Today I was back with my lovely mentor teacher. We had a great day and I got lots more planning done. I am giving the students a little profile page to fill out for me tomorrow including their name, a drawing of themselves (should be funny), their likes/hobbies, favourite sports teams, what they would like to learn in the WW2 unit that I will be teaching, where they see themselves when they are 30, and one wish. Hopefully they will enjoy it and it will help me to get to know them a bit better. I will post about how it goes.
My laptop got its virus back today, which is incredibly frustrating since I was without it for two days last week while it was being "fixed" for the exact same problem. Tonight they told me that they hadn't fixed it properly in Victoria so that's why it came back. We payed a lot to have it fixed, so I am pretty mad. Plus, I really need it for lesson planning (as well as everything I have on there!). I really hope I have it back for Monday since I had planned to use it to present a power point and a video clip!
Today I found out that they have teacher yoga at my school! I am very excited to start doing that!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Day 2 - TOC time
Today my mentor teacher was away with the badminton team, so we had an OT (occasional teacher) as they are called in Ontario. I'm starting to catch on to all the terms they use here, but it is difficult because everyone just assumes I know them. LTO is something like a long-term opportunity? Basically it's someone filling in for a teacher on maternity leave or something. Anyway, I got a lot of lesson planning done today, as my classes are first and last period so I have the entire middle of the day free with an empty office.
I supervised two students writing tests since they were absent last week. I caught one of them cheating, and I welcome any comments on my response: I saw her constantly looking at something in her pencil case, but I could not tell what it was, so I moved and sat behind the students instead. This put a stop to her looking at what I could then see were some cue cards sticking out. So she only ended up cheating on the first page of the four-page test. I did not say anything as I did not want to bring up the issue in front of the other student, nor did I want to cause issues with the cheating student on my second day here. Instead, I informed my mentor teacher when I saw him at the end of the day and he said he would take it into account when marking the test and would call her parents (especially since they did not show up to parent-teacher night last week and she often causes trouble in class). I was not sure about whether I should assert my authority... either way, I did put an end to it at least for this test. What would you have done?
I got a nice preview of the life of a TOC. She recognized some of the students from previous visits, but for the most part they were new to her. She did a good job of relaying the information my mentor teacher asked her to give to the students and assigned seat work while showing the movie. The last period class did everything she asked, while the first period class did no work and payed no attention whatsoever to the movie. In fact, they talked very loudly about some article in a magazine that discussed different types of bikini waxing. She gave up trying to regain control of the class, which is understandable considering she is only there for one day, but now the students in that class are behind the others. It will be interesting to see how my mentor teacher (we will call him S from now on to avoid typing that out every time) deals with things tomorrow! What would your approach be as a TOC?
I managed to divide all the material I have been asked to teach across the five weeks. I now have a rough daily plan for what material I will be covering, and even some activity ideas for some of the days. I showed S and he was impressed with how much I had done! I also got to meet with my supervisor today. He said I was doing well so far and that I can learn a lot from S: he doesn't let anything get him down, he believes in his students, and he doesn't let them walk all over him. I am looking forward to tomorrow already!
I supervised two students writing tests since they were absent last week. I caught one of them cheating, and I welcome any comments on my response: I saw her constantly looking at something in her pencil case, but I could not tell what it was, so I moved and sat behind the students instead. This put a stop to her looking at what I could then see were some cue cards sticking out. So she only ended up cheating on the first page of the four-page test. I did not say anything as I did not want to bring up the issue in front of the other student, nor did I want to cause issues with the cheating student on my second day here. Instead, I informed my mentor teacher when I saw him at the end of the day and he said he would take it into account when marking the test and would call her parents (especially since they did not show up to parent-teacher night last week and she often causes trouble in class). I was not sure about whether I should assert my authority... either way, I did put an end to it at least for this test. What would you have done?
I got a nice preview of the life of a TOC. She recognized some of the students from previous visits, but for the most part they were new to her. She did a good job of relaying the information my mentor teacher asked her to give to the students and assigned seat work while showing the movie. The last period class did everything she asked, while the first period class did no work and payed no attention whatsoever to the movie. In fact, they talked very loudly about some article in a magazine that discussed different types of bikini waxing. She gave up trying to regain control of the class, which is understandable considering she is only there for one day, but now the students in that class are behind the others. It will be interesting to see how my mentor teacher (we will call him S from now on to avoid typing that out every time) deals with things tomorrow! What would your approach be as a TOC?
I managed to divide all the material I have been asked to teach across the five weeks. I now have a rough daily plan for what material I will be covering, and even some activity ideas for some of the days. I showed S and he was impressed with how much I had done! I also got to meet with my supervisor today. He said I was doing well so far and that I can learn a lot from S: he doesn't let anything get him down, he believes in his students, and he doesn't let them walk all over him. I am looking forward to tomorrow already!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day 1 of Observation
Yesterday I arrived in Ottawa for my 5-week practicum (plus one week of observation). I got placed in two CHC2DF classes, which are grade 10 French Immersion History classes. I was terrified, since I have not used my French at all since my undergrad. I got up very early in spite of the jet lag to iron my teaching outfit and get all nicely dressed-up. I packed my lunch, and my fiance's grandparents (with whom I am staying) drove me in since it was snow-raining. After a few moments of feeling lost, I found the main office, signed in, and was introduced to my wonderful mentor teacher. I appologized for the rusty state of my French and he laughed and said I would catch on in no time. He then showed me around the school, finishing in the Social Studies office where I have my OWN HUGE DESK! I moved right in there. We then went into the classroom, where he showed me his stash of tea. He was thrilled to hear that I am also a tea lover and invited me to help myself at any time! We talked hockey (he is a fan of his native Montreal Canadiens, which is acceptable) and he proceeded to give me every possible resource that I could use in my lesson planning. I received: dvds, textbooks, scrapbooks, activity workbooks, his notes, past assignments that he has used, memoirs of Holocaust survivors, and several other items - most having full class sets AND in French! The school also gave me an agenda containing a calendar of events and all the school rules, as well as my own set of keys for the various staff rooms, my office, the classroom, and the washrooms. I feel so spoiled! The students seem wonderful as well, although they might be a bit of a challenge. I also got to meet another student teacher whose first day of teaching was today! She has a desk right next to mine, and we are planning to host a little event with the grade 12s this Friday where we give them a taste of what first-year university will be like. I have not yet met with my Supervisor, as he is the principal and was busy today dealing with a stink-bomb incident at Friday night's school concert.
As it turns out, one of my former teachers now works at my practicum school! I ran into her and we had a nice long catch-up session during our prep periods which fall at the same time. The school seems to be a very supportive environment! Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am to be mentored by my teacher. I really enjoyed observing him today. He has excellent classroom management despite a few difficult students and is an enthusiastic speaker. He starts his history lessons off with a short lecture to introduce the topics (students follow along with notes he has posted on his wiki - they have to print them at the begging of each unit). Then, the students break off to work on activities. Today, they were working in pairs out of a small book on the Depression with worksheets handed out by the teacher. He even played a cd with music from the 20s for them while they worked (at their request). Ten minutes before the end, the teacher brought the class back together and took up the work before assigning some reading and questions from the textbook to be completed for tomorrow.
I only hope that I can live up to his teaching! The students all love him and so does the staff. I feel very fortunate to be in such a good position here. I will try to keep up to date on blog postings!
As it turns out, one of my former teachers now works at my practicum school! I ran into her and we had a nice long catch-up session during our prep periods which fall at the same time. The school seems to be a very supportive environment! Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am to be mentored by my teacher. I really enjoyed observing him today. He has excellent classroom management despite a few difficult students and is an enthusiastic speaker. He starts his history lessons off with a short lecture to introduce the topics (students follow along with notes he has posted on his wiki - they have to print them at the begging of each unit). Then, the students break off to work on activities. Today, they were working in pairs out of a small book on the Depression with worksheets handed out by the teacher. He even played a cd with music from the 20s for them while they worked (at their request). Ten minutes before the end, the teacher brought the class back together and took up the work before assigning some reading and questions from the textbook to be completed for tomorrow.
I only hope that I can live up to his teaching! The students all love him and so does the staff. I feel very fortunate to be in such a good position here. I will try to keep up to date on blog postings!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
History Teachers on Youtube
Check out this amazing Youtube channel for funny and educational videos that you can use in your classroom. Thanks to Kristi (http://krherbert.edublogs.org/) for sharing this with me!
The Heart of a Teacher
We Teach Who We Are
I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy. When my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us, when our experience is illumined by the lightning-life of the mind—then teaching is the finest work I know.But at other moments, the classroom is so lifeless or painful or confused—and I am so powerless to do anything about it that my claim to be a teacher seems a transparent sham. Then the enemy is everywhere: in those students from some alien planet, in that subject I thought I knew, and in the personal pathology that keeps me earning my living this way. What a fool I was to imagine that I had mastered this occult art—harder to divine than tea leaves and impossible for mortals to do even passably well!
**Read the rest at:
http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/heart-of-a-teacher
Monday, December 13, 2010
Canadian Social Studies Super Site!
www.ualberta.ca/~jkirman/
Follow the above link to an amazing resource for Canadian social studies teachers. You are welcome!
Follow the above link to an amazing resource for Canadian social studies teachers. You are welcome!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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