Hello Fellow Travellers
It’s the last week of the school year and perhaps when you read this, it will be the last day of school or later.
A quiet walk down memory land and I’m thinking of my two children and how they’d mark the coming of Spring when they were younger.
They’d stand by the door as I wandered in thawing spaces after a long winter and then they’d say to each other:
“Mamma’s outside. She’s peering again.”
More about the peering later.
I am in a space right now where a bumble bee is buzzing amidst small fragrant flowers of the privet hedge and I am thinking of planting, pedagogy and professional judgement.
Beginners’ Mindset
Everyday is a new beginning if we think about it, though it doesn’t feel like that sometimes when one day just blends into the next.
It does not feel like a fresh start, especially in times like these when educational workers, students and families are experiencing unprecedented and unimaginable precarities in our lives and work spaces.
That’s the ground we’re planting in wherever we are.
Some Are Moving, Some Have Left
Some colleagues are moving on, some are moving away. Students and families too may move away as social problems deepen like affordability and belonging play a big part in where we live or from where we chose to leave.
But these changes do not stop us from working towards new beginnings.
I’m one of the lucky ones who has a job and I know where I’ll be. I am very mindful of this reality.
Planting
I think back to my early days in Ontario, this place which was new to me in January 2002. I’d look at hedges and front yards in my neighbour hood and other places on the way to the library, grocery stores and job interviews.
- What’s that?
- Was it planted?
- Did it come by on the wind?
- How does one take care of that?
- How does one help it thrive?
I wondered, I asked, I referred to books (long before smart phones) and I tried. I peered before, during and after the planting. And I made changes as I went along based on what the plants needed.
Pedagogy
Amma,whom I have mentioned before, would say “Rashmee, always ask yourself if you’re breaking stones or building a temple”
Therefore: PEDAGOGY Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster
A big word and a meaningful one and I delight it in because it makes my work bigger and more complex than the everyday tasks I see in front of me.
At My New School
I am moving to a school-based assignment from a centrally assigned role.
- So here’s where I’ll begin. I will learn about my students and not just from the narratives about them.
- I will speak to their families and them and I will interact with their strengths and learning needs in their repositories.
- I shall consult the Ontario Student Record as this gives me a starting point of other robust informational pieces to help me in planning.
Professional Judgement
Professional Judgement is the common page on which we are, you and I.
To check in if we have a shared understanding, I go to ETFO’s website and I’m sharing the link here with you so we can walk together in this work.
Do check this link for help with planning ahead when you begin that work: Reporting and Evaluation – ETFO Members Sharing in Assessment
As colleagues in shared spaces, when each one of us brings our professional judgement, I know we are on the same page because each one knows what it means.
“Professional judgement is defined, in part, as “judgement that is informed by professional knowledge of curriculum expectations, context, evidence of learning, methods of instruction and assessment, and the criteria and standards that indicate success in student learning.” The definition recognizes our members’ professionalism and makes professional judgement the cornerstone of assessment and evaluation. ETFO is working to ensure the new collective bargaining language is broadly understood and supported by everyone”
ETFO Voice Article: Exercising Your Professional Judgement
She’s Peering Again
So back to the peering. Why do I peer?
I do so to look closely.
I peer to understand the soil in which I am planting and to guide me as to what to grow there.
When I don’t know the plants that spring up brought there as gifts, I learn about them.
I don’t pull them out because they have chosen to spring up in that space.
I peer because it’s important for me to know and understand if I need to go back learn more and come back to dig deep and do something differently.
I see my peering as the first step that guides how the garden grow.
Let’s walk gently, fellow travellers.
Let’s peer often.
Let’s get our hands in the soil and let’s plant something sustainable.
Parting Thoughts: What is Our Work?
At the June 4th All Members’ Meeting in our Local, President Mastin reminded us that as ETFO members, our work is to teach our students to be lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
We are not “just fuelling the job market” as it is made out to be.
I take courage from that statement as it guides me to do what I need to do as I fine tune my pedagogy in the service of student learning and well being.
Whatever September brings, let’s treat one another with respect and kindness.
Rest up.
With You, In Solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
