Tammy Axt General

Ontario teachers

Well, it is official. We are off until May 4th.

My poor puppy will definitely be sick of me being home by then. (Although she is enjoying the extra belly rubs and she does like to help me with my work!)

After Minister Lecce spoke today and shared the new date for school closures and what parents can expect from phase two, there were definitely many questions that we all have. What is this going to look like? How are we going to reach our students if they have exceptional needs? How am I going to be writing report cards through all of this? What if my students are in crisis? The list of questions goes on and on and on and on… The mounting questions can send a tsunami sized stress wave over all of us.

But before you get overwhelmed and riddled with anxiety, remember that you have many of the skills that will lead you to do the best by your students.

We are all:

  1. Incredibly resourceful- We can figure out how to teach multiple subjects using very little materials to a large group of students.
  2. Flexible- We can adapt to changes in schedules, students added to our classroom and technology not being installed on a designated date. We regularly go with the flow and make it work.
  3. Problem solvers- We solves hundreds if not thousands of problems a day. Most of us can solve an issue between friends while helping another student with a math question in one breath.
  4. Good listeners- We regularly listen to parents and work with them to find the path that is best for their child.
  5. Strong learners- We all are excellent learners. We can learn anything, any day of the week.
  6. Able to inspire Students- Every day we inspire students to overcome adversity and succeed. This will be no different.

I know it seems like an incredibly overwhelming task at the moment to try and think about delivering an engaging and productive program in this context but we have all the skills we need to look after the well being of our students.

Good luck next week and be safe.

Will Gourley e-learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Resilience, Teacher Working Conditions, wellness

May the 4th be with your students

Anyone else feeling a bit gutted after hearing the news that we will not be back in our classrooms until May the 4th? (writer raises hand) While listening to the Minister of Education deliver this news today I ran a range of emotions. Firstly, I am thankful that the government was proactive when it came to our collective health by insisting on physical distancing and staying at home.* As a result, the lives of 2 000 000 students, 200 000 educators, support staff, and their families will benefit greatly from being apart. For me this seems like light years away.

Heeding the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s suggestion to close our schools beyond March Break was a prudent move, but it all happened so suddenly that we were all left with a great deal of uncertainty heading into the time off. With such short notice, it was hard to orchestrate a full scale instructional response to the news. Like so many of the #onted family, there was some concern because information was not forthcoming. I remember saying to my students(Gr 7) that it was more important for us all to follow the advice of doctors to do our part to limit the spread of COVID 19 than it was to worry about homework.**

Our last day in the classroom before the break was supposed to be a celebration of hard work to start Term 2, but instead it was a sombre send off with more questions than there were answers at the time. I only find consolation in this now knowing that the timing of this year’s March Break probably saved countless members in our schools from illness.

Not having our students in classes eliminated millions of potential interactions that would have undoubtedly accelerated the spread of the COVID 19. I am very relieved not to be in a workplace that’s traditionally susceptible to transmission of known/unknown and unchecked viruses. We have all been in a classroom with a student/teacher who should have stayed home that day. I am not lying when I say it feels like germ warfare in school sometimes. It is a relief, to be doing my part in social isolation especially as I have a 96 year old and a severe asthmatic at home.

In fact, although really missing my students/collegues, I am thankful that we have all been given the chance to stay at home in order to slow the spread of COVID 19, to look after our own health, and to tend to the wellbeing of our families. This is hard on all of us in so many ways because it is all so new. As I shared with a number of people, “Normal” is sick and its replacement “New Normal” is here bringing with it some good and bad to each of our days. The problem is that it keeps changing faster than we’d like.

Today’s announcement lifted my spirits because it meant that if we all do our part, then we have a date for a return to Normal. It also means this time can be curated to engage our students further in this year’s learning. Not knowing what was going to happen had me struggling to remember what day of the week it was since my routines were put in limbo with each postponement. No more days when, suddenly at 7 am, I wake up thinking I was late for work only to realize my body was dealing with the “New Normal” while still on “Normal” time.

Even though we will only be meeting via Google Classroom, our class will be back in session. After contacting families and students this week, it is clear they are excited to be back, even if it will only be digitally until May 4th. Fingers crossed it won’t need to be longer. In the meantime we will get on with the connecting, communicating, and learning for now.

Whether we return to the classroom on May the 4th or not, I couldn’t help but repeat the wish I shared in the title. May the 4th be with your students, and while we stay at home may every one of us be healthy and safe.

*Although arguably, essential and non-essential jobs may be a future debate topic.
** I did promise them some work via our Google Classroom once March Break was officially over.

Tammy Axt General

Whoa. Just Whoa.

Whoa. Just whoa.

I can’t believe that two weeks ago I was told that school was going to be closed due to a global pandemic. I say the words out loud to myself and it doesn’t even seem real. I have gone through every emotion in the past two weeks from crying to laughing hysterically to the desire to sleep for a month. Like most, I miss my friends and family, am incredibly nervous that my partner is still working and am generally more on edge.

These past two weeks have also probably been the hardest in my teaching career and it is only the beginning.

So how do we manage through this?

I made my first couple of phone calls to my students and their families this morning. That really helped. It connected me to my wonderful students and brought me back to the best profession in the world. It also reminded me that we are going to have to work really closely with our families and be in tune to what they need. This is such a stressful and uncertain time for everyone. Some of my students have rolled along and adapted quickly, others are desperately missing their peers and are quite anxious. All I can promise is that I am going to try my hardest to meet all their needs the best that I can.

Like many other groups of students in our education system, my students have very unique learning needs. All the students in my class are on Alternative IEPs and many of the activities in our classroom use specialized equipment, technology and materials that the average family wouldn’t have in their home. All of this means that I am going to have to be a very creative, think outside the box teacher to connect with my students in the way that works best for them!

I am very fortunate to work with an amazing team of Educational Assistants and colleagues at school. I have spent many hours brainstorming with my special education colleagues about different tools and ideas for our students to use at home. The EAs and I have been testing different technology options that we could use collaboratively with our students. This will ensure that no matter what is asked of us next week that we are ready to roll.

And even with all the best laid plans, nothing is going to match my students coming off the bus with big smiles ready to start a new day at school with all of their classmates and teachers. So all we can do is carry on and hope the curve flattens right out so we can go back to being with each other.

Deb Weston General

Building professional capacity through teacher collaboration and online learning

ETFO’s position on in-person learning remains unchanged. The union firmly believes that the daily, in-person model of instruction and support best meets the educational, developmental and social needs of students, provides the best experience for support, and is the most equitable learning model for all students. ETFO’s expectation is that elementary virtual learning in any capacity, including through hybrid models of instruction, will end once the pandemic ends.

Internationally, professional educational bodies and teacher federations in the United States, Britain, and Canada, for example, advocate for learning communities and the teacher collaboration that supports it (American Federation of Teachers, 2011; Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, 2011; General Teaching Council for England, 2003; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2004; Ontario College of Teachers, 2006).

In Ontario, the Ontario College of Teachers’ Professional Learning Framework specifies that “Learning communities enhance professional learning. The professional learning framework encourages collaboration. It supports ongoing commitment to the improvement and currency of teaching practice as an individual and collective responsibility” (Ontario College of Teachers, 2015, p. 23).

Further, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario defines learning communities as “A group of education professionals who share common visions, values, and goals, and work collaboratively using inquiry, experimentation, and innovation to improve teaching and student learning” (2015, n.p.). The federation supports teachers’ involvement in learning communities when teachers’ participation is voluntary, is based on collegiality, respects members professionalism and autonomy, is supported with funding, and contributes to teachers’ professional growth (Weston, 2015).

The push for promoting teacher collaboration has gone from teachers simply meeting as a group to the hierarchical restructuring of schools in which learning community organization has become embedded in the educational landscape (Gajda & Koliba, 2008). It is important  to note that when collaboration is forced on teachers through administrative bodies, it can morph into managed or “contrived collegiality” (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012, p. 119). An example of this would be when administrators control teacher interactions through managerial meeting agendas, lists of working groups, and data teams (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). Ideally, through a nonjudgmental collegial lens, collaboration should be focused on the developing, planning, and assessing of teaching practices to meet students’ needs (Lortie, 1975/2002).

Available research suggests that teacher identity norms impact teacher collaboration (Hargreaves, 2010). However, no large-scale quantitative data have been collected to investigate the relationships among teacher identity norms and teacher collaboration. In other words, there is no research that captures how teachers’ identities are implicated in the move towards a professional collaborative culture. “The research is clear on the importance of teacher collaboration in building collaborative communities (Achinstein, 2002; Gajda & Koliba, 2008; Hargreaves, 1991). What is not known is the connection between the way teachers work, the way they collaborate, their identities as teachers, and their identities as colleagues” (Weston, 2015).

In 2015, my research brought some light to what promotes and what suppresses teacher collaboration. Using quantitative research methods, my research found that the data indicated two clusters of teacher identity norms. The norm cluster of innovation, interdependence, and cooperation showed positive correlations with collaboration and the norm cluster of conservatism, individualism, and competition showed negative correlations with collaboration. The data showed that teachers highly valued collaboration as part of their teaching practice but did not always experience it in their school setting. “The analysis suggested that if schools reinforce norms of innovation, interdependence, and cooperation, collaboration will be nurtured. Further, the data showed that if norms of conservatism, individualism, and competition are continued in school cultures, then collaboration will not be sustained. As a broad educational reform agenda, teacher collaboration is used (a) to support school cultures, (b) to change teaching practices, and (c) to implement policy-based initiatives (Weston, 2015).

On a personal note, it is through my collaboration with my colleagues that I grow most in my teaching practice. Currently, I have the opportunity to work with two colleagues who also teach my classroom program. This means that they have a similar base of knowledge in teaching the Empower program in our Contained Communications classrooms. As this teaching role can be very challenging, I often rely on my colleagues experience to deal with academic, social, and emotional challenges I face with students’ success. It is also important to note that we also share students so we can compare our similar challenges with a particular student. Some days I just need my colleagues to listen to me, while on other days I need advice and suggestions for changes in practice. I provide the same opportunity for my colleagues to talk to me about their challenges or just listen. Some days we commiserate together (tissue is sometimes required).

As my research suggests, our interdependence in supporting each other builds our collaboration. Further, with regular cooperative support, we become more effective as teachers and less stressed as we can reduce our apprehension about the challenges we face with our students. In providing supplementary suggestions and resources allow each of us to become more innovative in developing new strategies that work to increase our students capacity to read and write.

Within our group’s culture, it is because of this opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues that I have developed further in my effectiveness in teaching students with significant learning disabilities. In our collaboration, we build our students’ ability to become literate lifelong learners.

How does building online collaboration differ?

As of December 2020, it’s been almost a year since I’ve started teaching synchronously online (and face to face). I’ve been reflecting on how student and teacher collaboration differs. As I reflect on my experiences with online learning, I realized the core foundations of collaboration are not much different … it’s just  the forum that’s changed. Of course, participants must deal with technical issues and and learn about synchronous Online Etiquette (i.e. when to “raise” your virtual hand, who get to speak next etc.) In an online setting, participants are still people building relationships with each other. As each online group is a unique as its participants, their online culture will also be formed based on its member’s needs and interests. As an on line teacher and instructor, I realize that it is even more important to reach out to colleagues for support as the process of collaborating via a screen can be very isolating.

I don’t have all the answers yet and I continue to learn more each day. I welcome any tips or feedback as I will learn from this too.

As always,

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston, PhD

References

Achinstein, B. (2002) Conflict amid community: The micropolitics of teacher collaboration, Teachers College Record, 104(3), 421-455.

American Federation of Teachers. (2011). Teacher development and evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/issues/teaching/evaluation.cfm

Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. (ETFO). (2015). Professional Learning Communities, Retrieved from http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Employees/PRSMattersBulletin/Pages/Professional%20Learning%20Communities.aspx

General Teaching Council for England. (2003). The teachers’ professional learning framework. Retrieved from http://www.gtce.org.uk/documents/publicationpdfs/tplf_commit_ptplf0603.pdf

Hargreaves, A. (1991). Contrived collegiality: The micropolitics of teacher collaboration, In J. Blase (Ed.), The politics of life in schools: Power, conflict, and cooperation. (pp. 80-94). London, UK: Sage.

Hargreaves, A. (2010). Presentism, individualism and conservatism: The legacy of Dan Lortie’s schoolteacher. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 143-154.

Lortie, D. C. (2002). School teacher: A sociological study (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1975).

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2004). What teachers should know and be able to do: The five core propositions. Retrieved from http://www.nbpts.org/UserFiles/File/what_teachers.pdf

Ontario College of Teachers. (2006). Standards of practice. Toronto: ON: Author.

Ontario College of Teachers. (2015). Professional learning framework for the teaching profession, Standards of practice. Toronto: ON: Author. Retrieved from https://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/standards-of-practice

Weston, D. (2015). Investigating the Relationships Between Teacher Identity Norms and Collaboration. Retrieved from https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/6191/Brock_Weston_%20Deborah_2015.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Design, General, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Technology in school

STEAM to Foster Innovation and Collaboration

In my heart of hearts I am a teacher of the arts.  I began integrating technology into my classroom practice a number of years ago but always from a creation perspective.  There is still a misconception that innovation is synonymous with technology.  However, some of the deepest innovative learning comes from low technology.  Keep it simple.  On the whole students enjoyed being challenged and getting the opportunity to practice problem solving in a safe and creative way.

In order to practice the true design process I have been testing a number of STEAM challenges with students in a variety of grades.  When I do this, I ask them feedback on the process that we experience and how I might change it for other grade levels.  Students always amaze me with the amount of innovation that they demonstrate when given the opportunity and their feedback has been helpful to streamline the challenges.

I recently worked with a grade 6 class for a STEAM challenge and brought bags of materials for each pair of students.  In the bags were: two tiny plastic cups, 10 jumbo paper clips, 10 small paper clips, 4 large elastics, 4 paper straws, 2 marbles and access to string and masking tape.  I showed the students the materials and gave them about 10 minutes to create a design.  The caveat was that whatever they created had to have some kind of function or movement.  They could cut or change the materials as needed and did not have to use all of the materials.   We discussed the different part of the The-Design-Process and made success criteria for the challenge.  The success criteria focused on communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving.  It wasn’t about who build the “coolest” thing.  There was room to be creative, there was room to fail and there was room to improve upon the design and try again.

Their creations were amazing! Here are a couple of innovative designs that two of the groups created.  To my ultimate delight-the engagement was the same for all genders in our classroom.

STEAM movie

STEAM movie 2

 

 

 

Will Gourley Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Inquiry, Literacy, Making a Difference Through Education, Math, Modern Learning, Music, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, Use of Technology

Keeping it fresh.

As of the end of February, it is apparent to no one in Ontario that Spring is just around the corner. Judging by the blankets of snow and recent school bus cancellations, winter continues to disrupt and annoy us with the same creative sadism as a government hell-bent on destroying public education. Despite the stark reality of a manufactured education crisis and a real climate crisis, I know that Spring is coming soon. I saw a spider. Photograph by Will Gourley

Isn’t it wonderful? Putting ONGov’s systemic affronteries aside, my heart lept at the sight of a spider. On a normal day seeing one is something exciting to behold, but this opportunity came after nearly 3 days of snow, several white-knuckled commutes, and bone chilling winds. It was a sign of hope that most of winter’s worst weather would be over, well at least statistically.

It signified that Spring was on almost here because, in my own amateur scientific way, I have observed, over several years, that spiders usually emerge around my house again when winter is almost over. Usually. My returning guest got me energized and thinking about how to channel that into the classroom?

2020 has blessed me with a number of ups and downs in my professional life as an educator. It has brought me immense joy on a daily basis in the classroom, but also sadness and grief in light of tragic events that have happened to our learning community. You see, not all lessons and outcomes are going to be good. The opportunity to share the struggles and successes with students helps create a deeper appreciation of the learning process. By admitting when things got tough meant more to them and my colleagues than any veneer of perfection I could ever hope to put on.

My January post was meant to share my personal struggles in hopes of encouraging dialog among educators and to show the benefits of releasing some of the emotional weight that many of us carry inside. I wondered whether I could use my catharsis as a catalyst for our learning spaces? How could I make it fresh and keep it fresh for my students and self?

Never one to shy away from doing something differently, I quickly began working through new ways for students to interact with their learning, for demonstrating their understandings, to collaborate with each other, and to dig deeper into opportunities rarely afforded by traditional transmission and texts teaching.

Here’s what we worked on;

In Math, I remain committed to “no text book math lessons” as much as possible. Using YouCubed, PeterLiljedahl, Math Recess, Waterloo POTW, CEMC, and Khan Academy. My students love working on problems together, they argue, iterate, communicate, and solve problems. We make Math a social activity instead of a game of one upping each another.

Another change this year is having Wipebooks for students to use. They have added another dimension to our learning by enabling vertical approaches to Math problems. This has students out of their seats, standing, thinking, and  solving. They can also wander from group to group to see the different approaches being used to answer questions. This has led to some excellent discussions and growth.

Recently, I also started adding Quizizz tasks to our Google Classroom. These fun quizzes allow you to make memes for correct and incorrect responses. I find this format a great way to have students continue to work on concepts taught in prior months.

Becoming a strong group facilitator using Character Lab Playbooks and a co-constructed success criteria. Genius Hour – personal inquiry projects where every student becomes the class expert in their subject. I have shared this one before, but it was for a different class at the time. Besides, it’s a perrenial favourite and my students have asked to do it again already.

In Language, we remain very fond of TED Talks. I now find myself creating reading response tasks with posts from the TED Blog. Another tool that it is being brought back discussion and digital citizenship is Padlet. Our recent work focused around an assignment inspirted by my friend and colleague Tim Bradford  that read;

“In the past and present, people have always treated each other fairly.” Agree or disagree

Students had to create a 30 + word response to the statement and then respond to each other. The depth of understanding from them was very encouraging. It was also nice to see how they kept each other in check when it came to appropriate responses and use of technology. Here are 2 of their responses of the entire class who thoughtfully disagreed;

To add a lot of fun to my instructional week, is my grade 3 FI Music class where my students recently wrapped up creating their own identity raps in French, complete with backbeats from Groove Pizza. Once their shyness subsided, they were excited to present their hard work. It was also fun to see how they incorporated the lessons we had about how to beatbox from Nicole Paris and about the notes and rhythms we covered in Term 1.

In all of this, the focus was on hands on and collaborative experiences intended to engage and deliver the learning. Although much can go wrong, there is so much that can go right when you commit to keeping it fresh. I know that the next 4 months will bring more of the same and I am excited to try new things with my students. Looking forward to introducing Flipgrid, podcasting, and sketchnoting already to keep it fresh. Bring on Spring!

Have you tried something new that you would like to share? Mention it in the comment section and include a link if you can. Thanks for reading.

Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Education Funding, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Math, Media Literacy, Modern Learning, solidarity, Why unions matter

6/194 and cross-curricular life learning

6/194 and cross-curricular life learning.

This blog title could also read, “Why a small fraction means so much to the future?”

I am trying to make sense out of some pretty important numbers that are affecting us. By us, I mean students, their families, and educators. “Us” also means the entire fabric of society that we share and by which we are covered. Since the currently elected government is seeking to tear this fabric apart without regard to the long term social and financial consequences, I thought it would be good to consider this post as a cross-curricular exercise and include social studies along with the math.

Whoa!(Math)

6, the number of days ETFO members have walked on the picket line fighting for public education.
194, the number of days in a given school year that we spend in the classroom making public education incredible.

Now a few more relatable figures.

3/97 or 0.030927835, just a shade over 3%. I had to simplify the fraction. Ironically, it’s the same amount that the government has legislated an offer to 83 000 ETFO, 117 000 educators (OSSTF, OECTA, AEFO), and 55 000 CUPE education workers in Ontario. Yup! 1% per year over 3 years.

Back to 6/194

That hole in our paychecks from this fight to protect and preserve public education hurts and the offer of 1% per year is unconscionable. Not surprisingly, the government padded their own pockets with 14% and took 7 of the last 12 months off(insert lesson about irony here). Since we’re talking about irony, why not share a real life teachable moment? I’m thinking a critical thinking exercise about the veracity of facts, content, and the credibility of media outlets especially where they originate or how news gets fabricated.

Want another amazing lesson? Check out this thread by @ms_keats This thread offers a wonderfully considerate lesson via Twitter after the MOE suddenly made Reg 274 an issue  during negotiations with ETFO. Sadly, talks broke off, but since education is always their priority, the public can trust that the government was back to work at the bargaining table the next day because they are committed to a deal(Is sarcasm in the curriculum?). Isn’t that what unions and their employers do in good faith in a democratic society?

Wait! What?(Social Studies)

What do you mean the government wasn’t at the bargaining table?! This is a realistic expectation because we are teaching our students(grade 5) that Canada, therefore Ontario is a civilized society governed by lawmakers who are always respectful of the rule of law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? I contend that the current government is engaging in a systemic violation of our Charter Rights as citizens as their thoughtless actions threaten the rights to opportunity in the future of 2 000 000 students and  the collective bargaining rights of 200 000 educators “not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment”. This line from the Charter is not limited to the criminal justice system, and any intentional underfunding of education through ruthless cuts is tantamount to punitive legislation and is contrary to our Charter rights.

If that wasn’t enough to light a legal inferno, then consider that a  6 – 1 Supreme Court of Canada ruling affirmed that collective bargaining rights are human rights, and the role of collective bargaining has “in promoting the core values of “human dignity, equality, liberty, respect for the autonomy of the person and the enhancement of democracy.”” 

I’m sharing the quote below with bolded and underlined main points, if my MPP, the MOE, or the Premier read this;

“the Supreme Court proclaimed labour rights to be human rights, and boldly declared for the first time that collective bargaining is a “constitutional right” supported by the Charter.“

So our elected officials who have violated the Charter should now have to face the consequences for their malevolent disregard for the rights of its citizens. Right? I won’t hold my breath as legal cases against governments spend years in the courts. However, we cannot allow our elected officials to rule by decree without accountability to the whole public whom they have sworn to serve.

Civics does not equal civility

When will they pay for selling out the future and for the harm they will inflict to the well-being of the students in our province?  We will not lose count of the lies, the streams of misinformed statements, the factless rhetoric, the accusations, the doubling down, the vilification of our noble profession, and of the requests we have made for them to come to the table and negotiate.

I also contend that the current government is angling its way towards a secondary agenda authored by pernicious profit seekers including publishers and private education providers looking for a piece of the public education pie. These steps do not appear to benefit our students. Our steps on the picket line have shown more to the public of our commitment to excellence than any sound bite, attack, or child care bribe put forth by the government. There is strength in our numbers. 

Come to think of it, I have kept count of the steps I have stepped – 90 000 plus, the waves I have waved to drivers honking in support – 1 000s, the dozens of encouraging conversations conversed on the picket line, and the 3 people who waved with their middle fingers while yelling single syllable words.

It’s my first strike as an educator. Yet, it feels like our current fight against this government’s assault on public education is nothing new. Everyone remembers what Mike Harris and his ilk did in the 90s. The Ford Regime is Harris 2.0 complete with vitriol and misinformation spewing from a cadre of party whipped sychophant proxies acting as media drones du jour. In response, teachers are standing in solidarity together fighting for respect, transparency, and fairness on behalf of all Ontarians who will be directly affected by cuts to education now and in the future.

Teachers believe this so much, that have given up 3% of our wages already. We know that we are part of a world class education system because we work in it everyday. The results speak for themselves which is why it is so frustrating to see people trying to dismantle what is working well.

6/194 is a small fraction especially knowing how teachers, especially in 1997, fought for us. This will mean even more to the students of Ontario who will bear the burden or benefits because of our actions in the future.

Thank you for reading and for sharing on social-media.

Further reading:

This Collective Bargaining Rights Day, Unions Celebrate Wins for All Workers

Tammy Axt General

Making the Call to CAS

When I called the Children’s Aid Society for the first time in my teaching career, I was really nervous. I had a student disclose to me, through a writing assignment, some of the challenges they were facing at home. I was nervous about my student’s feelings after I shared this private information. I was also really worried about the family’s reaction after CAS contacted them. During this time in my career, I was really lucky. I had an amazing administrator who talked me through the process and gave me her office so that I could make the call. She taught me many things in that conversation that I have carried throughout my career.

Recently, a colleague reached out to me, who was making the call for the first time and some of the questions that came up in our conversation reminded me of the lessons that my talented administrator taught me.

When to call

Section 72(1) of the Child and Family Services Act clearly outlines 13 grounds that would trigger the requirement of a call. This section of the CFSA is outlined in ETFO’s PRS Matters “A Member’s Duty to Report Under the Child and Family Services Act”. Section 72(1) outlines many scenarios and will help you decide if you are making the right decision to call.

My administrator also reminded my staff on a regular basis that if we needed to make a call that they would have someone cover your class immediately so that you could step out to make the call. It is a requirement of Duty to Report that you do not wait.

It is also important to note that you have to call again if you continue to suspect that your student is in need of protection. This happened to me in my first year. The child continued to tell me more details throughout the remainder of the year so I had to call CAS multiple times that year.

Who to Tell That You Are Making the Call

In my experience, I have always found it to be very useful to inform my administrator that I am making the call. I have always chosen to inform my administrator of the call because if the family has a bad reaction to follow up from CAS they may come to the school very angry. I have required the support of administrators to deal with a few upset parents because of CAS calls throughout my career. It is always helpful that the principal or vice principal already knows what is going on before the parent arrives. It is important to note that a principal cannot make the call to CAS for you and they should not impact your decision to make the call.

I have also found it very useful to let a trusted colleague know that I have made a call to CAS. Worry about a student’s safety and well being is the number one reason I lose sleep at night. Sharing some of your worry with a trusted colleague can help you manage the emotional strain of concern for your student.

Who Not To Tell You are Making the Call

I have never told the parents that I made a call to CAS, even those that I have had excellent relationships with. CAS is there to protect the child and provide supports to families to help them through challenges that they might be facing. I always let CAS communicate with families supports or concerns that they may be able to assist with. They are properly trained in the area of supporting families in the community.

I also do not tell the student that I have or will be making the call. I never want the student to feel like they had any input into the decision to contact CAS. This is especially true if the parent has a bad reaction to CAS contacting them. The child could possibly feel guilt that they shared with a trusted teacher what is going on at home. I don’t want to add to their guilt. I alone own the decision to call.

After the Call

One of the hardest parts of making a call to CAS is that you will most likely not know what happened as a result of the call. During this time, you may continue to have concerns for your student’s safety or well being. It is important to use your support systems to manage this concern and stress.

 

If you have any questions or concerns about the process, reach out to your local ETFO office.

 

Laura Bottrell General

Teacher Performance Appraisal: Advice for New Teachers

The core element of the New Teacher Induction Program is the performance appraisal process. All new teachers will have two performance appraisals within the first 12 months of their position as part of NTIP. For some, the thought of this can be overwhelming and daunting, even if you’re a confident and experienced teacher.

There are a total of sixteen competencies that the TPA process evaluates. Experienced teachers are evaluated in all sixteen areas every five years (something to worry about later for us!). For new teachers, the TPA focuses only on these eight:

  • Teachers demonstrate commitment to the well-being and development of all pupils.
  • Teachers are dedicated in their efforts to teach and support pupil learning and achievement.
  • Teachers treat all pupils equitably and with respect.
  • Teachers provide an environment for learning that encourages pupils to be problem solvers, decision makers, lifelong learners, and contributing members of a changing society
  • Teachers know their subject matter, the Ontario curriculum, and education- related legislation.
  •  Teachers use their professional knowledge and understanding of pupils, curriculum, legislation, teaching practices, and classroom management strategies to promote the learning and achievement of their pupils.
  • Teachers communicate effectively with pupils, parents, and colleagues.
  • Teachers conduct ongoing assessment of pupils’ progress, evaluate their achievement, and report results to pupils and their parents regularly.
Chances are, you’re already meeting these expectations if you’re a newly hired permanent teacher! This is now an opportunity to officially demonstrate, document and reflect on them.

The TPA process involves the following components:

  • the pre-observation meeting
  • a classroom observation (for new teachers, there are two of these!)
  • a post-observation meeting
  • a summative report that includes a rating of the teacher’s overall performance

Preparing for the pre-observation meeting and classroom observations will take some thought and time, but the best advice I can share – as someone who is knee-deep in the process right now – is that being prepared is the best thing you can do. Aside from having confidence in yourself, of course!

The Pre-Observation Meeting 

The teacher and principal must have a pre-observation meeting to prepare for the classroom observation component of the appraisal. The principal must record the date of the pre-observation meeting in the summative report.

The principal and the teacher use the pre-observation meeting to:

  • make certain that the expectations for the appraisal process are clearly understood;
  • promote a collegial atmosphere in advance of the classroom observation;
  • identify exactly what is expected during the lesson to be observed;
  • discuss the teacher’s plan for the classroom observation period;
  • identify the expectations for student learning that are the focus of the lesson;
  • discuss the unique qualities of the teacher’s class of students;
  • discuss how the teacher’s performance will be assessed, including a review of the competencies that will form the basis of the teacher’s performance appraisal;
  • establish procedures in advance;
  • set the date and time for the classroom observation

This meeting is an opportunity for you to demonstrate to your administrator how you meet all of the competencies being evaluated. This is when you can portray who you are as a teacher and share information that your administrator might not be able to observe during their relatively short classroom observation. It’s almost like a show and tell, and the best way to prepare for this is to go into this meeting with a variety of evidence of your practice. Prior to my pre-observation meeting, my administrator provided me with some ideas of things that I might consider bringing to the meeting. These things included:

  • your day book including a record of your daily plans dating back to the beginning of the current teaching assignment
  • evidence of long range planning
  • notes on how you are meeting the competencies that might not be observed during your classroom observation (for example, your use of technology, how assessment drives your instruction or how equity is evident in your classroom)
  • notes in your involvement in activities in the school or the system that address the competencies, yet might not be observable during classroom observations
  • notes on your contact and communication with parents
  • all of your student assessment and evaluation records from the beginning of your assignment
  • samples of assessment methods and activities that you have used in your class
  • samples of resources being used in the classroom this year

Preparation for this meeting felt like the most intensive part of the process so far, for me personally. I wanted to have enough evidence to demonstrate all of who I am as a teacher – my pedagogy, my relationships, my practice and my professional growth. It did offer a great opportunity to step back, look at my teaching practice and do a lot of self evaluating (before the actual evaluation!).

The Classroom Observations

To assess teachers’ skills, knowledge, and attitudes, each appraisal must include at least one classroom observation. For the purposes of the performance appraisal, each teacher must be observed in an instructional setting. With the exception of the teaching assignments summarized below, the classroom observation involves a visit by the principal to the teacher’s classroom. For teachers such as physical education teachers, special education teachers, or guidance counsellors, the ordinary teaching environment would include, respectively, the gymnasium, a regular classroom where the special education teacher is working with particular students, or a guidance office or small-group setting where the counsellor is interacting with students.

In my case, the observations are taking place in my classroom. Usually, your administrator will want to see one lesson in math and one in language if you are a homeroom teacher. I have completed my first observation in math and will have my second, in language, next week!

On the morning of your observation, you’ll hand in a lesson plan to your administrator that outlines in detail what you are planning to teach. I went back to my trusty old teacher’s college lesson plan template (brought back some memories!) as it reminded me of all the important and helpful information to record and consider.

It’s wise to include written evidence of how you plan to differentiate and which assessment indicators you will look for throughout the lesson. This takes away the guessing for your administrator and shows that you consider these things in your planning consistently.

The best advice that I received when trying to decide what to teach for my observation was not to try anything new or crazy. Follow your regular routines, engage your students in processes they are familiar with and work with content that they have likely had some exposure to already. This takes the pressure off of you and your students and increases the likelihood of having a smooth, successful lesson take place.

I decided to teach a three-part lesson plan for my lesson as I felt it demonstrated my strongest aspects as a teacher. My class has fantastic consolidation discussions and math talks and I wanted my administrator to see that. Choose a lesson that will demonstrate both your and your students’ best features as teachers and learners.

I have yet to have the Post-Observation Meeting with my administrator, but I am feeling very confident and pleased with how my first observation went! Of course, no lesson ever goes exactly how you plan it but this only provided me with the chance to demonstrate my flexibility and adaptability as a teacher.

After my observation next week, in language, I will meet for the post-observation meeting and will have a chance to look at my Summative Evaluation. I’ll be sure to post again and share my experiences with the consolidation of this process so far!

For more information about TPA for New Teachers, click here.

Will Gourley Celebrating Success, Challenging Topics, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health

Oh wait

For all of the right reasons and in my own best interests I think it best to resolve some issues from what has been a terrible January. As such, I have taken to implementing a number of life changes in order to ensure I am my best me, living and giving my best.

Less caffeine – down to 4 cups of coffee per day from 6 – check
Drink more water – some is more than none right? – check
Sleep more – at home, not at school or while driving – check
Take time to be still – shhh I’m doing it right now – check
Exercise – I turned my Wii Fit on for the first time in 10 years and it still works – check
Read more – information is armour for the mind and soul – check
Show vulnerability – asking for help and support does not make me weak – check
Seek help – unisolating myself has been a necessary and positive experience – check
Look forward – know that good things are all around even when things look grim – check

Without all of the above, I might have really been physically and mentally weakened by an exasperating month.

Oh wait…there was something else on my mind

With nearly complete media proliferation from all ideological camps, it’s hard to have a moment of tranquility without being bombarded by [mis]information. A person in a compromised position may not have the intellectual immunity to resist the indefatigable onslaught of shady dealers wearing blue blazers and brown pants who persist in spewing surreptitious messages meant to shatter the successful education system we have worked so hard to construct and move forward to be among the best in the world. So it’s understandable that educators, students, and families would want to fight to protect it.

Come to think of it, despite months of patiently waiting for a contract, hearing about unions leaders bullying members from MPPs who seem confused on where to find beer, and from Twitter trolls who spout about how teachers are only after a pay raise to their shared 50 followers, it feels like it’s time to fully engage in this war that is being waged by the government and its partisan proxies on our profession.

Instead of a being an integral partner in education, our government has chosen to become our adversary. In addition to our exceptional daily work in the classrooms, ETFO educators are having to defend our hallowed halls from unprecedented and misleading attacks. Hearing the Minister of Education talk trash about our profession is offensive. It should never be part of an elected civil servant’s mandate.

This doesn’t even begin to address the passive aggressive and staged photo ops via social media or contrived press conferences. How can someone who appears in photo ops at a STEM daycare centre strike camp, in a school district that was not even on the line that day rather than at one of our thousands of incredible public schools, be taken seriously or trusted?

Speaking of trust

Maybe our MOE is the victim of bad advice? What if he is being setup for failure from inside his own party? MBAs (read through to the final footnote) and politicians are notoriously self serving entities. Think of the contracts to hand out to the highest bidding E-Learning providers and private sham credit mills if things go unchecked. There are lots of dollars to be made when you are unscrupulous enough to wallow in that trough, but is it worth your humanity?

What if the goal is to fleece the flock and retire to a cushy Conservative consultancy? After all, what out of touch political party doesn’t love recycling ineffective ideas? So this cut, gut, shame, and run approach will sound fresh again in 20 years since their good old days are an archaic product of a classist’s poor memory.

Perhaps in his limited time in the position and on the planet, the current Minister of Education has not been privy to grace, kindness, or truth? Wouldn’t it be swell if the lack of progress in our negotiations be weighing heavy on his conscience? With Valentine’s Day around the corner, maybe the warmth and solidarity we show as a union in standing up for education can melt his heart, and he will begin to see the impact of this current government’s flawed approach and policies. Until then we will walk and hold the line.

Walking the line

On a chilly Monday I proudly walked the picket line to fight against the legislative tyranny of our current government. 17000 steps in 3 freezing hours. 1 Day’s wages was a small price to pay in order to stand alongside my fellow ETFO members in solidarity. The honks of support, the visits from admin, superintendents, and school board systems level staff meant a lot to us all. Having families and other union members show their support was the encouragement we all needed to maintain our spirits.

Come to think of it, those 3 hours on the strike line have to rank as some of the best moments the month of January had to offer. I know there might be more days ahead, and I am dedicating my attitude and focus on everything that matters to my students, their families, my colleagues, and those who will occupy my classroom in the future. Together ETFO, and our partners in the OSSTF, will continue to make public education in Ontario a global beacon of progress and success through our work in the classrooms across the province. Together.

Thinking of you all, this week as we walk at the picket line shoulder to shoulder in solidarity and support to ensure a future for over 1.3 million students in Ontario’s public schools. Thank you.