Occasional Teaching

December 28, 2017 Michelle Fenn Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Equity, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mindfulness, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Planning, Professional Judgement, self reflection, solidarity, Wellness

Occasional Teachers; Unsung Heroes

Unfortunately, I have had many health challenges this year that have necessitated having to take a significant amount of time off of work to recuperate. These absences have provided me time to reflect on my practice as a classroom teacher and about how important occasional teachers are in our practice. I had the pleasure of working in our local ETFO office as a released officer for 3 years alongside the incredible Marsha Jones, Occasional Teacher President extraordinaire. She taught me a lot about Occasional Teachers, the obstacles they face and the little things that I could do to make their days go easier. I thought I would share a few of my insights.

Occasional Teachers that come to our school like to return because of the friendly atmosphere. In the staff room, they are included in our “tea days”, people engage them in conversation and always ask how they can be of help. It sounds like a simple thing, but many of the Occasional Teachers that come to our school comment on our friendly staff. So the next time you see an Occasional Teacher in your school, smile and say hello and ask them how their day is going.

Do NOT ask an Occasional Teacher “who” they are for the day. What an insult! You can ask who they are in for, who they are helping out, who they are rescuing or replacing, but they are themselves each and every day they come to work. We should appreciate the fact that we have access to qualified teachers to replace us for the day so that we can take sick days when we need them or go to conferences for professional learning.

Speaking of insults, please try not to call Occasional Teachers “substitute” or “supply” teachers. We rely on these colleagues. “Occasional Teacher” is their job title. Be respectful of it; we rely on them.

Remember to have a few days of “emergency” plans in advance of your absence. It takes the edge of having to type up plans in between trips to the washroom when you have the flu. Leave them in a place that is easy for the Occasional Teacher to find. This makes your life easier too.

If you generally have an active classroom that engages in centres, activities etc., then TRUST your Occasional Teacher and leave plans that include those lessons. Chances are your students know how this stuff runs and will let the Teacher know. It may mean giving up a bit of control; deal with it. If you leave all day seat work that you’ve photocopied or a movie that isn’t connected to anything that they are doing in the classroom, it will not be enjoyable for the students and likely your Occasional Teacher will have more behaviour issues. Consequently, you will not get the quality of work that you normally see from your students. Don’t have huge expectations. No matter how wonderful the Occasional Teacher may be, they are not you and the students know that. We also need to remember to trust the judgment of an Occasional Teacher. I’ve heard it and I’ve said it; “The ‘supply’ didn’t follow my day plan. I worked for hours on that detailed plan.” We don’t know what kind of a day that teacher had with our students. They may have experienced a lockdown, fire drill, class evacuation, pizza money, scholastic money, a student injury or even a skating field trip. (My sincere thanks to Occasional Teacher Rachel Johnston on that one!) We need to remember that they are qualified teachers and they have the right to exercise their professional judgment in order to keep the class calm and engaged. Let them do their job and thank them for it.

I write my day plans on my computer for myself each week. This makes writing a day plan for the Occasional Teacher much easier. I have all of my emergency information, how to deal with specific students, who to count on and the general rules and routines in a separate document to attach to daily plans. I always attach a class list. Try to keep your plans as close to the regular routine as possible. If I am going to be away for a meeting I will try to find out who will be replacing me for the day and I email them the plans in advance and ask if they have any questions. I include my cell phone number in case they can’t find a password or an item and few of them ever use it but if they do then I know that they care about my students and the plans that I have left for them.

Finally, show your gratitude. Some Occasional Teachers drive an hour to get to our school and in bad weather. Some are called at the very last minute, through traffic, to an unfamiliar school using GPS. Their mornings are often stressful before they even arrive on site. So when an Occasional Teacher has done a great job and your classroom is still standing when you go in the next day, write a quick email and say thank you. Occasional Teaching is often a thankless job but we can’t be sick without these wonderful people.

September 28, 2017 Deb Weston Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Mentorship, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Professional Learning and Growth

Always a Mentee, Always a Mentor

This year, I‘m in a new school, in a new role. This September, every school day, I’m trying to figure out where my class is suppose to be and what and how I need to teach my students with special education needs. I am gradually learning the names of my colleagues but it seems like I can only get either their first name or the last name – I cannot put the person’s whole name together. My role in this special education classroom involves using a very prescribed program to support struggling readers and I’m still figuring it out.

And our school went through re-org (reorganization). This meant redoing class lists and changing rooms. The first week of school, my room 204 was organized and I had my bulletin boards decorated. After spending two and half weeks setting it up, I had to change rooms. Really? I moved all my stuff to room 102, redoing the bulletin boards and redoing the schedule so my students and I know where and when we are suppose to be.

You’d think this would not be a challenge for me as I am in my 18th year of teaching. But every time I take on a new role, I start all over again. Why do I do this? Because every time I take on a new role, I learn, a lot.

This year, my colleague and mentor, DHS, has been wonderful in supporting me through my transition into the school and into my program. Her contemplative stance has helped me work out various decisions and challenges. She also helped me set up my newly located classroom.

Over the past 18 years, I have been a mentee and mentor. I am a big believer in “Paying it Forward”.

My first teaching mentor was AT. She was my first practicum teacher and I was very fortunate to work with her as a grade level teaching partner. AT welcomed me into teaching with an open heart and a guiding hand. She showed me how to teach and I still use what she taught me today. I’ve had other mentors who were not teachers. My Vice Principal, AMW, walked me through a new program that I started in our school. The best part of AMW was that she was straightforward with me and challenged me in areas where I needed to grow. AMW was and is a great listener and guide.

At about my 7th year of developing my teaching practice, I became a mentor to other teachers. As a mentor to another teacher, I quickly realized that this mentoring process was not about me and my success but about my mentee and their success. I’ve mentored many teachers formally and informally.

My first “official” NTIP (New Teacher Induction Program) mentee was BT. He was a grade 8 Math and Science teacher, like me. After a couple of weeks of teaching grade 8, he was going to quit teaching. He told me (his words) “I did not give up going into the tech sector to deal with this stuff” – he actually used another word. I still remember him pulling up a chair directly in front of my desk and putting his head in his hands. I listened to him talk about the challenges of teaching grade 8 – which can be many and very disconcerting to a grade 8 teacher. BT was ready to jump off the teaching wall in this first month of teaching. I talked him off the wall. We spent time planning and working together – he got through the year without having to take a leave of absence or worse, quitting teaching. I knew he was going to be a great teacher because he was upset and cared about his work. Today, BT is a great teacher. When I saw him recently, I was so proud for his success.

I’ve also informally mentored Long-term Occasional teachers. HK was teaching grade 8 Math and Science. My Vice Principal asked me to help her as she needed collegial support. Unfortunately, at that time, occasional teachers did not have access to NTIP support. HK was dealing with similar challenges I had faced (and BT had faced) as a grade 8 teacher. HK was a highly skilled and dedicated new teacher that was driven to make a difference in her students’ lives. We spoke often and met every week at a well known coffee location. There were tears and many stories. It was a tough cohort year of grade 8s in our school. She made it through and has gone on to be a very strong and dedicated teacher. I am very proud of how well she has done in her career.

I’ve mentored other teachers too. One teacher came from South Africa and was looking for Canadian experience. She spent time in my grade 7 classes, learning how we teach in Ontario. I directed her towards many resources she used for courses she needed to upgrade her credentials. To my delight, she ended up getting a full time teaching position a year later.

More recently, I mentored a newly graduated teacher, who helped out in my contained special education class. SM was keen, very well qualified (i.e. she had French) and working two jobs. She was a natural when working with my academically challenged students. She ended up volunteering in a French class at our school and then landed a full time teaching position.

After many positive and fulfilling experiences, I continue my career as a mentee and as a mentor. It’s part of our teaching practice and it’s part of our career path. We are teachers for our students and our colleagues.

And even as an 18 year plus teacher, I thank my colleagues for all the mentorship, collaboration, and support they continue to give me, every day.

I believe that when working collaboratively, teachers are better together.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

Partnering for Success Getting the most from Ontario’s New Teacher Induction Program: A Resource Handbook for Mentors

Ontario Teacher Federation: Survive & Thrive

August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 Deb Weston Challenging Topics, Occasional Teachers, Occasional Teaching

Being a Temporary Teacher

While I was in Japan this summer, I came across an English language newspaper article in The Japan News (written by Yuko Ohiro & Sachiko Asakuno). The article talked about the plight of “temporary or non-regular teachers” which in 2016 filled up to 10 percent of the teaching positions. Due to declining enrollment and a falling birthrate, boards of education are limiting their hiring of regular teachers. Temporary teachers are not substitute teachers who are hired to cover maternity and child leave. The article states that the hiring of temporary teachers is a result of the trend in small class sizes and team teaching with multiple instructors. Since 2001, the hiring of temporary teachers has increased by 1.7 times (or 170 percent) from 24,296 in 2001 to 41,030 in 2016.

The temporary teachers are expected to carry the same workload as “regular” teachers. Like regular Japanese teachers, temporary teachers work long hours and are expected to take on extra responsibilities such as mentoring new teachers, running extracurricular activities, acting as club advisors, and doing summer home visits (as homeroom teachers). One temporary teacher stated that he was working over 12 hours a day which accounted for more than 100 hours overtime in one month. His salary is about 60 percent of that of a regular teacher.

Japanese regular employment is based on the Local Civil Service Law which ensures the rights of employees. But a loophole exempts temporary teachers whose employment limited to under a year. Therefore boards of education dismiss non-regular teachers and then hire them back so their working term does not exceed a year. This means temporary teachers go with no income during their lay-off period. Under the Local Contract Law, temporary workers are entitled to full-time contracts if their term of work continues over 5 years. According to the Japan Teacher’s Union (February 2017), temporary teachers have worked an average of 5.9 years before getting full-time employment. Another law, The Labour Standards Law applies to temporary workers ensuring they receive a number of paid holidays in relation to their days worked. Due to short term layoffs, temporary teachers do not receive the required paid holidays.

An official at the Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Ministry stated the “there is a growing number of cases where boards of education avoid hiring regular [full-time] teachers due to worries about long-term employment and hire temporary teachers with a fixed term”. A senior official of a board of education stated that hiring of non-regular teachers is used as a “regulating value” of employment. The official added “we can’t dismiss regular teachers even if the number of children declines significantly in the future. This would create an enormous financial burden. Therefore we hired more temporary teachers while limiting the employment of newly graduated regular ones”. Another senior official of a board of education confessed “the age range of teachers would become unbalanced if newly graduated regular teachers were to increase alongside the retirement of teachers hired en mass in the days when there were quite a few more children. We hire temporary teachers as an interim measure to survive the current conditions”.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has informed local governments and board of education not to use contract renewals to make temporary teachers’ work the same way as regular teachers. This ministry stated that despite the temporary contract and short-term lay-off period, temporary teachers could be deemed as working continuously and therefore be entitled to permanent regular teacher contracts. Professor Tadashi Yamaguchi (Nihon Fukushi University) stated that short term employment makes it difficult for teachers to improve their teaching practice and hinders a stable education for students. With a teacher’s licence, temporary teachers do not have to pass the education boards’ recruitment exam. Although the article cites many parents stating that the temporary teachers are very hard working and dedicated, the parents are concerned about the poor treatment of these teachers from their boards. In addition, parents are concerned that many great teachers may give up teaching as it is challenge to stay motivated with temporary employment.

After reading this article, I considered the challenges faced by Ontario’s long term occasional teachers currently (i.e. temporary teachers). As a former long term occasional teacher, I know how unsettling it was not knowing whether I would be employed the following year. Although I did get the same rate of pay as a full-time contract (i.e. regular teacher), my pay was low as it was only my first year of teaching. That summer, I was lucky to find work … but I still juggled money as I was a single parent of two children. I was also fortunate to get full-time work the following year.

Now, my long term occasional colleagues have to work and average of 6 or 7 years (based on my own anecdotal observations) before they get full-time employment. This is strikingly similar to the Japanese Teacher Union’s number of 5.9 years before full-time work. I realized that Ontario is having similar challenges to Japan with shrinking student enrolment due to low birth rates.

It is my hope, with the support of our union, ETFO, and the Ministry of Education, that our occasional teachers will be treated well and they will not have to continue to face long years of precarious employment.

Deb Weston

References

Ohiro, Y. & Asakuno, S, (2017, July 13) Non-regular teachers’ zeal goes. The Japan News, Edition S, From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 4, 2017, p. 5. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003801906

Ohiro, Y. & Asakuno, S, (2017, July 13) Cutbacks in regular employment. The Japan News, Edition S, From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 4, 2017 p. 5. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003801906

February 15, 2017 Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, Constant Learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Modern Learning, Occasional Teaching, self reflection, The Arts

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

I am for sure aging myself here, but for those of you who may not be familiar with this figure of speech it is used to describe a person who is good at many skills but a master of none. That is the best way to describe who I am as a teacher and how I have evolved over my career of learning to be a better teacher.

Far too often we think that in order to use a strategy or tool in our classroom we have to be an expert at it. We don’t! As a teacher I have to be familiar with the content, the methodology and/or the necessary steps but I do not have to be a master of it. I am going to talk specifically to my personal Achilles tendon of teaching, the ARTS. I am in no way a musician, yet I can share my passion for music, lyrics and the powerful messages found in music. I can learn and teach to the curriculum expectations of my grade. I can partake in professional development opportunities to expand my skill set and knowledge. Even after all that, I will still not be an expert as compared to a music specialist.

My greatest accomplishment in the arts has been my work on understanding drama as a teaching tool, learning dramatic content and implementing it into my program. I have never been on stage (other than as an elementary student at Christmas time). I have never been a part of any formal dramatic theme, other than helping clean up after a school event and yet drama is one of the most successful components of my program these days. Each year my team and I take a group of highly volatile behaviour students and put on a formal dramatic presentation that we travel with to various schools within my board to share. We are currently in mid production of this year’s play.

Like in almost anything I was not comfortable with as a teacher, the students’ skill set, passion and innate ability to learn took over and I was just left to facilitate their growth. The second message is that when you share your expertise with your colleagues (collaborative planning) the saying that no one person knows more than all of us holds true. I am writing this for all teachers to understand that is it okay to take risks, it is okay to make mistakes in your classroom and learn from those mistakes and it is certainly okay to be a jack of all trades and master of none.

October 23, 2016 Will Gourley General, Occasional Teaching

Making la vida “OT” less loca

By Agriculture And Stock Department, Publicity Branch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

As a teacher, the daily demands of planning, preparing, assessing, and constant learning occupy most of my waking hours. Thankfully, after several years at, what I call, the speed of learning I have achieved what appears to be a work life balance.

One thing I clearly remember, from the start, was a vow to never (emphasis on never) take a day off due to illness, PD, or any other reason. And for a while, everything went according to plan. Steadfastly, I made it 8 months before the inevitable happened. I had to take a day (NTIP will get you every time).

4 brain wracking hours of over planning later, I gave myself permission to believe I was ready to be away. Looking back, I had really over-prepared and I know it…now. From what I reckon, I planned about 3 times more instruction and work on that single day for the Occasional Teacher or OT who covered my classes. Well, better too much than not enough right?

After the experience I began reflecting about that day. My first thoughts were a tad egotistical, truth be told. Did my class(es) behave, were my plans good? Was I going to be outed for not knowing how to prepare for an OT? What if I messed up? I felt a bit vulnerable. What if my colleagues (all experienced teachers) had to cover for me? What would I do the next time?

I also thought about what it must be like for the Occasional Teachers who, on a daily basis, find themselves in a different school classroom teaching someone else’s students and lessons? Did they ever get a chance to feel connected to the lives they were impacting, however brief? I remember the first time I noticed a couple of OTs sitting by themselves in the staff room during lunchtime – little to no eye contact and even less interaction. I didn’t like how it appeared so different than the inclusive environments we were espousing in our classrooms.

Did it have to be this way?

We are all in the same educational boat, but it seems that some are sailing on a different part of the ship. Did I break an unwritten rule the first time I said hello, and invited an OT to sit with our staff to eat? Did I miss a class in teacher’s college that covered how this was supposed to play out?

Perhaps, this was a rite of passage that all OTs had to go through in our profession? If it was, I claim ignorance, but what I observed guided me more towards how I wanted to support these colleagues who were going to occasionally be part of my teaching life. I wanted the OTs that were me for the day to feel welcome and valued in the space in my place.

So, I started with my Day Plans; ensuring they were informative, concise, and easy to follow. As a prep coverage teacher, I made sure all of the resources were marked by subject, class, and time on the schedule. I included names of students who are helpful, descriptions of students who might need extra support, and all details related to any/all safety routines/plans. Thankfully, our school had a booklet printed up with most of the general info to leaf through as well.

I thought about what else could I do? Maybe they’d like a snack? So I included a peanut free granola bar with my plans too. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I had a number of teachers write a personal note saying that no one had ever left them a treat. It made me feel good because we all know as the day goes on a little snack goes along way to staying strong. To this day I have a drawer full of treats ready to share with my OTs. I knew that if a little snack works for my students, it would work for others too.

Now that I’m a homeroom teacher, I share my plans with OTs digitally via Google Apps for Education or GAPPS. This allows me to include links to any internet content like websites or video to be shared throughout the day without having to risk typing in the wrong URLs or mistakenly opening the wrong file(s). The easier I can make their job, the better the day.

Taking stock of my OT plans from last year, it struck me that, for various reasons(mostly giving/receiving PD), I was away over 25 days from my class last year. I had to rely on a host of OTs like never before and with their support not a lesson was missed. Each one delivering the lessons and sharing important feedback after each day.

With more days out of the classroom guaranteed in the future, I know my students are in good hands.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your OT stories and keep the conversation going.

May 25, 2016 Kelly.McLaughlin Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teaching, Social Justice, Student Ownership

Students making a difference

Throughout this school year, it was one of my goals to not only start a fundraiser that would benefit a charity somehow but to have students orchestrate most if not all of the procedure. At my school Ancaster Meadow, I asked a group of 30 grade eights to plan with me a day entitled “All Star Day”. Together with myself the grade eights:

chose two charities for all monies collected to go towards
selected how the day would work picking the events at All Star Day
- 3 point competition $10 to play
- All star skills competition $10 to play
- All Star game where kids from grade five to seven would play and would be coached by grade eights $20 to play
- All star game where grade eights would play the teachers $20 to play
help run the day and organize the crowd to watch the event

There were many other tasks involved to help make the day a success. I went to 30 different companies to ask for donations as well as other companies to sponsor t-shirts, lunch the day of and volunteers were involved from Redeemer University.

The day went off without a hitch and we raised $2000 total, $1000 going to each charity. After this day, every grade eight came to me asking to lead more events, raise money for more charities, etc. They had all these ideas that are impossible to all say yes to because it is May at the end of a school year and the ideas they have would take many months to plan for. However, students do have the potential to make the greatest difference in their school. Whenever you have an idea, put it in the hands of your students and trust that they can take it anywhere. I have never seen kids more involved or more into what they were doing in a school building then I saw on that day. I cannot wait for next school year when I can do that same event again, keep building on it and inspiring children to know that they can make a difference and have an amazing time while doing so.

If you would like to see videos from our event, you can youtube: Ancaster Meadow All Star Day.

May 4, 2016 Tisha Nelson Inspiring Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Resume Writing, self reflection

Resumes – Writing the Narrative of Your Practice

Next to journaling and writing for the Heart and Art blog, resume writing is one of my favourite ways to reflect on my practice. The process of communicating my philosophy of education and demonstrating how this plays out in the day-to-day ignites my passion for teaching and learning and reminds me of why I do what I do as a teacher.

Shifting one’s role, whether it be changing schools or position or seeking new experiences, is one of many ways that educators can embrace new learning opportunities and refuel their energy for the journey ahead. Embracing the stance of reflection when composing one’s resume is essential in this regard as it distinguishes candidates amongst a large pool of applicants. The following suggestion are some of the tricks I’ve hid up my sleeves in order to present myself as a strong candidate for the mirage of opportunities within the education sector. Why am I telling you this? I don’t know. But perhaps after many years of my unofficial resumes consulting, these tricks will prove useful in your journey.

1. Use a relevant framework. The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) governs the teaching profession in Ontario and as such, using the OCT Standard of Practice as a framework for designing your resume structures the narrative of your practice in ways that align with the directives and outcome of best practice. Using the standard heading, Education, Experiences, Interests, etc., may serve useful in less specialized sectors, but as a profession, teacher resumes should mimic the framework that serves to structure our professionalism.

2. Show, don’t tell. I have read countless teacher resumes that indicate that applicants planned and taught lesson. But starting this task that on a resume is not distinguishing at all. Every teacher seeking an opportunity in education must have planned and taught lessons. A more effective way of demonstrating the scope of your practice is to paint the picture of your practice in action. This is where reflection is essential. Rather than telling what you did, show it using an affect-oriented narrative. “Embraced proactive approaches to classroom management in order to nurture a positive learning environment and foster a sense of community” paints a more intentional picture of teacher practice than “Created a positive learning environment.” The latter tells what was done while the former shows how it was done and explains why. What sets the two statements apart? Reflection that articulates the desired outcome of the action being described.

3. Treat the page like limited re-estate. Though not every posting for teachers may stipulate a maximum page number for the resume, I tend to stick to the standard 2 pages rule when applying for teaching positions. With over 7 years of experiences that seems like an impossible endeavor but by being strategic in my articulation I can demonstrate the breadth and width of my practice while maximizing the limited space of 2 pages. Being intentional about what to say, how to say it and where to say it can be fruitful in staying within the page limit. The key is to avoid repetition. Though you may have many teaching experiences that you want to display, be sure to be succinct about only demonstrating a particular aspect of your practice no more than once, regardless if it was something that you employed in other experiences. There are better ways to demonstrate your strength as an educator other than repeating yourself multiple times. Likewise, many resumes are accompanied by a covering letter which structure is very different than that of a resume. It is in your covering letter that your prose can come out in ways that will allow you to delve deeper into your practice. But remember, if you said it in your resume, use the covering letter to say something else.

So there you have it. My 3 easy steps for educators to engage in reflective resume writing. However you decide to engage in it, your resume speaks first, often before you are invited to articulate your vision and passion in person. Write it well. Write it with intention. Write is as a way to stay reflective. In the process you may be reminded, again and again, of just why you truly are an educator.

November 15, 2015November 25, 2015 Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teaching, Planning

Occasional Teachers As Partners

In my classroom an Occasional Teacher is referred to as a Guest Teacher for many reasons. The most important being that the person who arrives that day is first and foremost a teacher. That individual is a qualified teacher who is there to help students continue on their daily academic journey. They are not there to keep students busy nor are they there to just supervise for the day.

It is very important that in my plans I both value and allow that incoming expertise to be shared with my students. Of course I have developed plans that will be a continuation of what is going on in my classroom but have left instructions that are open ended and allow the guest teacher to be able to adjust them based on the needs of the students they are working with as well as the expertise and experience they bring into our classroom. In that way, my students are able to enjoy and share the uniqueness of each teacher they work with.

My experience has taught me that one of the worst things I can do is to set up the guest teacher for failure or classroom management problems by assigning work that is not relevant or connected to the day-to-day academics that are occurring in that room. My students need to know that each and every task they are working on is important to their overall growth and academic success.

I truly enjoy the day after a Guest Teacher has been in my room and the students remember their name, tell me something personal they learned about that individual and are eager to share the work they completed. That type of response provides very valuable feedback about how well my students are transferring the classroom agreement to all individuals they come into contact with.

I want to tell Occasional Teachers how important your role is and how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into my students. Thank you for everything you do as partners to contract teachers.

April 19, 2015 Lisa.Taylor Classroom Management, Occasional Teaching

Is it worth “picking your battles” in the classroom?

“Choose your battles.” – It is something you have heard a thousand times, and have probably applied it in your classroom or on the playground. But is choosing your battles really worth it in the long run?

The short answer is NO! Absolutely not. But why?

When you set a boundary, like make sure you push your chair in whenever you get up from your desk to avoid tripping, etc., you have to stand by it. If you want it to ALWAYS happen, you have to ALWAYS enforce it. If you have a “no calling out on the carpet” rule, even if you have a child who has a behaviour plan and has an IEP goal to only call out 3 times per carpet time, you still have to address it when it happens. In my classroom, we spend all of September establishing these classroom rules, or boundaries, and we make sure they are solid.

One of my biggest pet peeves is lining up. I hate it when kids just slam their chairs in and run! So all of September we practice. We work on how to stand up all at once (I even have a palms up, pushing up towards the ceiling in front of my body signal for them) and push in our chairs. We try it once and if someone forgets to push in their chair, I address it, and we all sit down and try again. This works best if they are getting ready to go to something they LOVE like recess, gym, snack, etc. They are eager to get it right! Go over it a few times until they get it right. There is always a positive you can point out. “Addressing it” doesn’t necessarily mean saying, “Jimmy didn’t push in his chair and Amy was talking.” You can address the same problems by stating, “Erin pushed her chair in so nicely and Marc was so quiet as he did this!” Jimmy and Amy will (hopefully) recognize their mistakes and correct them the next time. Once they have successfully done that, let them line up. As you move through September, add in steps – silently push in chairs and stand behind them. Wait for the signal to go to the door and WALK quietly. Again, if there is a mistake, go right back to sitting and try again. It doesn’t take that long to perfect and they will love to show off their mad skills to other teachers, classes, principals, really anyone who will watch!

We practice walking down the hall quietly, getting our lunches out, how to leave the coat hook after recess, how to leave the chairs and desks at the end of the day – really anything!

But why do we not just pick our battles. If we are running late to start gym and someone didn’t get into line properly, why bother stopping to correct it? Why not just get to the gym so we can move on? I’ll tell you why. Routine, clear expectations, and boundaries. Children need these things. If most of they have to line up properly, but sometimes they don’t, they will never know when they have to do it properly, and when they can just do it however they wish. This will result in chaos. Children need clear expectations. They need to know that if they do X, the response will ALWAYS be Y. This way they know exactly what your expectations are and can behave accordingly.

If you want kids to put their hands up but then when they call out you accept their answers and don’t address the issue, they learn that it is okay to call out sometimes. They cannot necessarily establish a clear idea of when it is okay, but they know sometimes it will be okay so they sometimes do it. If it is NEVER okay, they don’t need to wonder what the expectations are.

But what if you want kids to be able to call out sometimes? You need a visual or verbal cue. I always had a special hat, or signal. I found a hat or prop was tricky because you don’t always have it. I would put an open palm up to my ear after I asked a question if it was okay to call it out. This is something we also practiced – kind of like Simon Says. You don’t have to make a negative statement when someone slips up, you can address it in a positive manner or joking manner, as long as you don’t belittle the expectation.

Children thrive when they know what is expected of them. If you mix it up and “choose your battles” with them, you will lose many of them. There will always be the students that amidst all of the chaos, will still wait quietly with their hand up because they know that is what you want, but if you don’t reward them by calling on them and pointing out to the others that you are calling on those students because of their positive behaviours, you will undoubtedly lose them all in the end.

Classroom management can be a struggle and it can take years to find something that works for you. But whatever your system, be consistent. If you only follow through sometimes, your students will be moving through your class blindly, never knowing when they will be “on” and when they won’t be. That feeling of uncertainty is overwhelming, especially for young ones. Set clear boundaries, teach them how to work within them, and uphold them. This is sure to set your class on a positive note!

And don’t forget, sometimes you need to modify! If your class can’t handle the stand up, push in your chair, wait quietly behind your desk until you get the signal, then modify it to suit your class. If they can only handle it without the pause at their desk, but do everything else flawlessly, cut that part out. And don’t hesitate to take some time to teach any other teachers that work with your class your classroom magic tricks. I will often even close my eyes and tell the other teacher that the “classroom fairy will move my class from their desks to the door without a peep – watch!” and do the signals and when I open my eyes, they are there. The young ones love this too!

Whatever you do, just be consistent and uphold the “law” all the time! It doesn’t help anyone when you are too lax with the rules.

September 24, 2013October 21, 2013 Ryan G Mentorship, Occasional Teaching, Professional Learning and Growth

Being a Mentor OT

In my first year of occasional teaching, I was as lost as Bambi in a forest fire.

Yes, I was fully certified, and sure, I had successfully interviewed for the OT list. Yet there I was, in my first few assignments, marvelling that someone, somewhere, had said, “Hmm. We have a teacher who’s going to be away for the day. Let’s put Ryan in there.” The thought that I was actually being trusted with other people’s kids was entirely intimidating. And let’s face it–most of us have reflected on, and at some point have been terrified about, the enormity of our task as educators.

Thank goodness for Sarah.

Sarah introduced herself, took me under her wing, and showed me around the school. She connected me with full-time staff members and included me in conversations around the lunch table. When I didn’t know where to find the photocopier, Sarah showed me. She even pointed me to where the bathroom was (a gesture, I might add, of no small importance). Did I mention I was lost?

You can imagine my astonishment when later I discovered that Sarah was a daily OT, just like me.

I don’t know if she realised it at the time–or if she’d even consider herself one–but Sarah was a mentor to me. Her simple gestures helped make my transition to teaching incredibly smoother. I bristle to think about how those first few days would have been without her.

In chapter two of The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning, we’re reminded that beginning teachers are active participants in the mentoring process. This applies not only to contract teachers, but also to occasional teachers. Perhaps this means that as a newer OT, you seek out the mentorship of a colleague you trust who can help you navigate through first season of your career. Alternatively, perhaps you’re a seasoned OT with a kind heart and a wealth of experience who can guide and assist a newer teacher in the schools where you regularly see each other.

The difference informal mentors make in a school is outstanding! I’ve seen it myself and I’m sure you have, too. Mentors help to foster a sense of collaboration and community in their schools. For me, what started off like a forest fire soon began to feel like greener pastures. Undoubtedly, the mentors I know make my schools fawn-tastic places to work.

Think about your own schools. Could you be a Sarah in someone else’s life? I assure you they’d be forever grateful. I am.

Thanks, Sarah.