Hey All,
For my last post I thought I'd drop an article about current literacy levels, and how the debate about improving overall literacy levels affects all levels of education. Furthermore, it is a difficult problem to assess, as various means of measurement are often used (who is truly 'literate', who is only 'semi-literate', and how does this change in an increasingly technology-driven economy?). If you got a minute, you might find it interesting...
http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/2939081.html
Other than that, I hope everyone has an enjoyable and happy winter break! See ya in January!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Best and Worst of the First Semester
It's the end of the semester, end of the year, and end of the decade. What a long, strange trip it's been.
A lot of people come up with "Best and Worst" lists around this time of year--best and worst movies, best and worst trends of the year, etc. So, In that spirit I've decided to come up with a best and worst list for the first semester of our program. Everybody feel free to contribute their own list of highs and lows. Personally, it's been a crazy semester. There have been a lot of great days, but there have also been plenty of days where I have wondered just what in the hell have I got myself into. Anyway, here goes.
The Highlights
--401 with Cressey
--Observation (The best learning experience of the semester)
--Philosophy with Baxter (most days)
--New Friends
--Grad Lounge afternoons (a lot of serious teacher preparation going on)
--The day we went out to the woods with Chris (even if it was a little cold)
--Alternative site visit
--The sense of community our cohort has developed
The Lowlights
--e-portfolio
--Too much busy work
--That class on Tuesday's and Friday's after 780 (although it's getting a bit better, I think)
--The feeling that we are not learning enough about teaching
--Too much emphasis on technology
--Unit Plans (mine has been left until the last second and it's driving me crazy)
--Not enough time spent getting practical experience in a school between the start of the year and the practicum
Cheers
Everybody have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
A lot of people come up with "Best and Worst" lists around this time of year--best and worst movies, best and worst trends of the year, etc. So, In that spirit I've decided to come up with a best and worst list for the first semester of our program. Everybody feel free to contribute their own list of highs and lows. Personally, it's been a crazy semester. There have been a lot of great days, but there have also been plenty of days where I have wondered just what in the hell have I got myself into. Anyway, here goes.
The Highlights
--401 with Cressey
--Observation (The best learning experience of the semester)
--Philosophy with Baxter (most days)
--New Friends
--Grad Lounge afternoons (a lot of serious teacher preparation going on)
--The day we went out to the woods with Chris (even if it was a little cold)
--Alternative site visit
--The sense of community our cohort has developed
The Lowlights
--e-portfolio
--Too much busy work
--That class on Tuesday's and Friday's after 780 (although it's getting a bit better, I think)
--The feeling that we are not learning enough about teaching
--Too much emphasis on technology
--Unit Plans (mine has been left until the last second and it's driving me crazy)
--Not enough time spent getting practical experience in a school between the start of the year and the practicum
Cheers
Everybody have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Unpleasant but all too real: Abuse and how to deal with it
Just drawing attention to a news article which came out of Ontario today, regarding the persistence of child abuse in the community of Cornwall (small industrial community, with a large francophone community). The link to the original article follows: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/12/15/cornwall-glaude.html
One of the depressing facts that was brought to light was the institutional inertia which often prevents individuals from pressing for answers. Nobody wants the embarrassment and shame of having a coworker charged with any form of child abuse. Yet often there was too little investigation, and as a result, many cases did not come to light quickly enough. The article touches on a few themes which have come up in a few of my classes recently, such as:
1. No community is hermetically sealed off from the bad things in the world. It is always astounding to hear responses such as 'we didn't think that sort of thing could happen here'.
2. Institutions, even public ones, seem to try to placate this sentiment. Administrators and coworkers seem reticent to follow their instincts when serious issues come to light, and often try to minimize the public impact, rather than attend to the victim's needs.
3. How does a school keep up communication? This seems to be the crucial issue; many institutions seem to get clogged by the 'business as usual' mindset. What happens at your school? Do you feel trained to handle such a situation?
One of the depressing facts that was brought to light was the institutional inertia which often prevents individuals from pressing for answers. Nobody wants the embarrassment and shame of having a coworker charged with any form of child abuse. Yet often there was too little investigation, and as a result, many cases did not come to light quickly enough. The article touches on a few themes which have come up in a few of my classes recently, such as:
1. No community is hermetically sealed off from the bad things in the world. It is always astounding to hear responses such as 'we didn't think that sort of thing could happen here'.
2. Institutions, even public ones, seem to try to placate this sentiment. Administrators and coworkers seem reticent to follow their instincts when serious issues come to light, and often try to minimize the public impact, rather than attend to the victim's needs.
3. How does a school keep up communication? This seems to be the crucial issue; many institutions seem to get clogged by the 'business as usual' mindset. What happens at your school? Do you feel trained to handle such a situation?
Monday, December 14, 2009
Nikolai Julien Primatesta
Hey guys,
I know this is quite off topic for blogs (sorry Chris) but I just wanted to share the news that most of you have probably already heard. Nikolai Julien was born on December 8th, 2009 at 2:30 am. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz. He's a beautiful little man and I hope you all can meet him sometime in the future. Thank you so much for the card that Haley and Gillian brought to me. Made my already wide smile a bit wider. Thanks for all the support this semester as he was growing in my belly. Hope to see you all soon! If not... Happy Holidays!
Kylie
Technology: Tool or Barrier
Has anyone ever wondered why UVic employs so many online student learning "tools"? I did my undergrad here and during that time plus my time in this program I have had to use - the regular UVic Blackboard, business Blackboard, Blogger, Moodle and Sharepoint. Each of them are slightly different and offers slightly different features. In addition, I have also had to keep track of each of my courses' websites. I have to admit, having these online tools have allowed me to access information from practially anywhere - at home, school, etc. However, sometimes I feel that there are too many to keep track of. During my undergrad, sometimes, I miss information because I forget to check a blog but its difficult when there's 4 other websites to keep checking for my other classes. Why can't UVic provide its students with a student portal that consolidates these tools to make my life easier?
Thanks to our beloved tech class, we now know all sorts of tools that are available to us. But how do we keep it under control? How do we ensure that technology is serving as tools rather than barriers?
I came across this when I was compiling some stuff for the e-binder: Check it out it may give you ideas.
Thanks to our beloved tech class, we now know all sorts of tools that are available to us. But how do we keep it under control? How do we ensure that technology is serving as tools rather than barriers?
I came across this when I was compiling some stuff for the e-binder: Check it out it may give you ideas.
Culture in the Classroom
Alysson, Cameron and I went to the Native Friendship Centre for our site visit. As Alysson mentioned in class, we learned about the issues Aboriginal students face at school. It was really insightful. I learned that some Aboriginal students have difficulties succeeding at school because they think their teachers are racist. Students feel that their teachers lower expectations because they are Aboriginal.
This made me think about things we've talked about in other classes. In Sebastien's presentation for Dr. Cressey's class, he talked about how African Americans placed more value on communalistic learning vs. individualistic learning that Caucasian groups valued. In our philosophy class we also discussed the issue whether schools should establish a uniform culture or have multiple ones.
Should students be expected to abandon their own culture to succeed in the classroom? As future educators, how do we create a learning environment where students can succeed regardless of their cultural background?
This made me think about things we've talked about in other classes. In Sebastien's presentation for Dr. Cressey's class, he talked about how African Americans placed more value on communalistic learning vs. individualistic learning that Caucasian groups valued. In our philosophy class we also discussed the issue whether schools should establish a uniform culture or have multiple ones.
Should students be expected to abandon their own culture to succeed in the classroom? As future educators, how do we create a learning environment where students can succeed regardless of their cultural background?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Toll of Athleticism
I have a friend who I've been meaning to bring up in class one day. He is a runner, and has been running for his entire life, right from childhood. He was the captain of the Uvic running team, and absolutely excelled at it. Last year though, he quit. For his entire life he has been told that he would never be the best in the world, because A) he's not from Africa, and B) only one person out of billions can actually be the best. Last year, he realized that he was not that one person, and retired.
Recently, his old high school invited him back to Nova Scotia to coach their track team, which he still holds all the top records at. He talked to me a while after he got back and said that it was very strange going back to a small town where he has real status for following his dream, but having since given up on that dream. He is coaching kids who want to be just like him, who want to try and be superheroes, by his own description, but the odds are infinitesimal that even one of them will make it anywhere. Looking at his own life and the time he spent going hard at his sport, all of the skills he doesn't have now, and all of the opportunities he missed by having his blinders up, all he wants to tell these kids is that they have to have something else. They can't just live for running because it won't be enough. That if they neglect their academics to excel at sports, they are going to wind up miserable and useless (his words).
I'd like to ask some PE teachers about their opinions on this, but what do you guys think? If you had a student who was terrible at school but great at sports, would you encourage them to pursue what they're good at, or would you try to teach them that they need to be well-rounded to succeed?
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