Interrior Designs of Expanding Minds

Dancing and Dreams

2006-09-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

An Incredible Day in Kosova

2006-09-24T04:04:00.000-05:00

Alt Practicum: Star Trails

2006-04-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

Shiny Happy Glass

2006-03-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

Life in the glass gallery is fabulouso. I really think having a trade skills and artistic passion can really make life so much more interesting. For my first week here, I spent my time getting to know the shop and all the millions of sparkly things in it. I've got to meet some of the many artists who show and sell their work in the gallery. Most are completely selling their work for too little, me thinks. I don't think many of them are supporting themselves on their art alone - only the artist who owns the shop and gallery. The learning curve is pretty high and I get to start some of my more interesting projects through the gallery this week. I've got an amazing manager and co-ordinator!!!! There's no internet connection at the shop or home, so I'm just able to check in once and a while. I think that I will be a lot more springy and shiny when I get back.

Last Week in Grade 8

2006-02-26T19:17:00.000-06:00

I haven't been so good with posting about Grade 8, so far. It has certainly been the practicum that I've gotten the most out of. I've received a lot of direct feedback and encouragement to try new things. There aren't any restrictions on what or how I teach, but there are high expectations on me to improve my classroom management skills. For example, shutting down chatter and making sure that people are on task at all times. I've been told to 'get mean.' Haaa. I have had a lot of experience in managing my own classes, so I don't feel discouraged at all. I recognize that it is a bit of a contrived situation for us 'student teachers' to be teaching/judged/evaluated as we teach in classes that are not our own. But, I have never felt uncomfortable in this placement with being judged/evaluated. The Associate Teacher that I work with is one of the most senior in the district. He basically knows what he's talking about and what works and doesn't work with this age group. I really respect his energy and his firmness with students.

I did my first Power Point presentation this week on Permafrost/Soil. It passed the test, if there was a test. I went on to do another PPoint for a science lesson on Animal Organ Systems. On Friday, I did a presentation for 'Guidance' class that I think put me closest to feeling the 'ole teaching flame within me than any other of my teaching so far in this program. The main thrust of the presentation was to encourage the students to volunteer and to look at ways to grow/discover throughout high school that would better prepare them for life. I did a rant about learning other languages. It was a very anecdotal and personal presentation and afterward, my AT told me that he thought it was unique and that he really felt like I was passionate about the topic (I am!). It was a bit of a breakthrough for me, in terms of feeling my groove again in the classroom. If I didn't have the full freedom to do what I want in my lessons though, I wouldn't have had that breakthrough. I really owe a lot to my AT. He's got a reputation for being tough and gruff, but he's anything but (I do still have 2 weeks left to go though in my bootcamp, so maybe we'll see what lies ahead!).

I got an idea for one of my Grade 7 math lessons on Cartesian Co-ordinates and Translations/Reflections. I actually was able to try out some of the new methodologies in experiential math that have been hammered into us at the uni. The skipping rope/shape idea was purely mine!

I spent all day Saturday reflecting on this lesson in a 10 page report for a very overdue assignment, so I don't have it in me to add too much more right now. I can say that this approach to teaching math is called 'constructivist.' The idea of it is to not just do 'show and tell' math, but to give the students one problem to work at (usually in groups) instead of giving them numerous problems and no feedback. The job of the teacher is to relinquish control and to step back and let the students explore math. Students have to be able to communicate their solutions and defend their decisions as to why they think what they've done is correct.

The students in this exercise, exceeded all of my expectations and went ahead to tackle the next topic: rotations. It's a bit scary for teachers to just let students go nuts with math. I did experience the reality that students can be a lot smarter than teachers. One of their combination rotation-reflection-translation solutions was totally beyond me. So, that kind of was my week. I missed writing about so much though.

Only 2 weeks left of Grade 8 (and 7 math and science). I hope I get to try out some new tricks.

Other Weekend Updates

2006-02-18T19:26:00.000-06:00

In case I haven't mentioned, I am not going to Macedonia for my alternate practicum. I didn't get the funding, despite putting together a great proposal for the travel scholarship. Maybe that's fate intervening, because you'll see below where I am heading this August!

On March 12th, I'm heading to London and Bristol for my alternate practicum. I am not posting a flag quiz because it'll be too easy. UK! England! I'll be visiting my History and Archeology Guru and getting lots of insight on glass and glasswork.

I've updated some postings below, in case you're interested.

A New Flag Quiz

2006-02-18T19:20:00.000-06:00

I've Signed a 2-Year Contract to Teach in......

Well, if I haven't told you yet, or you haven't guessed from the clue above, scroll down to my updated entry about the recruiting fair.....exciting times!

I'm not sure when I'll have more information. I think it'll start rolling out as the time to leave starts approaching more quickly. In addition to finishing up my last assignments, I have the exciting task of compiling lists/resources for everything to teach Grades 1 to 6 (roughly). I'm starting to read a lot now about my next home for 2 years. Here's a link I read today.

Big Winds and Banging Doors

2006-02-18T18:58:00.000-06:00

The ski trip for me was actually part of my cooling down from the last 6 busy weeks. I didn't plan on skiing. I was just there as an extra chaperone, so spent the 2 days mostly in the lodge acting as the check-in person. It was relaxing, actually.

My roomate for the trip was a mother of one of the students. Her son has severe allergies and I learned a bit about what it's like to be a parent of a student with life-threatening allergies. Basically, it's really tough. I didn't get around to asking her if what her view is on 'nut-free' schools (for example) , but I hope I get the chance to. I went to a workshop on civil liberties back in January where both sides of this allergy debate were discussed. Last week, I heard from a nurse/educator about the 'NO' side. I'd guess that the Mom I met would argue that 'YES' there should be '-----free' schools.

It is so hard to have a child with severe allergies! I could see how often the Mom that I met stopped what she was doing to wonder where her son was and how he was doing. Imagine how many years she's been doing the extra allergy duties!!?? By Grade 8, too, kids are coming into their own, so to speak. It's really hard for students who have allergies to be independent, yet not feel 'different' than their peers. I had no idea until this ski trip, how hard it was for parents of kids with serious allergies. Wow.

The class really did ski their guts out. Everyone gave it their all. They have soooo much energy. Despite all their warnings, it was really hard to keep them quiet in the halls of the hotel. There was no concept of closing doors quietly. You can't control their energy easily. We had a little dance party and karaoke party on Thursday evening. They could not decide on which songs to play. There was some great breakdancing....many moves and inspirations came from the breakdancing workshop they did with Miguel in October! Was that November? They wanted to do it again!

My favourite moment was probably when one of the students - an intense performer and perhaps the best breakdancer - insisted on singing 'Born to Be Wild.' There were only the 3 adults and one student left at this point in the evening, but he belted out the song while listening to his Ipod at a very high level. It was soo hilarious. When he was done, he wanted to sing another but we really had to call it a night. Imagine wanting to sing to an audience of 3 adults and your classmate? That's total artistry. It would have made an insanely good Ipod commercial, actually.

On Thursday night, a crazy icy rain moved in. The roads were pretty much closed on Friday, so the students decided to ski! It was so cold because of the winds that I thought I'd die walking over from the hotel to the lodge. I am in awe of how tough the kids were. They were out in the insane weather probably more than they were the previous day when it was sunny and not too cold. I am sure their teacher was proud of the hearty students he's cultivated. I've heard stories of them crying as they canoed through crazy rain during their camping trip in the fall. The snowy rain storm was nothing compared to that, I'm sure.

They are a very endearing group of students. I've officially completed my first 'teaching' trip. It's great to work with students on many different levels: the formal, the informal, and on the road.

My First Class TRIP!

2006-02-15T23:22:00.000-06:00

I'm off to be a chaperone on the Grade 8 ski trip tomorrow. I think that I'm sharing a room with parent. This is a picture of the neat art project that the class did as a lead-up to the trip. The teacher painted the background and everyone added a little picture. There's even an 'underworld' scene. The lodge is drawn in somewhere. That's where I'll be holding fort for the next 2 days. I've got lots of chips and snacks and some DVDs from the library to keep me busy while the skiers hit the hills.

Valentine Spirit

2006-02-15T20:30:00.000-06:00

There was a cake raffle yesterday on Valentine's Day. It was a fundraiser for the Grade 7 class trip to Quebec City. It was telling of the community of the school that cakes were donated by people from all grades, not just from the Grade 7 class. I really wanted to win Cake #2, but my winning cake was a luscious homemade carrot cake. Silly kids don't put their names in the 'ugly' cakes. I did! This is the second thing that I've won in a year. I know that the winner of the Bubblegum Machine Cake entered 9 tickets to win it. I love the determination of kids. I have to say that cake raffles are a pretty cool way of raising spirits, especially if you're a big winner. I got to carry the Caterpillar Cake for the winner down to her classroom. I haven't seen a kid beaming so much on Valentine's Day.

The BE MINE Cake

The Love Squared Cake

The Hot Dog and Fries Cake

The Gumball Machine Cake

The Caterpillar Cake

The Big Kids

2006-02-15T20:27:00.000-06:00

They Can Use Saws to Cut Celery

Grade 8 is such an amazing age group to work with. As I've mentioned before, my associate teacher is a self-proclaiming 'Old School' teacher. Every day that I work with him though, I am realizing how important it is to be Old School. He's fearless, demanding, and strict. The kids respond to him so well. I don't really know what it is to be 'New School.'

The other day, we did a science experiment, using celery and food colouring. I am sure you can imagine the experiment. When I brought the celery in, I asked my teacher if I should get knives for the students to cut the celery. He laughed and said they didn't need them. They used saws.

In this classroom, where the teacher has worked for many, many years, there are electic saws, and all sorts of carpentry tools. I've heard that a lot of equipment has been removed from his classroom due to safety 'concerns.' Every inch of the classroom reflects the teacher's interests, such as carpentry and science. It's a very hands-on classroom environment - messy and stimulating.

My favourite teaching moment of my associate teacher from the past week was when he brought out the 'new' overhead projector for the class. They had really needed one and he found one in the basement that had been taken away by the 'safety psychos.' He brought it up and rewired it (the plug had been the source of contention) and put in a new bulb. Voila - hundreds of dollars saved on something that had been cast away. He gave a very powerful talk to the class, too. I also liked his rant against bottled water during the week. Priceless!

As someone who has lots of fears myself, I can witness in the Grade 8 class how important it is for a teacher to toughen kids up at this age and to empower them through a lot of different means: practical tasks, discipline, critical thinking, and encouragement. One doesn't have to say much to get the messages out to Big Kids. Is this 'Old School?'

The Weekend Recruiting 'Fare'

2006-02-15T20:25:00.000-06:00

Quick Lessons in International Recruiting Fairs

They Are Stressful Events!!!!

The overseas recruiting fair took over my life for a few weeks. I had so much to prepare: the online data form, the resume, the letters of reference, the statement of teaching philosophy, the photos, the outfit, etc. etc. The Friday that it started, I met up with my 'team' for the weekend: Crystal and Riz. We were all quite surprised by the schools that had preselected to interview us. I did think that I'd have more requests for interviews, but I think one reason why I didn't was that I had put 'nursery to Kindergarten' as my top choice for teaching positions (not true, but my mistake...I thought I was checking off all the areas I'd be qualified to teach with my degree) and there were few jobs being offered in these areas.

Here's the breakdown of preselected interviews we had:

Me: Quito, Columbia, China/HK, and Bahrain
Riz: Turkey, Columbia, Kosova
Crystal: Mexico, Bangalore, Guatemala, Bangkok

I did all of my interviews, except for Bahrain. I'd say that I completely destroyed the interviews for Quito and China by being 100% unprepared for the questions. I didn't have anything ready to answer what I thought about Math and Literacy programming. Ooops. For future reference, I'll be most prepared. I added a few other interviews Friday night to my roster.

The line up procedure in the gym for procuring more interviews wasn't totally as stressful as I'd anticipated. But, I know that the 3 of us weren't totally prepared to 'sell' ourselves as we sat down and requested interviews. My understanding was that we'd just line up strategically to get interviews with the schools we wanted. I (and the others) weren't aware that we had to convince the interviewers to give us an interview. Thus, I really did not perform when I sat down in front of the first school's administrators. I quickly learned, by listening to others as I was in line, that one was NOT supposed to be modest in their requesting of interviews. Learning the hard way, yet again. I really am still not that comfortable doing self-promotion, but have realized that sometimes it has to be done.

Saturday and Sunday were full of interviews. Some did actually go quite well. It is quite a long story, but I did learn that 1) some of the recruiters used unscrupulous techniques to sign teachers and 2) that making life decisions is hugely stressful under time constraints. By the end of Saturday night (as I was on the phone in an instant teller 'room'), I had happily agreed to a contract with a school that I feel offers the most challenges and opportunity for professional development. The story of how the contract came to fruition is one that merits an account in person. For what was the most stressful weekend of my life in recent times, the ending ended on a great and surprising note.

Riz and I will be teaching together in Kosova, starting in mid-August.

(Crystal has accepted a contract in Thailand! Her Mom, who also attended the weekend, is happy)

Arriving tomorrow......

2006-02-09T21:54:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow begins the huge recruiting fair that I'm attending. Saying little now because I am so exhausted (but less than at the end of last week, when classes ended and I had to have all the papers in for the recruiting fair), but tomorrow when the fair starts at 3 p.m., we find out in our registration packages if we've been preselected for interviews by schools. Some schools don't do this. After a few preliminary meetings of all the schools in the auditorium (at my regular academic building), we get to RUSH to the gym and line up and try to get interviews with prospective employers. I still can remember the crushing line that ran into the gym to sign up for limited workshops earlier on in January. There was a pencil stabbing! What's going on? Anyway, we'll see what/where transpires, if anything, this weekend. Interviews will be all day Saturday and Sunday and schmoozing is the key word of the weekend. Well, one of the key words. I'm so out of practice. Let's see if anything pans out from this weekend. I'm curious.

Grade 8 so far

2006-02-09T21:49:00.000-06:00

I taught a science lesson on my second day. I've been teaching Grade 8 math, too. Today, we started with a new unit and made some tesselations. I went back to visit the kindergarten room. The JK's were in today. There were 3 poops and a vomit today. I was more impressed by the "zamboni" that the kids playing with the big wooden blocks hade made and were driving in the back corner. Then, I ran back to the Grade 8's. My Associate Teacher of now is really incredible. A man of few words, but the messages he sends the students are tres cool. I can't wait to post some pictures of his unbelievable classroom. He was lamenting today the band saw that was taken away. That's such a loss to students, truly. He's a tough dude. I've got science and math to prepare to teach on Monday. It's going to already be a crazy weekend. My new printer ink arrived.

Last week of classes in 5 week session

2006-02-09T21:41:00.000-06:00

These pictures are from my last science class before we headed out for our last practicum. That week was a blur. Hoot Hoot Who was going crazy? We all were. That's why it was so fun to search for bones in regurgitated (sterilized!) owl vomit!!!!! I messed up my friend's bones while he was in the bathroom and he believed me when I told him our prof did it. Pure silliness.

Magnetic Loot, Pirates and Mermirates!

2006-01-29T19:06:00.000-06:00

Saturday was a busy day. In the morning, I went to a prep meeting for the overseas recruiting fair that'll take place in two weeks. In addition to all the the assignments, I've got to put together all my resume and teaching applicications for the end of this week. Ahhhhh! At noon on Saturday, we had to start setting up our Science Discovery Day booth. Ours was "Steal the Pirates' Magnetic Loot." We had magnetic and non-magnetic 'treasures' in both a sand-filled bucket and a water-filled bucket and using fishing rods with magnetic lures, the kids were to try and steal our loot. Where's the science? Well, we had planned on asking the kids 3 questions each so that they could win 30 seconds of time to steal the bucket. The questions ended up being for the most part too difficult for the students though. Imagine asking a 4 year old what a magnetic force is? Yeah, no.

The fair was to run from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. It was quiet once we set up and then we had a revelation: that there weren't really going to be people coming! The fair was just so that we could see what each other could do! We had one early visitor - one of my fave kids of all time who is the son of one of my fellow Teacher Candidates - and he tested out our booth. By the end of the day, he did walk away with the pirate ship that Rob made and some more loot!

Our revelation about the Day of Science Discovery being 'fake' was wrong. There was really, really, really, a lot of people there. Once we realized that there'd be no orderly line-ups or no time for deep pedagogy involved in our booth, we had to change our tactics. I scared a few kids away with my Mermirate outfit and green face. I was asked if I was seasick a few times. We ended up just asking kids what they thought about magnets. Older kids who had studied magnets in grade 3 had some neat ideas. The little kids - we had some as young as 2 - were harder to engage about magnets. Most identified that they had some in their kitchen. Cool. End of lesson and on to the fishing.

My pirate child helper had advised me well about a new toy pet with a magnet that I bought for our water container. The word spread and more than one child tried to take it home. NO, MINE. ARRRRghgghgh matey!

We were supposed to rotate so that one of our group would leave and check out the other booths, leaving 3 of us 'pirating' the booth. I didn't see much on my walk though because there were so many people and it was hard to move in my mermirate outfit (which was designed by my schoolmate and sidekick, Roberto, and created late Friday night). There were soo many people at the fair. It really showed to me that the faculty has a strong connection with the local community here. There was so much to see, too. Everyone had put a lot of work into their booths. It was quite the day.

There was a lot of interesting challenges with groups who had to put together their science booths together. A lot of people had breakdowns and found it difficult to work with their groups. I can't say that ours wasn't without its highs and lows, but we had fun with the kids and were happy with the way that our booth turned out. Our difficulties arose more when we tried to find time to meet up together. Everyone had such busy schedules. With regards to what we wanted to do, things came together easily. We made a decision not to put up any signs or info - mostly because we were originally in the middle of the hall without a wall behind us - so our booth was a bit different. I think in the end that we had a LOT of the younger kids that were at the fair stop by. I would say that most of the children that stopped by were under 6. Failing getting a job next year, Roberto and I might start a birthday party business for kiddies. We'll call it Magnetic Loot. The loot bags will be amazing.

Our First Science Discovery Child Explorer

The Mermirate and the Merry Magnetic Fisherboy

Minutes Before the Crowd Arrived

These Dazes....

2006-01-26T18:57:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow marks the end of four straight weeks of classes. Next week is our last at the university until April. The mood over the last four weeks has been quite stressful. For the most part, I've not fallen under the hypnotic stress that seems to be circulating on the campus. A lot of the anxiety that seems to be plentiful in the halls and classes surrounds JOBS. Most of the boards here in Ontario have put their deadlines for applications around this time - at the end of January. So, on top of all of the negative vibes we've gotten from various teaching organizations about how few of us will actually manage to get on if we wanted to be in Ontario next year (count me out of the running, thus explaining why I'm not as stressed as most people right now)...yes, on top of these vibes, the deadlines are all falling now at the same time as assignments.

We've also been lucky enough to have nonstop extracurricular workshops on a daily basis. I tried to go as many as possible last week: about not streaming students, skipping (my favourite so far) oh, I can't even remember that far back. They are optional and the burnout rate these days is high! I talked to one colleague yesterday who said that they were so exhausted and burnt out last night that they sat on the kitchen floor and bawled when they opened the frozen pizza they brought home to eat and found that it was totally mouldy. The breaking points are high these days! But, it's almost done.

More than anything, I'm really exhausted. I noticed that I'm starting to lose my appetite and that's always a sign of stress for me...even though I don't feel hungry, I just don't want to eat. It always takes a day or two of weird stomach aches to realize that I'm not stopping to fuel up. I'm also packing the worst lunches these days and haven't really sat down for a meal of food and companionship since last Friday. Not healthy.

Nevertheless, I have to say that I've had a lot of FUN this round of classes. I just never know what to expect out of the days.

Going to Art School Pays OFF!

Yesterday (Wednesday, Jan. 25), my Science Discovery Day group got started with our masterpiece for Saturday. Almost 1000 students are expected to come and visit the SDD. This is our main project for our science curriculum class. Each group gets a topic and has to come up with a little experiment/booth. Ours is: Steal the pirates magnetic loot! Lucky for us, my constant curricular sidekick is a master artist. It was such a release to just paint and create. Other groups were getting stressed out by looking at our masterful pirate ship. No need to panic folks. RELAX.

We're getting Pumped for Science Discovery Day!!

Just outside the science classroom, we decided to take a moon break. It's so nice to energize.

Agit Prop Theatre - Mercury Madness!!

One colleague of mine planned a great pop theatre piece on Student Street. It was quiet around the university, but there was a nice participating crowd. The piece was about how mercury enters our life cycles. Here's more information about mercury:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/MERCURY/EH/EN/eh-ec.cfm?SELECT=EH

I missed the beginning, but caught a river scene and a funeral for a rainbow trout. Different people passed on 'mercury' (small red dot stickers) that got stuck in our systems. I do love pop theatre so was glad to be part of the scene.

We Built a Winter Lean Tent for a Dog!

Then the afternoon continued with an outdoor camping activity class for our environmental education course. I helped my partner build a lean-to for a camping dog. I'm not sure if our prof thought that was funny or not, but we did. We also played a great game, running through the woods being omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, water, and food. I was a herbivore, so just hid under some brush to survive being hunted down. I was found a few times, but survived with 4 life chips left. Someone I know ran around so hard he pulled a stomach muscle. It was a chilly afternoon!

Finally some arty play, sponsored by......

Today, I had my language and literacy class. We watched a wonderful video of a young student reading and had to assess her reading. It was really practical as we had to assess along on a sheet as she read. Then, I thought I had the afternoon to finish an assignment before my last class. Wrong. I had signed up for an art workshop that was put with the support of a certain big crayon company. The crafts we did were amazing. I've got some magic mud type stuff that can instantly be turned into fabulous finger puppets. I hadn't eaten lunch though so the things I made turned out quite ridiculous. Unable to focus! Too much to do. Oops, I just erased the picture of the cool Tri-orama that was done with markers. If I try to recover my post, I might lose everything, so you'll have to make a Tri-orama with me. Basically, it's a triangle shape that you draw in. A COOL thing that you can do with students is have them draw a scene inside and then make a finger puppet to act it out. The scenes can be from a story, or from a life cycle, whatever. There are no limits to what you can do with markers. No plugs here.

Also, this company makes 'Multicultural Markers.' They come in a range of different shades of skin colours. I'm impressed.

Well, I may make it to bed by 9 p.m. tonight. I'm so sleepy...

Professional Development Activity #2

2006-01-23T20:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Sunday and I spent most of the day doing my First Aid/CPR certification. It was taught and presented by concurrent students in our program and they did an amazing job. I'd waited way too long to redo my first aid. I recall a certain scare in Kuala Lumpur (see original blog for that account) that had me promising myself I'd redo my first aid immediately. Well, it was a immediately a year and a bit later that I did!

It was the most practical first aid course that I've ever done. After doing CPR lessons for a few hours, we went to various stations and practiced all sorts of 'fun' things, such as spinal injuries, head wounds, and EpiPen stabbings. So, it's going to be a continuous project of study, this First Aid business.

A New Experience

2006-01-15T21:21:00.000-06:00

It was freezing cold today, but I donned my woolies and joined a fellow Teacher Candidate at the local conservation area nearby. I got to feed Chickadees for the first time. I kept my mittens on and had a lot of customers landing on my purple hands. It was so great. Despite, the cold, I felt light as a bird and much closer to the Chickadee scene. It was so cold that I couldn't take a picture.

That means it was REALLY cold out today!

It Continues!

2006-01-09T20:51:00.000-06:00

It's hard to get back into blogging after a bit of an absence. There is hope though for even those who straggle months behind. I just read one such update. Comeback times!

My knitting lessons have progressed since I've been back in the K. My landlord continues to be an expert in most fields. I saw some cross-stitch work she did at the age of 10 that was mind-boggling. Using one piece of yarn, she showed me the absolute basic motions/knotting of knitting so I could understand what I was doing with the knitting needles. This came in handy today in math......

We were given a piece of rope (my math class is very nouveau-experimentale!) and told to make an analogy with it of relationships between theory and practice. I suggested that we do the basic knitting move I saw my knitting prof use with me on my first night back here. Another woman from my section is an expert sailor and she knit the rope up in about 10 seconds flat. It was impressive when we unravelled it to show how delicate yet potentially strong the connection is between theory and practice.

I could talk about all my classes (some new ones have started) and what's going on, but I still don't feel caught up yet with mapping out all that's due and expected of me in the next 4 weeks. Apparently, this is known as the 'frenzy' time at school where the education students switch into get-a-job mode. It is a bit ridiculous how much people are focusing on the job hunt/job gossip versus how much energy they put into enjoying classes. Lots of debate surrounding that issue. I truly feel that if people were more PEPPY and INTERESTED in the course work that we'd get MORE out of our classes. Lackadaisical is how I'd describe a lot of peoples' participation in classes.

Last night, I decided not to list all that's due, but to make colourful circles on a sheet and fill them with what's expected of me in the next few weeks. Fourteen different circles!!! Then, I have a lot of workshop and meeting engagements, too. They haven't merited circlings yet. For some reason, I don't feel that stressed by all that's going on. I thought that when I did a little work on one of my 'circles' that I'd check off a little mark outside the circle. I'm tackling things in small pieces, because I'm looking for a new way of working without taking too freaking long to finish things.

I didn't get too much accomplished tonight, other than grocery shop. I need my fuel though. Muy importante.

So, my inability to write about any one thing in detail is symptomatic of being a scatter-brained right now. My colourful circles look so pretty though. I might be inspired.

Professional Development Activity #1

2005-12-26T23:44:00.000-06:00

Today I tried to KNIT.

For those of you who know how slow I am to learn many things, you might imagine that I would end up in a ball, fetal-position, crying as I tried to learn how to knit. It has happened before. But, not today!

I did manage, at the most, to do 10 rows of regular knitting stitches. I had a great teacher, my step-Grandma, who I could hear in the kitchen saying to other folks: "I think she's having a lot of problems with it." Sound travels easily in our house.

I became obsessed with the task at hand and didn't move from the couch for hours, to the frustration of many. I did feel the joyous meditative qualities of knitting, although I really can't do it well. I thought at different moments that I had fully 'got it!' UNTRUE. I can't even knit a straight line without making holes. I cannot imagine what goes into making a sweater or following a pattern. It's a whole new type of literacy and it's really daunting to think of how hard knitting must be.

Marg's hands moved effortlessly. I heard about every talented knitter that everyone in the family had known of. I was teased to both stop my foolish knitting and to make different items for people for next Christmas.

I am determined this time to learn how to knit. I picked a really cool colour of yarn to start me off.

Snow Day!

2005-12-26T23:41:00.000-06:00

The last day of my practicum in Kindergarten was a SNOW DAY! It was supposed to have been a JK day. There were only a few students there and some guests students, too! Three sons of different teachers joined in. It was a spirited day and I was mostly holding down the kindergarten fort.

I do admit to fully winding the kids up. They pretended they were baby dragons in a cave. We played Hide the Dinosaurs - a smashing success. I was told that they were being too loud by people in the next office. It was bliss and a great send-off.

Last Days of Kindergarten

2005-12-15T23:13:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, I end my Tour of Kindergarten. This week has been particularly good. Everything is on an upswing and I actually received my final evaluation yesterday (Wednesday). I felt much more comfortable in the class once my Associate Teacher's expectations of me were clarified at the end of last week.

I've had my eye-watering breakthrough moments with students this week.

Over the last two days, I've been working on portaits of the JKs and SKs to make a collage for my AT. It's 12:15 a.m. and I'm not finished. But, I've almost packed.

A big snow storm started tonight. There is the possibility of a Snow Day tomorrow. We'll see.

My definite highlight of the day today was making a short video of one of the slowpoke J.K.s. I was waiting for him to finish getting his snowsuit on at lunch, when he told me that his Dad had a favourite song that he liked to sing.

Then, he busted out his air guitar and started belting out Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man.' It was very out of the blue and utterly spectacular.

I'm proud to say that I've mastered both versions of 'The Calendar.'

It's time to move on.

Rise Up

2005-12-13T22:55:00.000-06:00

Today was a JK Day and very exhausting. We had a Grandma-helper and a parent-helper in today and even with the extra hands, it still felt like we never stopped moving.

Firsts for the Day:

1) I did my first 'guided' reading exercise with the group. They have a short book about C's and we did a few exercises, such as a 'picture walk' - as in look at all the pictures before starting to read.

2) I spent a few hours in the afternoon helping students wrap the bronzed (spraypainted) hand prints that they made. It definitely felt like factory work. One of my faves (shouldn't have them, I know) finished his wrapping, with my help, and he said, "Wow, that was the first present I ever wrapped." Neato.

After watching a movie tonight, I had a long chat with a bunch of folks.....all med students....and realized that Kindergarten stories can often bring down the house. Take that!

I'm off to an early-late sleep.

In one way, I wish I'd have had more time to get into my groove with this placement.

Practicum 2: Day 15 My Breakthrough Day

2005-12-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

Today was a S.K. day.

A new letter starts this week: The Letter C!

I thought it'd be hilarious to deck the kids out in some 'C bling,' so I made them big medallions with felt C's on them. I wrote a little rap called 'C Family' just to work on 'C' and to also help reinforce that they are a team and they need to help each other.

(Last Friday, there was a bit of the YOU are not coming to MY birthday party - although I just ripped your cow finger puppet's head off and my b.day party isn't until next April going on. I just wanted to try to get people thinking about each other.

The kids were sooo into the rap, especially the "we're a team" move at the end. I heard one students say that "we're a team" much later in the day. Another student added a dance move for us: flashing our C-C-C necklaces and she was so excited. During activity time, she drew me a picture and wrote my name. At first, she said it was a picture of nothing, but later she changed it to a 'hatmaker.'

My other introduction to the class was to give the Weather Kid of the calendar a Hawaiian lei to wear....just to jazz things up. They were really into it. They insisted I called the student 'Hawaaian ........" before their name, as a class. Hmmmm....they have the team theme already.

I wish I had more time in this practicum to show what I'm capable of. Only 3.5 days left. It's 11:30 p.m. and I haven't got the C-bling ready for the J.K.'s tomorrow. A few of the S.K.'s wanted to take their necklaces home to show their Moms.

Practicum 2 - Day 12: SK

2005-12-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

Things seem to run a lot more smoothly in Senior Kindergarten. One major bonus of working with this age group is that most can get their snow pants on themselves and do up their own jackets. During one study activity today, 2 students taught me how to play 'toilet tag.' I have to play it. Forget 't.v.' tag, where one turns into a .... t.v. You could turn into a toilet and your friends would unfreeze you by flushing your 'handle.' There was an action involving washing your hands but I didn't quite get what it was for. These days, it's all about getting a pump of hand sanitizer. It must be an old game.

Today was an early dismissal day for the whole school district. This meant that the morning was quite condensed. After the morning 'calendar' routine (I finally broke down and wrote myself a memo note to use as I went through it), the students did 3 different math-based activities. I love watching the students do patterning activities. They had a sheet of lines of different shapes that they colour in alternating patterns. Today's theme of beach-centred items, like buckets and sea shells, weren't noted by the students to be out of season. The morning started off at -8 degrees. Snowpants weather.

We Teacher Can. folks decided to do our weekly meeting this afternoon. We returned to 'Ian's' - a fave diner here in town. We did share 2 deep-friend Mars bars. Heavenly. Then, after long discussions, we went to Kelly's sons' school to map a cart that is full of instructions and accessories for active learning. A teacher at this other school came up with the concept. We counted, copied, and dissected it for ideas because we'll recreate the same (with added features) at our practicum school. Way to go to Kelly for coming up with the idea to do the same thing at our school. I can't wait for all the rubber chicken games!

We looked at a great Canadian magazine for phys.ed props/toys. Some of the coolest items would wipe our entire cart's budget away. But, nice for dreaming about our future classrooms.

The Cart We Will Copy!

For Big Classroom Dreamers.....

I'd heard about a castle that had been built in one of the local schools. It turned out to be in the school where Kelly's boys go - the very school we were at this afternoon. A nearby high school shop class built it for the school. It comes complete with a dungeon at the top, accented by a doll coming out of the roof. Great touch. Imagine in the world without televisions, that kids could be only entertained by this. I have to build one. I might add a moat, with carp so that my students can throw their leftover sandwiches to the fish.

This school doesn't have a milk program, like ours! It does have a very retro milk machine though that dispenses chocolate and white, chilled. These graphics shouldn't be hidden in a corner.

The day ended with another 'Kelly' theme - playing with her 3 boys. I am worn out! They are whirlwinds, for sure. I got to play Darth Vader. I made him into a very whiney character who tried to trick people into thinking his light saber was made out of candy canes. Then, he went to sleep on some napkins and was forgotten. I can't really play this imaginatively with the kids at school when I'm in a teacher role. It's interesting to interact with kids outside the school atmosphere versus within. I've always tended to get kids worked up, as I've already mentioned. So, I'm trying to add as much to my classroom management repetoire for calming students and getting them on task. Singing works well. So does having them point out your mistakes.

My favourite parting quote from Kelly to one of her boys, who was trying to get to his car seat as they drove me home, was a stern: "His legs aren't meant to bend like that!!!!" She definitely wasn't talking about Darth.

Practicum 2 - Day 10: JK

2005-12-06T20:34:00.001-06:00

This is Tyler and I:

when we were in Kindergarten

A short entry today.

I have a lot on my mind.

I didn't get ONE cent from the travel scholarships that I'd applied for. It doesn't mean that Macedonia not a plan anymore. The negative side of the news is that I didn't get any FREE money. With 'free money' however, is usually quite a lot of ties. I guess, I won't have the expectations of the scholarship looming over me as I do my practicum. I had planned a pretty elaborate program as part of my funding proposal. I still only have until January 6th though to finalize my practicum.

I have great contacts, great opportunities, and great Gemini-esque tendencies to change my mind a lot.

Just when I thought I had something figured out......

I do however know that I really want a dachshund. My Mom just mailed me an article about dogs being part of literacy programs. I want a dachshund who'll help kids read. I really do. I've 100% decided.

Practicum 2 -

2005-12-06T20:34:00.000-06:00

Practicum 2 - Day 9

2005-12-05T19:37:00.000-06:00

It's actually Tuesday as I finish my update. Last night, for some panic-inducing reason, Blogger was down and I couldn't publish my entry. So here it is:

Yesterday involved a lot of puppetry and playing. My contribution to the Gingerbread Lessons that are underway was to write 5 alternative endings to perform with my AT and puppets. You might recall that in the traditional Gingerbread Man story, it always ended with a sad crunch of Gingerbread Man. Death and destruction to a vibrant character who just loved to run!!??

Over the last week, I read three different traditional versions of the stories. The students knew them well: 1) the G.M. sits on the fox's nose and is eaten 2) the G.M. sits on the fox's head and then is eaten; and 3) The fox calls the G.M. closer and closer and then eats him (doesn't even offer to take him across the river...doesn't like soggy cookies).

I LOVE reading stories to kindergarteners. Few things can be so fun. Few audiences can be so appreciative.

As for the puppet show: the S.K.'s kept yelling at us through the puppet theatre to do "BAD" endings. In the face of escape and survival, they wanted the G.M. to get gobbled again!

Sigh. Here were the 5 alternative endings that I came up with:

1) The G.M. rolls in a puddle of mud. The fox becomes snobby and refuses to eat the muddy G.M.

2) The G.M. picks off one of his 'buttons' and throws it to the ground. While the fox reaches down for the button, the G.M. runs away to safety.

3) When the fox tries to get the G.M. on his nose, the G.M. tells the fox that he has 'something' in his nose. He gives him a tissue and while the fox is blowing his nose, the G.M. runs away to safety.

4) The G.M. realizes that the fox thinks he is human. He says outloud to himself: "I'm a cookie!" He asks the fox which kind of food group he eats and the fox says: "only meats." The G.M. asks the students which food group he belongs to and they say "grains." The fox refuses to eat the G.M.

5) The G.M. also asks the fox to get closer. When they are nose-2-nose, the G.M. eats the fox!

My AT and I modelled one whole traditional version of the story for the students to do with the puppets. I have to give her my puppet-preciation as she blew me away with her improv mastery. It was great to get the happy endings out there for the kids (to reject). Nevertheless, in the afternoon, I partly read the story to the children as they each got their turns in pairs to act out 6 characters. With very few exceptions, the students loved repeating the famous lines of the story. My voice went very hoarse after about 12 rounds of amateur puppetry. It's amazing that the classroom has its own puppet theatre and array of puppets.

Last night, after a G.M. day of activities and crafts, I found a few websites that basically informed me that I had tried to reinvent the wheel a bit with the happy ending motions. There are a few kids books already published with happy G.M. endings: gingerbread babies, cajun gingerbread, G.M. in New York! But, no one had come up with the endings above yet in the public domain. I claim them as my own. The sheer amount of lessons and ideas on the internet though blew me away. It again was a reminder that in most cases, some teacher has already done what you want to do and there will be a lot of ideas to start from. As in: don't reinvent the wheel. I've been told that a lot in this program.

One math activity that was suggested for kindergarten classes doing G.M. units was to note which part of their GM cookie the students ate first: a right arm, a head, a left leg, etc. and to compile the first bites in a chart. Brilliant!

I didn't get to role a G.M. cookie because I was at the puppet station for activities. I did, however, buy a gingerbread cookie at the Grade 7 bake sale today that was delicious. I ate the top first. Graph that!

Practicum 2 - Day 8 JK

2005-12-01T23:24:00.000-06:00

I've talked to people already about my day. It makes a difference to what I post, I've realized. I hate repeating myself as much as I actually do. It is 12:35 a.m. now. December 1st has passed. It brought a NEW calendar. Usually, this wouldn't mean much to me, except for that I have to say 'RABBIT' each first of the month. I was successful today, for those of you who may have wondered or tried to 'rabbit' yourselves. But, now in JK/SK land, a new calendar really shakes things up. I did manage to get through the calendar exercises today. I wonder if my AT has to go around a corner and shake her head at me.

Today, truly was a wild day. We had a few crafts to get through and had to catch some people up on things that they'd missed. I experienced my first ever classroom barfing and was stoic - like someone with small children would be proud of. Heck, I even cleaned it up. I can't brag too much though as it was only recently digested strawberry yogurt. I felt the pain though....the sad and scared eyes of the barfee.

By the end of the day, my AT (who doesn't ever rest...it is official - she's superhuman) said that she was amazed that she got through the day. To add to the high pace and amazing amount of things that went on, there was some a problem with the water pipes in the school and an announcement was made before last recess that no one should drink from the water fountain. This instantly lead to a chorus of 'I'm thirty' chants by the kindergarteners. It was nothing a recess couldn't cure though.

As I am officially wiped out and still pumped on a misguided late night coffee (my own doing, guilty) I'll wrap it up with some picture highlights of the day.

The first picture I showed you of the Kindergarten shoes last week was ill-informed. It was actually the Grade 6 helpers who had lined up the shoes. But, that doesn't mean the Kindergarteners don't like to do the same. Today, the flock made their talents known.

Who says that art in the classroom doesn't influence kids? Not I!

I am officially excited that "T" is the letter of the week.

Our literacy activity in the afternoon consisted of 4 work stations based on the letter 'T' - the triangle station, the play dough station (with T-shapes), the Freestyle T station, and the word/picture/detective station. I was stationed at the last post. See the picture above? Well, After the students highlighted the 't' in the words on the sheet, they had to copy the word below where it was written. For the first time in my life, I had to help kids write by guiding them with my hand on theirs. It was eye-opening to see how kids were able to write on their own versus kids that need some assistance. It was really tiring. I really do understand how important kindergarten is for kids. Yesterday, we helped some students cut. 'UP DOWN UP DOWN.' There is so much technique that is involved in working with kids of these ages.

I magically didn't write or read. I may like to think that this was the case, but I'd be lying to myself. This little guy missed the mango-starfruit-pomegranate tasting session last week and had to catch up today. He had the whole mango to himself, but just wanted one bite. Were we ever this small? You bet. Being in this classroom is making me appreciate the little guys so much more and their challenges.

Is it really not possible to drink a small chocolate milk all in one go?

YES!

Snack time happens twice a day and lunch only once. I definitely covet the children's snacks a lot of the time. When they can't finish their milk or drinks, they are stored at the back of the room for later so their little bellies can have another chance to finish. I've started to drink more chocolate milk - my own. I order one with the kids. It's delish.

This was not a set up photo op. But, this was how my AT, the parent volunteer, and I felt at the end of the day. (The interpretation being that we were along the lines of being of the dinosaur persuasion). Y ou can figure it out.

Tomorrow, there's a Jingle Bell Run in the school. The inside looks amazing. There are LED 'Holiday' lights up in the hall. We Teacher Candidates have our weekly meeting in the afternoon, so it'll be a short day with the JK's (their rotation has them back in tomorrow). Have a great weekend! xoxo Tt

Practicum 2 - Day 7; SK

2005-11-30T19:48:00.000-06:00

It's 8:45 p.m. and I can't keep my eyes open. I'm cursing myself for putting a load of laundry on because I don't want to wait another minute to sleep.

I blame my inability to remember the procedures surrounding 'The Kindergarten Calendar' on my lack of sleep on most days. I have had too many moments of standing at the front of the class and feeling like a useless moron. "Uhhhh, next is the......uhhhhhhhh" I know the importance of maintaining a routine and repeating things at appropriate kindergarten times, yet I never can remember what comes next.

Today, I performed particularly bad in the opening Calender segment. For the life of me, I don't know why I can't remember the order. As the classes rotate from day to day, it's hard to remember the subtle differences between how the teacher leads the calendar exercises on JK vs. SK days. For example, there is more audience participation with the SK classes. The JK's have to be shut-down or else it would be impossible with everyone trying to answer.

Even though Kelly leant me her flash card prompts from her first placement in practicum and even though my AT has explained it and walked me through it, I just can't remember it even semi-instinctually.

Today, my AT asked if I really wanted to continue with it! She also asked what kind of learner I am. I know: I have to write things down to see the order and process. I am a very literal learner. So, my plan tonight was to buckle down, make my own set of flashcards, and give myself motivational talks about the calendar. I can't stay up though. Not one minute longer. Dry clothes, dry.

Practicum 2 - Day 6

2005-11-29T23:26:00.000-06:00

I have an assignment due tomorrow and I just finished it. This explains why I've skipped a few days. Also, last Friday was a Parent-Interview Day so all of us T-candidates had the day off. My favourite memory from last week was my student calling me: MRS. SARDINE. I kid you not. She looked so earnest as she was calling me that....I couldn't correct her. Oh, but what a week can do. She has changed my name back to my real name. Mr. Sardine took his smelly gills and has disappeared, leaving me Miss S. again.

Last Thursday, we did the JK round of fruit testing. It went a better than the first day. One reason was that the mango was actually ripe. I also modelled some 'yummy' faces and sounds to encourage less fruit-tasting mutiny. It's incredible the power of disuasion that one 4 year old has when they scream 'GROSS!'

My heart was warmed seeing kids scarf down pomegranate. One student told me on Monday (yesterday) that her Mom bought her a pomegranate on the weekend and that she loves them.

Cutting up all the fruit and introducing them to the students gave me a chance to think about all my memories that were linked to these fruits: walking under starfruit trees on Little Corn Island off the north coast of Nicaragua and having fresh, intoxicatingly delicious starfruit juice at a little Ma/Pa restaurant there; eating pomegranates straight from the trees as they burst open in Olympus, Turkey; and mangoes, mangoes, mangoes, everywhere and with chili, too.

I don't know how much of my excitement for these fruits managed to help the kids choke down the slightly sour starfruit. There at least was some fruit-fascination going on.

I have to take a lot of time to explain how the Kindergarten classes are organized and run. I have a LONG way to go in managing the children. Actually, they are sooo well-trained, that I feel that I am their student. Last week, I had a funny moment where I was drawing the four in an unkindergarten-like manner. My AT had to give me some lessons in front of the class. They were teasing me this week. Kids this age LOVE to see you make mistakes and call you on them. In fact, one neat thing that the teacher does for the SK class is write a sentence on the board with lots of mistakes for the students to correct.

I have to describe the system for activities that you can see in the second picture. But, I'll have to come back to that. It's almost 1 a.m. and the one thing I do need especially in Kindergarten is to be moving on my feet. There are a lot of snacks to open and calendars to continue to screw the order up on. It's all about established rules and orders with these little folks. They need and thrive on routine. My AT is seriously a MASTER educator. If I'm tired while I'm there, I don't take in as much as I should from her. She's always making it a point to teach me along with the students - usually without them knowing. They are so sharp though.

I slept in this morning. I was having a dream about being lost in Turkey. I was trying to get to my friend Irem's house. There were no pomegranate's involved.

Kindergarten is not at all what I expected. I mean this in a mind-blowing good way.

Prac 2 - Day 3!

2005-11-23T22:16:00.000-06:00

A Healthy Living Daily Calendar

With the Lion Pointer Stick to Help Out

Today was a Senior Kindergarten Day - according to the schedule.

There's an incredible amount of structure and routine with both the JK/SK classes. I didn't anticipate the classes to run so calmly and smoothly. That said, there are some discipline challenges in the classes. It's been emphasized that the first few weeks of JK were really challenging as they introduced the class (and they are MINI - the overused word of my week's vocabulary) to the new rules and procedures of the class.

But now, these kids are so in tune with the class room. After lunch, I did the 'Calendar' with the students and they told me exactly what to do next and what I'd missed.

The Calendar part of the day has many sections. Every class, there are a few leaders who lead Calendar. It deals with the date, weather, and even involves some 'patterning' (math talk)! For example, the main calendar has 4 different pictures that depict elements of healthy living: sleep, exercise, nutritious food, and ...... I forget the fourth. Ooooops. Whichever student is the leader for the day will figure out which of the four pictures should be used for today's date. There is an incredible amount of modelling and processing that can be done through the Calendar.

The SK's did taste testing today. We took some great pictures! Before we introduced the fruits, I asked the students to show me some of their favourite tasting expressions: sour, sweet, etc. There are few substitutes for true entertainment Kindergarten-style. They are so hilarious naturally. But, their jokes still leave a lot to be desired.

Tomorrow, adventures in starfruit, pomegranate, and mango will continue!

Practicum 2 - Day 2: JK!

2005-11-22T18:05:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Whimsical World of JK!

A highlight of the day is to line up the indoor shoes in new ways. What are these kids all about?

"Mr. Spaceman!"

Watching my Associate Teacher at work is like watching a performer of the highest calibre. You feel small, but inspired, in their midst. My AT whips out expressions, songs, and tools that amaze me. Today's highlight was Mr. Spaceman. When the JK's read sentences on the board, Mr. Spaceman helps them to see the spaces between the words. He is an invention of my AT and he is undeniably brilliant. See for yourself! Enjoy! Admire! Feeling spacy? Make yourself a Mr. Spaceman!

I am 3 or 4 years old. I can read!!?????!!!! I like snacks.

The minds of Junior Kindergarteners are new to me. I sat on the carpet and sang along with a Grandma/teacher who came to help out in the class today. My first activity to facilitate in the class was Show and Tell. A few students each class (the JK's come for full days on Tues/Thurs and alternating Fridays) have to bring something that starts with the them letter of the week. This week, for both kindergarten classes, the letter is "I." After the 'Show/Teller' introduces themself, they can pick three people to ask questions. Getting the students to ask a question is trickier than one would imagine. Most like to comment on how much they like the items they see. "But do you have a question????" They need quite a bit of steering. Yesterday, one of the SK's brought a HEADLAMP. He missed the 'I' theme of the week, but he certainly looked cute wearing a mini headlamp.

It's cliched, but as I hinted, the class is run like a well-oiled machine. It hums, it moves quickly. The gears change so smoothly. I am thoroughly enjoying the passenger seat! Tomorrow, I might be up for a bit more adventure behind the wheel.

Practicum 2 - Day 1

2005-11-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

I am at the point of delirium right now, but it is because I haven't caught up to my sleep. Last week was insanely busy and the weekend was spent away. Despite being tired today, I wasn't exhausted by the Senior Kindergarten crew. Again, because it was my first day, I was soaking in the scenery and schedules. I think I have an idea of how things will go and of what kind of levels of reading/writing/joking that the students should be at.

It's an amazing world, this JK/SK room. The tools, the toys, the tiny children. It's all so new. My new Associate Teacher (AT) went through a lot of assessments and benchmarking with me. I think my learning curve will be very high in this practicum.

I was surprised at times by how verbal the kids were. I guess they are all around 5 years of age. Snack times are the best to chat with them. During the morning 'healthy' snack, I flexed my muscles and said 'Power Food!' and one boy next to me said: "If you were trying to be funny, you weren't."

Well, I wasn't trying to be funny. But, when some of the kids at Snack 2 were trying to be funny, they really weren't. S.K. humour is very raw in the 'Knock Knock' department.

"Knock Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Teeth."
"Teeth Who?"
"I got my teeth fixed after I knocked one out."

And So ON!

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
"Because he was stuck to it."

????????????

I will back my description of the day and the room with some visuals tomorrow.

I've heard that the Junior Kindergarteners are a rambunctious bunch.

My favourite new concept is: DRAPING.

When the students read words, they put one finger in front of the word and one at the back. This helps them look at the whole word. Kindergarteners love DRAPING!

Now, I fall into my bed and sleep.

Semester Slipping Away!

2005-11-21T20:34:00.000-06:00

Classes in Semester One are Finished!

I still have one assignment to hand in, but other than that, my Fall Semester of classes finished on Friday. Talk about a whirlwind of activity. I didn't post much at all last week because I was trying to finish some major projects. I hope they'll end successfully at some point. Everything is ongoing!

In Most Departments: I Can't Be a Showoff!

In my science curriculum course, one activity last week was to make catapults. The teacher had one model that she made to show to the class. She is also my fabulous professor for the environmental education course. *One of the highlights of being in my program is being taught by her.* I can't say that I am living up to her high standards. Anyway, we didn't have any instructions for the catapults. Glue guns, saws, wood, and wire were at our disposal. We were each supposed to refine as we went and were to end up with a catapult for the marshmallow-flinging competition.

My learning methods haven't changed too much over the years. I haven't refined where my talents do lay. I do know where they don't impress. Try to guess which catapult is mine in the picture above! At one point, I made a critical error. Then, I thought I had made a brilliant move by jacking one bar for my catapult arm up much higher. In the end, my friend tried to help me, long after class had ended. But, because I didn't glue one thing down, most of the catapult collapsed. A lot of people were wandering the halls with their catapults....and looking damn cool. But, not I. I left it in my locker. Forever.

The Puppet Project

Last week was incredibly dedicated to my ART project. Art class finished last week, (along with Gym, Professional 100, and that's it). In September, I started my puppet project. I have big visions of puppets and for all of you that are scared of them, it's time to work on the puppephobias! My project took a great turn for the better last week during a jam session with my landlady - a sewer. Despite being the great-great grandaughter of a couturier (I just found this out on Friday), AND despite the amazing amount of naturally talented sewers in my family, I found out that I didn't really know how to sew. There was the one class in Grade 8 Home Ec. where I made a pair of horrible black and white polkadotted sunjammer shorts, but that was not a fun or rewarding experience. Plus, I never did wear them because one leg was much shorter than the other.

All of my sewing dreams advanced last week though. Insert: I just erased most of my finished post a few minues ago. I actually was part of an idea of mine that made it into the real and 3-D world! After a jam session with my sewing landlady, I made (with guidance) a puppet theatre that is really funky. It's mobile and an extension of the puppeteer. Unfortunately, it didn't get finished before I had to hand it in. Yet, I am on my way....I am becoming a sewer! The puppet dreams continue!

I had just written about my proposal for my travel scholarship. It was also due last Friday. I came up with a good concept and submission, I hope. I finished at 2 a.m last Thursday night and I handed it in on time, along with a million other applications from other hopefuls. We'll see if it stands apart - or alone. I hope it evolves into some solid cash foundations for my project. Until then, I have to start organizing as if I am going to Macedonia for sure. There's so little time to get a lot done. It all comes down to being inspired by the people around oneself.

Future Project-ions

2005-11-12T14:48:00.000-06:00

A Decision Has Been Made!

I haven't written much all week. It wasn't only because my muscles were sore from breakdancing. Things have been busy and I am now walking once again without limping. Good pain though, it was!

What I've been mulling over a lot lately is where and what to do for my alternate practicum. Originally, I had planned to go to Ghana to see One of My Favourite People. There were a lot of possibilities to do some interesting volunteering there. However, One of My Favourite People has a job that involves travelling and she can't guarantee that she'll be in the country at that point. I'd also had some help in finding something in Beijing, but nothing panned out. I was starting to feel a bit panicky this week because the travel scholarship application is due on November 18th.,

While I was chatting online with another Favourite Person earlier this week, she mentioned an NGO that she knew of where I might be able to do my alternate practicum. While we were chatting, the person she knew there actually called her and said it could work. I've sent off my resume and a letter from my prof and he's been really positive and quick in responding. I still think like it would be great to go back to India and work further on some projects and ideas I had with my gang there, but I'd also like to do something new and in a country that I don't know much about.

Next step: to write my scholarship proposal.

About classes this week: they've been just fine. A lot of students are complaining that they are boring and that they aren't learning enough. I don't actually have the same complaints. I find the work load pretty manageable this semester.

I've had some very interesting debates about concurrent education programs (where students do this last year of the BEd directly after their undergraduate) versus consecutive programs and I find these debates particularly interesting. Are students of around 22 years of age, who have usually never taken any time off the formal education path, ready to teach? Are older students, who have been working professionally over the years since they finished undergrads, etc., not as on the ball as the younger ones? These kind of debates don't ever arise in classes, but they certainly do outside of class time. Especially in cafes! Rising voices and rising awarenesses are so much apart of cafe culture. I'm drinking a lot more coffee than I'm used to these days.

Next week will mark the end of the first semester of classes. Some of my classes will finish: Phys Ed (rocking class!), a Professional Class - mostly about equity issues - that has been really interesting, and my art class. I'll have a few new courses next semester and it'll be a bit heavier than the first.

I'll be doing my alternate practicum (assuming funding proposals go well and are approved) starting next March, for 3-4 weeks. Have you figured out where I aim to go yet? I'll give a prize to the first person who writes in via comments.

By the way, why isn't anyone really writing comments on this blog? I put the spam filter on. That means that if you want to comment, you have to type in the letters you see beforehand. This eliminates automated spam advertisements. I miss having comments! I feel like I'm always just talking to myself...but, ahem....the numbers are way-way-way higher for this blog than my old one!

First Tries

2005-11-07T20:11:00.000-06:00

Today's Breakdancing Workshop with 'Babtoo'

I am thrilled to report that the breakdancing workshops were fantastic. The pictures above are from the workshop that took place at the university. Most of the students who did the workshop today are in my curriculum gym class and they were warmed up by the time the workshop started. The moves were a lot harder than I anticipated. The sole of my fake Schmadidas shoe continued to peel away and I felt constricted because it kept getting caught. Later, after the workshop, Michael reprimanded me for not going into the 'battle' circle and I used my shoe as an excuse. He rightly pointed out that I should have taken the shoe to new heights and used it to express myself. My first major hindsight lesson of the day.

It was interesting to hear Michael's opinions on how we, as future teachers, can encourage students. Some people in the workshop at the university were definitely (and admittedly) outside of their comfort zone. That was one major point of the workshop. I'm going to start working on my moves, seriously. Breakdancing would definitely make me a better human being. I have no doubt of that.

The afternoon workshop in the school where I am doing my practicum was mind-blowing. Michael really thrives surrounded by kids. He was fantastic working with us somewhat reluctant adults, but truly was amazing with the kids. Watching someone work at something they love is a total gift. Afterward, he didn't even remember doing some of the wild moves that he performed because he was just so into the energy that the kids gave off. Just as the Grade 8 class was finishing the workshop, the next class came into the gym - the Grade 2/3 split. Michael handled the transition so well. We had just finished doing a battle of the sexes (Michael lead the female posse). He turned the whole Grade 8 class towards the younger kids who were sitting at the sideline and got them in solidarity to redo some of the moves that they had learned. Then, he set the stage for them to step up individually, and in small groups, to perform. The kids were so into it! I took quite a few pictures, but again can't post them here without the kids permission.

One point that is stuck in my mind that Michael said after the workshop was that he learned 3 moves from the students today. He had taught them about the advantages of turning a fall or accidental move into a new move and the students did that in 3 unique ways that he noted in his endless repetoire of moves. I was honestly a bit nervous about watching the students do some of the really hard moves. They learned high level moves that we didn't get to in our first workshop. I was so nervous that someone would try a headspin. Michael told me to let those kind of anxieties go because kids know their limitations better than we do and they can read our expressions of worry.

So, that was most of the day. From observing the dynamics of both workshops, I am sure now that working with kids is the most incredible thing to do. It was impossible not to catch Michael's enthusiasm for teaching.

I am slowly unwinding for the day. My muscles really hurt and I only did the moves today in a half-a**ed way.

Is my job done or has it just begun? Ce commence maintenant.

It's time to start turning up the notches.

***Today's workshop couldn't have happened without a little help from my friends. Special thanks to TallgirlE who started to breakdance this year. It was through her that I met Michael and she helped put me in touch with him and get the ball rolling for the workshops. If I could only dance as well as her one day. She did her first headspins this year at age 29!

First Event

2005-11-06T20:41:00.000-06:00

It's been a somewhat busy weekend. On Saturday morning, I attended a workshop on nutrition that was hosted by the provincial dairy farmer's association. For having a 9 a.m. start, it was actually quite enjoyable. We each got a tonne of free goodies, such as flash cards and posters. The big draw was the cow puppet. I could complain though that it's very one-dimensional. There were slight undertones of dairy promotion throughout the workshop, but that's better than sponsorship by Coke. The class were so worth getting up so early.

Sing to the tune of 'This old man......knick-knack on my thumb.'

Milk and cheese
Yoghurt too,
Milk products, so good for you
They'll build your bones and strengthen your teeth
Every day say yes to these!

I was stunned to learn that chocolate milk has the same amount of vitamins as white, with only just a tad bit more sugar. I learned that from the 'chocolate milk' pamphlet in my materials. I'm thirsty. I can't stop thinking about chocolate milk.

Tomorrow is the Day of Breakdancing. Of course, I've had the nightmare dreams that follow the train of thought/worry that things won't go well. One dream involved 2 female Cirque de Soleil dancers dressed as French courtesans in my living room. Well, everything has been booked and I think all the money has been collected. It's just up to the instructor to arrive on time from Ottawa and for everyone to have a fab time. I'm worry a lot less now than I have been over the past week.

My gym partner and I also have to do another presentation in the morning. It's going to involve abstract creative/interpretive dancing. I really have no idea how that will go over. I worked on the sound clips last night after stressing about whether or not the math professor really did say that I could do my math teaching assignment with my group at a later time. She did. So, the schedule is clear for breakdancing. We just have to get through the presentation. It does involve trying to get people to dance to the sound of a fetal heart beat. Hmmmmm.

Of course, the weather is very stormy and that has me now worried about arrival times.

Today, I worked mostly inside. It stormed a few times. Around 4:45 though, the sky opened in such a strange way and there were the most intense 2 rainbows. My cold is almost officially over. I went for a long walk in the wind to clear my head. Mmmm...chocolate milk.

School Has Changed!

2005-11-02T22:36:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the lack of writing lately.

I am on the mend after coming down with a nasty cold. It always happens to me that after I finish an intense-busy time, I get sick. A perfect example would be after exams.

It turns out that I'm not alone in my coughsneezingsniffs. Most of my Teacher Candidate buddies have been stuck with the colds and the flu.

So impressions of being back in classes: no one really wants to be back in school that I've talked to!

Classes are full of discussions about best/etc. practices that they experienced while on practicum. Most people seem really changed....as in a lot more confident in every aspect of how they present themselves. It's such a HUGE change!

Our conversations have a lot more depth now in class (and after with some tea).

I got my own science lesson on Monday with my science prof after I explained I still had some difficulties understanding some aspects of air pressure. I get it now. Ahhh, the upside of being back in classes - the resources. There's also a bit more free time going around.

My big, overriding project right now is to finalise everything with the Breakdancing Workshops that I am coordinating for Monday - one at the university and one with the Grade 8 class at the school where I had my practicum. Help is pouring in!

Here's a link to the breakdancing artist's website:http://www.masconline.ca/english/artists/artists_dance_michaelViel.htm

My great friend, Tallgirle (a breakdancer, herself) introduced me to Michael in Ottawa, at a concert that she took me to for my birthday. He taught me a few basic moves then and I remember thinking that it'd be fun to study breakdancing a bit more. It just so happens that he's a professional performer and instructor. Thanks to Tallgirle for all the connections.

Now, he is finalised to come in on Monday and all I have to do is collect the cash from all the participants. Our gym prof really opened up the way to having him in for us: she got $100 through the uni to put toward the fees for the Teacher Candidates to do the workshop.

First big organizational undertaking is underway....with a lot of help from mis amigos.

Today we made paper in my Environmental Education course. Team undertaking. We added some coffee to the mixture. The paper looks great. We even made our own paper-making frames. Our prof is really one of the highlights of being back in classes and away from all the action.

Last Day of Practicum 1!

2005-10-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

My last day in Grade 6 might have been the busiest day of all!

The Hallowe'en dance for grades 6 to 8 took place right after school and my AT was in charge of the dance. The kids were wound up!!! I got my first taste of Kindergarten yesterday, too. I helped the other TC and her AT with the JK's Hallowe'en parade through the school. Cute, doesn't even begin to describe these kids. I'm doing my next practicum with them. There will be a lot of bending down, for sure. They are sooo mini.

Back to Grade 6...they had a lot to accomplish before the dance. There's always a million things happening in the class. The teacher has many talents that help her to get as much done as she does. I remember one of the first days being in the class when I heard her say to a student who was asking about watching a movie in one of the upcoming days:

"I'm just living in this hour, I'm so busy."

I think that statement pretty much sums up what it's like to be a teacher.

I do wish that I could have blogged more writing samples from the class that I read in their journals, but there were a lot of issues discussed between myself and my AT about whether or not it would be okay for me to post students' writing without them knowing it. I've written down some of the things I've read for my own records and am sorry that I can't share them here. A line had to be drawn. Yet, I can give you some ideas about what Grade 6's write about: getting too much homework, black holes that absorb anything, being a deer and hunting down hunters who hunt their deer friends - leaving their caps in a large pile (truly one of the most brilliant paragraphs I've ever read), favourite cousins, parties, and things that start with the letter 'r.'

There is something really special about this age and I think that's why a lot of people like to teach Grade 6. I've always thought that it was my favourite grade and so far, it still is.

I think we were all a bit sad yesterday because the reality sunk in that we weren't going to be with those first practicum classes again. We all got nice tributes from our classes.

I CAN share some of the thoughts from the card I was presented with:

"Sweet!"

"I'll miss you. I hope you get a nice job as a teacher."

"Hope you have fun making lots of bucks."

"Rock on!!"

"We will miss your math teaching."

"You rock!"

"Thanks. You will be an amazing teacher. S'up?"

"I will miss you, come back soon."

"Bye, we will miss you lots and have all enjoyed a great October."

Despite the challenges that math threw my way, it really was an enjoyable month. It now actually feels like a bit of a drag to be going back to the university courses because I think our learning curves were so high this last month. Plus, it's just much more practical to be learning in the classroom. I think that I am better prepared to tackle assignments - such as math assignments. They just don't seem as daunting now.

A super shout out to Mrs. D who was my Associate Teacher and gave me great guidance, feedback and reviews. It's really generous and cool of AT's to open up their classrooms and take on another 'student.' I'm so great-full to her! I'm sorry I didn't stay for the dance after school. I did wear my Hallowe'en costume all day though. I was a Queen bee and it was only when I got to school in my costume that I found out that the school's mascot was bee-related. Somehow, someone found a Queen Bee sticker to put on my card.

I miss Grade 6 already.

Practicum 1 - Day 17

2005-10-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, back to Thursday.

I do remember having a double-whammy math lesson and then later in the afternoon, a double-whammy science lesson.

The students also started to present their interpretations of indigenous Canadian dwellings. They weren't allowed to build anything bigger than their desks, yet the potential was definitely there.

The math lesson went fine. My AT jumped in to help me out. She definitely helped me understand the lesson more as it went along. We were dealing with decimal place values to the thousandths. My head was spinning a bit as the students were conceptualizing these numbers and that's where it was fantastic to have Mrs. D jump in and interpret what they were expressing. This was my last math lesson of the round!

It would have been hard to leave the students with a science lesson that didn't go over well because we made 'flying objects.' Yes, essentially we were testing out paper airplanes. The classroom was already set up with the desks in a giant square so there was lots of room to throw the planes in the middle. I wish I had taken some pictures, but it all happened so quickly.

The model dwelling expo was really cool. The students sat behind their projects and then younger grades came in and got to wander and ask questions.

I do have what I would call a favourite project, although you shouldn't have favourites. I imagined it to be close to what I would have made at that age. I have a picture of it downloaded, but still can't upload any more pictures until November 1st. To quote her: "I used my grandpa's leather jacket for the tipi, sticks from my grandma's garden, and marbles from my grandma's vase." It was obvious that she didn't have much help (clearly some parents had helped out, but they weren't supposed to) in constructing her model, but that didn't take away from how artistic it turned out to be. A true work of art.

During the rest of the presentations to the class on Friday, one student described his model tipi as being made from his Dad's leather pants. He made a canoe from his Mom's straw hat. Someone asked how old the pants were and he responded: "...like, in-our-basement old."

Practicum 1 - Day 16

2005-10-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

I'm catching up. It's now Saturday. It's hard to remember all the way back to Wednesday!

I can though:

The hot lunch went well. Everything got into the oven and came out tasting great.

I think that's all I remember about Wednesday.

But, I REALLY Wanted The Book

2005-10-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

The constable came in to talk to the class this morning. I've already mentioned that she has an amazing rapport with the students. There's noooooo misbehaving when she's talking to the class. She is really sarcastic and at the same time doesn't hesitate to make fun of herself.

The talk today was about Peer Pressure and authority figures figured into it in a small way.

I didn't really think about it too much before, but teachers are authority figures (as are judges, police officers, etc. - according to the constable).

The talk finished with some discussion about youth and the law. Constable Cee told the students that when she brings in young offenders to the station, she makes them make the call home because the first few times when she made the calls home, parents jumped to awful conclusions when they got a call from a police. I like how she mentioned that people have surreal ideas about their kids (ie. being angels). I didn't know this before, but the only difference between an arrest of a young offender and an adult is that the a call has to be made home to parents in the case of the former. ARREST! SEARCH! HANDCUFFS! THROWN INTO A CELL! That may have left some strong impressions on the students.

Things wrapped up with a really anecdotal session about 'what goes around comes around.' Constable C said that her Mom told her,when she was younger, that a bus would come around the corner and hit her if she ever stole anything. She later referred to her Mom as "Mrs. Headlights-Mrs. Bus." She knows how to work the Grade 6 crowds. According to her, at the age of 12, kids start using their frontal lobe thinking and their wiring starts working correctly.

"We know you know the consequences."

She also has a policy of not answering 'What IF?' questions. It's hilarious to hear kids persevere with their questions until they get that she won't answer. For police officers, there are no 'what if's' because they need to know the whole story.

What came out of the anecdotal stories (Constable Cee found and returned money on two different occasions, with two different positive outcomes), was that kids have a chance to change society..."Do you really want to think that things are for free when they're not?"

!A Pebble Thrown Into Water - causes a ripple. That pebble is honesty. See the impact you can have with honesty. It's your choice!" - The Constable

Now, I'm not going to mention any names, but this summer (ahem), somebody I know found the new Harry P. book in a shopping cart in the parking lot of The Superstore in TBay. This honest person, went in and returned it to customer service because he thought that if someone returned to find it, they'd be disappointed if it were not there. When he came home, he was met with astonishment.

Somebody else I know (ahem) was really shocked because that person was dying to read the book because I just finished Book 5 ....and was thinking that he should have just brought it home for a few days so someone could read it and THEN bring it back - because s***w the corporation! They had HP books coming out of their yingyangs!

Yeah, well....someone found themselves back at the Superstore and tried to claim that they found a HP book and was it on record. But, then they said that it was lost on a different day than what was recorded in the book because their conscience took over. On a few other occasions though, that someone paused at the customer service desk debating on whether a teenage employee would get flack over turning over a HP book that he said that someone should just take because one had been turned in. Sooo, that someone didn't take it and ended up getting one as a gift. Full stop.

What Constable Cee would say: "If it's not yours, it's not yours!"

The message got through today. Frontal Lobe-adelic!

Special shout out to AM! You were the better pebble all along!

Hot Lunch Preps - Behind the Scenes

2005-10-25T18:16:00.000-05:00

An idea came up in one of our last meetings to prepare a hot lunch for the staff at the school where we're doing our practicum. I remember thinking then (when things were a bit more overwhelming) that the preparations would be a lot of work. My, how we've grown over the weeks! Tears, sighs, spirit-raising background music all strum up!

Tomorrow, we will serve our hot lunch and we hope that it will express our gratitude for everyone showing us the ropes, etc. I've maxxed out the amount of pictures I can upload in my flickr account, so this will be all for today.

Step One

Get excited for your meal preparation by eating at a really good diner. Today's pickings from the menu included: inferno-hot jerked chicken sandwich, a CLT sandwich, spicy lemon-coconut french fries (beyond good), deep fried bananas, and a deep fried Mars Bar with ice cream. Plus, loads of free water.

Step Two

Try to stay serious and on track while planning the meal. Do not be tempted to laugh your guts out when you hear stories about kids misbehaving. (One certain member of our team and h**cousin put a garden hose in h** bathroom while h** parents were away and caulked the door shut. The idea was to make a bathroom aquarium. Hysterics ensued. A younger brother was washed down stairs. Maybe this story wasn't supposed to have been repeated).

Step Three

Make sure that peoples' preferences in food are taken into consideration when you plan the meal. Don't just choose options that you'd like yourself.

Step 4

Choose your ingredients carefully, but don't get intimidated by all the selection.

(a rock star series of shots would have been inserted here had I had I been able to upload more)

Step Five

Repeat: don't get overwhelmed by all the selection.

Step Six

Find a merry kitchen to cook and continue deep conversations. Finish speedily before the kids have to be picked up from daycare.

Step Seven

Cross your fingers and hope that the meal tomorrow goes well.

LK's Kitchen Lesson

2005-10-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

On the weekend, I wrecked someone's spatula (apologies again) as I tried to flip hot pajeon - Korean pancakes - with it. I also smoked up the apartment and touched my eye and contacts (not salvageable, it turns out) after chopping insanely hot chilis. When I got home yesterday, I learned about a type of soap that has special properties to remove things like chilis from skin. Then, I got a lesson about spatulas from a professional cake designer. Coloured spatulas are for cooking and white spatulas are for baking, only. Who knew, really? Who knew? My cake lady is also giving me lots of good advice on Hallowe'en styling. Boo!! One week to go! I need to brush out my wig.

Practicum 1 - Day 14

2005-10-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

My first evaluation by my Prof is over! Relief finds me just kicking back this evening, although there are tonnes of things to accomplish. I wish!

I think most of my stress about today came from not knowing where 27 minds will go (with or pulling me along different directions) during the lesson. The multiple-mind factor certainly makes an evaluative visit by a professor a bit more stress-inducing than preparing a straightforward presentation where one's lonesome is the most complicated factor. All was not lost and it was only my 2nd science lesson.

I spent last night really getting into the nitty, gritty of Air and Flight. I had to review all the chapters up to the ones that I was presenting today and guess what.....I got it! I get it! I swear it's all new to me. I have always asked myself how the big airplanes I've been on stay up in that big, wide, sky of ours. The focus today was on how moving air is different than still air. What is the connection between blowing under folded recipe shaped cards to big, beautiful wings on planes???

Enter aerodynamics and Bernoulli's Principle. B.P. states that moving fluids exert less pressure than still fluids. Air is considered a fluid. One of the experiments was to place a strip of paper under our lips. It just hangs there like a long, white goatee. But, when one blows straight over and onto the paper, it lifts! LIFTS! Lift is created. The air pressure on the top is lower than below because of the air being blown, so the higher pressure below pushes the paper up! Sooo, exciting. Another experiment is to fold an index card (or piece of bristol board about flashcard size) in half and to stand the card upside down on a table so that it resembles a tent. Blow under it. The card won't move. WHY, you ask? Because the pressure underneath now is lower than above because of the windblast from your mouth. The higher pressure above the card pushes the card down to the table. One student managed to get a hovercraft action on his desk!

Last point about air in motion: the shape of a plane's wing forces air travelling over the top of the wings to move faster. The air pressure is lowered and then more lift is given to the wing. Of course, when the lift is greater than the force of gravity acting on the plane, the plane will rise. The greater the area of the wing, the greater the lift. This is part of the explanation of why planes can go up and down.

That science lesson is going out to all of you going stircrazy in your office spaces (try some new folds and experiment with paper at home. How about a memo that's lying around?) Also, special science love to all of you thinking about how many hours away by big, beautiful planes your loved ones are.

I have to say that I do find Science Why's a bit easier than Math Why's. I've been closer to my teaching highs in the science department, so far.

Practicum 1 - Day 13

2005-10-21T17:21:00.000-05:00

It was Salad Day today for the teachers. That's always a highlight. Let me tell you about mine: pine nuts, feta, mandarine pieces, artichokes, peppers. Delicious.

I haven't talked too much about the school itself where I am placed. It's small and the teachers are of majorly high calibres. This is definitely an asset when for us Teacher Candidates. All the teachers that we're working with have very different teaching styles and classrooms.

I am sure there are a number of ways that the school where I've been placed at has become a real foundation of high achievement for its community. Last week, I noticed a teacher talking to one student who had been misbehaving during choir. She stressed the high calibre of the choir (all primary grades participate in it) and how much the choir meant to the community (for example, on days like Rememberance Day). It was such an interesting way to emphasize to the student that he had a responsibility to - and was an important part of - the choir. I've asked teachers why the school is so unique and I've heard that it's because the teachers themselves are really exceptional. I can believe that.

These thoughts lead me back to my own elementary and high schools that are now *dead* spaces. Devoid of any future. What from the success and spirit of the school where I am at could have been transferred to saving them? Was there anything that could have been done? They, too, were special and known (especially my high school) for its spirit and high academic achievements. Points to ponder. I think that as students, we did feel like they were special places.

On the way home on Friday on the bus, a thought popped into my mind. One quality I've noticed in all of my closest friends is that they have great abilities to pose excellent questions to me. They all know me because they know how to open me up and have discovered what makes me tick, to say the least. I thought back about at the math conference, how the one teacher noted that successful teachers know how to pose the right questions and rephrase what students are saying back to them. Another connection to ponder.

Other highlights of today were that: the math lesson that I planned out painstakingly did NOT go according to plan. Part of the hitch was that I was really tired. I went to bed latelatelate on Thursday night and didn't get enough REMs. Teaching at exhaustion levels were the norm in Seoul (Teresita and I talked recently about how impossible it would be to maintain again the level of work with minimal sleep that we did our first year in Seoul) and for some reason things always seemed to go fairly well in class. But, when teaching lessons that do not come as second nature, like ESL, you really have to be on top of your toes.

My pivotal mistake on Friday was not writing out a place value chart so that the students could visually see the big numbers that they were working on while doing a big question. I really thought they wouldn't need to, but I was mistaken. There were stunned and confused faces in the audience when I asked them to do 2 questions in the student book. Nothing is ever obvious for math lessons, it seems. One student actually said that she instantly got a cold and she didn't want to do the question. I made a student sick! Ahhhhhhh. I just can't process well anymore when I am tired!

Leaving the day and the week behind, I got to copy a tonne of rubrics for different subjects that my AT let me look at. It was so generous of her and so timely that I got to just chill out and end the day on a nice note. My colleague, Miss M, was beaming because for the first time on Friday, one of her lessons went amazingly well. I still haven't had that teaching high this round yet. I know it's possible and I've felt that feeling many times before. (the greatest moments of teaching in Seoul were definitely at the Centre for Cerebral Palsy when Teresita and I became the masters of improv). Monday would be the perfect time for a lesson to go off splendidly well. I am having my first evaluation by my Prof, while I'm teaching a science lesson.

It's now Sunday night and my lesson is laid out. But, I've learned that having a perfect lesson isn't the beallandendall. I've got to be in top condition and mentally alert and ready for the challenges. Ten minutes to midnight and I'm going to call it a night. Tomorrow - Air and Flight extravaganza!

Practicum - Day 12

2005-10-21T17:02:00.000-05:00

This was actually yesterday. I'm catching up. I was too exhausted last night to have a showdown at the computer corral.

Nothing is coming to me right now about yesterday. It was playday for the whole school in the afternoon. Oh, yes. I remember. In the morning, the class had a lecture by a speaker from the Museum of Health about aboriginal medicine. He was a white dude. Nevertheless, it was a bit interesting. The Korean student moved beside me about half-way through the lecture because she was totally lost. I tried to draw a Korean shaman and compare the pictures of the masks being shown in the slide show to help her get some idea of what he was talking about. Knowing how to 'write' in Hangeul is proving to be a bit of an asset. Knowing A Bit of Korean. I must stress that. Not studying the language harder is now coming back to haunt me.

The playday seemed to go really well. The kids had partly cloudy - partly sunny weather and it felt like a Friday. It wasn't.

My AT went over my evaluation that is done after we're in the class for two weeks. I've been improving on my pacing and lesson planning. There were a lot more than that to assess though. I got great feedback about how to improve a lot of aspects of my teaching. Some interesting points were that the teacher thought that I'd adapted well to her style of teaching. Everyone has different styles and hers is very laid-back. She also liked that I incorporated her feedback into the changes that I made in planning lessons. It was the first time that we got to just chat about things in general outside of school and that was a nice, new thing.

I still have to finish my self-evaluation. It's very hard to give a letter to your growth and weaknesses.

I've noticed that this whole 'math' process has made me stumble a bit when I talk. Not being confident about your subject material and the way to lead the lesson has somewhat affected me. You really can't bulls**t AT ALL when it comes to math (I had my taste of that through my math education - shame, shame!). It's no longer "....because that's the way it is.....!" Math really rests upon dialogue and concise communication and being able to talk in circles isn't an asset. Leaving people behind is quite painful, too. So, really, I couldn't have been assigned or presented with a more humbling task than math lessons.

Being really prepared, with an excellent lesson plan, doesn't even make for smooth sailing - as I have humbly learned and experienced.

Practicum 1 - Day 11

2005-10-19T23:22:00.000-05:00

It's almost 12:30 a.m. and despite my plans to: a) write a math lesson up, b) write up a science lesson for Friday, and 3) start the ESL project I'm envisioning, I only just finished A! Ahhhhh.

It was a half-day again for us TC's at the school, as we had our weekly 3-hour meeting. I think it went 5 hours. I have to note again that it's really cool to have this built-in meeting each week because we get to share our different experiences in our respective first placements. We've potentially figured out which classes we'll rotate into for the next round at the end of November. Our major focus today was on discussing lesson planning and we're just such a functional group! Mrs. S. made us fresh cookies and always WOWS us with her ability to do this BEd program AND be a part of raising her 3 sons (ages 2, 4, and 6). Mr. M made an amazing appearance after being a part of his brother's motorcycle accident recovery. Miss M rounded the meeting off with her enthusiasm and insight. I ate a LOT of cookies.

The morning went by really quickly. I did get to finish the math lesson we started yesterday and for the first time was able to mark some math work. It seemed like most students were following along pretty well.

One of the journals that I got to read, first thing in the morning, was SO brilliant and hilarious. I will ask tomorrow if I'll be able to post it to the blog. Absolutely amazing paragraph structure and humour.

The math lesson that I spent last night working on was totally scrapped today when I asked my AT about the chapter. It was about Megabytes! and Kilobytes! and really, really promised to confuse the students to no end. That's how I felt last night. 'Easy' come, EASY GO.

Tomorrow is 'Play Day.' I'm going to wear my runners. Deep thoughts will now rest for the night. OH, I did get to catch up with some other Teacher Candidates, here and in TO, and it seems like everyone is doing really well and spending late nights doing just about what I do...

Practicum 1 - Day 10

2005-10-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

I have to stress right now: it's always REALLY late and with a sigh of 'am I really doing this now' that I do my blogging. That said, some of my feedback of late is that this blog is a lot less rambling and is more coherent than my original one. I'm always surpised though that I'm even making any sense.

Last night (Monday) marked a big mental hurdle for me: I completed my first full-feature math lesson ahead of time and had a copy ready to go for my AT! It looked pretty tight, but the kid factor yet again kicked in. The task at hand (oh, I am talking about math again) was to copy a number line (writing numbers on a horizontal line to order them according to size) that was in the text book and fill in some estimations of where big numbers should be (hockey game attendances for different cities). CHAOS: created because the number lines copied from the teacher's resource book had way too many lines and the students panicked for the most part. They had already been taught about data and making things precise so this exercise was for them, turbulent. The lesson never really got completed. It has to have second half for the players to score in any way. Just a tiny, little hurdle and so much confusion. Math is very visual.

My feedback was today that my pacing was a lot better. It definitely helps to know the material well and have a good lesson plan in front of you. That's all ridiculously obvious, but last week getting to know the text book and the teacher's resources and how to pull them together literally made me dizzy. I can see some sort of way to go with the math lessons. There's always some sort of mis-sight (not intentionally an oversight). I did do a math opener that went well. The closer......wellllll it might have been lost in space somewhere.

I am always surprised with what the students come up with in math. For example, when discussing ways to remember how to use the inequality sign (bigger than/less than), I saw visuals of Pacman eating the bigger number (it works, I've checked) and heard the imagery of a crescendo.

I've been working with the Korean exchange student again and she really needs to be in an ESL course. Now, I'm on the other end: I'm in Canada and seeing students like those that I helped prepare to go to Canada or taught after their return. It's just too much immersion for students so young. I'm really not convinced that it's a good idea to send 12 year olds abroad. I had a hard enough time figuring things out in Seoul at my age. I can't imagine the stress of these young students without language skills to keep up with their classes. I have an idea of how to do a student-student ESL learning mini-program. I thought I'd get some more ideas down on paper tonight, but planning the next lesson took a lot more time than I expected. I did bring in some flashcards that I have from S. Korea to work with the exchange student and she really shines with the one-on-one attention. That doesn't mean she's speaking much at all, though.

I'm supposed to finish a self-evaluation form, but I just don't know how to evaluate myself using their code of: Outstanding!, Proficient*, Adequate^, and Needs Improvement. There's a whole sheet of categories. I think I'm proficient at a few things. As for the rest.......I'll sleep on it.

Addendum: I got to teach my first lesson today in the grade 7/8 split. Mr. M had urgent matters to attend to in Ottawa and he left me a super well-planned Geography lesson. I mostly had to help them look for resources in the library to complete a questionnaire. I was reminded of how much I love geography. I didn't find it to be a huge challenge to work with this age group, as I anticipated. I may eventually be with them a lot more, depending on how the next practicums work themselves out. That's a topic of discussion for us tomorrow at our TC weekly meeting. Goodnight.

p.s. Thanks Mom for the happy face stickers and the interesting article about the trend for teachers being bullied in Ontario by their students. Fun read, Judester! So far, I can't relate and I don't expect to have any bullying problems at my placement school. It really is a great anamoly in terms of public schools. More to come on that subject.

Practicum 1 - Day 9

2005-10-17T19:24:00.000-05:00

My post that I finished yesterday after midnight (about Monday), disappeared just after I published it. Another case of losing the internet connection. Well-experienced in blogland, by many. I will say that it was the most brilliant thing I've ever written.

A recap:

I was pretty exhausted on Monday after the busy weekend (see the to-be-expanded upon Film Fest blog), so I didn't prepare lessons for math or science until I got to school. Thus, they weren't stress-reducingly planned well. My pacing was highlighted as something that I need to work on. In teaching math, the biggest challenge (other than understanding the concepts you have to teach) is pacing. There are always a few students in the class that look panic-stricken or refuse to participate because they "don't get it." It's really hard to move on when they aren't keeping up. My AT gave me some great feedback though: I have to move on because I lose most of the class that does get it. Then, I can put extra questions on the board for those who are struggling and go over the questions again with them. The risk of not moving on is that the majority of the class gets distracted and bored if the pace isn't kept up. Pacing Math!! I'm seeing RED! It really is something I have to work on!

Contrary to belief (SP! you know who you are), I was actually quite good at math as a youngster. Around The World (class) multiplication and division, etc. challenges were (groan here) "TERRI TIME." Oh yes, I had unbreakable streaks. But, ahhhhhh, math has evolved quite a bit since those days of the 80's. Today, on the suggestion of my AT, I cut up strips of coloured construction paper for them to chop into squares to be placed on place value charts. The new text book we're using had a typo that had to be corrected and set me off in the wrong track last week. The most impressive new math expression up my sleeve now is: math manipulatives. With these coloured cubes in columns, students can visualize big numbers, like 67 564 373. Try it out some time. Fun! Visualise your big lottery win. Math is taking over my mind these days and I wonder if that's obvious or not?

Science also went fairly well, from my perspective. The lesson was on Gravity and Lift and did not involve any sort of facial product placing on my part. It was a short lesson and that made it actually easier to pace (for obvious reasons). The creative element: in their 'passports,' the students drew pictures of flying objects (the textbook example was a hot air balloon) going up and down over mountains. I think I saw one flying monkey in there. Where the forces were different or equal, they wrote a label. Too much fun. I do promise that you will hear about the secrets of aviation soon!

Film Festing

2005-10-17T17:41:00.000-05:00

It's 12 a.m. exactly. OOOOH OOOOH don't look in the mirror! Are you superstitious? This last weekend, I was fully engaged by a wonderful film festival in Toronto that I will fill you in on tomorrow night. I just finished my math lesson for tomorrow and was about to write, when I got distracted by a blog by a celebrity - Pete Townsend. Sooo, my highlights of the film festival will have to exist now just in picture form:

Practicum 1 - Day 8

2005-10-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

My favourite seasoned-teacher quote for the day: (from a grade 2 teacher to her endlessly chattering student) -

"I'm the show, not you. Get your popcorn out!!!!"

(She said that she sometimes substitutes 'pencils' for 'popcorn.'

It's 10 p.m. and I can't string too much together. One foot in the bed.

Soooo, it's finally sunk in.....I'm tired and I have a lot to learn. A lonnnnnnggggg ways to go in the math department.

My follow up lesson today went quite a bit better than yesterday. My AT gave me a tonne of instant feedback, which was infinitely helpful. My pacing was o.k. and that's one area that I was concerned with when it comes to math because you have such different levels in classes.

Math is really conceptual and there has been a huge shift in the change of thought here in the provincial curriculum. Does that make it easier to teach? haaaa haaaa.

One part of the lesson was for the students to imagine that they could choose their own lottery winnings. They had digit cards (basically 10 different pieces of paper with the numbers 0 to 9) and had to make the biggest number they could. They all had the same number. The second task was to make the smallest number with the same cards. The majority started their sequence with 1-0, etc. But, a few said frankly that they'd put the 0 first, which would make a smaller number. I did have to look over to my AT for guidance and she said - 'they're both right.' I asked the students to explain why they chose to start with a '0' or a '1' and their answers were really interesting. Deep stuff.

I did my first science 'lesson' today. I didn't actually pay 100% attention when my AT told me where to start so I got the dreaded "...they've already done that..." but it all worked out. I made them mock passports and they were into restapling, taping, filling them out. They are making passports to track their learning of Air and Flight. Yeah, I'm going to be able to explain how planes take off and stay in motion, soon.

Tomorrow is just a half day because we have our group meeting in the afternoon.

For real, being a teacher is a lot of work and I'm just scratching the surface.

Practicum Day 1 - Day 7

2005-10-12T23:54:00.000-05:00

My First Official Lesson Delivery Day: Numeracy. Chapt. 2.

I survived. But, not without the cold sweats. They might continue throughout the night.

It's almost 1 a.m. and I just put the parting-ways-for-the-night touches on my opener for my first science class - taking place tomorrow.

Just wanted to let you know that my first lesson ever in this program went down with LOTS of room for improvement. My ATeacher was really encouraging after the class was done though and did give me some hope that the kids will not further hate math because of my lesson today.

Thinking over the class, I made notes tonight of 5 critical errors on my part that I made during the lesson. I could expand here upon these errors, but you'd be bored and I've already done my reflections for the night. The one positive that seemed to come out of it was that the students seemed slightly engaged. I am not really sure if I led them on the right track today. Tomorrow's lesson will likely be along the lines of 'damage control.'

This came to mind just a few minutes ago: that there are mistakes you can't even imagine making because you've never attempted something before. I've also been thinking that my face is breaking out because I've been cutting back on sleep these days. It makes a long day.

Onwards and upwards. The snowy owl example was a bit wild, number wise - just to give a little example of my oversights today: The average snowy owl eats 1600 lemmings a year. If a family of four eats the average number for 5 years, how many lemmings will they eat (and yes, I did use the puppet today and I didn't see any frightened faces). The number was too huge: 464 000000. I probably wasn't even to say it at one point during the lesson....only one student got the right answer so that means 27 students were struggling.

To dream of numbers.

Practicum 1 - Day 6

2005-10-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

My AT had an in-service today, so a Supply Teacher came in. The class did not wild, as one might predict in such a situation.

I did lead my first class today, technically: GYM! We played 'Wizards, Elves, and Giants' and a version of Paper/Scissor/Rock. Both games were introduced into my world/vocab last month at the uni. The kids were pretty pumped and a bit challenging to lead. All ended in Fire Dodgeball.

The police constable came in for her first 'stupid questions' session and she was unbelievable to watch. She had the kids completely entranced and it was interesting to see which students were quiet (those that usually aren't) and which ones were more vociferous (the quieter students). I noted all the questions and I think the total was up to around 40 questions that the officer answered. They are really neat, so I hope I haven't totally lost my notebook. I think I know where I left it, actually. Teaching full-time in a police uniform might be really good for classroom management.

Things I did learn today: 1) Pepper spray is illegal and not the same as mace or bear repellant; 2) eggs eat paint

I'm teaching my first 'lesson' tomorrow and have recovered slightly from the shock of trying to wade through the teacher handbooks and the text book. I am still a bit far from being organised and on top of the MATH that I'll be presenting. I have made a huge mental note that one of my puppets looks exactly like the snowy owl on the math textbook. I'm trying to work it in somehow. Maybe I'll look for some snowy owl facts. I really am not feeling confident right now about this math lesson. The lingo has changed so much. When I first opened the chapter, I really did not know what I was looking at. I've got to go play with the puppet a bit more. Freaking.

Practicum 1 - Day #5

2005-10-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

I'm actually writing this on Thanksgiving Monday. Catch up time before bed. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you all!

Last Friday was my fifth day of my practicum. It was a busy day and heavily accentuated by popcorn. The class was pumped to watch a movie version of a book they read called 'Holes.' They have to do a comparison of the two as an assignment and were allowed full reign to bring in snacks. One student bought a huge box of D-ritos (Hallowe'en-sized) and they were alllll gone by the end of the movie.

One funny highlight of the day, which I'm still laughing about in a had-to-be-there-way, was the dialogue between my Associate Teacher and her student:

Student: "Mrs. D, did you bring the movie."

Mrs. D: "No, I forgot it."

Student: "WHINE.....WHINE, well how are we going to watch it."

Mrs. D: "I'm going to act it all out."

Student: pauses and then after the teacher walked away whines: "That's not very educational."

It was a really interesting movie, but more vivid was the idea of a teacher acting out an entire movie. Classic line. I have so much to learn.

Over the weekend, I went to a wedding. At our table: two Teacher Candidates who drove down from TBay, who are studying at LU, a recent BEd grad from Brock U, one music teacher, and moi. A whole lot of people with similar interests. H., the Brock U grad is on a supply list now, but will be starting a Kindergarten class in January. The LU TC's are somewhat in my old 'hood.

I am also starting to get more focus on my alternative practicum - some ideas are coming together, as well as refocusing on future post-BEd ideas. My head is throbbing in a good way. It was a busy weekend and now there's a four-day week ahead.

Gobble Gobble and did anyone have Tofurkey for Thanksgiving?

Practicum 1 - Day 4

2005-10-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

It's 10 p.m. I might get to bed the earliest tonight that I have all week. I finished a photo 'poster' of our Teacher Candidate team to put up in the staff room last night at about 2 a.m. Trying to integrate as best as we can at the school to maximize our learning!

It turns out that I didn't miss the constable yesterday. She might start her program tomorrow in the class with the teacher.

Some highlights from today:

1) The class played a game sort of like 'crab scrabble.' I helped cut up paper squares and put the alphabet on (mock Scrabble pieces) and then learned how to play. It's really cool. There were four teams and they had to race one by one in a crab walk to the centre to get a tile from the pile. Then, once all the tiles were taken, they had to try to put words together a la Scrabble. I'm not sure how the point system went. One word was: acquaintance. Not bed, eh?

2) Before lunch, I worked with the Korean exchange student in the library and it was really neat. She definitely needs one-on-one help. I'd borrowed some big picture books and she was soo excited to say the words that she knew. I actually heard her speak and of course, we talked about dok bok kee. If there's one way to bond with a Korean child........well, we also talked about ramion. I forget the names of two things that I loved to devour in Korea: the hot cinnamon pancake things from the street and plum juice. I still can't think of them all these hours later. She plays 10 musical instruments!

3) While the class was studying French, my AT (Associate Teacher) gave me further background info about the class and I won't bring up any acronyms now. Basically, we talked about IEP testing and which children have been identified as having exceptionalities. She also further broke down for me the difference between ACCOMODATING (giving a student extra time to finish a tast) and MODIFYING (ie. sitting a student in front of the teacher so they can hear better). It was totally enlightening and gave me more insight on to how I should prepare for upcoming lesson plans in terms of including everyone. During the same discussion, she also told me that her approach with the students in her Grade 6 class now is different than how she would approach teaching the round of Grade 6's next year (who are presently across the hall and apparently challenging to teach). That was also really thought-provoking.

4) Miss M. lent me a novel called, "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time," which is written from the perspective of a teenager with autism. I need to do some more reading on working with autistic children as there is one in the class and I don't know anything about autism (other than that famous 'rain' movie). I can't put the book down!

5) The school is obviously a very exceptional school. After school, Miss M and I discussed its uniqueness with one of the teachers (the dynamic choir leader/teacher) and got some really positive ideas from her about the school. We are unquestionably working with outstanding teachers.

To bed, to catch up on sleep.

Practicum 1: Day 3

2005-10-05T23:44:00.000-05:00

I only spent the morning at the school today. More practice was had for me in checking spelling and sentences. Some of the sentences were so wild and almost impossible to decode. I remember being younger and trying to fit as many spelling words into a sentence as possible and wondering why the teacher looked puzzled. Why didn't they get it? Well, one student told me today that I had to figure out what he meant because teachers know everything. We argued about that point.

The class had choir today. I told my AT (Associate Teacher) that I don't sing, but then once the choir practice started, I couldn't stop myself. The choir director is the Grade 2 teacher and she is so dynamic. We sang some peppy Thanksgiving-related songs and I still have no idea if I'm an alto or a sorprano. I did find myself even singing in the car this evening. What's going on?

At lunch, I got some dance move instructions from one of the students. There have been complaints of too much Shania being played at lunch, so today there was some more funky stuff on offer. I've got a book to read, too. A mystery that we'll watch the movie version of on Friday.

I missed the first question session with the police constable who was to come back and talk to the class in the afternoon. I had to meet with my cohorts from the university who are also doing their practicums at the same school. We will meet for 3 hours each week to do semi-guided questions and have general jam sessions for two of our professional classes. Today marked the first time we met altogether and I'm so thrilled to be working with these folks. We come from really different backgrounds and disciplines but have now been united by silly jokes, a good meal/coffee, and our host school for our practicums. I have to admit that I didn't ever imagine that there would be this component to our program - a sort of extra-focused, small learning community that would be uniquely part of our professional development. It's REALLY exciting. All the jokes are inside ones now. Ahhh, bonding.

Mr. M, Miss I, Mrs. S, Miss S.

Our first meeting was at a local vegetarian/co-op cafe! Look at our healthy smiles.

Serious laughter.

Laughing, seriously?

Our conversation wandered all over today. We're going to keep a group journal that will not be collective, but based on our experiences as a whole. Basically, we'll share notes and pictures, but in the end it'll be up to us interpret the waters we'll travel together. Yes, that was purposefully THAT cheezie.

Practicum 1 - Day 2

2005-10-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what difference a day makes in being able to get to know students' names and their personalities.

The days seem to go by a lot more quickly than I ever remember teaching days passing. I'm still not hitting the high notes on O'Canada and haven't gotten used to the bell being so loud. I like the reviewing of recess.

I got to check spelling lists today and bust out my smiley-face signature. These kids were into it to. I have to get my stamp collection out of storage in Toronto. It might become legendary.

Some highlights from today:

* Quite a few students entered a cross-country race and I've heard that the school won the overall medal. A lot of cheering and encouragement for all students who returned to school from the meet.

**A constable from the police department came in to start a values-influences-peers program that she teaches with the Grade 6 teacher. It seems like a really unique program. Because so many students were missing due to the track meet, the first discussion was postponed until tomorrow. We did get a taste of what's to come: awareness of basic values of diverse society - responsibility for our own actions - importance of self-respect and self-confidence, etc. etc. (those I gleamed from the workbook and the program covers a lot more aspects about develop respect for the rights of others and for good decision-making). In the downtime that came from not having the discussion, our teacher led a discussion about INTERNET SAFETY that was mind-blowing.

The vital point that she was stressing was for kids not to use chat rooms. I think that almost every hand in the room was up with comments about using msn and chat rooms and websites. Kids are out there on the internet and they need to be protected. I was so glad to hear this discussion today and impressed by how passionately the teacher spoke about the need for kids to protect themselves. Also, to have this conversation in-class, where kids could warn each other and express their worries was really important for them. It was important for me, too! I do love the internet (ie. being able to communicate and write through blogs), but I don't often stop to analyse how it could affect kids' lives if they don't have the motivation/skills to be critical of the internet.

*** The Grade 6's have a Reading Buddy program with the Grade 1's next door. In their groups of 2 or three, they lavished attention on the little ones. The little 1's 'helped' the older students make a turkey craft. At the end, they all met in the Grade 1 class for Joke Time. It was hilarious. Grade 1's think the most insane things are funny. My associate teacher said that one of the funniest things to hear is kids that age making up their own jokes and laughing with their cohorts at the most bizarre things.

My favourite joke of the session: What is Big Foot's favourite sport?
answer: SQUASH

****There is a S. Korean exchange student in the class who hasn't really spoken much since she started the class in September. I'm going to make an effort to work with her as much as I can. She looks sooo lost in class. I can relate in many ways. But, ESL - I can never escape it! I brought in some serious bonding materials today: a set of KONGI pieces (sort of like a Korean version of Jacks, but much flashier and more exciting) Of course, the Korean student and her little sister are masters and the other students watching were really impressed. My skills are still not up to par. I definitely didn't impress. A Chicken Soooop moment: the I-need-attention-150%-of-the-teacher's-time boy student picked up the kongi pieces on his first try. He's hooked now!

That's about all for today. I'll be leading Phys. Ed on Friday, so that leaves me with 3 course areas for this month. Pretty exciting as they are all curriculum courses that I'm already taking at the uni. It's actually nice to just float around the class and absorb a lot this week.

I have to make a mental note NOT to bring peanut butter sandwiches anymore to class. There's one student who is severely allergic. We did get an Epipen lesson yesterday at the staff meeting and one of my Teacher Candidate cohorts recounted his story of having to give TWO Epipens in a row to one of his students. Very dramatic and traumatic. We talked in the Kindergarten class (another TC and I with the teacher) about the phenomenon of peanut allergies and how they potentially change schools and policies. Very interesting. I did panic though when I realised this morning that I'd brought a PB and J sandwich into the class. I just had to eat it outside of the class and wash my hands a lot. I only recall one boy from my childhood with nuts/orange allergies. How times have changed.

Practicum#1- Day 1!

2005-10-03T20:28:00.000-05:00

I didn't sleep much last night. Surprise. Was it really decaff I had before bed?

Grade 6!!! Do you want to hear about my day? I'm listening to the same music I was over a year ago. Now, it's wild to be writing about my day here in Canada with this c.d. as the same backdrop. Music is the glue and the mirror, too. Anyways.....

The class (I've been told and can now imagine) is really full of independent and bright kids. They remind me a lot of the students that we worked with in Ecuador.

Another comparison is that I can now understand what kids are saying under their breaths and out loud in class (compared to when students spoke Korean at high speed when I was in Seoul). It's pretty eye opening.

The first thing that the class does in the mornings is to take 10 minutes and write in their journals. One of my activities in the next month will be to read their entries to get to know them and to comment. That's a pretty generous offer by the teacher because she uses the journals to hear about what's going on in their lives and what challenges they are facing. I think I'll be really privileged in my upcoming readings.

One of my first 'woooahhhhh-these-kids-are-bright' came during the journal session today. One student came back to see me in my pseudo-perch at the back of the class (today was my first observation day) and asked "Would you mind giving me your opinion on my journal writing?"

Well, she had started an amazing story about little human-like creatures with cat ears and tails that live in schools, especially desks. I'm going to get to read the ending tomorrow.

Other observations for the day:

1) It's been about 6 or 7 years since I've sung 'O Canada.' I'm wondering if the notes have raised higher or not. I DID remember the words (luckily they were also posted in French on the wall).

2) My Teacher Associate has a neat system to manage behaviour. She uses tickets as rewards to acknowledge good behaviour - she mentioned 'perception of equality.' The students write their names on their tickets and put them in the bucket. At the end of every week or so, she draws tickets for prizes. Dollar store items are hot, but the better draw is a 'homework pass' so that it can be handed in late. That's worth its weight in gold!

3) Kids have definitely become funnier. They were handed an exercise/health challenge and one student said: "It says eat dairy foods, so can we go to Dairy Queen." (with extremely good comedic timing). Yeah.

4) The library at the school has a rocking chair. There may be few things cooler than seeing a kid rocking back and forth and engrossed in a book.
The Associate Teacher I have talks to the students like they are mature and responsible for their behaviour. I love that she uses vocabulary that challenges them. Actually, they use really advanced expressions and vocabulary for Grade 6's. We discussed some of the activities I'll be doing in class this month and they will mainly be: MATH and SCIENCE! It is nice that I'm in town here still because I can go back to the faculty if I have questions or want to borrow manipulatives or other things.

I won't really be teaching any lessons until next week. Time to catch up on Numeracy and the Properties of Air.

It is strange to be in a class and not leading it. But, I have been back in a student-setting for a month. Another change to roll with.

Another cup of tea before bed. I have to learn not to caffeine-ate before I hibernate.

Last Week of Classes - Round 1

2005-10-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't manage to post every day, did I?

Friday marked the last day of classes before we start our first practicum. It was a busy week, that ended chaotically for me. I finished my paper for my Professional course at 3 a.m. - early Friday morning. When I woke up to edit it, it was gone! I'd been using WordPerfect (sigh, why?) that I downloaded as a trial with my new computer. Nightmare. I ended up getting the paper back, but turned it in unedited and missing some chunks and the bibliography. I am a bit disappointed that it turned out not so well and that I had to run around like a hyper hamster all day on Friday to ameliorate the situation. What a send off to finish my first month of classes.

I have to stress that I'm thoroughly enjoying my classes. I feel like a student. I don't feel right now like I'm in the role of a teacher having to analyse everything I learn. I feel like a true student as most of the classes are experiential. The profs want us to experience the lessons and methods that we'll eventually use with kids on ourselves first. Dare I say that I'm having fun and school is really enjoyable? I am, it is.

I thought I'd run you through my typical week for this semester. I've not been taking pics of every course though. Ooops. I will once we come back in November.

Monday

My first class is gym at 9 a.m. Gym has never been so exciting. Last Monday, we played a version of 'Quidditch.' If you're one of the few who don't read Harry Potter, it's the main game that the students play in the novels. We didn't use flying broomsticks.....just little scooter boards. If every kid could be so lucky to have my gym prof!!! There'd be a lot of healthy kids out there. When we walk in the gym, she's always got an instruction on the board to play with things or to do something on our own to warm up. We students are also doing presentations and so some have gone already. I'll present with my partner after the break. We're trying to cook up something good.

Monday afternoon: MATH! My teacher called me whiney this week. It made an impression on me. I wanted to buy her copy of the math readings, but I think they ended up getting promised to someone else. I'm going to add some links to my prof's writings on math, as requested by some readers. One neat thing we did to help kids with learning about volume: we, as groups, took a straw and rolled up a piece of newspaper over it. Then, we stretched the tube out to be exactly a metre and joined another group to make a cube. We put straws in the ends of tubes for strength. It was amazing how big a metre cubed is! You could make a little playhouse for kids! Imagine little students being able to visualize volume like that. We were definitely ooooo'ing and ahhhhhh'ing. Our prof also read us some math-related children's novels. It's all about integrating with the new ministry curriculums, apparently.

Tuesday

Art class, to date, hasn't been as practical as any of the other courses that I've done. We've been doing a lot of theory. It's my only class on Tuesdays. This week, we did a neat exercise. We were given different bags of shapes and had to make a work in progress. Then, we looked at the bags our pieces came in and joined other people who had the same letters as we did on our bags. An impromptu gallery tour started. I think our prof liked the sponteneity of our tourings. Definitely a highlight of the art class so far. I'm working on my portfolio piece for art. My theme: puppets!!! Surprise, surprise.

Making Different Pieces in our Original Group

My avant garde granola bar piece

Exposition with Similar Bagged Shapes

Wednesday

This is my super science day. I have the same prof for my curriculum science course and for my nature-based education focus course. I think I've posted quite a few for the nature course. On Wednesday, we went to the camp I've been to before with the other course. As usual, our prof kept us busy and entertained. Always on the alert for learning with her! She's amazing.

One activity was to find something and bring it back to our groups for show and tell.

I found the puff ball on the right. It was rotten and stinky. Cooooool!

After everyone brought something back, we played a game where everyone turned their back to the blanket of goodies. One person hid one item and then we all had to guess which one was gone.

Rapt attention to science and sun.

It's ME, making a rare blog appearance!!!

We received a ziplock bag full of goodies. Our prof has gone out of her way to show us what can be done with simple and free materials. One activity was to make a list from A to Z so that we could find things in the wild and try to compile a nature alphabet. 'X' was hard. We also found out that KELP doesn't grow in freshwater. Oooops.

In the afternoon, my same prof for the nature course organised a canoe trip at the conservation area. I left my bag/camera in the car. I can't make you jealous with shots of canoes and otters and reeds.

Thursday

My only class on Thursdays (this one, science, and math will run for the whole year) is Language and Literature. This is where we learn how to teach kids how to read. This is big stuff.

Here's a shot of the library ceiling. I like the library a lot. The librarians helped me recover my lost paper and one even lent me her little thingy to transfer files on so that I could print it out. Oh, they also lent me a copy card to print it out. I like the librarians a lot at the faculty of ed library.

Friday

Friday is a busy day. I have a seminar and a lecture for my Professional course. I missed most of the seminar on Friday though because I was trying to repossess my paper from the belly of my computer during the class. In this class, we deal with equity and exceptionality issues. My seminar leader is fantastic. I think she comes from a liberation educational perspective. She's a very effective seminar leader. We've had some heated discussions as our class is very diverse. She can handle everything. She's taught in the Jane and Finch areas of Toronto.

My afternoon class is my Professional Class which deals mostly with my practicum. My prof is a retired teacher who taught for over 30 years. He brings snacks unfailingly and always makes me teary when he talks about his career and how passionate he still is about teaching. It's in this class that we are being encouraged especially to knock the walls down of the classroom (not literally) and get kids learning in many ways outside of the classroom.

His last words before sending us off on our practicum was: the tides lift all boats

Very profound words from a career teacher.....I didn't get it at first....but it means that no one is going to sink/drown. Let the first practicum begin!

Rulers of the Profession

2005-09-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Teacher Theatre Troup - Discussing their performance of 'Rulers'

One reason why I haven't been posting for the last few days is that I've had some tech problems. I added the university's web proxy for using online journals and it ended up paralysing my internet somehow. Soooo, that's why I've been slow to catch up. It's never for a lack of things to say that I don't post! From now on, I'm looking up journals at school.

One of the challenges of the BEd program so far is keeping up with all the extra-curricular/supporting curricular activities. There's always something on the go at lunch times and unfortunately, I've missed a lot. But, I didn't miss the performance of the teaching-related play, called 'Rulers' by seasoned teachers who are alumni of the same BEd program we're doing now.

It was moving, as was promised in the adverts. The main character was a 'new' teacher who was tested by her students. Each student had characteristics that could pose to be both a blessing and mind-freaking challenge in the classroom. For example, there were: the overachiever/pleaser, the mellow kid, the fragile/quiet kid. It was interesting to take in the focus on each different character and see how the playwright (one of the performers) tied them all into the growth of the teacher.

Already this week, I've heard some hummings of one of the songs from the play: "Inch worm, inch worm....." and it ends with "how beautiful you are" (with nice lyrics in between, but I never do remember). The bully character, "Andy," brought it home with his rendition. Let's hear it for lunchtime talent!

Homecoming Hurdles

2005-09-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Friday Night: Alumni Returning!

The Purple Phenomenon

Alumni March During Halftime - (note the jacket smackers on the grass)

Pancake Kegger/Super Funnelling - Beer for Breakfast on Saturday morning.

(this was taken on the infamous street where the brawl took place and by this time in the sunny morning, the stench of puke was strong enough to send us walking away quickly)

See, if my internet had been up and running on the weekend, I could have written this in two parts. By now, it's almost old news here. The homecoming weekend parties that take place in the student 'ghetto' around the university downtown, turned into a brawling mess after 2 a.m. A car (reportedly stolen) was overturned and lit on fire. The local papers have been plump with pictures of students wrecking havoc on the streets and turning on the police. The news even reached home and I received this email today:

Hi Ter: Just read today's paper re: "Homecoming under review after 'drunken street brawl'" in K. "Thirty-five people ranging in age from 17 to 30 were arrested and spent a night in jail cells after the mayhem late Sat. and early Sun..." Also, a very sad comment: "A black police officer at the scene on Aberdeen St. .... became the target of racial slurs shouted by some among the crowd of 5,000 to 7,000 people, many of whom were intoxicated. 'This coming from probably one of the most liberal campuses in Canada' police Insp. Cookman said. Police Chief Closs said his officers were "subjected to the most vile and disgusting behaviour that a police officer could possibly encounter." I'm sure you weren't part of this. Love, Mom xo ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo!

I think you could imagine that I was not part of the drunken street brawl. It's never really been my scene.

I was however very curious on Saturday about all the Homecoming festivities. It was a big anniversary year for alumni. As the oldest university in Canada, this university has an incredibly strong alumni base of support and participation. I didn't witness anything similar at Guelph, when I did my undergrad. The homecoming festivities here are quite famous....and infamous now. Some of the editorials have reported that homecoming is officially cancelled for upcoming years. Anyway, for some of us who are new to this university, we were fascinated by the spirit and rituals of the weekend. Early Saturday morning had us out researching (not participant observation, by any means) the 'pancake kegger' phenomenon. We wandered throughout the 'brawl' neighbourhood throughout the day and watched the keg parties get bigger and bigger. Didn't stop, didn't join in. It wouldn't have been hard to predict that things would eventually get out of control. It's just sad that smart kids do stupid things.

One big thing at this university is the school jacket. Another big thing is dyeing bodies purple. Put these 2 trends together at homecoming and you have purple jackets being beaten against the ground. I saw this a few times during the Frosh week here. Very noteworthy. Nobody I asked let me try on their jacket. I'm NOT going to be purchasing one in the near future, although it seems like I will eventually be part of a very active network of alumni.

One local commented that the university here seems more like an 'American' school (ie. an Ivy Leaguer). There is a lot of animosity in the local community towards the university community for what happened on the weekend. It is coming to light that many of the students arrested were not locals. I do think our campus (the education area, which is quite removed from the more centrally-located campus) retains its laid-back Canadiana rurality. I haven't seen anyone yet with an Education jacket.

Subconcious Fears

2005-09-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

Big News of the DAY: My first practicum placement will be in a Grade 6 class!!!!

The exhaustion is starting to catch up with me a bit. I just finished an assignment and it's midnight, officially. It was an evaluation of a picture book and I found it in the education library by chance. It's a reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood and an exploration of a boy's anxiety and fear. ('Into the Forest' by Anthony Browne). It's time to start talking about emotions more! My new roomate (and colleague) worked for Children's Aid for 5 years and we've talked a bit about the need for children to express their fears and be comfortable doing so. I, myself, slept under the covers until I was 12 so obviously I have some things to still work on. OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION GRANDE!

A Little Social Commentary: I printed out 2 pictures of a colleague that I took on the first day of school of her. It was her birthday today and so I made a card and passed it around science class and a LOT of people didn't sign it because they said they didn't know her. Um.....there were 2 giant pictures of her on the card. A few people said: "I don't know you but I hope I'll meet you!" But, most just didn't sign. We're training to help socialize children here, folks! Sign your name and if you run into her, say "Happy Birthday!" Arggggggh. A pirate sigh.

Today was my double-whammy science/nature-based learning classes and I'm inspired, as usual.

I can't think anymore. This day has been a bit of a blur......I missed a bus. I ate a veggie burger at the famous diner downtown.

But I Had Clothes On

2005-09-21T06:23:00.000-05:00

It's 7:25 a.m. and I am up, but not perky yet.

I just woke up from my first teaching dream that I've had since I've been back at school.

I was with a few other Teacher Candidates, but I volunteered to teach the class the stunning new method of long division that I learned on the weekend. It didn't fly as well as it did when the prof taught me how to do it. The class was talking over me, although I did raise my hand to get them to quiet a bit. The weirdest part was after the lesson, I walked to the side of the class and realised a) we were outdoors and b) the class kept expanding and expanding up a road and the side of a hill and I realised that a lot of students probably couldn't have heard the lesson.

Subconcious is likely registering that 'work' is starting to pile up and that some of us have been discussing issues of hearing impairment lately.

I'll be back with some heavier stuff tonight. But first, off for Wednesday, my FAVE day of classes.

Blown to How Many Smithereens?

2005-09-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

I Never Once Played With Anything In Math Class and I've Never Won Anything In a Draw - until Saturday!

Can You Figure Out This Venn Diagram?

Hint: the letters stand for different animals

It was not easy to haul myself out of bed on Saturday to get to the annual math conference that started at 9 a.m. Luckily, there were multiples of muffins and coffee and tea squared for us.

Just before the keynote speaker gave her address, there was a big draw for all of the door prizes. For the first time in my life, I won something! I left it in my locker over the weekend, but I think I remember it being a math textbook for K-Grade 3? I'm not sure. I wrote 'Pick ME!' and 'I LOVE Math' on my ticket. It was an approach that finally worked.

The keynote speaker was from Nipissing U. I'll link her presentation once I have the website HERE. I have math tomorrow afternoon....soo soon! Her presentation actually had me in near tears and it wasn't just me who felt like that.

I've talked with a few 'mature' students, sort of like myself, who have had the same feelings like I had of extreme emotion while taking these BEd classes. It's kind of a joyous feeling and kind of a puzzling feeling and now that I've talked about it with a few other people, I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way. I wonder if part of it has to do with having a longer road to get to this place and this point in time where we're examining our histories and experiences with education? I know it means more to me know than it would have had I come through the concurrent program or if I'd done the BEd program directly after my undergrad.

When the keynote speaker (who was talking about Multiculturalism and Math) discussed finding math in every day life and in different cultures, THAT'S when I started to get a bit choked up. What she spoke about was amazing. First, she talked about patterns in tiles/clothes/ etc. and described taking the kinds of pictures that I've always found myself taking (ie. patterns in floors/doors/walls/paintings) to explore the mathematics. Now, I might have some answers as to why I was always drawn towards them. Ahhhhhh, math has been following me all these years without making its presence known!!!!!? I'll have to catch up on my notes about her lecture later.

The other educator who blew a lot of us away was Trevor Brown. I need to pick up a book or two that he's written. Somehow, I didn't get to the publishers' display. Ooops. Distracted by free food. While I was still relatively perky, I took his workshop. It centred on finding patterns in mathematics. He said a lot of profound things, like: "that's the scary part!!!!" when illustrating to us that most of us had just memorized math, not conceptualised it. He taught us an easy way of doing long division and also hinted at spooky realities behind 'Snakes and Ladders.' It is true that we are never the same once we see the patterns and that was a bit earth-shattering....especially when one is tired and studying math early on a Saturday morning.

It IS a bit scary to learn that most of the math that I'd ever done was procedural, not conceptual. "Why did we do this?" he asked. "It's GARBAGE! When there are no patterns, it just means nothing. What has happened is that we've been building houses without foundations."

According to him, we don't need textbooks. We should be so good that we can listen to students and ask questions. Hmmmm. I think that might take me a decade or two. Regardless, I wish we didn't need so many textbooks. I'd be able to save for the Skypointer pen a lot quicker.

So, math now makes itself a strong presence amongst the other subjects. A winning day. I think though that I'm still recovering.

School's Giving Me Butterflies

2005-09-14T22:08:00.000-05:00

A.M. - Science and Technology Class

As of now, I've lost my notebook. Hmmm. It's pretty obvious that being scatterbrained goes along with not having yet been the Master of My Schedule and in a regular routine. Yesterday, after the bus driver told us to switch to another bus, I left my lunch on his bus and had to drive around on the buses to recover it. The bus drivers are pretty interesting and helpful here. Today's (hopefully temporary) loss was of my notebook with all my outlines and notes taken thusfar...including the comments I wanted to make about the concepts our science prof introduced in catching-funnelling students attention at the beginning of lessons. I know the picture is blurry, but what you see is an approach to introducing adult insects and their 'parts' to students by using two volunteers. The 'doctor' turned the other volunteer into the adult insect by using great props, such as 'big eyes.' Most interesting was the idea that this exercise would increase children's self-confidence as they participated (and anticipated parts that would come next). That's pretty neat. The activity is not only a hook to get kids into the lesson, but it also can work to make them feel more capable with science. To quote somene else: "Hokey Smokes!"

P.M. Class: Catching Monarch Butterflies during the Nature-Based Ed'n Class!

I'm so tired and the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. There were a lot of great shots to pick from, however, I was really struck by the graceful movements of the hands of other students as they caught, tagged, and released the monarch butterflies. If I were to do a project on the secret lives of our hands, I might try to explore more photos of these butterfly handlers. I need a monarch t-shirt to go with the project, too.

The monarchs are much bigger and more agile than I thought, having never tried to catch them before. I have to admit, I didn't nab one myself. I came THIS close to one, but saw that it had already been tagged like a Golden Delicious. Our class took place at a Girl Guide's facility that my youngest housemate (and local guide) has noted as being one for 'pampered campers.' Well, I can't say that I could easily block the huge chemical factory nearby (not really fitting to my idea of pampered surroundings) from the camp vistas, but I did try. It's interesting that in this city, life continues around vistas/institutions that may be considered ugly. I'm getting used to it. The camp's setting was still quite nice and I think a class spent catching butterflies is definitely a class well spent. That's my revelation for the day.

Now, to attempt to have a midnight rendezvous with a text that needs to be broken in before 9 a.m. tomorrow. Sigh. I wish Science Wednesdays could last a bit longer. In all the butterfly excitement, I forgot to put my toes in the water.

Week 2 Begins

2005-09-13T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I couldn't manage to get something posted yesterday. It was my first full day of regular classes. I have Gym and Math on Mondays. I didn't do much else. Still getting used to the downtime in between and haven't fully managed to do any work yet.

Highlight of Monday: Playing 'Elvis tag in gym, as well as a number of new games. I wish I had known the version of paper-scissors-rock that we played. Forget the evil, torturous versions from the schoolyards of Seoul. With the new version, the highest level you can attain is "Supreme Being," or something similar. We also played "Giants-Wizards-Elves" and that may be one of the best games ever once you figure it out.

Highlight of Today (Tuesday): Refreshing my sign language knowledge with one of my new colleagues. I need to get out some books on ASL from the local library. I tried to get a card this morning (on the way to getting a cell phone), but didn't have a piece of mail with me.

Biggest Thing to Get Used To doing my BEd: The Pass/Fail concept. It eliminates the ridiculous competivity that I've been used to during my formal academic career thusfar. I think that I'm a fan already.

Go Back, Go Back......Go Back Into the Woods....

2005-09-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

There are a few people out there who know how the rest of the cheer goes from the Title. If you write in, I'll give you a prize.

Intro to Nature-Based Education

The first major component of this course (that I added on Friday, just in time) was a learning camp at the university's Biology field station. The facility is amazing, as was the staff. It's Sunday night at 11 and I've had a lot of sun since yesterday morning when we arrived at the station. I'm going to rely on my pictures here so I can go to bed. I have papers all over my bed to organise from this last week. I just want wipe them all of but I need to actually start writing in my day organiser or this week will be a mess of dates and times. Far removed from that was the sheer excitement of the class that started this weekend. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive to pick the class up because it's not an area that I have much deep background in, unlike the other course that I dropped (a bit in disappointment for the content). I figure I'll catch on, but I know now that I can't outrun the young whippersnappers in the course.

1. Playing a Game from the new enviro-based manual we were introduced to (and gifted!)

The whole time that we were at the Biology Centre, we mostly spent it participating/discussing the games that were introduced to us. We started with a game called 'Oh Deer' and I think the last game of Sunday was one that simulated the difficult life of salmon. Exhausting, but 100% enjoyable.

2. Field Activity Uno - Watering Down In Preparation for Fish Arrivees

I admit, I didn't go in the water or catch any fish. It was too much fun just to watch everyone explore, net creatures and take in the finds at the back of the truck.

3. The Arrivees! Borrowed From Their Environments by Keen Students

4. Even the fish got into the outdoor studying scene.

5. Le Nouveau Classroom

6. Class From the Back of a Pick-up! That's a new thang!

7. Eye of the Dragonfly

The View from Our Rustic Cabin #13

There was a red glass sculpture on the dresser in our cabin. I slept on a bunkbed with a borrowed poncho. I don't know why I stubbornly didn't bring a sleeping bag. Anyway, the setting/rustic cabin couldn't have been more cosy or set tucked away more perfectly with waterfront goodness.

A Roomie Reclaimed

My roomie asked me while we were playing a game on Saturday if we'd met before. I thought 'MAYBE' (a very strong one) but couldn't place her. When we were eating lunch, I looked at her again, and we figured out that we first met during our first week at Guelph (almost 10 years ago) during our first anthropology class. We were both in int'l dev't. Seemed like destined-to-be-pals, but she ended up switching universities after a bit and our paths didn't until Saturday. It's a bit wild that we have had such sort of parallel journeys to get to where we are now. I'm still kind of blown away by it and very glad to have someone I can instantly relate to in my program. After the end of the first week, we were both exhausted. We did however have to do a few gushing "can you believe we're here?" and "school is so much fun now's" by the side of the lake. We had a pretty bizarre sleeptalk-conversation in our little rustic cabin sometime after midnight. She told me, out of sleep, that she wanted to plant some chestnut trees in her garden so that she could use chestnuts instead of dog biscuits (our prof introduced the innovative ways to use dog biscuits for outdoor games). I woke up just as I was telling her that she needed some amethyst for her garden, too. Then, we both sort of came to and realised we'd been chatting and caught the essence of our strange night talk.

Another connection that I was able to figure out on the ride home was that my seatmate (and classmate) actually in Toronto sold me the one pair of new pants that I bought for school at the end of August. I pointed them out to him for some random reason and he knew they were from 'his' store. Then, I did trace back to the time I tried them on and he remembered that I'd also tried on brown ones but went for the green (and that I demanded to know if they were both on sale and that I did go against his advice and bought the ones that didn't fit as well). They do fall down a lot.

And that was the end of my intro to Nature-based Education! Yeee haw. I have a lot to learn, but having a prof who brings chips/chocolate/coffee to class is certainly a motivating factor. Yes, she is also very enthusiastic and wouldn't accept an offer to carry stuff to her car at the end of class because she heard we were all busy and had to rush home.

Highlight of the Weekend: The night hike with the resident biologist, full of northern lights and aided by the coolest of cool teaching gear - The SKYPOINTER PEN. Once I get more adept at pointing out constellations, etc. then I'll buy one. I think I'll try to save some change each week and see if I can manage to get it next spring.

First Week Finale

2005-09-09T18:23:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday night now. I didn't meet my goal of writing every day during my first week back at school. It was exhausting, yet I don't feel like it was anything as stressful as my previous studies have been. What to highlight? Well, I missed the Welcome Activities for Thursday and Friday night. On Thursday, I was totally burned out and just came home. On Friday, I got sidelined by a nice potluck with the 'outdoor' group.

As for school.....here are some thoughts.

A) I had to rearrange my face muscles a bit to do the student face again. After a few years of doing 'teacher faces,' I really found myself really aware of the front part of my head as I sat in nasty, plastic chairs and had to focus my attention on a teacher: a hint of smile, attentive eyes, calm and inquisitive demeanor. Hmmm. I think my face is getting used to it again. I am sure I look like a super dork. Maybe I should start doodling and looking down. Taking notes might help.

B) The pass/fail/pass with honours concept has taken me by total surprise. I didn't know this BEd program would be graded like this at all. It has sunk in. People seem really genuinely interested in what each other has to say. Competitiveness? Well, there's not much room or need for it. This is ENTIRELY new for me in a formal academic session. I am embracing it, yet I am still in shock. One prof stressed the importance of realising that what we were doing and putting effort into, WAS JUST FOR US! Practical versus conceptual. This is really new for me.

c) The one course that I signed up for on the first day of pre-registration turned out to be not at all what I was looking for. In fact, they dropped the two areas of concentration in the course, but hadn't updated the outline. I spent Thursday and Friday trying to figure out which course to take instead. It was a mildly massive undertaking. Most classes had filled up. As I was in the Registrar's office, bugging my favourite people there (is it possible that everyone in the building is super nice?) I heard my science prof talking about her course/camp to take place on the weekend. I like her a lot. She had coffee ready for our class this week. I spent Friday afternoon trying to get into the course and find out about the upcoming class camp/excursion. By the end of the afternoon, I had my course and my ride for the next morning. Then, the curtains closed on the first week.

Other Asides

On Wednesday, I tackled the OSAP hurdle. I was actually (knock on wood that it all comes through) pleasantly surprised to find out that I'd be getting enough to cover my expenses this year, possibly without working. This means, I'll be able to do all the additional extra-curricular things that I want to do that relate to the BEd. This also means that I don't have to return my new laptop.

Doing the final part of the paperwork, I ran into a friend of a friend that I wanted to run into at some recent point. Within a few minutes, I was reclining at her place and getting my first taste of life outside the bubble of my program. We reclined, we ate Persian flatbread with feta. We even watched some t.v. Ahhh, the med students have such balanced lives! haaa. Feel free to add your comments.

I'm also getting some exposure to another realm via someone I've met long ago up north: the outdoor-experiential stream of our program, as interpreted by my guide above. They're a tight crew of 24. Because my classes differ so much within the Primary/Junior focus, I won't have a such a crew. But, I'm really into talking to so many different PJ folks. There really doesn't seem to exist a stereotype for the PJ'ers because it's such a big group. It wonder how the learning experience will be a different having a small group as your homebase and homecrew? Oh, one highlight of starting a big experience where I didn't know anyone else, was gaining a Locker Buddy (as pictured above). It laid a nice foundation for figuring things out in a new place.

Real Classes

2005-09-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

Gym and Math were first on the classroom agenda. My Gym professor is eloquent and my Math professor is setting new standards for math appreciation already.

I'm a bit bushed from the social event of the night: The Boat Tour. Couldn't see much of the islands nearby but happened to meet up with T2B's (teachers-to-be) with a 1) history passion and 2) astronomy expertise. All was not lost in the dark. It was clearly an Education Faculty event.

Fashion note: I also wasn't the only one with an alternative top in my handbag. Wasn't too sure about the semi-formal nature of the evening, so I had packed for a last-minute panic. The woman who searched me before I joined the life aquatique vessel sniffed out my alternative party duds and laughed, yet I wasn't the only one prepared as described. The woman after me was similarly armed in her purse. Sooo, maybe I have finally found my herd.

The scholarly highlight of the day was the group activity in Math class:

"If math were an animal, which animal would it be."

I was part of the DRAGON group.

School and Lining UP again!

2005-09-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

I went back to school today! Na na na na na na......

Yes, another chapter in academia-career-life has begun. I'm relearning the ropes, along the lines of how to follow lines and group up. (and how to get in line quickly for barbeques....I think I still have my quick reflexes). The bbq line was much more successful than the dreaded OSAP line. I was one of the first to drop because I forgot my social insurance number. I found out that other line mates later ended up in OSAP-bad-places...ie. tears and denial. I hope it goes better for me once I pick up my form.

It's only 10:30 p.m. and I'm fading fast after my regrouping of school senses.

What I did take in: 1) the keen energy of the opening Japanese drumming duo of profs

2) A great mention by the Dean in her welcoming speach of Paolo Freire. I also liked the notions she discussed of 'cultivating silence.'

3) Another prof's demonstration of his 'STAY CALM' communiques.....as he stressed that was the primary responsibility of professionals to stay calm in all situations. It's definitely worth working on. I learned that the bus system here is in someways limited (ie. the bus to get back to my place directly stopped before 7 pm), I had to work on my professionalism while scouting out the long route home. I tried to stay calm as I took a dash through a dark, little trail.

4) Most students suprisingly seemed a lot younger than I expected. I wanted to join a workshop for Mature Students, but I wasn't sure if I made the cutoff for maturity. I do have lots of white hairs, but I wasn't sure they'd get me into the inner circle.

Limiting Illustrious Alumni - Part 1

2005-08-19T23:44:00.000-05:00

I had planned to start this blog in August, but didn't manage to start writing until things settled down in September. I still remember though how I was going to start things off. Here we go. First of all, I returned to my hometown this past summer after about 10 years of living mostly away from it. Two things struck me really hard as I started to mentally prepare for my upcoming (now presently underway) year as a Teacher Candidate. The first...... I'll introduce in this entry. I think I'll leave local politics/economic realities and debate out of these entries. I'm still aiming to keep things short and write every day.

" Resting in Peace? My Elementary School"

Closed a few years ago...

"Where It ALL Began"

These are the stairs I first ascended to begin my academic career: the stairs to the JK/SK rooms. We lined up on beside the railings and inevitably in the winter, we all at one point had to have licked the cold metal. Rite of passage, for sure.

During elementary school, I only lived about 5 blocks away. Unlike a lot of local kids these days who are bussed, I walked to school. One of the most difficult passes was getting by the (albeit leashed) collie at the final back lane near the school. On a walk of nostalgia, I noticed that he's been replaced by this vicious beast - who bears a really overwhelming resemblance to She Who Shall Not Be Named (r.i.p.) Weird.

I imagine that one Earth Day, long ago, a tree was planted. My not-so-illustrious basketball career started in this basketball court. The flagpole out front is now just a stub. No pole. No flag. There are still '4-Square' lines on the ground, but I forget most of the rules. It makes me sad to see this gorgeous building go to waste and I have the impression that my highschool might be similarly neglected. I feel pretty moved looking at these pictures, actually, as I am exploring a career which could have had me working there. Opened doors/Closed doors. I am sure though that there are a hundred different ways to interpret the descent of this school into decay. We always talk in my family about the idea of making it a community art centre or learning centre. Anything would be better than what's turning into an eyesore.

Quick notes: Built in 1908. We did win the Young Producer's award in 1988 when we did an 80th Anniversary Program about our school. I portrayed "Barbara Plum," a character based on the late Canadian journalist: Barbara Frum. "Bill Camera," the other host of the show, was based on the late Bill Cameron. We were even highlighted on the 'National,' I heard. Grade 6 was when we did the show and it was an intense year. I remember getting hauled out of class for switching the music notes and symbols around on the chalk board. Our teacher was really into music/art and was the force behind the Young Producer's show, which to me now is a highlight of my elementary career. I was really hard on that teacher. He was quiet and had one of the most ill-mannered group of brats I've even come in contact with (I wasn't part of that crew though - the chalkboard incident was a rare rebellion). Later, during my last year of highschool when I was preparing for my first trip abroad, I went to a slideshow that he presented at a library about his travels around India. He is an amazing photographer and I got my first impressions about India through him. Like the country, the slides were amazing. At that meeting, he didn't seem to harbour any hard feelings for me and I think he gave loaned me a first LP guide to look at. I am wondering if teachers forgive a lot?

Other interesting notes that come to mind as I think about the school and look at these pictures: I remember that prisoners from the local prison built the predecessor to the play equipment above. The school raised money for the equipment and they asked us to donate any comics we had to the prisoners because they loved to read them. We were pretty wound up to see the construction process, yet I don't remember anything about the activities other than looking for comics in the basement. Another trivial fact: the musical host on Letterman is a fellow alumni.

Limiting Illustrious Alumni: Part 2

2005-08-18T21:29:00.000-05:00

Open Season on the Blue Bears

Highschool's Out Forever? Is this a dream?

Just a block over from my elementary school, my highschool was one of the city's original educational facilities. During the summer of 2005, it was closed. It's complicated. The school was known for its music program and as a collegiate institute it was also recognised for having high academic standards. The school colours were blue and gold and our mascot was the 'Blue Bears'. The song went: "Blue and Gold forever, raise your standards high.....work and fight with all your might for blah blah blah." I was going to highlight some comments by students and by the local board of education, but that won't fly with my new policy of keeping entries short. Essentially, resources were felt better used if..........nope, I said I wouldn't bring it up. Maybe I'll come back to it.

"No Guest Passes Needed Anymore!"

At least there's a future for the parking lot , in some trucking respect.

This was the final stretch of my two-block walk to school. Straight ahead, through the rebel smoking area, was the gym. I think I was consecutively late for French for a year once. Oh, how I've changed my ways.

Nice columns, eh? Can you identify which style they are in? Me neither. That should have been part of the curriculum somehow. The top floor was the science room. Mmmmm, biology.

I tried to do a little graphic that represented me running my final stretch to school. Can you see me on the left in front of the cafeteria windows? Highschool was a bit of a blur, too.