Learning in a Real Life Context

October 30, 2018 Will Gourley Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Equity, Feedback, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education

Both feet

https://pixabay.com/en/summer-swim-pond-landscape-austria-2209393/

Have you ever jumped into a body of water and been able to stop part way? If you have, can you show me how because to this point of my existence it has been impossible when I try? So far.

Defying all of the laws of Physics may not part of our human skillsets, yet. Perhaps with the aid of some bungee cords and a team of riggers, it is possible, but since most times when we take a leap(intellectual or otherwise), we do so without a team to save us.

Oddly enough, the leaps are often contrary to conventional wisdom and traditional thinking/practice. Society loves its non-conformists. As long as there are not non-comforming in their schools. Is it therefore heresy, innovation, boredom with the status quo, egotism, creativity in action, insight or indictment to break the status quo, take chances, or challenge authority/colleagues? Where does it fit in with your practice and pedagogy?

With or without a safety crew, I have always jumped into something with both feet. Knowing there is no way to stop once I’m in the air. Yes, I’ve climbed out and jumped somewhere else when the landing hurt. No, I did not land on anyone either.

Sometimes, I bounced out, unable to fit in with a particular ideology or methodology. What never changes as I try and stretch, and a leap and fall, and land/crash, is the need to keep looking for new places from which to jump with all the excitement and uncertainty that leaping, change and learning provide. A sort of educational thrill seeking if you will.

This is how I see my teaching style and I’m inviting other educators to step out onto the dock and take some leaps of their own. So often, the risk taker in all of us has been hushed by comfort, complacency, or fear. Trying new things is hard. What if no one likes it? What if I fail? How are your students supposed to take chances when you are clothed in bubble wrap yourself.

Our classrooms have to be shaped into an ultra-soft space for students to take their intellectual and emotional leaps with both feet without worrying about the landing or bouncing off the walls from time to time. It doesn’t mean they don’t feel a thud once in a while. It means that they will have a place to discover the limitless potential of their learning not the limit.

How do you see yours? When was the last time you felt free and safe enough to jump in with both feet not knowing how deep the waters?

How did it feel?
Dangerous? Perhaps.
Exhillarating? Always.
Always successful? Not yet.
Staying put? Never!

We owe it to our students to show how much there is to gain from trying new things, taking leaps into new spaces, and from thinking about how, when, and where we are going to land.

Over the next month, I challenge you to try something new in your classroom and share it with us.
Tag me on Twitter @willgourley and try to encourage others to do the same. Thank you for reading and happy landings.

Extra Reading for keeners

16 Reasons Why You Should get out of Your Comfort Zone

Why Taking Risks Pays off for Students and Teachers

October 28, 2018 Kim Cousin Behaviour Management, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Flexible Classroom, General, Health & Safety, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Resilience, Teacher Wellness, Wellness, wellness, wellness

Mindful Pause, with or without Technology?

Everywhere I turn I see the effects of our technologically advanced world. Gains have been made in medical research, communication abilities, and advancements toward an easier life?
Some of the effects on individuals are now coming to light. Many people are connected to the internet 24/7. This is causing sleep disturbances, eye issues, addiction behaviours, and other physical ailments.

As a previous mental health professional I look at my present vocation in Education with that type of lens. I have practiced and taught Mindful strategies for many years now. I see the benefits of technology in the curriculum. I also observe the negative effects. I have noticed some educators looking for a researched solution to help calm, focus and ground their students. Some are now turning to all the apps, and internet connections to provide a quick and easily guided mindful activity. I think this may be counter productive to being present and in the moment. We are seeing the effects of this new age world and the fast pace it is changing. As educators we are up to date with the many changes or apprised to avenues in which to guide our charges.

When I guide a group through a mindful experience I eliminate as much technology or other electrical sources as possible. I then guide students into focusing on being present in their own body and mind through the use of many verbal scripts vocalized in a relaxed, quiet voice. These moments of taking a pause are valuable. We live in a busy, stressful society where a pause can assist in a healthy balance to our daily lives.

Links-
https://www.psychguides.com/guides/computerinternet-addiction-symptoms-causes-and-effects/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/virtual-addictions/201710/tips-mindful-technology-use

http://meditationscience.weebly.com/what-is-mindfulness-meditation.html

Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices

October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 Kim Cousin Assessment, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs, Flexible Classroom, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Math, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth

Education Acronyms

PLC, IEP, TPA,…. Just a few acronyms in the world of Ontario education. I managed to complete the expectations of those three letter words, this month.

WOW! Some may say, “What are you talking about?”, others may say,” HOW?!”

As a person who is a futuristic thinker, I am continuously planning, creating lists and maximizing my energy. I plan each weekend to complete a portion of the upcoming expectations for the month. This past month, I spent time creating unit plans to ensure a smooth sail through the four Junior and intermediate Math classes I teach. While knowing that IEP’s (Individual Education Plans), are due in early October and help me understand my students. I reviewed and updated these a few at a time.

Yes of course this is my TPA (Teacher Performance Appraisal) year. Things have changed since I graduated from Teachers College. I was just as nervous as my first evaluation. This one was much different because I have learned many new teaching strategies, and ways to interact with all the people we come in contact within our profession. I look at each year with a lens of the time. October, pumpkins are in season. Pumpkins are a great way to create a hands on unit in Math for all grades. If you are still learning about making the many connections to the Big Ideas, there are many units on the web. This is a perfect topic to bring excitement into the class, being aware of all the variables from cleanliness, to the use of sharp objects, and social skill development for group work. This TPA in my umpteen^th year of teaching was successful. After I reviewed my assessment, I realized some things still need work. I need to clearly connect to daily learning goals to guide the directions of my students and their exploration. I also want to find a way to create easily displayed information charts/word walls that can travel from class to class? Keeping abreast of recent research and data helps. A specific focus is important so ideas don’t become lost in the many theories of our closely connected world (www).

This year I’ve noticed my board is using Monthly meetings and PD (Professional Development) days to facilitate PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities). To my advantage, our focus is on math. The discussion and connections for all help create a purposeful direction in our teaching and learning. The superintendents and lead teachers carefully create PD to learn from and directly effect board and school goals. As a team, we have each other to support our teaching and direction. If communication is continuously supported in meetings, this assists in sharing and supporting each other and the growth of our students and programs. Some of my observations from these meetings are: Don’t get rid of the old…some strategies are still good. Things are changing quickly. It’s admirable to see colleagues rise to new and connected positions while keeping valuable connections.

At the beginning of the month, I was apprehensive about completing these monthly tasks. Tah Dah…another successful month as an educator.

Links:

Learning for All: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/LearningforAll2013.pdf

Planning for Learning:

http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Resources/ForTeachersDocuments/Planning%20for%20Student%20Learning.pdf

TPA: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/pdfs/TPA_Manual_English_september2010l.pdffbclid=IwAR3rtRjDQ50iFr81Lb45e9SXuzhXJebIzEdjFhzqIFTNqtvnw_IMaGV-V3kspecific links

http://www.etfo.ca/SupportingMembers/Professionals/Pages/ALP.aspx

Pumpkin Unit Ideas:

Ultimate Collection of Pumpkin Math Ideas for K-12

July 1, 2018 Michelle Fenn Constant Learning, Genius Hour, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, The Global Competencies, Use of Technology

Why Coding Is Important Part Two

In Part one of this blog post I talked about coding with relation to the deep learning competencies and learning skills. However, there are greater implications of teaching kids to code. I am a huge science fiction and dystopian fan. I think I am attracted to the resourcefulness of the characters in the movies and books. The characters that have hands-on life skills and leadership qualities are valued and survive. Let me be clear, I do not view the classroom as a dystopian or science fiction society…well…unless we are suffering from a severe heat wave. I think that understanding the way the technology on which we rely on a daily basis, is a skill worth exploring. That understanding also builds an appreciation of the work of coders and others in the computer science industry. After taking 20 minutes to code a square with a small spherical robot a student said to me, “Wow. Can you imagine how much time it took to code everything in FortNite? Every step my character takes, everything it wears or every background must be lines and lines of code.” That was a pretty serious revelation for a 9 year old.

It isn’t science fiction that there is a huge demand for computer science programmers and developers. According to Code.org, 71% of all new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) jobs are in computing, yet only 8% of STEM graduates are in Computer Science. According to the employment website Indeed.com there are currently over 2500 full time job openings in the greater Toronto area in the field of Computer Science with annual salaries between $60,000 and $140,000. Learning to code increases the odds of securing a lucrative STEM career, especially in a world where computing jobs are growing exponentially. Coding has quickly become a vital skill in the work world. Elementary teachers can begin to open doors for students by exposing them to coding in a fun and interactive way. It is safe to say that coding language will develop into something much different before our students get into the workforce. It isn’t about the “content” or “language” of code. It is about teaching them a new way of thinking that they could apply to any coding language or problem solving situation. According to Code.org, many colleges and Universities are looking for experience with coding on entrance applications. It is difficult to ignore the statistics.

With Alexa, Google, and Apple in homes, cars, pockets and on wrists we know that this our reliance on computers as a society isn’t going away soon. Exposing students to these new learning opportunities to develop their deep learning competencies is necessary for development as learners and in the end, may prove quite lucrative for their futures.

July 1, 2018July 1, 2018 Michelle Fenn Assessment, Challenging Topics, Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, Differentiated Instruction, Genius Hour, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Integration, Learning in a Real Life Context, Math, Modern Learning, Professional Learning and Growth, Questioning, Report Cards, Resilience, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers, Technology in school, The Global Competencies, Use of Technology

Why Coding is Important Part One

I consider myself a fairly techie teacher. However, until recently I hadn’t really tried my hand at coding or robotics. Well, I had, but I had lost interest as I quickly felt as though I was out of my depth. So, I did what I always do when I really want to learn something about teaching, I go to a colleague that has the knowledge and I try it WITH the students. Collaborative inquiry.

Until recently, I didn’t see what the big deal was or why it was important to teach coding to students. Yeah, playing with robots is fun but what does that have to do with curriculum? When I started working with and learning coding along side students I had a change in mindset. There is a lot of math, strategic planning and visualization in coding. Coding may not always directly relate to curriculum content-that is true. However, in terms of teaching students about the deep learning competencies, coding is key. If you aren’t sure what I mean by the deep learning competencies; they are referred to as the 6 C’s. Here is a link to the New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning paper but I have extracted a summary of the 6 C’s for a quick reference:

Character: Character refers to qualities of the individual essential for being personally effective in a complex world including: grit, tenacity, perseverance, resilience, reliability, and honesty.

Citizenship: Thinking like global citizens, considering global issues based on a deep understanding of diverse values with genuine interest in engaging with others to solve complex problems that impact human and environmental sustainability.

Collaboration: Collaboration refers to the capacity to work interdependently and synergistically in teams with strong interpersonal and team-related skills including effective management of team dynamics, making substantive decision together, and learning from and contributing to the learning of others.

Communication: Communication entails mastery of three fluencies:digital, writing and speaking tailored for a range of audiences.

Creativity: Having an ‘entrepreneurial eye’ for economic and social opportunities, asking the right questions to generate novel ideas, and demonstrating leadership to pursue those ideas into practice.

Critical Thinking: Critically evaluating information and arguments, seeing patterns and connections, constructing meaningful knowledge and applying it in the real world.

I reflected on these 6 C’s as I wrote the learning skills for my grade 4/5 students this year. I spend the most time on my reports creating the Learning Skills for each student. They are personal and they reflect each individual student. As a parent, it is what I am most interested in reading about my own child. The 6 C’s are competencies not only for school, but for life. While students were exploring coding I had them working in pairs or small groups to give them the opportunity to communicate, collaborate and show leadership. When the code didn’t work, they were able to go back and find the error and correct it and try it again with results right away. Sometimes they found it painstaking and I had to let them work through that and they were glad in the end when I didn’t give them the easy way out and they solved things on their own. When they learned something in coding, they quickly wanted to share their learning with other students. I gave basic instruction about the program to start using a youtube tutorial and then let the students go. Students who often don’t do well in groups with “typical” academic tasks often excelled as leaders in coding because it is a divergent way of thinking and they had a self-check strategy built into the task. It was incredible to witness the amount of learning that was taking place.

You don’t have to have robots to code. There are online coding websites that teach kids to code such as code.org and Scratch. The students even as young as grade 3 are easily able to use these sites to code. Scratch Jr. is available for younger students. The sites have great tutorial videos and somehow the students seem to just start discovering and creating things intuitively. They begin helping each other when they see that someone has created something cool and ask the creator to show them how to do it too.

I am proud to say that I can now code a square, star and a small obstacle course using blocks and a Sphero robot. My students discover new things every day and share them with me. It is definitely a new age in teaching.

June 17, 2018June 18, 2018 Deb Weston Advocacy for change, Advocacy for public education, Learning in a Real Life Context, LGBTQ2S, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health

What’s up with Ontario’s Health Curriculum?

What’s up with Ontario’s Health Curriculum? … 10% is what’s up!

It’s June 2018 and the newly elected Ontario Conservative government is planning to pull the most recently updated 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum. I interpret this statement as meaning that Ontario’s Ministry of Education will use the previous Health and Physical Education Curriculum which was released in 1998.

Up to this point, the Health and Physical Education Curriculum had not been updated since 1998 and in 2010 a revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum was in the works of being released. The addition of same-sex relationships in the specific Health Curriculum resulted in significant political backlash. The release of the revised 2010 Health and Physical Education Curriculum was dropped by the former premier, Dalton McGuinty, within hours after his education minister defended it in the legislature (CBC News, April 18^th, 2018).

Up to 2015, the last Health and Physical Education Curriculum was 17 years old. With the impact of social media and an increased access to the Internet, students needed an updated curriculum that included information on online safety, healthy relationships, consent, mental health, and the risks of “sexting”. As an 11-year middle school teacher, I experienced schools already dealing with challenges around these issues. Ontario teachers needed tools to educate students to deal appropriately with the realities of school after 2000.

The 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum, reflects health, safety, and well-being faced in schools now. It was developed in consultation with the ministry, parents, students, teachers, faculties of education, university, colleges, and other organizations such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Ontario Public Health Association, and the Healthy Schools Coalition. Further, more than 70 health-related organizations submitted reports for consideration and thousands of people provided feedback (Government of Ontario, February 23, 2015, Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum). In 2014, more than 4000 parents were involved in the consultation process of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum (CBC News, April 18, 2018).

The now 20 year old Health and Physical Education Curriculum not only had to be updated to deal with the realities of the social media and instant access to information, it also addressed the changing realities of human development. The World Health Organization indicated that “girls are entering puberty as early as seven years old, which is significantly earlier than in previous generations” and “found that providing kids with comprehensive sexual health information helps prevent early sexual activity and negative health outcomes”. In addition, research documented that the majority of parents wanted schools to provide information on sexuality (Government of Ontario, April 2015, Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum)

What’s in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum?

The 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum has four main sections for each grade (Students also learn about mental health across the curriculum):

Living Skills: understanding themselves, communicating and interacting positively with others and learning to think critically and solve problems
Active Living: active participation, physical fitness and safety
Movement Competence: skills for moving properly and with confidence
Healthy Living: learning about health, making healthy choices, and understanding the connections to everyday life

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/sex-education-ontario

Based on my experience as a teacher, parents usually have few concerns about Living Skills, Active Living, and Movement Competence sections of the Health and and Physical Education curriculum. The Healthy Living section includes topics about food, safety at home, school and in the community, alcohol and other substances, and a section on Human Development and Sexual Health. Some parents are specifically concerned with health education dealing with sexual activity and health. Note that the sexual health curriculum makes up only 10 per cent of the Health curriculum (Basian cited in CBC News, Apr 18, 2018).

Sexual Health Education By Grade

Even today, there continues to be many rumours spread about the Health curriculum. A few weeks ago a parent asked me if the grade 1 students were going to see videos about how to have sex. In May 2015, the Toronto Star Reporter, Robin Levin King, dealt with some of these uninformed claims (copied verbatim from May 2015, Robin Levin King, Toronto Star Reporter):

Uninformed Claims about the Ontario Health Curriculum

The chart below shows what students will learn in the Healthy Living portion of their Health and Physical Education classes. The Human Development and Sexual Health (i.e. sex ed.) component of the Health and Physical Education curriculum guides teachers to plan what they teach with the goal of establishing a foundation of mutual respect, and understanding for diverse perspectives in the classroom. This curriculum is not meant to ever replace the role of parents in educating their children about sexual health.

Chart of Human and Sexual Health by grade

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The Human Rights of Gender Equity and Gender Expression

Upholding human rights in Ontario is a fundamental principal of Ontario’s society and culture. In 2012, “gender identity” and “gender expression” were added to the Ontario Human Rights Code. Based on gender equity and gender expression, this made the discrimination and harassment of these persons against the law. This meant that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and have the same opportunities and benefits which includes persons who identify as “transgender, transsexual and intersex persons, cross-dressers, and other people whose gender identity or expression is, or is seen to be, different from their birth sex” (Government of Ontario, 2018, Gender Equity and Gender Expression).

Given that discrimination and harassment of people who identify as LGBTQ2S – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, and/or Two Spirited (i.e. gender identity or gender expression) is against the law, students need to know what these terms mean. Further, students need to know how to deal with harassment that is happening to them or others. These topics are part of the Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum and originate from the Ontario Human Rights Code. Eliminating these topics could result in fewer people being informed of gender based human rights and increased violations of these laws. The Ontario Human Rights Code was revised based on public consultation. To fully implement the new Code, significant legal decisions and policy changes were released in 2014. The Ontario Human Rights Code must be upheld in education curricula and in all Ontario schools.

Relevant Resources and Policies are listed below:

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Gender Identify within the Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum

(Source: Health and Physical Education Curriculum Grades 1 to 8, 2015)

When teachers are planning instruction and considering class groupings, they should be aware of and consider the needs of students who may not identify as “male” or “female”, who are transgender, or who are “gender-non-conforming”.

For more information about gender identity, gender expression, and human rights, see the website of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Understanding Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan: Parent Fact Sheet

Teachers should also acknowledge and respect individual differences regardless of sex or gender identity that will encourage student participation and help students learn to collaborate with and respect others. Strategies for encouraging understanding and mutual respect among students include:

creating an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere in the class and supporting all students to be active participants;
fostering authentic opportunities for students to provide input into learning activities and approaches;
providing opportunities for all students to assume leadership roles;
encouraging and respecting the interests and abilities of all students;
ensuring that responsibilities are shared equally by all students.

Breakdown of Gender References in Health and Physical Education Curriculum

In 2018, Ontario and the world is a very different place dealing with a plethora of social and economic issues. Education curriculum needs to be updated on a regular basis to reflect society and its issues. Ontario cannot go back twenty years in any curriculum, especially in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum. So that means Ontario’s education curriculum can only move forward.

It took over 16 years to update and implement the last Health and Physical Education curriculum. Updating and revising curriculum takes a lot of people hours and multi-level consultation – this means it also costs lots money to make changes. Simply using a black marker to redact all the controversial parts isn’t going to cut it! My guess is that four years (i.e. a political government rein) is not enough time for the Health and Physical Education Curriculum to be updated.

And for my good friend and colleague @FAPareja, here’s the curriculum download of all Ontario teachers to access:

Health and Physical Education Curriculum Grades 1 to 8, 2015

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

CBC News, (April 18, 2018). The facts about Ontario’s sex ed curriculum, Downloaded from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-sexual-education-curriculum-election-1.4624512

Government of Ontario, (2018). Gender Equity and Gender Expression) http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/code_grounds/gender_identity

Goverment of Ontario, (2018). Ontario Human Rights Code. Downloaded from Ontario Human Rights Commission at www.ohrc.on.ca/en/code_grounds/gender_identity.

Government of Ontario, (2015). Health and Physical Education Curriculum, Grades 1 to 8 Downloaded from www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health1to8.pdf

Government of Ontario, (February 23, 2015). News Release Ontario Releases Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum, Parent Resources: Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Students Downloaded from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2015/02/ontario-releases-updated-health-physical-education-curriculum-parent-resources.html

Government of Ontario, (April 2015). Ontario Releases Updated Health & Physical Education Curriculum, Parent Resources, Downloaded from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2015/02/ontario-releases-updated-health-physical-education-curriculum-parent-resources.html

King, R. L., (May 4, 2015). Toronto Star, Downloaded from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/04/fact-checking-10-claims-made-by-parents-against-the-ontario-sex-ed-curriculum.htmlhighlights

February 27, 2018 Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, Genius Hour, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning in a Real Life Context, Students as Teachers

Collaboration Amongst The Grades

Have you ever asked kindergarten students what bugs them? Well, we were on a mission to do just that and I’m pretty amazed by what they have come up with!

Over the years, my students and I have had the opportunity to work with younger students for Reading Buddies. And while it’s always great to have a chance to read to each other, I wondered if there was something more that could be done in order to foster true collaboration and maybe even a leadership role for my older students. This year, we partnered with a kindergarten class in the hopes of seeing how we might be able to engage kindergarten students in STEM activities. From building with linking cubes to creating amazing structures with straws, my students have been growing in the area of questioning and documenting the works of their buddies. They’ve learned that kindergarten students can cut in straight lines, given a bit of guidance and that with the right questions, they can have incredibly imaginative conversations.

Kinder2

Using the Engineering Design Process, we are currently working on creating solutions for some of the things that bug them. We started the process with a brainstorming sheet and I should have left the bugs off of the top because it quickly became that the biggest problem were bugs themselves. I need to keep in mind that kindergarten students can be literal. After some discussion, we realized that while there were many who were bugged by bugs, some found it difficult to tie their shoes or carry their backpacks. Others found it a challenge to keep their devices out of the hands of their older siblings and still others found that the blocks in Kindergarten weren’t decorative enough and were way too big.

Kinder6 Kinder4 Kinder5

Our next step was to use a Design Template to really identify the specifics of the bug and then to work on designing a solution, including a list of materials. After some research with their buddies, this past week, we took some time to create paper prototypes of our solutions to ensure that what we envisioned was something that we might actually be able to bring to life. It was glorious. I asked my students to really take a step back and allow for the kindergarten students to be the lead in building with paper and they rose to the occasion. From asking for rulers to create straight lines to sharing that a cube has 6 faces, the kindergartens were really excited to share what they already knew and weren’t shy to ask for a helping hand when they needed it.

Kinder1 Next week we are on to our build and learning about hand tool safety in kindergarten. It’s sure to be a new adventure and I can’t wait to see and share the actual solutions that they create.

In what ways are you collaborating with others in your building? Is there a way in which you might allow for greater student leadership through a similar partnership? I’m always wondering what educators are doing in their buildings to foster collaboration amongst staff and students. Let’s start a conversation and share ideas here.

January 28, 2018 Arianna Lambert Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Equity, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Social Justice

Moving Beyond “Cultural Months”

I don’t mean to be flippant but I’m sometimes leary when we have a month to celebrate a particular racialized group. What happens to their history or their identities during the rest of the year? I recently saw this post on Twitter and it got me thinking – how do we ensure that we go beyond these months and into a deeper desire for ourselves as educators and our students to value the diversity that exists in our classrooms?

Checking Our Bias

In our board, we have had many conversations around bias and equity. How are we moving from conversations and into action? In what ways are we really ensuring more equitable outcomes for our students and colleagues who are racialized? We all have bias and privilege to one degree or another. When we acknowledge our bias and privilege and are conscious of it in the spaces in which we exist, we are better equipped to extend equity and honour the experiences of others. In doing so consistently, we become those who seek out and foster ways in which to level playing field for others. What is your bias? What are your thoughts about the students that you serve? How does your bias impact the way in which you serve your students?

Courageous Classroom Conversations

Over the past few years of teaching, I’ve realized to a greater degree, the value in having conversations about the world around us with students. Earlier on in the year, we had conversations around Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players taking a knee. I had a colleague who was shocked that I was talking about it in the classroom. We have to remember that our students are living in and experiencing the same world that we are. They are keenly observing and are not oblivious to what is going on. Shouldn’t they have a space to engage in conversations about what is happening, not from a stance of judgement but of fact finding and meaningful sharing about its impact on them and the communities in which we live? By shying away from these conversations, we do a disservice to our students because that is what is real and authentic in our world and they need the opportunity to understand, discuss and determine ways in which they are able to navigate these situations in the hopes of bringing about a different tomorrow. This too is a part of education

Meeting The Needs Of Our Students Based On Their Realities

Shaughnessy is the 5th school that I have had the privilege of teaching at here in Toronto. Each school has had a different community and it’s been exciting to get to know and understand who my students and their families are. When we take the time to find out what is of value to our students and our community and teach from there, we truly start to meet the needs of our students. High expectations with lessons that are authentic and are based on the interest of our students increases engagement and allows for our students to make connections to the curriculum that are meaningful and relevant. This is what gives them greater opportunity to flourish based on who they are. We all want greater student success, why not find out what is meaningful to our students and work from there to ensure that they are represented in our lessons, tasks and classrooms?

Special months are great for celebrations of cultures but as this Tweet reminds us, let’s consider ways in which to go beyond a particular monthly celebration and make sure that our diverse identities are celebrated throughout the year.

January 28, 2018January 28, 2018 Michelle Fenn Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Curriculum Planning, General, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Use of Technology

The Virtues of Non Fiction Reading and Writing – Part 1

Many years ago at a Reading for the Love of It Conference, I listened to author and educator Tony Stead speak about the virtues of teaching non-fiction reading and writing in the elementary grades. It was an “ah-ha” moment for me as an educator. As an adult the majority of the text that we interact with each day is non-fiction. Writing a grocery list, filling out a survey, reading an advertisement, reading a blog and corresponding in an email are all examples of interacting with non-fiction text. If I read fiction it is because I choose to do so for pleasure. Yet, much of my language curriculum in the primary grades had been fiction based. I had chosen many beautiful picture books for read alouds and focused a lot of our time on narrative story writing. Most of what I write as an adult is purposeful communication, not for pleasure. During that time I also put together that the majority of what the boys in my class were interested in reading and writing were non-fiction topics and that likely contributed to the reluctance of many of them to read and write.

Consequently, as an educator, I spend much more of my time teaching how to read non-fiction and how to write in different non-fiction genres. Recently with my grade 4-5 class, we have been investigating non-fiction text features. We are learning to use non-fiction text features to help us both as readers and writers. For example, through inquiry the students learn what a diagram is, what is used for, how it helps the reader to gain new information and how we can then use it in our own writing to communicate information effectively. The students are working towards providing a kind of instructional guide to non-fiction text features using the app Explain Everything to present to younger students in our school. Students search for examples of non-fiction text features, take photos and using voice, text or diagrams; explain how the text features work and how they help readers and writers communicate. Students understand that these diagrams, graphs, maps etc., in their texts can provide quick snapshots of important information and make their research interesting, richer and often more expedient. In their writing, they understand that many features provide “proof” of the point they are trying to make for their readers.

My love of non-fiction does not exclude studies in fiction. However, as educators it is important that we are expose our students to purposeful, rich, relatable tasks as well as good stories. In part two of the blog, I will be sharing student work with non-fiction. For more information about educator and author Tony Stead I have included some links below.

Tony Stead author biography

The RAN Strategy video

December 1, 2017 Michelle Fenn Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, General, Inspiring Students, Integration, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Mentorship, Social Justice, Students as Teachers

Kindness and Gratitude

My hope in asking for a junior division assignment was that the students would be more independent however, I also knew that in exchange, I would be likely dealing with the issues of the tumultuous “tween” years. My expectations for this group were particularly high because I had taught nearly half of them for two years in grades 1 and 2 and I felt as though I knew them pretty well. Unfortunately, we have been having social issues in our classroom and the students are having difficulty treating each other with kindness. I wasn’t prepared to have to “teach” kindness and gratitude at this age. After 20 years in the primary grades, I suppose I assumed they would already know how to be kind. Let me be clear. They are not horrible kids and having raised two kids through the “tweenage” years I know the behaviour is driven by hormones etc., Kindness becomes more complicated in the junior grades as the social constructs change and being popular and fitting in becomes that much more important. What I’m trying to get across to the students is that kindness is actually more powerful than being mean but they aren’t yet all buying into it…yet. I’m not giving up.

We started by reading the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio together as a class. After every few pages there was so much to unpack in discussion with the students about empathy, “precepts” for living and loyalty in friendship. In discussions, the students were easily able to empathize the injustices suffered by Auggie and were angered by the actions of the antagonist, Julian. We also went to see the movie in order to compare the stories and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were thoughtful in their assessment of the themes and the major differences. In reality, however, they were having a hard time putting all of this knowledge into practice with one another.

I needed to dig a little deeper and do some research and I happened upon a great website connected to the book; #choosekind is a campaign attached to Palacio’s book and it started us on a journey of kindness. We’ve also been using lesson plans from the Random Acts of Kindness website and have begun daily gratitude journals. We started restorative circles using our talking stick using Restorative Circle prompts. We have created our rules and agreement for our circle. It has been a slow start because we are starting with topics that are allowing students to relate to one another and are not value or character based sensitive topics yet as we work to build trust in the circle. Our first couple of prompts were, “What are 3 things that you cannot live without?” and “Who is your hero?” Not everyone is able to come up with something right away and sometimes we have to circle back, but it is a beginning.

We also wanted to do something as a class that was more global and would make an impact on people whom we didn’t even know. In Peterborough, we have a store called Under One Sun. They are part of a larger organization that supplies crafts from artisans in Haiti, “Restoring Dignity Through Artistry”. We decided to participate in a Christmas ornament fundraiser which helps to create jobs and sustain families in Haiti. Some of the money goes to the artisans for healthcare, childcare, education and materials and some of the money comes back to the school. Our class of 22 students alone sold more than $1000.00 worth of ornaments. This fundraiser makes a difference in our community and for families living in Haiti and broadens our student’s awareness of global issues of poverty. In addition, we are going to learn how to make paper bead jewelry ourselves as gifts for our own families.

As we move into the holiday season, December is a great month to think about giving, gratitude and kindness. We are going to be working with the Senior Centre down the street, hanging our art work, singing songs to entertain and presenting a dramatic re-telling of “A Promise is a Promise” written by Robert Munsch. We have created a kindness calendar which includes random acts of kindness for each day that do not cost money. Hopefully, day by day, discussion by discussion the students will come to realize the power of kindness.