Day Forty Four: Make Good Choices

I am not sure what to write about today.  I could write about the fact that one of our students is going to India for three months, and so will miss most of the next term.  I could talk about the fact that there are some groups in my class that do social studies together that are going to end in blood.  I think I will talk about that.  There are two groups of girls in my class that are not working out well together.  They were told to make 'good choices' at the beginning of the year when they picked their partners.  So these groups made 'poor choices' I guess because they are not getting along.  Here is an example:  A and R fight continually and R has to be the queen bee all the time.  She doesn't share, she has all the answers and she screeches at her partner.  The other two, K and D have already been spoken to.  K is bullying D, but it was their choice of partner so I guess they have to live with it.  WHich to me is CRAP!! so one kid gets bullied, but because she picked her partner she has to live with it all year?  What is she going to remember at the end of the year?  How much she hated social studies and was bullied in class? Or that grade two was awesome?  D never smiles and when social studies comes along she gets all melancholy.  This bothers me.  R refuses to take directions and always blames all the problems on A.  It's rediculous.  Do a reboot of the groups after Christmas.  It is unfair to let GRADE 2 students know what is a good choice at the beginning of the year.  They might not know that jsut because someone is your best friend, doesn't mean they are the best partner.  It's so....argh!! This consequence of having this partner all year is too much for these little guys.  I can't say anything because it's not my class.  I asked about it today and the teacher said 'They were told to make good choices.'  So lets pass the buck to seven year olds because it takes too much effort to redo the groups.  I am so upset about this.  Bullying is something I can't tolerate.  I have seen what it does first hand, and the lack of action in this room is disturbing.

Day Forty Three: Snow Day

I was home for the weekend and it snowed and snowed and the wind blew on Sunday and I didn't go to school today.  So that is two days I have to make up later....in December.  The 13th and 14th when I should be on holidays.  I am crabby today and I don't feel like writing.

Day Forty One and Forty Two: Brain Drain

I am so ready to be done.  This blog post is five days late and I don't even know what I did on Wednesday and Thursday.  I did a Powerpoint and that is all I remember.  I can't seem to keep track of stuff.  I need a break and a different direction for my brain to go.  Sigh.

Day Forty: Girly Bullies

I have noticed that girls bully each other in a completely different way than boys.  Boys are more overt about it and girls are totally covert.  They like to mess with your mind, instead of telling you outright that they don't like you.  They whisper to other girls that the person being bullied is no good and so then other people in the class don't want to hang out with them.  OR they whisper about that person while STARING at them.  The bullied girl can't hear, but she KNOWS that she is being talked about.  Then her mind goes crazy wondering what they said, and she gets sadder and sadder.  It's horrible.  I saw it yesterday.  So what do you do?  I talked to the bully and asked her what was up and she wouldn't tell me.  I found out later that she had kicked this other girl in the past and she had been talked to about it.  So now she is making a concious effort to bully someone else.  It's so sad.

Day Thirty Nine: Gone Gone Away

Today I had a wonderful visit to the CT scan machine in High River.  I got to have magnets take pictures of my spine.  Then I went home and did a Power Point pres on building community in the classroom.  I even tied it in to Star Wars...oh and one reference to Star Trek.  So I mixed my genres...do you think the nerds will be mad?  haha.  Well that was it for my exciting day. Woot.

Day Thirty Eight: Farting Noises

You know what's funny?  Farting sounds.  Yes I know I am not a kid, but they are freakin' hilarious.  Today in Case, there was a group doing a presentation on Tone and Tact, and one oftheir little skits was about this kid that kept farting in class (apparently one of the group members has a kid at her field placement that does this).  One of the other girls in the group sat in the corner and provided the sound effects.  It was funny.  So the idea was to do this skit and then freeze it and have members of the Case class come in and tell how they would handle it in an inapropriate way.  One girl said something like 'yo who farted!? It STINKS!!  She actually said this to one of her kids at placement and then thought better of it.  SHe told us all that it smelled like something died.  So all I could think of was this one time when someone I knew farted and another person said 'what crawled up your butt and died?'  So then  I hada laughing fit because I had this mental image.  I then I thought how good it felt to laugh like an idiot.  Yeah it doesn't matter how old you get, it's still funny.

Day Thirty Seven: At Home Again

No school for me today again.  The roads are still crap.....we got 25cm of snow since Tuesday.

Day Thirty Six: Snow Day!!

I didn't go to the elementary school today.  It snowed 10cm overnight and the roads were a mess.  There were cars in the ditch all over the place and semi's too.  I stayed home and finished my paper for ProSem.  It's done.  14 pages an Native Education.

Day Thirty Five: Shall We Wait for You?

We have a set of twins in our grade 2 class that are six instead of seven.  They squeaked under the cutoff for kindergarten.  Anyway, on Monday one of them decided that he would rather play than listen to the instructions for the next activity.  He was sitting at the back talking to his friend, and blowing things up with his hands.  He was making quite a bit of noise.  The teacher stopped her lecture and asked if we should wait for him to stop playing so we could continue.  He said no.  Then she asked him to come sit up front.  He went up front and proceeded to blow things up there too.  Then she asked him to come sit beside her.  He got up and flopped down beside her, like someone had told him he was going to be executed that day.  He then closed his eyes and pretended to cry.  When that didn't work he threw his head back and sighed, then closed his eyes again and threw his head forward and sighed again.  Then he flopped over onto his bum and did the whole thing again.  Meanwhile everyone ignored him.  Eventually he stopped when he realized no one cared.  It was hilarious.  He did this one other time when he forgot his back pack outside.  I think he would be good in drama.

Day Thirty Three and Thirty Four: Booooring

So as you may have noticed, I have less and less things to say.  The semester is winding down and so we are basically handing things in and doing presentations, so there is not much going on.  My days at the elementary school continue to be fun, so I have stories from that.

Day Thirty Two: We Have a Sub

On Tuesday we had a sub, who had no interest in keeping the kids in line...or in doing anything really.  All he wanted to was chat.  I am trying to run a Guided Reading Centre on the school newsletter and he kept interrupting to talk about my ipod Touch. I don't care about what you think of them or what I can download for it.  I don't care about Smartphones.  I am busy....maybe you should go TEACH? So basically my partner teacher's co-teacher and I ran the classroom, which was fine for me, it gave me lots of experience.  And it kept me busy.  I put down my dog on Monday and so if I am busy I didn't think about it.  We played Inuit games in social studies and did some inline skating.  Anyway, I am glad that the teacher is back next week.

Day Thirty One: Attack of the Killer Coyotes

Today we had a visit from some urban coyotes at the elementary school.  Panic ensued and the kids were called in early because as one teacher put it 'coyotes are dangerous'.  They were at the far edge of the school field and they were feasting on some rabbits.  We were not allowed outside for DPA or gym and so we were all stuck inside all day.  The kids couldn't go home for lunch unless their parent came to get them.  I asked my partner teach why we just couldn't let the kids out and she said 'we don't know if the kids will chase the coyotes so we need to keep them safe.'  Oh man.  It's a wonder that more rural kids aren't killed every year by CHASING COYOTES!! Surely we should set up some kind of fund for the education of children and the options that are available to them besides chasing coyotes.  I see 'yotes at my house all the time in the country, so do country kids, and they don't chase them.  THEIR PARENTS tell them that they could be dangerous if they are mangy or hungry, and to stay away from them.  Heaven forbid that urban parents tell their kids this.  Instead we will focus on the five coyotes who killed a woman in Ontario.....last year?  Or the year before?  Anyway, that's all the staff talked about in the staff room was how dangerous they are and why there are sooooooooo many in the city.  I asked about the ON. woman and they said they heard the 'yotes were mangy and hungry....but why do they hunt in packs there they asked.  I said that they can hunt in packs if there is plentiful big game and sometimes they will live in groups.  IF there is only little animals available they will live on their own.  Holy crap.  The people in this school have ZERO common sense.  And they think the parents are helicopter parents.  We have helicopter teachers.  Frick.  I suggested the school invest in a rifle to shoot them and everyone just stared at me....that's what we do if the come to the house.  At least if you shot them we could go out for recess.

Day Twenty Nine and Thirty: Nothing to Report

The last two days were pretty boring and standard.  I have nothing to say about them.....tune in next week for some exciting things(hopefully).

Day Twenty Eight: I Teach...By Myself!!

I got to teach a whole social studies lesson today on my own!! It was awesome.  Of course, the partner teacher ran the Smartboard, because I haven't had time to figure it out yet.  Maybe I will ask if I can play around with it one day after school.  So as for the lesson, I got to talk to the kids about the flag of Nunavut and asked them what the red object was in the middle.  They told me it was an inukshuk and they even knew what it was for!  I gave them the whole spiel about making your map as big as your page and making the colouring wonderful and beautiful and such and then asked of there were any questions....one little boy raised his hand and said, don't forget tot put your name on the back!! Of course! Duh.  How could I forget!?  So they all went off and worked and I even got to help solve some disagreements.  It was a good afternoon, except when I read them Superfudge by Judy Blume.  They laughed like crazy and then they got out of control..they were testingme and I failed.  The partner teacher had to come in and tell them to smarten up.  I could feel myself loosing control, but I did not know what to say to get them back.  Anyway, it was a good learning thing for me.  Now I know what to do next time, which will be next Tuesday!

Day Twenty Seven: Halloween Aftermath

Halloween was yesterday.  The kids had fun...I think.  We didn't talk about it.  No one asked the kids what they dressed up like or what they got.  All they did was write in their journals about it.  I went to the staff room for lunch as always, and all I heard there was how the day after Halloween should be a PD day, because the kids are crazy.  Yes, I agree.  The kids were crazy, but it is one day in a whole year where they are a little wonky.  Also in the staff room I heard about a teacher (who is also a mom) talking about how she would prefer that her kids not get candy and that they only get half of what they gathered.  The other half goes to the Halloween fairy and she takes it home and uses it for something, and in return she leaves a toy.  So Halloween is now Christoween.  Another teacher says one of her kids gets money for half his stash, but then he has to donate that money.  Some of the teachers were going to go through their student's lunch bags to see if they brought candy to school...since they aren't supposed to apparently.  They can't have it at nutrition break, they have to have good food.  Now, I am not a parent, but if someone told me that they were going to go throught my kids stuff, I would tell them where to go and it wouldn't be a good place.  Also, if someone tried to tell me what my kid could and could not eat, I would probably tell them to go to that same place.  AND if I was a parent, I WOULD NOT take away my kids candy.  When I was a kid, my candy went into a big bowl on the kitchen counter and my mom monitored it.  We were allowed two pieces a day.  My brother and I would have competitions to see who could make their's last the longest.  And if you don't want your kids eating candy, why are you sending them out?  Is it harder to keep them at home than to take away their candy? Or by taking it away are you hoping for the path of least resistance in that eventual they won't go anymore, because their loot is confiscated?  At what point did school become such a police state?  Is it the place of the school to tell the parents what they can feed their kids?  What are the legal implications of rifling through backpacks?  And why are these parent's ok with this?  Or do I just like to rock the boat?  I don't know why this bothers me, but maybe it is because I see this as another way of controlling everything that walks in that door.  They are kids.. fun is what they do.  Or have we all forgotten what it is like to be a kid?  I hope I never get to that point....
On another note, I was with the kids in the hall today, getting them ready to go outside and the principal walked by.  She did not say one word to me, or to the kids.  She even stood in the hallway and watched us get ready, and did not even say anything. It was like we were invisible. I remember my principal in elementary talking to us all and knowing us by name.  I felt uncomfortable when she was around like I was being scrutinized.  I felt like there is HER and then the rest of us.  It's not very community like.
Tomorrow I get to teach a social studies lesson all by myself. Wish me luck.
PS: If any parents read my blog and want to comment on the Halloween issue, feel free.  Like I said, I am not parent, so maybe I don't understand.

Day Twenty Six: The Presentation

We rocked our presentation!! We even got a thumbs up from the prof.  Awesome!! Of course I feel like I have been run over by a bus, AND I had a coughing fit in the middle of it.  But we pulled it off.  I also discovered this website in ProSem called http://www.wordle.net/ .  You can make 'word clouds'.  We were trying to decide if it was a useful thing to use in class or not.  The opinions were mixed, but we decided that the fewer the words the better, otherwise it was too confusing and not all the words were readable.  Anyway, you should check it out.

Day Twenty Five: Uh Oh!

I have a presentation tomorrow.  I haven't done anything for it yet.  I am working with Derek, and we thought that as moderators we were just to keep everyone on track and make sure we did not run out of time.  Were we wrong!! We have to make a presentation for tomorrow.  It's 4:30 right now and we are going to the Den to drink and see if we can't come up with something.
Ok so I got home at 10:30.  I think we have enough stuff to make a three hour class.  We made a powerpoint presentation and everything.  I hope we do ok.  We made some review questions and a question lottery, where we draw a question and a name, and you have to answer.  We also sumamrized all of our cases, 1-5.  We will see how we do tommorrow. 

Day Twenty Four: I Teach

Ok I got to co-teach.  Of course I forgot half of what I was going to say.  But that's ok, my partner teacher covered for me.  I thought I did ok since I had sick brain and wasn't at my best.  I did a lesson on social studies, about a town called Meteghan.  I had the kids make fishing boats.  They got to use tin foil, plastercine, and straws.  Some of them were pretty neat.  I took some pictures of them, and the kids were pretty proud of them.  I also got to sit in with some groups and talk to them while they were making their boats.  Sitting on the floor in dress pants is hard!! :)  Heard some conversation in the staff room about how much they don't like the Monday after Halloween.  One teacher won't let them bring their candy to school.  I think to myself, have we all forgotten what it was like to be a kid?  Halloween was fun, and so was talking about it with friends at school the next day.  I don't know why they can't embrace it and make time to discuss what everyone did on the weekend.  It would make the day less crazy if you just let them get it out.  The above are pics of their boats.

Day Twenty Three: Picture Day!

We had pictures today!! It brought back all kinds of memories about when I went to school.  They are almost exactly the same except now they use digital cameras instead of film AND you get a choice of background....I think I did too, but not in elementary.  They even did a whole class photo, and I was in it!! And the staff photo too.  I got to stand at the back because apparently I am tall.  Another funny story to tell:  The kids get handed their name pieces and they are organized by background.  The photo lady went through the whole class and then came to the name Aimee.  I thought for a minute.  We don't have  a kid named Aimee in our class.  Maybe she has the wrong class?  But all the other names matched. Who is this Aimee girl and why is she on the list?  Aimee is the teacher.  Duh.  Even she stood there for a minute wondering who this Aimee girl was and who it might be in the class.  Maybe the name was said wrong.  That's what happens when you get called by your last name all day everyday.  You forget you have a first name.

Day Twenty Two: Story Time!

I appologize for the lateness of this post.  Last week I felt like I got run over by a truck, so I only managed one post and that was a day late too.  After this one I should be back on schedule.  Since Thursday last week was not very exciting I will tell you a story.  On Tuesday last week I saw an amazing thing.  I was watching this group of kids near the back of the room.  Suddenly one of them grabs his crotch and starts standing on his toes and putting his arm in the air.  Then he grabs his crotch again and moon walks across the floor.  Remember we are in grade two.  I am thinking to myself....he looks like Michael Jackson....then another kids says 'cool Michael Jackson moves!"  Ahh!! I remember MJ.  Suddenly I feel old.  Suddenly I wonder how a grade two kid knows this about MJ and has seen it enough times to imitate it.  All day he did MJ moves.  I was waiting for Thriller but it never showed.  I half expected the kid to come to school with a red leather jacket and a silvery gloves on, or burned hair....or maybe a white face.  Oh wait.  He was already white. 

Day Twenty-One: Math Rears It's Ugly Head

Today was a standard day.  Not much exciting happened.  We had a lecture on how amazing math can be and I have to admit my brain zoned out.  I have such a hard time grasping math.  I could sit there and nod with a glazed look in my eye and not remember a single thing you told me.  But tell me a history fact or something similar and I will grab onto it and store it in my brain.  I don't know why this is. I tried to stay focused, but as soon as we got to fractions I was done.  I don't know what else to write.  It was really a pretty unamazing day.

Day Twenty: Literacy Day!

Today is Literacy Day!  I got to stay at school until 8pm.  I also got to plan a Social Studies lesson with the help of my partner teacher (PT).  We are doing a lesson on Meteghan in NS.  The kids get to build fishing boats out of tinfoil and skewers and toothpicks.  It also ties in with Boats and Buoyancy in grade 2 Science.  Oh yeah!! Dual purpose lesson! I rock!  I get to teach them on Tuesday next week.  After this I went for supper with my PT and her co-teacher.  I gave them a lesson in Hutterites and about how there are three different kinds in Canada.  They thought it was neat.  We headed back to the school and I got to meet some of the parents and listen to a story tht was read to the kids in the gym.  They all got to wear their PJ's.  After the book there was a presentation for parents about how to make literacy easy.  The ideas included reading a recipe, a grocery list, signs outside, reading to each other.  I even got milk and cookies.  It was good to see my teacher and the kids outside the formal learning environment.  It helps you feel like you are more a part of the community instead of an entity inside a building.  I told my PT that I would be an annoying student teacher by exclaiming this is great!! I LOVE this kind of thing.  Of course we had to have the negative people who were like it was too late  and the story was too long and why did I have to come on my off hours?  Uh...because you are a teacher?  Anyway, I had a blast.

Day Nineteen: The Kids Like Me

So today I got asked if I would be at Literacy Day tomorrow night at the school.  I said yes I would and a couple of the girls got all excited.  That made me feel good.  It reminded me about why I am here.  I was feeling pretty crap today and that made my day much better.  I was having doubts about whether or not I should continue.  I had a dream last night that I told my family I was quitting and then they all said 'good, it's about time you figured out you don't belong there.'  That hurt, because they were all gungho about me going.  They even let me move back home for free.  So anyway, tomorrow is literacy day and I am looking forward to it.  There was a book fair at school as well and I went and looked at all the cool books they have there.  If I was a millionaire I know where all my money would go.. to BOOKS!! I love books.  I love how they smell and the imagination they let you have.  I also love well illustrated books with amazing pictures.  I think that is this year's Christmas list, get me books I can use in my class.

Day Eighteen: Enough Sharing Already!

So today I was talking to my fellow university students and we have all come to the same conclusion.  We are tired of sharing.  We are tired of having opinions.  We wish someone would just tell us what we need to know, and won't someone just talk at us for a while?  Tell us what you expect....give us an EXAM!! I know that I am tired of  being questioned about things I thought I 'knew'.  I DO know somethings and I AM WHO I AM! I have a certain personality and so it will affect my teaching.  I understand that.  But I am not willing to do a complete 360 and become something that I am uncomfortable with or false.  There are things I know for a certainty and that will not change.  Some things I am willing to work on, but do not keep pushing me to 'change' into some airy fairy new age teacher.  I won't and I will resist.  I like collaboration with others, but I will not do it all the time, I need my space.  I will have quiet periods in my class, I have a high sensitivity to constant noise and it overwhelms me.  Constant sound will result in a poor performance from me as a teacher.  I will make learning fun and relevant. I will follow the curriculum.  I won't be stepped on.  I will get along and address concerns, but I will not change my essential core of self.  You can bet on that.

Day Seventeen: Recharge

Today I skipped class (!) and went back to the Hutterite Colony I used to be an assistant at.  I needed some Hutterite Kid Hugs and I needed to ask the teacher there, who has taught for 25 years, to clarify some of the things that are expected of me at university.  I fell a bit better, less lost and more like I know what I am doing.  Mostly I needed a recharge.  I needed to get away from the city and back to rural Alberta.  I needed to see some space and talk to people that say please and thank you and have a nice day.  I got to chat with my old students and see that things there are pretty much the same and we joked about that.  They listen just as well as when I left, they still argue with each other and they still tell me the most outrageous things (like all the men had the shave their beards off.....the little bums!)  They ALMOST had me with that one.  I feel like I have reconnected with the reason I am going to school, for those aha moments, for the smiles and the fun.  I felt at home in that room and I can hardly wait to get back to the small town schools when I am done.  The city is killing me....but I can do it.  I can focus.  I can think of Hutterite Kid Hugs.

Day Sixteen: A Rescue!

Today I watched three Chilean miners get rescued.  It took people from all over the world to come together to rescue people they had not met.  Someone said 'I can do that.  I can help someone.'  And so they did.  Not for profit, not for stardom, but for simple humanity.  Sometimes the greatest reward is the deed itself.

Day Fifteen: The Power to Offend

Offend:  to cause difficulty, discomfort, or injury.

So says Merriam-Webster.  Our society is obsessed with not offending.  I don't want to stir the pot, or offend someone.  Well let me say something about how I feel about this.  Have you ever been offended by something enough to say 'That is outrageous! Something needs to be done!'  Has is made you feel uncomfortable?  THEN DO SOMETHING!! How would society change if no one was offended?  If everything was tickety-boo how would we advance as a compassionate society.  If something offends your sense of dignity then you need to do something.  Don't rely on others to fix the problem.  As Ghandi said 'Be the change you wish to see in the world.'  Get offended and then get active.  Get offended at how your students are being stymied in their quest for knowledge and then do something.  Would you confront a parent that wants to pull their child from school because 'I made it without education?'  Apparently not many in my class would.  Only two of us..myself and someone else.  How sad is that?  One girl would...'to a point.  I would send an email and set up an interview at school.'  Do you think a disinterested parent is going to take the time to read an email from the teacher or to drive all the way to the school?  Doubtful.  What if you are in a remote community that doesn't have reliable email?  GASP!? No email?  What fresh vision of hell is THIS!?  You need to get in their face, you need to become an advocate and a champion for the lives in your care.  Stir the pot. And watch the world change.  I leave you with this:

Another cause of dullness is imitation.  You are made to imitate by tradition.  The weight of the past drives you to conform, toe the line and through conformity the mind feels safe, secure, it establishes itself in a well oiled groove so that it can run smoothly without disturbance, without a quiver of doubt.  Watch the grown up people about you and you will see that their minds do not want to be disturbed.  They want peace, even though it is the peace of death; but real peace is something entirely different.
                                                                                                                J. Krishnamurti

Day Fourteen: Treats are the Devil

So I am going to get this off my chest right away.  It was a student's birthday today in class.  Her mom sent treats for the kids.  The kids could not eat them in class because the school is a place of learning and we don't have time for treats.  Besides treats are bad for you and we need to eat good fuel to fuel our brains.  WHAT!?  What happened to being a kid?  What happened to having fun in GRADE 2?  So now it's all carrots and healthy food and brainwashing such as what could we eat instead of these treats?  (I am thinking more treats....but I am not educated.)  The student was upset at the end of the day that the treats got sent home.  So it's more important to not have fun and let the little dudes be upset than to eat a couple cookies?  Really?  Sometimes I think this nutrion break garbage gets taken too far.  That's what morning snack is called. Nutrition Break.  AND they have to work and eat at the same time.  No breaks for you, you little automatons.  Churn out that work, be like your neighbour, suck the fun out of school and ask why Alberta has a high drop out rate.  Yeah.  It starts early.

Day Thirteen: Watch Out for Erasers

So I had an eraser chucked at me today.  I was facing away from one of the students, with my back to him and I felt this tap on the back of my sweater.  I looked down and at my feet was one of those little eraser nubs from a pencil.  I turned around and said 'Are you throwing things?  Are you throwing things at me?'  He said 'I threw the eraser but did not mean to hit you.'  Then he buddy beside him said 'You threw it right at her!'  I fixed the perp. with an eveil glare hoping to scare him (actually really I was trying to think of something to say).  Since I did not actually see him huck an eraser at me I just said 'Do you think that throwing things in class is a good choice?'  He mumbled 'No.'  So I handled that ok I think.  Most of the rest of the day was the same.  They have this thing called DPA (daily physical activity) which replaces afternoon recess.  It's instructional time instead of free play and it allows the kids to go home early.  They don't have morning recess either.  They have almost an hour for lunch though.  I am not sure what I think of this system.  I think kids need to get out and run the crazies out otherwise they get unruly.  I don't like the idea of every minute of every day being totally structured like this.  It doesn't allow kids to be kids at all.

Day Twelve: I Am So Behind

I am now three days behind on the blog.  This is awesome.  Suddenly I am inundated with stuff.  The overwhelmed feeling is coming back again.  I seem to have a hard time reconciling my school days with my university days.  It feels like I am living two different lives.  Anyhow, on to what happened on Thursday.  Thursday I did a group presentation on Diversity in the Classroom.  We focused on how people get labelled and how those labels can be either good or bad.  Our project got a really good comment from the prof.  One of the other Ed. students said we 'set the bar.'  Haha.  Now everyone has to be as good or better than us.  We rocked that presentation.  That was pretty much the most exciting thing that happened that day.  I hung out with the group after and we decided that we did not want to switch groups, we all get along so well and we have such diverse backgrounds that we really work well together.  I really like them.

Day Eleven: Responsibility

So today in Pro Sem we signed up for our Independent Inquiry.  We had to read a selection of books and decide which one we wanted to do a project on.  I decided on the Tao of Pooh.  It was a really good book.  So I asked the prof ahead of time if I could do it and he put me on the list early.  So today I get to see who is in my group.  There are three plus me.  No one in my group has read the book.  In fact, some of them chose the book because it is short and it is a story.  So now I am really passionate about this book and I get stuck with people who just picked it because they are lazy.  Great.  I hate group work.  Then this one member asks me how my presentation for Case is going.  I said great, we have an awesome presentation and we have met about three times already for it.  She goes, oh my group just met today.  We present tomorrow.  Is this the kind of person I want in my group for Pro Sem?  A last minute kind of person?  I am not going to let someone else determine if I pass or fail in my Pro Sem class.  I am kind of let down about this whole thing.  I thought I would get to go with group members who felt the same as me and we could have a really good discussion about the book.....and I was the only one who read it.  We had three weeks to read four or five books.  Really all you had to do was read the first few chapters to see if you liked it or not.  Then once you had picked a book, you could read it in more depth.  Plus one group member just bought the book a few days before sign up.  It makes me feel kind of sad that these people all have undergrad degrees and have worked hard to get here and we are still last minute students.  This is a serious course.  This is a serious profession.  You have young minds and lives in your room and it is your responsibility to teach them and encourage them to the best of your ability.  Not make a lesson plan the night before or say oh I forgot.  That won't do.  It's not fair to the kids.  If you do this now, how are you going to break the last minute or the laziness habit?  Maybe I make too much of this,  but I thought we were all responsible adults.

Day Ten: It's Only Two Days

I am glad I am only in the elementary school for two days a week.  By the end of today I was exhausted.  It was a busy, busy day.  I am wondering if 40 kids in one room with two teachers is such a good idea.  I am also wondering if letting kids choose where they sit every day is also a good idea.  They invariably choose their friends and then that leads to chatting which leads to not paying attention which leads to discipline.  It's so frustrating when a good amount of time is spent saying 'don't pick so and so up,' 'stand in the line,' 'find your seat,' blah blah.  Sometimes I think kids are given too much freedom in the classroom.  There should be times when they get a choice, such as picking a book for a book report and there should be times when they do not, like when to switch math centres.  Do you think a grade 2 student is going to be able to accurately gage how long they have been at a centre and when to switch?  If their friends don't switch, neither will they.  It leads to chaos and then accusations of 'so and so never switched and I never got a turn on the computer,' or whatever.  I'm all for free choice....controlled free choice.  Is that such a thing?  Anyway, these last two days have been really interesting.  There are things I will adopt in my own classroom and things that I will not do as well. 
On a happier note, yesterday we were drawing the flag of Saskatchewan, which has a tiger lily on it.  One of the boys was having difficulties and he looked at his neighbour (who was a girl) and said, 'how come your flower looks so good?'  And she said 'because I am a girl and we just know how to draw flowers.'

Day Nine: The 'Real' World

Today was my first day at a REAL school.  I am placed at a K-4 school in the city with 220 students.  I am in a grade 2 room.  It is a very interesting set up.  There are no doors.  The classrooms are open spaces with gaps that represent doors, but no actual closing thing.  In my room there are 40 kids and two teachers and they co-teach all those kids.  It is interesting how they are completely seamless in their delivery.  It amazes me that the kids can switch between two teachers without blinking.  We start at 8:20 and are done at 2:50.  It's nice to beat the rush home.  I was pretty much observing today, although I got to help keep some boys on task (they are way harder than girls....and way more immature.)  I can't believe how much technology is integrated into the classroom.  There is a Smartboard, laptops to sign out for the class in the library and two computers in the classroom.  They even have a LUNCH LADY!!! who does supervision in the lunch room and on the playground (a teacher is out there as well).  I felt kind of lost today, but I go back tomorrow and hopefully I will feel more at home.  I was told that I could just jump in at any time with something that I felt comfortable doing...I think that might wait till next week.  I am not familiar with the routine yet.  I wrote pages of notes and now I have to go through them all and dissect what I have written to form a journal entry for this week....should be interesting.  I might share a little of what I wrote on here.

You may be wondering why I only blog Monday to Thursday..well those are school days!! It wouldn't be relevant to blog about my days off or weekends! Unless it was school related of course.  Who cares that this weekend I got four kittens and we had sustained winds of 60km/h which prevented me from repairing the roof, but blew shingles off the neighbours house...no one is interested in that!! 

Day Eight: Do You Have a Sinking Feeling?

Today was a major day.  We actually LEARNED something.  Well, I guess we did.  I had Case Studies this morning and we discussed how these case studies need to be done.  Essentially, we are to read them, do an intitial response, research it with a group and then do a final response and add them to our Case Binder.  Mine's lime green, so it won't get lost and so it will stand out.  Today's case was about Diversity in the Classroom.  What does it mean to be diverse?  Is it a positive or negative experience in a classroom?  Do students learn better when they are all homogeneous? These questions can be answered, or not.  I could also just write about what I thought of the articles, so that is what I did.  I did not agree with one of the them and stated why, mostly because the author was touting the arts and the be all and end all of helping to assuage boredom and lack of individual thought towards diversity.  For example, if we could all just paint how we feel, everyone would understand.....yeah ok.  The author was also a feminist.  Not saying I don't agree with feminism, but it also won't solve the lack of diversity.   I also found out where I am placed, which is in the city...not sure how I feel about that, but I will deal.  I still do NOT have my freakin' books yet.  Today I found out there was a list that I was supposed to put my name on.  No one informed me of this magical, invisible list.  I even got an email saying the books were in, but then I was told it was only for people whose names were on The List.  Someone said to me 'your name is not on The List?'  I said 'no I was unaware of the existence of The List.'  So I am thinking that perhaps someone should be employed in the bookstore who can COUNT.  I know this seems blatantly obvious....I mean think how handy that would be.  'Let's see there are 1, 2, 3, 4,' and so one untill you get to 477 (the number of Ed students apparently).  Then this brilliant person (who has a degree in the Arts, by the way) would say 'Perchance we should print 477 books?'  And the supervisor will say 'Forsooth thou art so smart!'  How is it that thou art but a lowly counter?'  (I am not sure why they talk thusly, but it is the bookstore after all, and weird things go on there).  Anyway, I digress.  Point is I have NO BOOK! STILL!

Day Seven: The Legacy

Today in my lecture I learned about the legacy of Frederick Taylor.  He was a man who revolutionized industrialization by introducing methods of efficiency.  He compartmentalized tasks.  So for example, if you were building a wagon, one person would put on the sides, one the wheels, one the bolts and so on.  It made everyone apart from the whole.  This efficiency model has been applied to schooling as well.  Schooling has been compartmentalized and standarized, to the point where kids are loosing interest in their learning.  We have been encouraged to keep out eyes out for the legacy of Mr. Taylor and ask ourselves how we would deal with it.  It was quite interesting.  I am also the pround owner of a brand new red Dell computer from which I am typing this blog.....at SCHOOL!!   This morning I saw a lady who looked like a Romulan.  Short pants, tall boots and a wide jacket.  Here let me show you:


Now just imagine those short pants and black boots and you get the idea.  It made my day.
PS: I am still short two books and one I need for tomorrow's class.....argh.  The Bookstore never changes.  It's a good thing there is a multi billion dollar library extension going up...but we still can't print enough books for everyone....ah technology.

Day Five and Six: Craptasticly Crappy

I had class yesterday.  I have no idea what it was about.  I didn't go.  Instead I took my dog Zeus to the vet, and found out he has bone cancer in his leg.  I got nothing done yesterday except cry.  I rushed through my homework today, because it is due tomorrow.  I don't feel like going, but I will.  Today was a day off. Next week I start my practicum at the school.  I don't know where yet.  Maybe that was what yesterday was about.  I think I would have liked that better.

Day Four: Yeah....About That

I am slowly going crazy 1 2 3 4 5 6 SWITCH!! Crazy going slowly am I 6 5 4 3 2 1  SWITCH!! Now that I have dated myself...onto the important stuff.  I have no clue what is going on.  I feel so discombobulated.  Half my books aren't even in the Bookstore because they 'ran out'.  How can you run out?  Seriously?  I mean do they say; "well we aren't expecting anyone to take Education.  I mean it's not like being a DOCTOR or anything, so we'll only order a couple books."  So I don't have my Case book for Case Sem. next week and I don't have my Teacher's Handbook either which I need to read by next week as well.  Plus I have 6 textbooks to read so I can choose which one to do a presentation on in Pro Sem.  I can't keep this all straight.  Good thing I bought a write on calendar.  This is not like my Undergrad Degree at all.  In that there was concrete expectations and concrete marking schemes.  Here it is a pass/fail with a dialogue about how you are doing.  I feel I should chant 'OHM' and sit in the lotus position....but at the same time it is so EXCITING!! Everyone is so passionate about what they are embarking on and they are all from different backgrounds and experiences.  I think this semester will really challenge me and I am looking forward to it.  Now if only I can get my hands on some books.....
'

Day Three: The Journey to Your Inner Self

Did you know that part of becoming a teacher requires you to delve deep into your inner self and discover who you are?  Only when yyou know who you are can you truly help others.  That was the gist of this days ProSem.  Also there was something about everyone having their own song that no one else could sing.  I am not sure what mine is...maybe Don't Stand So Close to Me.  Although I am pretty sure that song is about a teacher that has a thing for one of his students.  So maybe in a twisted way that song is apropo.  Anywho, enough philosophical musings.  The seminar was interesting and it will definetly be out of my comfort zone to see who I am inside.  I also had a lecture on what to expect from my lecture series on the history of education and that it is important as beginning teachers to 'unschool' ourselves in the way things 'should' be done.  Very interesting.  And one last thing....skinny jeans and leggings are the devil.  That is all.

Day Two: A Day Off

So theoretically today I am supposed to be at a school learning how to teach from other teachers.  But since I haven't found out where I am going I get a day off....from going to campus.  I have just printed two lecture outlines, one is 17 pages and the other is six pages.  Maybe today should have been called Day One Redux: Information Overload, because that is how I feel.  Holy crap there is a lot of stuff I have to do.  My Professional Seminar (also affectionately known as Pro Sem) is called The Spirit of Teaching Excellence.  There seems to be a lot of self discovery in this class, which will be interesting, since I am not really comfortable with this kind of thing, let alone sharing my 'discoveries' with strangers in class.  Wish me luck.  The second lecture tomorrow is an Inquiry based lecture.  I think we are learning the history of teaching.  No philosophical stuff here.  Good solid history.  It should be an interesting day....I am excited by sort of overwhelmed at the same time but I will leave all this to be sorted tomorrow.

Day One: Information Overload

Today was the first day of the rest of my life....or so the saying goes.  I was up early (6am) to get a good start on the day.  Or so I thought.  Of course I had first day jitters which I thought were over since this is in fact my second time through the university.  I only ate a bowl of cereal...mistake number one.  I got on the train and arrived early for my classes after only getting kind of lost (there seems to be a lack of maps on campus).  I was thoroughly indoctrinated about how the program is revolutionary and one of the best in Canada and that the grads from this school are highly sought after.  Good news since there are potentially 400 teachers graduating in two years.  After this session we were invited to Mac Hall to partake of some free pizza.  I went and got my student ID card (which is now called a ONEcard or some such thing and can be used LIKE CASH!! on campus) and my UPass.  Mistake number two.  By the time I arrived at the 'free pizza' it was all gone.  I forgot how much free food university students can pack away.  I did get a free, warm Pepsi and bought a membership to the ATA for $20.00.  After this I ate a Larabar, and some spelt and sesame seed sticks.  MMMM.  I attended a Teaching Across Borders info session and became totally overwhelmed with opportunities.  It was at this time I decided to leave the university and go home to process.  I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy who thought I would like to read his text messages to his buddies.  He leaned way over and kept bumping my elbow and touching my arm....I love the CTrain.  Anywho, it was a good, long first day.  Two lessons were also learned:
1. A person cannot survive on a bowl of cereal, a Larabar, a handfull of spelt sticks and a warm Pepsi.
2. The university is unusually HOT....I forgot this.

So you want to know what it means?

So I am assuming since you are reading this VERY FIRST BRAND NEW POST that you have read the title of my blog.  You ask yourself...what does it mean?  Well let me enlighten you.  Pedagogy means the function or work of a teacher and the art and science of teaching, such as instructional methods.

If you haven't already guessed, I am in the process of learning to be a teacher.  I thought it would be interesting to blog my experiences at school...both at the university and in my field placement.  It will be neat to see how things progress and how I learn.

I am excited at the prospect of a new career and new opportunities that this degree will offer me.  I invite you to come along for the ride!!