Is it too early to celebrate???

Perhaps this is all a little premature but I have only one more day of waking up early, finishing off lessons plans or baking scones...

My feelings are best expressed in a picture.

Yay, its Thursday!

(smiling)

Constant lack of sleep = Constant hangover state

After the third week of practicum I have just accepted the fact that getting enough sleep is impossible, especially in this last week. However, to my surprise what I am learning from this experience is how far you can burn the candle at both ends.

Has anyone figured out their own boiling point? As in, at what point do you stop being a functional, productive teacher? Kinda neat concept to explore, non?

For me, the tell-tale-sign came today. It wasn’t putting the milk in the cupboard or realizing I left my wallet at the grocery store or forgetting to put shoes on when taking out the garbage. No, unfortunately that’s normal for me.

It happened when looking at my observations notes of this past week. Once in a while, like all good teacher candidates, I jot down some thoughts about particular student and their individual progress in class. While reading this I suddenly found a random note to myself.

“Remember to peel carrots for lunches, they look gross if you don’t and then students look at you funny. Not cool Miss Wells: be a leader!”

Its official, I’ve become dysfunctional. All my so called "important" observations of progress is mixed with random personal notes to myself.  Really Lauren? Worst off, its not even related to the students...well kinda. Here are some of the examples found, sadly I don't even remember writing these things.

1. People like savory scones more than the sweet ones, especially in the morning so focus more on the cheese-done! (ugh...not in the curriculum Lauren!)
2. You need to be more grateful towards people. They help you so much everyday and perhaps if you just took time to recognize them, even in a little ways: that would be nice. MAN oh MAN, do people ever save your butt! (this makes me laugh, so random but think it was referring to my TC helping me out with a SUPO form that I kept forgetting to do-hah!)
3. Its okay to fail at things. Everyone does and if we didn’t, we wouldn’t learn a thing. So when you talk to students, you can tell them that you failed your first driving test or that you made a mistake in baking and that’s why the scones were butter-less blackberry the other day-hah! Yes, even as a teacher you fail. Like failing to build a structure in class...ugh-whatever! (This is referencing an activity done in class last week where students had a partner and were to build a structure that must be 25 cm high but must also hold the weight of a textbook. So you are making a shelf or table thingy however, the only materials you can use are paper rods and tape...that’s it! And so, me being all clever thought I could help this one student who was working alone...oh my word! The whole class noticed that our structure didn’t stand up straight and by the end of it, the student I was working with wasn’t too pleased with what Miss Wells had done:-(
4.  I met Ed today, he was lovely. I learnt how to say goodbye which really is actually saying thank you. Because First Nations people only say goodbye when the person is dead, so for everyday purposes thank you is equivalent to saying goodbye. Good to know! (A special guest is coming to class this week for History and the school at the end of the month and so, I got to meet him briefly and talk to him.  Really, I was right away struck by this man’s presence...just one of those people that for me, demands respect in a non-aggressive kind of way).
5. Warning: wearing side braid pulled up for bangs is very trendy among student body...could explain why students aren’t sure you are a teacher or student. (no comment)
6. Work on knitting so that you can show students how to start a project and what more than two lines looks like. (Gabrielle, Hannah, Ashely, Carolin, Nicole and Harmony all lead&participate in Westwood’s knitting club every Tuesday and Thursday at lunch...I only come because I made two of the boys in my class join but when it comes to teaching people how to sow: pathetic! Would really like to own this skill!)
7. A teacher tells a parent what they are doing at school with their child and explains. Parent agrees and then proceeds to tell teacher what they are doing at home, claiming its the EXACT same thing. Hardly. However, at the end of the interview both parties are happy because they think they are on the same page when in reality it was a complete miscommunication. (Although I was not allowed to sit in any of the parent-teacher interviews, a couple of times parents would openly discuss things in my presence and let’s just say its like the telephone game...the longer it takes for the message to get around the circle, the more likely the message loses its meaning.  Instead of parent-teacher interviews it should be called Communication Interviews : This is what I hear you say....:-) The whole thing baffled me a little bit.)  

This concludes my incoherent list of notes to myself. Thank goodness there is only one more week left!

BOOM!

Nap time.

Debbie Downer...

I’m stuck.

What do you do with a kid who just doesn’t care? I mean really, doesn’t care.

And why should he? He comes to school dirty and hungry most of the time. He has little or no one who pays attention to him at home. He solves most of his problems through violence. To my knowledge, has no real role model: no one that he can really talk to....Did I mention he was only in grade seven?

It makes me so mad. All I want to do is help. What can I do to solve this problem because it NEEDS to be solved and I know there is an answer, somewhere.

Suggestions?
Teach him things that he can hopefully relate to, get him engaged in clubs or excited about activities in class. There has got to be someone that motivate him, that he looks up to? Yes-yes of course! Research and FIND THIS OUT! Okay - done!

But wait a minute, will that really change things? At the end of the day, when he goes back home will that help him? There is so much more going on in this kid’s life than what kind of science structure he is going to build or what scone recipe he is going to help bake...

Ugh.

I hate this feeling. I want to say its hopeless. I want to just give up. What’s the point? And of course I can’t do half the things I want to for this student because it would be going over the line, breaking the boundary between teacher and student.  Answer me this then, HOW HELL CAN I DO MY JOB IF PARENTS WON’T or DON’T DO THEIRS?

(*big long sigh)

Sorry. It was just a tough afternoon.

Its fine, its fine. I am just venting, being naive and way to idealistic...some situations are harder than others and well, I guess things just happen that way?  No matter how good a teacher you are or trying to be? 

Just keep swimming Miss Wells, keep doing your job as best as you can because no matter what, (and this little nugget of wisdom was told to me by one of the wisest OISE colleagues I know; thank goodness she is at my school with me;-)

“All it takes is one moment to make a difference in someone’s life.”

And I believe her, I have to.

Its one of the only things that keeps me going right now.

lauren

Fundraiser in full swing...scone anyone?

Students and teachers of room 25 are doing a fundraiser to make money for those grade 8's who cannot afford the Quebec trip at the end of the year....there are three students in my class in this particular situation and therefore why not try to do a little something-something to help? So for the next two weeks yours truly along with MANY OISE helpers get to come up with different scone combinations to set taste buds of all Westwood teacher's A FLAME!!! Yesterday was oatmeal cranberry-chocolate today we had some pear vanilla...BOOM!

Of course more ideas are greatly appreciated....I am thinking some lavender chocolate, pumpkin spice or even some spinach and jalapeno cheese? Mmmm, maybe.  Still working on it.

So far? We have passed the $100 mark...yay!

Not bad, not bad...;-) For a rookie!

Rachel, where are you and those cake skills when I need you? hah!

Grey Owl vs. Miss Wells

I'm not gonna lie. Its the second week of my practicum and even though this entry should be talking about my FIRST DAY’S experiences: anxiety, stress and the reapplication of my deodorant stick...
I have something more interesting to share.
(Plus, its still fresh in my head, so let me get it out before I lose it).
I had my very first disciplinary talk with a student in the hallway this afternoon, as in...he was bad enough to merit a stern Miss Wells look, followed by,

    “Student-who-will-remain-nameless, do we need to go out into the hallway and discuss this matter further?”  To which he replied (to my utter disbelief),
    “Okay.”

REALLY?!?

That was my first inner monologue reaction. Then, Ohhhhh shit! Now I have to back up that up...What did I just say again? Ugh! Okay, okay calm down Lauren, you can do this.  What am I going to say? Ummm? UGH!  This is kinda fun but, NO-NO its not. Focus. Keep it together teacher...

And to top it all off, my wonderful TC or AT or CT or BV (can never get it right), Ms. Garda, joined us as well. (I admire my TC very much, so now I am really sweating...)

Okay but wait a minute, back up...how'bout I tell you HOW it reached this magical moment, right?

Miss Wells teaches a core Grade 7 enriched history class...among other things. This unit covers First Nations People, specifically in today’s class, debating the HISTORICA MINUTE called Grey Owl. Grey Owl represented and still does, a symbol our Canadian history which I found interesting seeing that Grey Owl wasn’t exactly Canadian. In fact, the man was British but only claimed to be born in Canada and aboriginal because he felt closer to that group of people than Europeans. The real story was that “Grey Owl”, also known as Archie Belaney, moved away from home at 17 years old, obsessed with Canada and was adopted into a tribe of First Nations people. While growing up he there he learned the language, mastered hunting skills, learned more about First Nations people and developed a love and appreciation for nature. It inspired Archie to write books about his stories&experiences and as suddenly his work became really popular.  Grey Owl soon came to be someone that European wanted to meet, learn from and hear from...which was a little stressful for Archie because he was lying about who he really was.

My question was simple: Should Grey Owl be remembered as a hero or a fraud in Canadian History?

OHHH let the heated Gr. 7 debates begin I must admit, the class did get out of control a couple times. I even got in trouble from a student for not keeping EXACT time between the groups....holy crap guys, really? Maybe you guys should just settle down a bit and be a little LESS ENGAGED?!?  Of course I didn’t really say that but even for me it was INTENSE!

This was only supposed to have been a minds on question people....turned into a FULL BLOWN debate with evidence from article and even some people saying
    “I object!” or
    “ I respectfully disagree with that last statement!”

Really, it was truly a thrill to watch and to hear some of the responses from my students...wow! I was amazed by their insights and I found myself saying....yeah, really good point. I didn’t even think of that! (how embarrassing, I know)

Which brings us back to student-who-will-remain-unnamed...classic ticket out the door was all I wanted. Not even a paragraph, two to three sentences MAX. He refused to write anything because it was already summarized in the article for him, in paragraph 3 page two. 
    “That’s great student-with-no-name, but I’ve already read the article.  I want to read what you have to say.  And if its the same as what paragraph 3 on page 2 says, then write it down in your own words!”
    “But why would I do that? Its already DONE IN PARAGRAPH 3, PAGE 2!”
    Thus why I had to give the stern look response (already explained before) and the assertive-aggressive-authoritative demeanor....

End result?

It all worked out. Turns out there was a lot more going on with this kid then just his lack of cooperation with me in class.  He had been to a funeral, had missed a lot of school already and was just feeling really overwhelmed thus taken out his frustrations on a silly task like this. Don’t get me wrong, I still had him write his ticket but the talk outside was necessary and I think we both felt better after having it.

Lesson plans never go as planned...well almost.

Yay Midtowners almost halfway!

BOOM!

lauren