Get Involved

TEACHER FIRED OVER FACEBOOK COMMENT 

We have all read a tabloid like this somewhere, why? Well some teachers did not take that warning that every student teacher gets on their first day of orientation: If you have Facebook you better up the security, change your name and keep it clean.  For all those teachers who have lost their jobs over Facebook those 3 little rules would have probably allowed them to still be in the classroom today. 

from: bluekdesign

Though the topic of Facebook in education is an interesting one it is not the one I want to talk about today.  Today I would like to talk about the complete opposite thing.  Rather than discussing all the ways that you can create a negative image in a community I want to talk about how to create positive ones.

I was fortunate to grow up in a very philanthropic family who always encouraged me to get involved in community events and fundraisers.  Also being on many sports teams throughout my high school career I learned what it meant to represent your town with class and sportsmanship.  These were important in giving a positive imagine to my community.

My brothers and I playing hockey

Now that I am in education giving a positive view of myself is important.  In just over a year I am going to be selling myself at some job interview in the hopes that I can land a job.  If I do manage to get a job then by that fall I will have many eyes and ears wondering just who I am and if the school board did the right thing in hiring me.  I, on the other hand, will be busy making lesson plans, unit outlines, developing activities, classroom management plans, etc., all the busy work a first time teacher.  Unfortunately cooping myself up in my home or classroom is not going to help my critics think I am a worthy teacher for their precious children.  To convince them I am right for the job I need to meet them and to do this I will have to leave my shelter of preparing and go out in the community.  If I go to local sporting events, plays and suppers I will surely meet my future student and parents.  Also if a managed a way to get involved like working canteens, volunteering at suppers or coaching a baseball team I would be able to send a message that I am committed to this community.  This will surely give my critics a reason to  feel I worthy of educating their children even before their kids go back to school.

My friends and I playing Volleyball

Another thing to consider is that as a first time teacher the job you will get will likely be in a community you are unfamiliar with.  Getting involved in the community and volunteering for the local centers is a great way to meet people in a casual, yet positive way.  You will need these connections as the stressful first year of teaching progresses.  Besides the local bar, though a beverage after a tough day of work may be nice, is not something you want to associate yourself with when trying to build a professional image in a community.

In concluding I challenge all you new students going out into the field this year to get involved in your community.  It will help with teacher parent relationship and give you a needed escape form the hours of preparing I know you are will be going through.

Good luck and get out there!

after social Inclusion

Well that was an interesting PD session. I really enjoyed the information Brock Brown gave us.  He is definitely a very knowledgeable man.  Having spent many years working with inner city kids in Winnipeg he was able to give us a perspective most of us had never experienced.

The focus of the information was how to connect with excluded youth.  He suggested things like the jigsaw method, walk abouts and flexible groupings.  These methods force students to interact with each other.  It also gives you the opportunity to talk and connect with your students one on one.  Making connection with your students, he stressed, is essential.  You can become a role model to others if you take the opportunity to connect with excluded youth.

I was hoping to learn more about how to directly get students in the "majority" to accept others.  This we did not get much counselling on. Brock said  he wished he could give us the answer to this but as far as he knew there wasn't one yet.  If we knew how to get the "majority" to accept the "minority" then we would not have this issue in the first place.  The best thing he suggested you can do is be a role model to others.

Either way the session was amazing.  It gave me some things to ponder and some hope that we as teachers can make a difference in our society if we make inclusion a priority in our classrooms

Thanks Brock

Before Social Inclusion

This morning I have a PD about social inclusion but I thought I would give my thought before and after and see how my opinions have changed.

Social inclusion is one of those things I feel I will struggle with as a teacher.  Being that I come from the majority I have never experienced social exclusion. This, along with the aspect that I do not find myself racist, may make it hard for me to pick up on exclusive behaviours/feelings that others may be expressing.  I know that racism and prejudice happen regularly in my community so I understand it is a problem and needs to be fixed.

I am hoping in this PD today to talk about how teachers can help to break the barriers and be an instrument for change in our communities.  By touching on how to notice exclusive behaviour and what to do when it happens, will give me more confidence when put in one of these situations.  My feeling is that he will have some very straight forward talks about social inclusion, give example of how he has address the situations and remark on the successfulness of them.  

There is a lot to be learned and my ears will be open and I look forward to sharing the information with you after. 

How to navigate Education and still come out feeling like you?

I am not sure if it is just me but I feel that in education we are bombarded about what we, as newly arriving teacher(NATs), are suppose to be. Some professors will tell us we need to be strict with our students while another will say it is important to be flexible. There does seem to be some themes, like use DI, but for the most part I feel that a lot of what we are told from one person is contradicted by the next person.  So this begs the question, who are we as NATs suppose to be?
I am obviously no expert in this area but I am going to share with you my opinion anyway(this is my blog, so I think that gives me the right).  I think we need to be who we are comfortable with being.  Our professors, I feel, share with us their opinion on what the "perfect" teacher is. This is often based on their personality and on how they taught when they were in schools.  Like most people they think their way of teaching is the best and that the best teachers are just like them.  I am not saying that my professors were are not excellent teachers but I do believe that the idea of perfection is different for everyone.  Also I think we need to consider that not all people can teach using the same teaching style.  Different personalities and philosophies definitely play a role.    This mean we NATs need to take what we like or feel we can accomplish productively from what our professors are telling us and put that towards our philosophy and teaching style.  For example, not all of us can be an aggressive teacher, and not all of us can be that warm inviting teacher but we can all fit in between that spectrum somewhere.
How do you decide who you are going to be as a NAT?  Well I think it all starts by taking a long hard look at your personality and your reasons for becoming a teacher.  Then I think you need to be open minded about what you are hearing from your professors.  I recommend making a list of what they say is important and their ideas.  Later on this list will provide you with ideas and thoughts that you can consider when evaluating who you are going to be as a NAT. Keep in mind, no idea is a bad idea, but some ideas may not be for you.  Then some day when you are ready, write down, take a long walk, or just lay on a beach somewhere and think critically about your philosophy of teaching.  Question things like what your classroom will look like and how you plan to make it that way.  Also ask yourself, besides curriculum outcomes, what do you want students to take away from your class.  I could probably go on for pages about questions to ask yourself but I think you get the idea.
When you have decided on who you want to be, remember that just because you choose that philosophy today does not mean that it can't change it, and trust me, change it you will.
Good luck on your journey fellow NATs, I look forward to meeting you on the other side.