Kelly.McLaughlin 21st Century Learning, Celebrating Success, Distance learning, Engaging students with online learning, Inspiring Students, Remote Learning, self reflection, Teaching online, Year End Activities

The Annual End of Year Pressure

Does any other educator feel that end of year pressure as we wind down to our final months of teaching? This year, I am feeling it more than ever. Usually, I stress to start the fourth science unit or the final math unit, but this year it is a different kind of stress.

I have been so lucky this year to have a group of 30 inspiring students. Every day they inspire me by showing up, typing in the chat, speaking and presenting in a group of people they have never met and most of all, by persevering. This remote learning idea was never supposed to work and for this group of students, it did much more that. I think many of these students are participating more than they ever had before. It gave shy students a voice for the first time, it gave busy students a time to do many tasks at once and much more. For me, it gave me the chance to respond and give feedback in real type, typing next steps in the chat that students would automatically implement. It also was my first year of teaching without any interruptions. For that reason, my stress is related to not having enough time to do all of the things I could do with such an engaged group of students. I am so thankful for this year as it has allowed me to really get to know them, even if I have never met any of them. This year I was able to focus so much time on asking the important questions such as:

  • How was your break?
  • How was your evening?
  • How are you doing today?
  • What are you feeling at this moment?

Some of these questions are questions that a busy day in a physical school have never allowed me to ask before. I think after break most teachers just quiet the class down and I have never taught to ask how their break actually was. I will take this lesson as one of the most valuable to my in person classroom next year.

As for the end of the year, there are so many activities I would still like to do. It is something that keeps me up at night, the thought of what are the most important lessons to leave with a group of students and which ones can be left out?

I am looking forward to these two topics which I will be starting soon:

  •  Coding: I left it for the month of June as I thought it would be the most engaging math concept and will be easier to teach at the end of the year when students need something very engaging to keep them up and running
  • Health: In my school board, we were asked to only begin teaching this unit after May 5th

However, there are still so many things I want my students to continue practicing so that they can try them next year in the classroom:

  • How to carry all of these phenomenal tech. skills to the classroom
  • How to remember to be positive when faced with challenges
  • How to greet their classmates in the morning
  • How to give positive feedback after a presentation
  • How to get right to work (this is probably impossible)

I am hoping to devote most of June to fun and exciting teaching opportunities. One of them is a fresh and interactive math game for all! For the past two Fridays, my students and I have enjoyed playing the most exciting math game which can be found on http://gimkit.com I encourage every educator that teaches math to download this program as it is so engaging and fun! In the past, I have reviewed math quiz apps and this one is by far the best. There are 8-10 different game show styles that students can join on to try to  show their math skills. Here are some of the gameshow styles we have tried:

  • Trust No One (my classes favourite and is a copy of Among Us)
  • The Floor is Lava
  • Humans vs. Zombies
  • Boss Battle

I have had the most participation in math with this game as a whopping 21 out of 30 students joined today! Yes, 30 would be incredible but there are often technical issues that occur right around math every day. I hope you can all try this soon with your students, especially now that every student is online.

Well as the year winds down, I hope that everyone has the strength to continue and has someone positive in their corner cheering them on to the finish! It has been such a challenging year and not everyone has been fortunate enough to have a group of students that refuse to let anything ruin their day. I will miss the online setting for sure but I know it is in the best interest of our students to get them back in a face to face setting. I will continue sharing my online journey until it is over! I look forward to seeing any comments about fun year end activities that should not be missed 🙂

Have a great weekend!

 

Will Gourley COVID19, Distance learning, e-learning, Emergency Distance Learning, Engaging students with online learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, self reflection, Wellbeing

Insert name(s) here

I hope this message finds you well. 
It has been a long time since we’ve been able to really; (circle one)
a. Chat
b. Catch-up
c. Connect
d. Collaborate
e. Other____________________________
f. All of the above (I circled this one)

I really miss the times when we were able to learn together, and to encourage each other in person too. Come to think of it, I miss a lot of things about the past year and a third. Most of all, I miss all of the joys, highs, lows, and in-betweens of being in our school. I’m not quite sure how all of these emotions built up so fast. Oh wait, COVID.

Our feelings are like CO2 being forced into a bottle and then put into a paint shaker to see what happens. I know what happens. It is messy. Other times its as if the soda bottle has been left out on the counter with the lid off all night. That sparkle and effervesence is long gone by morning. That was never the case when we were in school. 

Lately, it seems like all we do is view each other through layers of fiber optic signals and glass screens. Sometimes, I am not sure whether any of us feels like we are truly seen anymore. After all we miss the crucial dimension of proximity each time we meet in our virtual lockdown learning spaces. Well, at least our masks are off at home, yet somehow there is something really different, almost missing between being in each other’s presence and the telepresence we are forced to be engaging in right now. 

I know that it’s a struggle for me. I have meetings to teach now. I hear your voices, but our virtual interface might as well be a tin cans tied together with string like when we were kids. To me, it is becoming increasingly impossible to read small faces at 72 dpi. That’s if I see anyone at all after privacy and comfort levels are factored in. Decoding your complexity of emotions from what looks more like an animated postage stamp(gif) at best, or a motionless icon at worst never came with a training manual.

So I am writing my own. It starts every day with breaking down the digital walls that prevent us from proximity. COVID 19 may have moved our learning online for now, but it can’t prevent us from continuing the class community we have worked so hard to create. We’re chatting. We’re catching up. We’re connecting. We’re caring and then we are learning, but it is messy and it is draining. Everyone is bringing their best versions of their best selves to virtual school right now, and that looks different from day to day. 

I know you’re connecting because the little green metres rise and fall when you speak or type. Sometimes everyone is trying to answer at once and other times it is an awkward hush. How I cherish our variations from routine interactions and uniformity of it all. It is exciting to see the chat stream full of comments. I love it when the little virtual hands are raised up to respond. Each one not a pixel higher than any other. I know that there are others who want to say something, but are still feeling unsure about it and themselves too. There are even some who cannot participate because of limited tech/WiFi and that’s okay.

Whatever the reason(s) we will grow stronger and get through our days with:
Insert name(s) here, How are you?
Insert name(s) here, Would you like to share something with the class? 
Insert name(s) here, I notice you have been struggling with your tech. How can I help? 
Insert name(s) here, I wanted to let you know that you offered a really thoughtful answer in our discussion today, and I appreciated your perspective.
Insert name(s) here, I noticed you shared a lot of great ideas in the meeting chat today. I am glad you lead our class in that space.
Insert name(s) here, You are valued. You matter. I see you.

I know there is much more that follows, but everyday has to begin with our humanity before anything else. It may seem tough to give up that time at the start of each day, but the investment in knowing students, especially while we are in lockdown, will pay lifelong dividends in hearts and minds of your learners and self. It will make this time better than bearable while we prepare to return to our schools again soon.  

 

 

 

Kelly.McLaughlin Communication with Parents and Guardians, Distance learning, Engaging students with online learning, General, Health & Safety, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources, self reflection, Teaching online

Teaching dance and health online, yikes!

Happy week after spring break everyone!

Is anyone else feeling super impressed with their students and their ability to get right back into things after a week-long break? I have never been able to say that before so I thought I may as well express these feelings of joy while I can.

As we get closer to the end of our school year, I am quickly compiling numerous tables with expectations, activities and number of periods needed for each subject. Since I have such an engaged group, I want to cover as much as I can so they are ready for their grade eight year. I think I’ve had about ten nightmares related to teaching dance and health since I started my online journey in September. I knew I wanted to start them sooner rather than later so we had time for more relaxed subjects in June. 

So, Tuesday our first day back this week, we started dance and I was overwhelmed with the amount of participation. I wanted to keep things manageable so I started with this specific expectation:

  • Exploring cultural forms, specifically, looking at the evolution of dance over time.

We watched an eight minute long YouTube video called “The Evolution of Dance”. Using what students saw in that video as well as researching on their own, students posted sticky notes on our jamboard link, sharing anywhere from 50-60 different styles of dance. We started in the 1950s and went all the way to present day. One student went so far as to share a comment about how nowadays, dances become popular overnight due to trends set by “celebrities” on tiktok. This app allows a worldwide stage for new and viral dances. This was such a great connection and was something we were going to address the following class. I was very nervous to teach dance, but I am glad I started with some discussions and video sharing. I have never taught this topic and was unsure of how to get a group of 33 grade seven students to dance, but I was able to see such engaging conversations take off around the evolution of dance. An engaging lesson for any who are skeptical about this hard to each subject (especially in a virtual space).

I am also gearing up to teach the health curriculum for the first time in my career. We were asked to send a letter home to parents where it outlines the expectations we will be covering. We also made parents aware of the exemption form that they would be required to fill out if they are requesting an exemption (as per board policy). These are the topics that I will be teaching this year to the grade seven students:

  • Describing the dangers associated with computers/social media and identify protective responses 
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the link between mental health problems and substance use 
  • Explaining the importance of having a shared conversation with a partner about delaying sexual activity until they are older  
  • Understanding consent and the importance of communication 
  • Identifying sexually transmitted, blood-borne infections and describe their symptoms   
  • Identifying ways of preventing infections and unplanned pregnancy 
  • Mental Health Literacy  
  • Substance use, addition and related behaviours 

 The following resources will be used to assist in the delivery of this unit: 

  • Ontario Curriculum sample questions  
  • OPHEA guidelines

We will also be able to attend a lunch and learn for more information as well as hear more about these topics at our staff meeting. For a teacher who has never taught health, never talked about these topics in an online setting and never met their students, it can be quite an intimidating subject. However, I know these topics are very important to talk about and my students are well versed in the importance of learning sensitive things, especially in today’s society. I am hoping I will be able to cover these to the best of my abilities and I look forward to reading the OPHEA resources before doing so. 

If any teachers have tips/tricks for dance and health, I am all ears! For now, these are my go to plans for the two subjects. As for the other subjects I still need to cover, even though they have their challenges, are pieces of cake compared to the unfamiliar dance and health!

Enjoy your weekends everyone and hang in there, we almost made it through this wild and unique year! 

 

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Behaviour Management, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, COVID19, Distance learning, Equity, Inclusion, Inquiry, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Modern Learning, Remote Learning, self reflection, social emotional learning, Student wellbeing, teacher efficacy, Teacher Wellness, Teaching online, Wellbeing, wellness, Wellness

“How can I help?”

The adage of “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” was ingrained in me at an early age.  Until recently, I have always thought that being confident, capable and successful meant never asking for help.  I used to think that asking for help meant that you were weak.  I now think that asking for help is incredibly brave.  My 17 year old son recently told me about a group chat with his workmates.  Someone at work had sent an urgent message to the group asking how to do something while closing up the restaurant.  Many of the coworkers poked fun at the lack of knowledge of the person seeking help.  My son (brace yourself for this proud Mama Bear moment) texted that it was really brave of his co-worker to ask for help and provided the information that the coworker needed to close up for the night. I think that his act demonstrated wisdom an empathy far beyond his years.

Have you ever felt a little territorial or protective about your ideas or lessons in your classroom?  I imagine everyone likes to be valued for their unique talents and abilities.  In general, I don’t think anyone likes to be seen to be struggling and consequently, some teachers might choose to work in isolation. Perhaps it is fear. I’ve spoken to many colleagues who have identified as suffering from imposter syndrome. Perhaps those of us who have experienced imposter syndrome think that if anyone else got eyes on what we do every day that we would be judged and found to be lacking in some way.  Often teachers will tell me that they don’t have time to share with their colleagues-there just isn’t enough time in the day to collaborate. With the busy pace of education, I know that I have absolutely felt that way. My experience has been that when I take the time to collaborate with others I in fact, have more time and consequently better programming.  It is a concerted effort and takes a trusting relationship to co-plan and co-teach but when it works, it is amazing.

In my role as an instructional leadership consultant I am responsible for two portfolios; Innovation and Technology and the New Teacher Induction Program.  At the beginning of the COVID pandemic as teachers were teaching virtually for the first time, some had never used things like Google apps, FlipGrid and Kahoot. I was doing my best to support teachers with tools for teaching online.  Thankfully, I knew some other teachers that I could reach out to and ask for help.  These teachers, close to the beginning of their careers, were using these tools in the classroom and were able to help design and present webinars to other more seasoned colleagues.  As teachers, we often think that we need to have all of the answers for our students and with one another.  I’ve heard it referred to as the “Sage on the Stage Syndrome.” We seem to feel that we need to stay ahead of everything, which is impossible.  Education is changing more rapidly than ever.  I learned so much from my colleagues over the months that we worked together as a team and even though it was stressful at times, it was also incredibly fun.  I look back now on the powerful outreach our work had and the gratitude that was expressed by our colleagues and I am so glad that I got over myself and asked for help.

In the t.v. drama “New Amsterdam” whenever the new director of the hospital is introduced to someone, the first question that he asks is, “How can I help?”  It happens in the first episode about twenty times. This was a BIG a-ha moment for me.  What a powerful question!  How often have we wanted our students to ask for help?  How often have they refused when we have asked “Can I help you?”or “Do you need help?”  Unfortunately, asking for help is still seen as a weakness by many people.  However the question “How can I help?” turns it around so that the responsibility and focus is on the person offering assistance.  It is more difficult for someone to just say “No.” to this question.  It can help to create psychological safety in order to focus on what can be done to help rather than someone sitting in discomfort or shame because they won’t ask for help.  Sometimes just asking can make all the difference to someone when they are feeling overwhelmed, even if they decline the offer.  The four small words, “How can I help?” can make a powerful impact.  Sometimes, asking for help is the bravest thing you can do.

Michelle Fenn 21st Century Learning, Celebrating Success, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, COVID19, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mentorship, Mindfulness, Modern Learning, Resilience, self reflection, social emotional learning, solidarity, Students as Teachers, Teacher Appreciation, teacher efficacy, Teacher Wellness, Teacher Working Conditions, Wellbeing, wellness, wellness, Wellness, Women at Work, Women's Health

Attitude of Gratitude

I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness -- it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude.

Many years ago I remember watching a gratitude themed Oprah episode.  There was a gratitude journal that the guest had developed and was relaying all of the benefits of writing down things that you were grateful for each day.  The power of suggestion (I’m a sucker for an impulse buy for self-improvement) lead me to the nearest Chapters to purchase one of those journals that weekend.  I certainly didn’t fill that journal. I think I lost interest in a couple of months because it felt as though I was writing the same thing over and over again.  I realize now that gratitude, like mindfulness and meditation, is a “practice.”

Gratitude practice is most effective when life is rough.  It sounds counterintuitive.  It is much easier to be grateful when things are going well right?  Easy to “count your blessings” when you are sitting on a beach in a resort in the Dominican Republic.  I personally feel the power of the gratitude practice when life isn’t going according to plan.  Though, I want to be clear here, there is a fine line between true gratitude practice and “looking on the bright side” or “finding the silver lining.”  That bright-side-silver-lining thinking can border on toxic positivity which isn’t helpful.

Gratitude practice means different things to different people.  For me, it is connected to daily journaling.  Each night since the fall I have been writing about my day in terms of gratitude before going to bed. Some nights I might write for 5 minutes.  Some nights I write for a half hour.  It might read something like, “I’m grateful that we got outside for a walk, that my son felt good about his essay after all of the struggles and tears, that we were able to eat a healthy meal, for Hello Fresh being delivered to my door and for the opportunity to reach out and connect to some new teachers through professional learning today.”  I try to reflect on the events of my day in terms of gratitude.  I could write in my journal that the technology in my professional learning session that day was glitchy, we got off to a rocky start trying to get everyone into the WebEx room, and there were links that didn’t work even though I had tested them twice. Instead, I choose to be grateful for the connection and discussion that I had with the teachers that day.  It isn’t that I ignore that bad things happen or think about how things can be improved, but ruminating on the bad things that happened during the day right before going to bed isn’t going to ensure much of a restful sleep.

In some of the professional learning opportunities that I have recently hosted with new teachers we have discussed the struggles of the current climate in the classroom.  It is important to have a safe place for teachers to voice those concerns and have someone listen with compassion and empathy and ask curious questions.  I will often say that there are many things that I can’t help them with, but that I am there to “embrace the suck” with them.   At the conclusion of those discussions my final question is always, “What is a recent personal or professional success that you’ve experienced that you would like to share with the group?”  This ends the discussion on a note of gratitude. It is SO easy to get caught up in venting and complaining about the situation in education right now. Teaching it is NOT an easy job on any given day but the difficulties have grown exponentially with the pressures that COVID has added.  So when we can take a moment to remember why we continue to go to work each day, why we got into the job in the first place and what our recent wins have been, I think it brings a feeling of hope.

Sometimes I practice gratitude in a less formal way that is more like mindfulness.  Recently while walking on a treed trail on a bright, sunny, winter day with my best friend, I stopped mid sentence and just looked around at the beauty.  I said to my friend, “I just had to take a minute to take this in.  We are so fortunate to be able to walk here.”  It only took a moment.  I don’t do that all of the time, we’d never get anywhere on our walks! However, remembering to do it every so often helps me to deal with stress and the bad things when they do happen.  If in the moment of a stressful situation I can take a moment to breathe and practice gratitude it sometimes keeps the emotions from escalating.  When conversing with someone who is frustrated and perhaps complaining or lashing out I try to remember that this person is doing the best they can at that moment and that each opportunity to interact with someone who is suffering is a chance to learn and I try to be grateful for that.  Author Andrea Owen in her book, “How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t” would call it an AFOG-another flipping opportunity for growth.  When I remember to think about gratitude in a not so great moment, I might do it raised shoulders and through gritted teeth, but I keep trying.  It is, after all a practice.

“If the opposite of scarcity is enough, then practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there’s enough and that we’re enough.” -Brene Brown

Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, COVID19, Emergency Distance Learning, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection

Wrong again

Privilege, position, and power are placed in the hands of all educators. Being a teacher, regardless of instructional medium is more demanding than ever before. While our world in and out of the classroom looks like nothing we have ever seen before, some things haven’t changed – such as the importance of social justice in education. What we teach must always be inclusive of who we are teaching, the community, and the world around us in our instruction.

This is why anti-racist education is so important. We need to continue this work beyond the month of February because systemic racism and bias are hard at work all year long. That means there’s always something more to learn. There’s also a chance that we could get things wrong and that can get in the way sometimes.

As learners, humans can gain much from making mistakes. There’s even an expression for it: “To err is human.” I must be really human because I have learned so much from my mistakes already. From what I am seeing in the news and on social media, our humanity has never been more human based on the loads of mistakes we’re making. Depending on how you see it, this could be good or bad? Isn’t that the essence of what we do on a daily basis? Isn’t education where we model process and progress over perfection?

Confidence does not come without failure

I am confident that there is a line about being ‘lead-learners’ in the fine print of our infinite-paged-job description. That’s because teaching naturally comes with all of the ‘lessons’ ever imagined whether you are leading or learning. The trick becomes knowing how to find them, and then accepting that none of us will ever know everything. Perhaps this peace of mind is why I have grown more comfortable with discomfort of not knowing everything, and even with being wrong at times. I have also discovered that there are many like minded educators just like me – most of us in fact.

In On becoming an anti-racist educator I wrestled with my past along the path, but it also meant confronting the existence of racism in my personal life and my part in it. A younger iteration of myself might have struggled with this, but by examining my past and my responsibility as a bystander has helped move me forward. Throughout my life I have grown accustomed to getting things wrong, but always believed that I was standing on the right side when it came to issues of equity and anti-racism. What I realized, after reflection, mentorship, and deeper learning was how my belief in those lies was solely meant to ease my burden of responsibility for my complicity and privilege.

Black History Month is 10 months away

Cue the current teaching situation where our roles have now expanded to include daily counselling on issues of mental health, experts at PPE, and classroom sanitizers extraordinaire. We have also become distance learning specialists, multi-modal lesson trailblazers, fearless conversationalists about issues of race and racism, and critical thinkers on how to overcome and dismantle systemic racism and bias. All because we have assumed a lead learners mindset fuelled by getting things wrong and working on it along the way to success.

So it doesn’t have to be different in the classroom then. For me it has meant trying to include culturally relevant and responsive content into each day. I am choosing to avoid the prescribed resources from text book companies that have grown largely culturally irrelevant and unresponsive. Now is the time to amplify new voices in our classrooms and staff meetings too. Regardless of the platform being used to deliver learning, the opportunities and responsibilities remain in every lesson and moment we engage our learners about issues of racism and how to fight against them. The work must continue long past Black History Month to undo 400 years of injustice in for the future generations.

Whether it is in my lessons or by omission, my mistakes are at the core of learning how to get things right. In all of this I find my humanity too with more mistakes to come. To misquote a Disney song and without their lawyers hurting me, “no one fails like Will G”. Embracing my messtakes, excepting korrection, and leaning form them are kee ingredients to a butter me in the classruin. Won day aisle get it write.

 

 

Arianna Lambert General, self reflection

Lessons From a Teacher Candidate

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to mentor Teacher Candidates (TC). When asked this year if I would mentor a TC, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I thought it would be great to support a TC who is probably experiencing a variety of emotions starting off their career in the middle of a pandemic. At the same time, I thought of how I have been feeling – tired, impatient, uncertain – and wondered if I would be able to provide the level of support needed. Needless to say, I agreed to mentor a TC and I’m learning a lot.

Remembering My “Why”

We all got into teaching for a reason. For me, it was the opportunity to work with some of the greatest and most creative people on the planet. Kids have an incredible ability to make sense of the world and make me realize that the work that we do, matters. My journey to education is one that has taken many turns, in part because of some of the teachers I had. 

Early on in our mentorship relationship, I asked the TC in our classroom why she wanted to become a teacher and she emotionally shared her experiences as a child and wanting to be a teacher she wished she had. Now I’ve been at this for the last 11 years and you would think that I am pretty firm in my “why” but I have to say that this was a conversation that I needed at that moment. I happened organically and it has served as a reminder of my “why” through this incredible time of uncertainty, tiredness, and honestly, fear. After having this conversation, I took some time to really sit with and write about my “why”. On days when I don’t feel like I’m having an impact or I feel like this pandemic is beating me down, I look back at and reflect on my “why”.  While it doesn’t make things easier, it’s my anchor through all of this, in hopes that we’ll get to a better place in education, where these incredible people will be centered.

Open Communication

I’m a fan of clear and explicit communication and I’m often quite frank. What you see, is what you get. For some it’s overwhelming. For others, I think it’s appreciated. When meeting new people, I sometimes try to juggle this but honestly, in the midst of a pandemic, I find I just don’t have it in me. I’m working on speaking the truth from a place of love. In our mentorship relationship, we’ve gone the route of clear and open communication and it’s working. The TC knows what to expect from me and vice versa. That’s not to say that we’re not patient with one another but I think that there is mutual growth because we’ve chosen a position of being open with one another and talking things through, without judgment. At a time when people are experiencing so much, we’re growing in our empathy and I think that’s helping us as a class.

Going With the Good

When students are engaged, there’s a buzz in the air and things are good. The TC has chosen to teach one of the most challenging subjects (in my opinion) – French as a second language – and I have to admit that things are good. The students are eager to learn from and with her and I’m seeing her engage more and more with them as they learn. At a time where everyone is really exhausted and in need of a break, it’s refreshing to see that the students are giving it their all. We were reminded of the importance of centering students and teaching from there. As we await the April Break, we continue to find what interests our students and collaborating so as to keep the learning engaging. 

As I stated at the beginning, I had mixed feelings about mentoring a TC during a pandemic. 3 weeks in, I have to say that I’m so grateful for the time to reflect on my “why”, my practice, and myself.  It’s been yet another learning opportunity and I’m glad that I said yes. 

As we approach April Break, I hope that you continue to stay safe and take care of yourself. I know that this has been a challenging time for us all. Please take care.

Kelly.McLaughlin Celebrating Success, Distance learning, e-learning, Engaging students with online learning, Resilience, self reflection, Teaching online

Remote Learning Hereos

Celebrating the Remote Learning Heroes

I wake up to teach each morning, excited to hear my students voices and to teach the lessons for the day. I love every moment with them and I think the world of these students. They really are little super heroes, but do I tell them that enough?

It was brought up at a staff meeting by multiple staff members this week how are our students are super heroes for engaging in a learning setting that we would have never imagined. Just waking up, signing in and listening is something that should be celebrated. But of course, we have to expect more from them and I am delighted by what they show me each day. My students are coming to school each day in a virtual setting, meeting deadlines and participating more than I have ever seen in my seven years of teaching. Just this week alone, they handed in their final copies of their MVP 0f 2020 essays, many of them writing five or more pages about their selected person. Six of my students even wanted to learn about MLA citations and how to format a works cited page. These are things that will help them so much in the future and I was so excited to teach them about that. They also worked hard on their financial literacy final project- coming up with a budget for an imaginary person, looking at how to buy a car and selecting between various interest rates as well as looking up how to save for local universities. Most of my 33 students handed in both of these projects this week and were so excited to celebrate afterwards.

Every week we do student shout-outs and yesterday, I made a “wordle” (mashup of student names) to celebrate each and every one of them. For showing up, but also, for doing so much more than that. I know for some students, the challenging situation we are in right now makes it hard for them to participate in daily lessons. One of my most engaged students told me the other day, “I don’t know how I am doing it. I have the whole world at my finger tips but I am expected to sit and listen to lessons each day. I have to avoid distractions with nobody on the other side of the screen to hold me accountable. I do not know how much longer I can do this.” What an honest statement from my student. My response was yes, what a challenging task! But imagine completing this year and having the skill to avoid distractions and to be responsible for your work without I suppose there isn’t anybody there to remind you to stay on task like there would be in the physical classroom. I encouraged my students to think about all of the things they will be able to accomplish in the future with this new found responsibility. That independence will take them all the way through their academic career.

It is also important for me to remember that they still need to engage with peers, so I have been making breakout rooms each day in a variety of subjects. This is great as well because they have another student to chat with. I love popping into the breakout rooms and hearing the conversations (all on task?!) with students they have never met in real life.

These students are so resilient and they truly are my heroes. I know it is easy to get frustrated with the lack of output from some students, but in the physical classroom, it may have been the same thing. In an online setting, it is just more noticeable. All we can do is continue to encourage our students and remember to celebrate their success, no matter how small. Always try to remember that as challenging as it is for us educators, it is even more challenging for our kids- the remote learning heroes.

 

Arianna Lambert Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, self reflection

Finding Your People

As an educator in the world of school where “kindness” is taught,  I’ve often found it challenging to appear as my authentic self and still be met with kindness.  In my experience, as you enter a new space, you are often greeted in one of 3 ways: with “kindness”; with indifference; or with apprehension. Now, how your relationship proceeds can move between these 3 ways. Funny enough, there is an immediate and often permanent shift as soon as you speak up on issues that matter; the level of “kindness” that you are met with drops significantly. You see, people are often willing to be “kind” until they are made to feel uncomfortable. This makes me wonder about those of us, who on a daily basis are made to feel uncomfortable just by walking into our places of employment.  But I digress…

In this blog, I’m talking about “finding your people”. I don’t mean people who are exactly like you but rather people who have a set of characteristics that I have found to be the salve in my world of education. The people that I am thinking about as I write have a range of experiences and who differ from me in age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. It’s in this difference that I am able to learn, be challenged, and grow.

Critical Thinking

Many of us are familiar with the term, critical thinking. We’ve heard it in reference to competency-based education within our boards.  Simply put, critical thinking is the objective analysis of facts to form judgement, often leading to action. When I think of students who are great critical thinkers, I know that they can:

  • Question and analyze
  • Use information to solve real-world problems
  • Consider multiple solutions from a variety of perspectives
  • Apply knowledge across disciplines

This begs the question, shouldn’t the same be required of the educators within the learning spaces as they are “teaching” students? When educators question and consider a variety of perspectives, it’s refreshing and leads to greater outcomes for students. It baffles me how we expect students to question and think critically and yet as an educator, if you question, you are perceived as being a “trouble maker” or as having “a problem with everything”. Better yet, if you are a Black woman, well…you are angry. At what point will it be expected that we reflect on practices that we have always done, simply because “they have always been done”? At what point will we start to ask questions about who these practices are serving? Who is being further marginalized? To whom are these practices causing harm and trauma? Why does our “fun” or “sense of enjoyment” trump the real harm to students and their families? Those who sit down and think critically about the why behind lessons or school practices and challenge the status quo in order to make schools more equitable, are my people.

Empathy

For me, empathy has always been about a deep understanding of the experiences of another. In education, I have often seen it mixed in with the idea of saviourism. Rather than taking the time to investigate the why and subsequent actions that need to be taken to dismantle unjust systems, there is the idea of “saving” one or a few in order to feel better about oneself. This isn’t empathy. Neither is feeling sorry for someone. Deep empathy causes one to act in order to bring about tangible change. It goes beyond “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” and causes you to reflect and do the work. As educators, what are you hearing from your colleagues? From your students and school community? How are you understanding their experiences and thus taking action to disrupt systems of injustice? You may not feel impacted by an unjust practice within your school but understanding how it causes harm to others and speaking up so that practice is changed is really what empathy is about. Over the last few months, there have been students and educators messaging and reaching out about challenging “Crazy Hair Day” in their schools. Not simply because they don’t like it but because they are understanding the harm and are choosing to act. 

Action

In 1930 Langston Hughes wrote:

I’m so tired of waiting 

Aren’t you,

For the world to become good

And beautiful and kind?

Let us take a knife

And cut the world in two—

And see what worms are eating

At the rind.

I know that many of us are tired. Tired of seeing injustices happening day in and day out in our schools. Tired of being discriminated against. Tired of always being the one to speak up. Tired of waiting for action. While many love to quote the first part of his poem, the second part – I would say – is the most critical. It’s Langston’s call to action. To take a knife, cut to the heart of the problem to see what is there and to address it. Far too often we see performative actions that do nothing but cause further harm because, well… it’s insulting. Until people are ready to actually address and deal with what is at the core of what is happening in education, it’s inaction. Those who are speaking up, naming the discrimination for what it actually is, and taking action to disrupt, are my people. This poem was written almost 100 years ago, what actions are we taking today as educators?

Navigating the complexities of relationships in Education is hard. For me, people who exhibit these traits are those among whom I want to be. They are my people. Consider your relationships within education. Who are those you value the most and why do you value them? Last week I was speaking with a couple of LTOs at our school and mentioned how refreshing it is when you find your people. Not that they agree with everything you say or do but they think critically; see you through deep empathy; and act. Have you found your people? Who are they? What makes them “your people”?

Arianna Lambert Constant Learning, Remote Learning, self reflection, Technology

Back to the Classroom

It’s hard to believe that it’s only February and yet again, I’m sometimes amazed that it is still February! Last week, we headed back into the classroom, and with that, came mixed emotions. With a new principal in the midst of a pandemic, I was hesitant heading back because change is always hard for me. Fear of the unknown, particularly during these uncertain times, is always something that I struggle with. That being said, I was also very excited to have the chance to see my students in person again. The night before we headed back, I didn’t sleep very well but just walking into the space and envisioning my students coming in, gave me a sense of comfort and familiarity. When the bell rang and students entered the building, the familiar buzz and sense of excitement made me feel right at home. 

While we were learning virtually, I learned so much with and about my students. In this post, I’ll share a little about what I hope to continue as we learn again, in-person.

Time to Just Be

We all know the importance and benefits of social interactions in school. Opportunities to play and learn together – no matter the age – have great benefits for all students. I knew this but didn’t realize the magnitude until we went into virtual learning. While students were excited to see each other online and learn together through lessons, I noticed that they wanted more time to just be, together. Every day, I opened up our Meet at 8:45 am and school would officially start at 9 am. To my surprise, many weren’t interested in having the extra 15 minutes to ready themselves for the day but rather, many would just pop in early to talk or share something about themselves and to listen to others. It was an informal space to just be. Some mornings, students came up with games or Art activities to try with each other. We also did passion projects where we showcased something that we were passionate about in breakout rooms in Zoom. The smiles and how much they looked forward to having some “downtime” together made me realize that although learning together in the classroom has its social benefits, these moments where students were just themselves and having fun, held much value also. Since heading back to the classroom, I know that we have recess but I’m trying to figure out how we might incorporate these times – even if they are short – throughout the day. Less structured, while remaining safe and valuing more of what students choose to bring into the space.  

Voices

During virtual learning, I really tried to balance things so that all voices could be heard and not just the ones who were quickly able to hit the “raise hand” button. I was conscious of those who often spoke up and shared. I also tried to encourage those who were more quiet to understand that we so wanted to hear their voices. I was intentional in saying that while online, we need to ensure that all voices are heard and even if it took us an extra few minutes to pause to hear from a variety of students, we would. Coming back into the classroom, this is something that I want to be just as intentional about. We’re pausing and inviting more to share, being conscious of how much space we take up in discussions. 

Technology as a Tool

Since being back, it has taken us some time to get our tech back in the classroom. We’re there now and last week was a great reminder that technology is a powerful tool that is good for all and essential for some. During our time virtually, I continued to try and have students demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. At the end of our Financial Literacy unit, we listed all that we learned during the unit, and students were tasked with creating their own resource to teach the unit to another Grade 5 class. It was amazing to see what students created. From posters and brochures to Slides presentations and videos, it was neat to see the ways in which students took an idea and ran with it, using technology. I have always been a firm believer in open tasks. Seeing what they did independently with this task was a great reminder for me. Technology is a great tool and when given the opportunity, students will use it to create and demonstrate their understanding, if we let them. 

While this learning isn’t necessarily new to me, I’ve appreciated taking the time to reflect on what was successful during virtual learning, and considering how I may bring some parts back into our in-person space. 

If you are returning to in-person learning, really hope that your return to school has been successful so far. If you are continuing to teach virtually, I give you so much credit for your work. It’s challenging to do and I’m in awe. During these challenging times, I know that we are all filled with a mix of emotions. Please remember to take some time to reflect on what is going well and also to take care of yourself!