their own definitions of resolutions and we discussed the purpose and value of articulating a goal and coming up with a plan for meeting that goal.  Then, we all took turns sharing one resolution that pertains to school and one that pertains to home life.  The students then wrote about their goals for display in the school.  This week I will be sending a copy of the students’ resolutions home with them to serve as a reminder and a discussion point for parents in helping their children achieve their goals.

Click here to see some pictures of this activity from my classroom.

It’s important to strive for improvement, whether it is for the benefit of work or school, but also as busy teachers,  for achieving health and balance, which I will be working on  myself in 2012.

 

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Alison.Board Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Relationships

Reading through the previous posts, I see a common thread; the value of relationships. Building relationships are an integral part of our success as teachers and require initiative, consistency, and care. I often feel drained at the end of a school day, and need a quiet space and time to recharge (usually this is limited to my car and the time it takes to drive home!). When you think of how many children, parents, teachers, and support staff that you engage with in a day, it is understandable that teaching can take a lot out of you. On the flip side, it is also stimulating and energizing. It is the rewarding relationships with students and colleagues that motivate us and support us as professionals to keep doing what we do.

A new teacher has many things to keep in mind, but building positive relationships with a network of people will have lasting effects. A mentor may be a teacher that you are paired with based on a commonality recognized by administration, or simply by the willingness of the mentor to take on the role. It is an excellent opportunity to have a “go-to” person for your questions throughout the year. Often, there are other teachers that you meet that become unofficial mentors or supporters. In my first year of teaching I got to know the teacher that was the closest in physical proximity (the classroom next to mine) and although she taught a different grade and left the school a year later, she continues today to be an unofficial mentor for me, always receptive as a sounding board for my concerns and offers thoughtful guidance. Exchanging ideas with a colleague is another way to support your practice in a less formal way. There is a teacher at the other end of the hall at my school that I have connected with and we often cover an array of topics from instructional practices to field trip ideas to incorporating technology, all within a five or 10 minute conversation. It has become a routine that we walk to the parking lot (it’s a long walk) together once or twice a week as an opportunity for exchanging ideas and sharing information.

Build relationships and build a network to sustain your growth as a teacher. Be willing to ask questions and be willing to share your knowledge and experiences with others.

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Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Are We Open?

Reading Samantha’s post about interviews and Tina’s post about co-teaching brings to mind a recurring theme I feel I’m living: teaching is about being open to partnerships.

There are many different ways we can show we are open and they may be as simple as:

-keeping our classroom door open to welcome others

-walking our students outside at the end of the day and talking with parents

-trying a new idea that someone shares with us

-taking time to listen to stories from our students, their family members, or our colleagues

-letting our students take the lead by sharing their ideas and insights

-asking questions when we are unsure

Through these examples and more, we can gain so much information about our students, our school community and most of all, ourselves.

It may be that my perspective is different, given that I haven’t had my own class for the last 6 years, but I like to think that being “new” allows me to see things in another light and I, for one, am glad to be in this position!

 

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Samantha.Perrin Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Using Release Time….

In my last blog post ‘ The Power of Partnership’, I discussed the powerful impact that partnering with a grade team member/mentor has had on my teaching.  I related that my mentor and I have been using common planning time and regular check-ins  to align what is going on in both our classrooms and share our resources and reflections.

Mentorship and co-planning  has been wonderful for me, however  for some teachers, establishing a common planning time with a colleague can be challenging for many reasons such as differences in scheduling or teachers’ responsibilities. There can also be school or board-wide initiatives that might require more of a teacher than time that they set aside for classroom planning.   Fortunately the New Teacher Induction Program enables Ontario school boards to provide beginning teachers (and their mentor teachers) release time that allows for such planning.   The school board that I teach in has a Job Embedded Learning Initiative that allows beginning teachers and newly hired Long Term Occasional teachers release time for activities such as attending workshops,  visiting  a model classroom or working with a mentor, and I have found it to be helpful in the past and intend to use it again this year.

In my case, our school is adopting some new initiatives that are intended to improve upon the  way we have been typically teaching in the past. My mentor and I feel that we could use some time for long-range planning and to effectively wrap our heads around what these initiatives look like in our classrooms ( with respect to the materials that we already have and the curriculum). We are going to utilize my board allocated release time for planning and we  plan to find ways to combine the resources and materials that we already have with the school’s learning goals.  We hope to try out our new ideas and then share our successes and strategies with the other teachers in our division.

For beginning  teachers that don’t have a close mentoring relationship or someone to take planning time with, there are options to visit other classrooms in the board or attend workshops.  In the past, I have found that using release time has really allowed me to spend a block of focused time on classroom planning. It has also been beneficial to visit other schools and look at the best practices of other teachers.    I am thankful that my school board recognizes the huge learning curve that beginning teachers face and provides opportunities and choice for how teachers can best use their time for learning.

So, if you haven’t thought of it already, mentors and beginning teachers, consider looking into what kind of support your board is able to provide you with, and consider the many options that will enhance your teaching!

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Tina.Ginglo Wellness

Sleep

Like Roz, since September,  I have been up really late most nights planning, organizing, assessing, and trying to keep up with board and school initiatives.   Most nights, I go to bed t feeling good about the engaging activities I have planned for my students.  Then the alarm rings 5 – 6 hours later…

I find myself driving to school feeling beat.  What a terrible way to start a day.  I have come to realize that my great lessons turn out to be “not so great” when I can’t get myself out of second gear all day long.  I have decided to pack it in earlier most nights.  I may go to bed a little less planned, but I am getting 8 hours sleep.  Now, more often than not, my lessons turn out the way they were planned because I have more energy to move and think…and most importantly, I enjoy my students and their abundant energy so much more!

 

 

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Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Wellness

One student at a time…

Sometimes when I look at my students, I wonder: how can I meet the needs of everyone?

Will I be able to support the student who is feeling bullied or the student who struggles to grip a pencil? Will I figure out the best way to explain to a parent that we are focusing on inclusion and gender equality when that may be contrary to how she was educated?

And the answer that comes to mind is definite: not every minute of every day.

But…I can start with one student at a time.

Take “Matthew”. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and takes medication daily to help him manage impulse control and the challenges he has with filtering his thoughts. Matthew’s medication is time-released and so the first few hours of the morning are very difficult for him until things start to ‘kick in’, as he calls it.

So, I tried a few things. I gave him time to do something hands-on when he first came in, but he became frustrated. I used my gym time first thing in the morning to help him work through some of his excess energy, but it seemed to distract him more.

Then last week, I decided to make a morning message for him. I recorded a personal greeting that gave him information about what we would be doing that morning and how he might be successful in those tasks. As he listens, it helps him to access an inner voice he knows he has, but he just can’t hear yet.

Of course, there is no magic answer for Matthew or for any of my kids for that matter. Like us, they will have up and down days and sometimes things won’t work. But maybe if I take on one student at a time, I can start to meet their needs…and mine.