More proof that sex with students is OK!!!

I was watching Leno tonight, and he made a joke that went something like this:

A law in Georgia has been passed where it is ok for teachers to have sex with students if the student is age 16 or older and the sex is consentual. But whats even worse is most students in Georgia are homeschooled. ah ohhh thats gross hahaha clap clap clap.

Good joke, but I found it interesting since we have been talking a lot about this kind of stuff lately in Tatiana's class, for those of you who are in her class with me. I was intrigued and I found this article about the law being passed.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/lawmaker-worry-teachers-sex-students/story?id=9157141&page=2

From what I see in cases we have discussed and other ones in the news, there are a lot of "loopholes" where sex with students goes unpunished, either if it is a female teacher with a male student, a female teacher having a relationship with a female student, and now if the student is 16, it is ok in Georgia. I read some of the comments on this news story, it was pretty split between people who thought that 16 year olds are adults and can make their own decisions and people who thought it should be illegal. Noone really brought up the difference in power between the two, except for one comment who compared it to a psychiatrist having a relationship with a patient. Its kind of crazy that so many people in the general public don't seem to have a huge problem with this.

Poker Chips

I hope you all took the time to watch the rest of the Lavoie show, it really helped me to get a little perspective on the students that will be sitting in our classroom everyday.

His poker chip analogy is so helpful. Self-esteem is such a touchy issues these days, and often when it is addressed it is addressed in such a fluffy manner that it doesn't really get us anywhere. I think its important that we think of our students (particularly our LD students) as having a certain number of poker chips and that it is our job to give them enough to ensure that they can do the tasks that they need to do.

"Join me on my bandwagon of uncertainty..."

I know many of you have probably already seen these clips along the way... but if you haven't, Taylor Mali's dialogues are probably some of the most truthful and hilarious bits of work out there... have a look :)

the problem with teachers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

a few words on 'the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLE2bliXCI&feature=related

Classroom Gem/Concerns with Lavoie

The closest thing I have to a "classroom gem" that works well is what I've seen called the "chorus effect." I tried this over my 2 week practicum and it was fantastic, and I used it in my lesson in John Fawcett's class, and while it's a little pedantic for university students, it was very effective in high school. Basically, you just get the students to all say the answer/phrase/whatever all together, like a chorus. Depending on how much they need to know it, you have them repeat it a couple times. When I tried this with grade 12 students I thought they would just laugh at me, but because I prefaced it with "I know this is a little dorky but..." they were totally fine with it. I found it was an excellent way to get them to all memorize a short, but very important, piece of information really quickly.......and they'll never forget it! I wouldn't recommend using it all the time, but once in a while it can be really effective.

As for the Lavoie video, there was one example he gave that didn't have me totally hooked. When he told the story of having to talk to the teacher who was always late for recess duty, he used the "oreo" or "sandwich" format. Start with something good, mention the stuff that needs to be fixed, then end with something good. He then said that this was a good technique to use with students. Now, I DO agree it's a good technique for using with students when you're working with them in some progressive, longer-term type thing. "Johnny, you're so good at sitting quietly at your desk now! You still need to work on not punching suzie in the face, but I've also noticed you're consistently coming to class on time now. good work" That sort of thing, I'm totally fine with, but I'm not so hot on his idea of using it with an employee.

I know we're not all going to be administrator's and bosses, but I think it's important to note. The teacher was just duffing it with recess, and all he needed to do was tell the teacher he was duffing it. By prefacing it with something good, you're going to set the teacher up to always expect a reprimand when you start with a compliment. I think it's important to compliment and affirm employees, and if you're reporting on someone's progress in an area (as with Johnny's behaviour) then the sandwich/oreo is just fine, but if someone does something wrong that's an isolated behaviour, just reprimand that. Don't degrade a compliment by sandwiching it around a reprimand. Compliments with Compliments. Reprimands with Reprimands. Oreos for progress-based things.

Just a thought. (ps that was something I'd heard from another speaker, it's not my idea but I thought it was a good idea).

Special-Ed Institue

I just wanted to remind everyone: if you're (even mildly) interested in taking some special education courses this summer... CAN YOU SEND PHIL AN EMAIL? I know many of you are interested in pursuing this field in the future, so give the courses some thought. A friend of mine is trying to compile a list of students interested in this "summer institute," before she speaks with the Dean next week. The more interest, the better.

What's in a Word or Two

This situation reminds me a lot of a situation I saw during my observation. In the case I saw, the student seemed like a normal everyday student until the teacher gave out a written assignment. As soon as she did this, the student who was normally really compliant just shut right down and refused to the work. Unlike the case study, the student didn’t swear at the teacher, but even still he got very confrontational. Like the case study, my sponsor teacher later found out from another teacher that this student has significant issues. Comparing these two situations, I think in both cases the teachers were very much surprised by the actions of the students. From a management point-of-view, it is really difficult for a teacher to deal with a problem student who spontaneously acts out, with little or no warning. As difficult as it is though, I think the teacher still need be the one in charge and call the student on any of their inappropriate behaviour. As tough as these situations are, I think it just goes to show how important effective communications between teachers in a school really is. In both this mock scenario, and my observation scenario, other teachers in the school knew about behaviour issues relating to both students. In these cases, I think being proactive in finding out knowledge of student issues is very important, as tough and time consuming as it may be

The Rad Rockies

The Rad Rockies

(My report on my two-week practicum, I realize it is slightly late, but here it is.)

The teachers on staff, the students and I made hydrogen gas, lit many fires in the forest, played flag football, went climbing, dressed up in crazy costumes, researched rare careers, took photos of modern architecture in downtown Calgary, played dodge ball (oops) and got chased around Holt Renfrew and followed into the washroom (a couple of girls REALLY needed to go before the long drive from Calgary to Golden) by suspicious sales ladies. We also made plans for the New Year to run an ice climbing camp and to go on an overnight ski trip to Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park.

For the less positive aspects, see my posts on wild horses and physical space.

First Year Blog

Hey everybody,

I stumbled upon this website while I was procrastinating. It is a blog for first year teachers, so there are a lot of topics being discussed that have relevance to what we are feeling/doing right now. Check it out if you have time....

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=fefd7ba5cf32ece84d5fc75280832797

Physical Space

I don't know where to find some physical space at my school to make lesson plans and keep my materials, here is the problem...
The school I am teaching at has an all-male PE department. The school was originally built with one PE office accessed through the male changeroom and one PE office accessed through the female changeroom. These offices were separated by a wall. Recently, a door has been put into this wall so that the two male teachers can access the offices from the male changeroom side. The door to the female side is still there but I always had to enter and exit very carefully to ensure that there was never a line of sight into the female changeroom. In addition, once inside these two offices it is very hard to move. They are jam packed. There is definitely no room for me in there. There is one female staff washroom in the school, adjacent to the staff room.

Where should I get changed?
Where should I keep my materials/other clothes?
Where should I plan my lessons during my spare blocks?

All in my truck since it is parked on school property, where we are supposed to be for the entire instructional day?

It is a little cold for that in the Rockies in the winter.

My best idea is to do it all in the staff room and women's staff washroom, but is it going to give a bad impression if teachers always see me "hanging out" in the staff room? How about the other female teachers getting a bit upset because they can't use the washroom because it takes me the whole 4 minutes we have between classes to get changed?

Any brilliant ideas? What kind of physical space have you obtained at your schools?

Sleep is a thing of the Past

So today is November 25th. Does that scare anyone else?! Where has the time gone? We are going to be in the classroom before we know it and honestly sometimes I feel unprepared. I mean I know what I'm doing, etc. but I'm not certain on everything. For instance, I still have no idea if I am going to let students pick between different projects they want to do, or their weighting on certain projects. Because obviously I want to try and implement everything that we are learning but there are SO many options. And they take a long time to organize. You have to make sure that each project option is equal and generate a general rubric that can be implement fairly for all so that a paper has the same chance as a video presentation. Also I briefly looked at some of the unit plans that my teacher has used in the past for the course and Holy Moly!! Each unit is a massive binder! Like probably over 500 pages - no joke. And sometimes I just don't know how it's even possible to make up 4 of these unit plans, nevermind trying to incorporate fun and relevant games into them. It just seems like it will be difficult to get everything across nevermind the added extras of letting them choose their own projects, making up fun games, getting them out and about if possible. I'm assuming that it will get easier for us to incorporate all of these things once we are a bit more seasoned but I guess I'm just impatient.

How do you tame wild horses?

I have a concern with one of the classes I plan to teach. It is my favorite class to teach in terms of subject area by far. However, the class is full of wild horses. Their current teacher does not have them tamed at all. Safety is a big concern in this class. I am wondering how I can gain a bit of control and make it through to the spring without having a serious injury when they have been running wild for five months already. The only advantage I have come up with so far is that I am tall, which isn't going to help very much at all.

Has anyone ever worked with wild horses before?
Any ideas?

Where's the Line?

Ok so one thing that I think is going to be one of my most difficult challenges on my practicum is the whole authority, don't be there friend, be a hardass thing. I would say that generally I am a pretty happy-go-lucky person but I keep hearing that you have to be super stern and strict and pretty much mean with the students at first if you want respect. They say that you can let off later on but if you start slack you're screwed. Only I'm not sure if I could teach for the first few weeks without any humour and super mono-tone. And honestly I don't think that's even good teaching as there is a good chance I would put myself to sleep! I like joking around and playing games. So what is the proper plan of action. Should I make up this alter-ego serious Izzy for the first few weeks or can I crack some humour out the first day? Because I also know that with us being younger and new the students might think that they can either get away with more or that we are in fact their friend. And don't get me wrong I would like my students to like me and whatnot but at the same time I don't want them acting around me like they do their friends i.e. swearing, talking about drinking and drugs, etc. which actually brings up another point. What are we supposed to do if a students tells you they smoked week on the weekend? Ya it's against the law, but you have no proof and it's off school property and not during school time so are we supposed to do anything? Report them to a councellor? Phone home?

Ways to form Rules and Routines

Hey Phil and 780 people, just wanted to quickly make a note of the importance of rules and routines. Obviously we are all very aware that a class needs to have rules and routines implemented at the beginning of the semester but just how do we do it?? On the observation I encountered a teacher that used humour throughout his rules list. He would highlight a rule and reinforce it with a joke. Unfortunately I don't have any examples but when I read it it made me laugh but also take it seriously. So......how do we come up with these as a class and how do we make it light enough to be fun but also touch on the seriousness of the exercise??
Any ideas?? I definitely want my class to know that rules are not to be broken but that the class environment should be positive and fun for everyone.

The Usefulness of Blogging

For a few of our classes we have had to blog, and these classes have different expectations of what counts as a 'blog'. These are the two different options.
1. Some of our classes (like this one) count comments on other peoples posts as credit for a 'blog'. 2. Some of our courses require that a 'blog' only counts if you post it yourself.

This is just food for thought, but in option 1 (above) I've noticed that I read the blog way more and learn from my peers. In option 2 (above) I rarely read other people's blogs and do not learn from my peers. However the blog grows a lot faster.

My point is that if you decide to use blogs in your classes, I would recommend option 1 and 2 together. i.e. 5 of your own posts and 5 comments on other peoples blogs.

HELP!!! First Day of Classes

Ok. So HELP!!! might be an exaggeration of my worry over this matter, but it is still something that has been on my mind.

Has anyone put particular thought into the first day of teaching a class for the semester? During my big practicum I am going to be starting 2 classes from scratch. This means they haven't had their 'real' teacher teach them at all. This means that we have to instill the rules, routines, the mood of the class, the respect, the expectations, etc. We need to make our presence felt. We need to make it so the class knows you are the teacher.
I guess I'm a little worried of messing up the first day, and playing catch up for weeks.

This is what I've been thinking.

1. Welcome class
2. Syllabus
3. Fun activity that prepares the students for the content of the course.

Any thoughts?????

What's in a word or two?

Firstly, the teacher should've known about the student anger management problems and history of violent and aggressive behaviour. Secondly, as much as many teachers have policies around being late for tests, some students are still late, and we as future teachers are going to have to deal with that. If I had a student tell me to F*** off, and walked away I would be shocked more than anything. I probably also would've notified the VP and hopefully he/she would take care of the situation. What the student did was straight out wrong and disrespectful, and if it happened a second time, I'm positive there would be major consequences. I don't think that it would be right for me to punish the student. I feel in that situation the teacher has to be the bigger person and not 'fall into the ring.' I would save it for the VP or principal to deal with and make sure the parents are notified about the students behaviour. Overall, this behaviour is not acceptible.

What's in a word or two?

The problems in this scenario are that the teacher was not aware of a student's anger issues and she/he created somewhat of a confrontational situation. It is also a problem that students still arrived late to the test, even after a discussion. The teacher should have been aware of something like an anger management issue, but at the same time if he didn't have an IEP and it hadn't presented before in this class, how would she/he know or be expected to know? Obviously, the teacher's discussion about lateness wasn't effective, but it doesn't really say what she/he said so I can't really comment on that. Looking back on the situation (knowing that the student has anger management issues) it would have been a good idea for the teacher to get someone who was aware of his issues. Maybe she/he could call a school counselor down, student could go write the test there and the teacher could express that an apology was needed by the end of the day. Important thing to do though is to not allow more confrontation and to give the student a chance to cool off. They also need to understand how saying "F*#$ off" isn't going to get them anywhere and its hurtful in unnecessary ways. In future situations, I would have some sort of signal/system established with the student so that they knew they could go grab a coke or just take 5 to cool off when it was necessary. But if they lashed out instead of taking advantage of the system that had been put in place to help them, some sort of punishment would occur.

should I stay or should I go now?

Nothing says can't sleep like blogging. Something that I think we've touched on, but would be interesting to just hear what people are planning/thinking of in regards to: should I stay or should I go now? When it comes down to our choices after we all finish, it's either going to be do you TOC in the districts where its required, or do you go where there's a job (possible not the most ideal job/location) that is full time? If John Gateman says to you tomorrow "I'd like to put you on our TOC list for SD 61" and somewhere in the Yukon offers you full time in the most rural of areas, what's your choice going to be and why? I know what my decision would be, but I think it would be interesting to hear what everyone else prefers/is thinking of and why. Let the thought process begin.

an editorial for you

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Dave Dickson Comment

Nov 19, 2009

A CALGARY FAMILY HAS COME UP WITH A SOLUTION FOR THEIR KIDS HOMEWORK WOES. THEY’VE DRAWN UP A CONTRACT FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR KIDS TEACHERS TO ESNURE THAT NO WORK FROM SCHOOL WILL BE BROUGHT HOME. I’M SURE THEIR KIDS ARE REJOICING NOW BUT THIS COULD HAVE REPERCUSSIONS LATER IN LIFE.

THEIR REASONING IS THAT WITH ALL OF THE EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES THEIR KIDS ARE INVOLVED IN, HOMEWORK IS GETTING IN THE WAY OF FAMILY TIME. REALLY? HOW MANY ACTIVITIES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? ARE THESE KIDS PLANNING ON BEING PRO ATHLETES OR ROCK STARS? I DOUBT IT. HAVING A VESTED INTEREST IN YOUR CHILDS EDUCATION IS ONE THING BUT DRAWING UP A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT SAYS THEY CANT BRING WORK HOME AND CAN ONLY BE MARKED ON WHAT THEY DO IN CLASS IS RIDICULOUS.

IT JUST SHOWS HOW MUCH OVER-PARENTING IS OCCURING IN OUR COUNTRY. THESE PARENTS AREN’T EXPOSING THEIR KIDS TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY ARE TO FINISH SECONDARY SCHOOL AND BEYOND. I’D LIKE TO SEE HOW THE CHILDREN FARE IN UNIVERSITY. MY MOM AND DAD SAY I DON’T HAVE TO DO HOMEWORK. THAT REASON SURE WOULDN’T FLY AT ANY POST-SECONDARY SCHOOL I KNOW OF. COULD YOU IMAGINE THE REACTION FROM A PROFESSOR? THESE KIDS WILL BE GROWING OLD BEFORE THEY EVEN GROW UP.

IT’S NOT LIKE THE PARENTS ARE UNEDUACTED SLACKERS. THEY’RE BOTH LAWYERS. I DON’T GET THE LOGIC. I WAS INVOLVED IN PLENTY OF SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES ALL THROUGH MY FORMATATIVE YEARS AND I NEVER REALLY HAD ANY ISSUES WITH GETTING MY SCHOOL WORK COMPLETED. IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE AND IT APPEARS THEY DON’T HAVE IT.

IT’S TIME FOR THESE PARENTS TO LET GO OF THE LEASH JUST A LITTLE BIT. IF NOT, THE MAY BE STUCK HOLDING IT FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. AS IN THEIR KIDS MAY NEVER LEAVE AND THAT’S NOT GOOD FOR ANYBODY

THIS IS DAVE DICKSON

Ecofont

Found this an checked it out. just another way to help consumption and save money.
if you are just printing out a rough draft, why deplete your ink cartridge? ecofont use up to 20% less ink by omitting parts of letters, while still being readable. downloadable for free at ecofont.eu says it is a developer , dutch design from SPRANQ --after the dutch holey cheese.

What do Teachers Make?

Here's some inspiration for everyone

What Do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write.. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.

You want to know what I make?
I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?

His jaw dropped, he went silent.


THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY TEACHER, EVERY CEO, EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW.

Even all your personal teachers like mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, coaches and your spiritual leaders/teachers.

middle sexes documentary

So, this link is a bit random but still interesting. In our section of the philosophy class there was a presentation on heterosexism and homophobia - one example they used was how you might have a student who doesn't use the bathroom all day because they don't know if they should go into the girls room or the boys room. I think to a lot of us that seemed a little bit crazy, but it does happen and I know I don't feel ready to deal with that kind of tough situation. But I'm starting to think about it, about a lot of those oneina situations that we don't really get to talk about and dig into in any of our courses.

Anyway, someone recommended this documentary to me and I thought of that class and figured I should post it up here. The whole thing is good but if you only have a minute I'd start it at 6:30ish and just watch the last 90 seconds.

Click here to watch it.

It's from an HBO documentary called Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She and deals with issues related to gender and sexual identity/orientation. Watch it.

Green Initiative

A school in Abbotsford is running their computer lab off of of bike generators! Check it out.

http://www.globaltvbc.com/world/Abbotsford+school+runs+computer+green+energy/2124295/story.html

Feeling Doubtful?

My English methods teacher recently sent our class this link to a great article written by a lawyer that is about the value of teachers. Have a read and enjoy :)
Click here for the article

Student Choice Grading?! What?

Hey guys,

I've been thinking lots lately about student choices in regards to how they are assessed in a classroom. I understand that core subjects like math or chemistry it is not as likely to involve students in how they are assessed, but maybe not. I've been thinking about it in regards to a physical education setting to give students more meaningful assessment, but what if we used it in other classes like socials. What if students had a choice of what types of assignments and projects they did and how they were weighted. Things like tests maybe necessary (especially in a class with a provincial exam), but maybe homework assignments like papers could be switched up to posters, plays, diaramas, collages with a summary etc. Set it up so students have to select one or the other for a certain percent. OR they could choose to select how much a poster is worth and how much a paper is worth (for example they have to choose that the paper is worth either 20% or 30% and the paper is worth either 20% or 30% and they must total up to 50%) so that the students feel they have slightly more control over how they are graded.

Just a random tangent I know. Thoughts?

M.E.A.N Teachers

came across this and thought it was a blogger
I'm a MEAN Teacher!


By: Laura M Staunton/ New Jersey
Barb Erickson/ Michigan

A MEAN teacher insists that each student do the best s/he is capable of doing.

A MEAN teacher insists that students hand in their assignments on time and takes off points for late assignments.

A MEAN teacher does not accept incomplete assignments.

A MEAN teacher requires each student to think carefully and to make her/his own decisions.

A MEAN teacher holds each student responsible for her/his own behavior.

A MEAN teacher makes students keep the classroom, themselves, and their belongings neat and clean.

A MEAN teacher does not allow free time in class until all class-work is done.

A MEAN teacher gives homework regularly, sometimes even on weekends.

A MEAN teacher calls on students who don't raise their hands to answer questions.

A MEAN teacher requires all students to treat each other with respect.

A MEAN teacher makes life miserable for students by insisting that they always tell the truth.

A MEAN teacher produces students who are respectful, responsible, and successful.


THE WORLD NEEDS MORE MEAN* TEACHERS!

*(MEAN = Making Excellence A Necessity)

where the wild things are...(wild unruly students that is)

For those of you who read Connor's post on the alternative school at Kitsilano Secondary.. this is a bit of a follow up based on my topic I was supposed to (or will in the future) talk about in class.

My topic was originally diversity in the school... and what I thought I would be looking into would be the different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds within the school. After only a few days of observation I quickly realized that the real diversity that shines through at Kits is the different levels of programs available to students who are not meeting the expectations within the standard classroom.

One of the things I think is important to our work as teachers, and if anything, our responsibility as educators, is to understand what happens to students when they fall through the cracks. At Kits they seemed to develop a multi-level approach to dealing with misbehavior and/or students who fall behind in class.

The first level was SKILLS: Skills was a class where students would be required to attend a study block and work on their courses. Teachers involved in this course said it was pretty much touch and go most classes just trying to get the students to focus on their work and deal with never ending discipline problems. The teachers all agreed that the students would test you every class... interesting part about the class was the use of peer tutors. Other students would attend the block as a peer tutoring block and help out the other students... from what I saw this seemed to work really well.

The second level was MINI SCHOOL: Students who were in this program attended the majority of their classes with a team of two teachers who worked with them on variations of their courses. A large part of their work was based on practical work such as building a resume, attending interviews, and gaining work experience hours. These students seemed to be kids who learned at a slower or different pace then other kids, had difficulty concentrating on simple tasks, or had behavior problems. The teacher in this class was unreal... and really saw the kids for who they were.... nothing got by him in the classroom... and the students respected him a lot...

The third level was the VINERY: When students drop out of school and look to come back, they have a choice to attend alternative school, named The Vinery. The Vinery is not necessarily part of Kits High, but acts as a base school for the Vinery to work out from. Being at the Vinery was an amazing experience from our teacher showing us the art on the walls of his previous students (some who never made it back off the streets... others who have since graduated high school) to observing their lunch time home economics responsibilities. These programs help bring students back into the classroom where they belong, and allow them to work at their own pace as Connor described.

The biggest thing I took from those observations was that these programs thrive when teachers are informed and aware of the program and the students involved in it. I was fortunate to observe another teacher at the school bring in the kids from the Vinery for a "lab" in his biology class. The students would never have had the opportunity to be exposed to a science lab if it wasn't for another teacher forfeiting his prep-block to teach them a fun and interesting lab.

take home lesson: don't let your students disappear on you...know what options there are for them if they're falling through the cracks... and if they do....try and support the programs that might bring them back...

Sports and Education

I wanted to get some feedback on the issue of sports and class timetable conflict. Having had a semester from hell so far (in terms of work and soccer) I wanted to see how everyone viewed the issue of timetable conflict and sports. I have been speaking with my mentor teacher who occasionally has to take students out of school for games. Teachers are very understanding about this and allow students to make up the work as they go along. However, from my own personal experience some work cannot be made up. This can be due to time retrictions or because it required class participation. What then is the alternative without giving that student special treatment?? I don't want to have any bias in how I deal with this situation as my own feelings are completely tainted by this year so far.

First Nations Classes

At Esquimalt Secondary they have a very interesting first nations program. There are 170 indigenous students at this school. A very significant portion of these students are at risk of not graduating. As a result the school has tried extremely hard to find ways to make education relevant and meaningful to these students.

There is a first nations wing. In this wing there is a study room with 2 full time helpers and one of the councilors is a regular there as well. While I was in my observation I got to sit in on a Grade 9 'Circle'. At this circle the principal, the vice-principle, 2 councilors, the 2 workers, and 8 grade 9 students were present. The purpose of this 'circle' was to show the students the network of support they had at the school. The students were given the opportunity to talk about what they liked and disliked about school so far. To tell the truth it was shocking to see the responses because they were so negative. Very scary! Apparently the grade 11 'circle' was much more positive. It made me realize that with troubled students, you really have to help push them along from an early age.

There were also first nation classes. For example, there was a first nations English class which dealt with first nations poetry/novels. There was also a first nations science class which had earth science as an emphasis. Other classes were available as well. All of these classes were open to any student, but only the indigenous students took them. They tried to make the classes more relevant to the students. Thereby creating more interest, and a better chance to succeed.

Using Current Events in Social Studies Class

Hey guys. I know a bunch of us have social studies as our secondary teaching area. My sponsor teacher uses this for his Grade 10's every month. It is also appropriate for grade 8's and 9's.

This is a booklet that students read through, answer questions and complete activities. It is called 'What in the World'. Here is the information on it.

What in the World? / Le Monde en Marche (Level 2) is a photocopiable current events resource, published in English and French, for Canadian students in grades 8 through 10. Designed to enhance students' understanding of and interest in current Canadian and international events and issues, this publication addresses numerous curriculum outcomes while saving teachers time.

Published nine times a year from September to June (except January), each issue focuses on the previous month's top news stories and includes:

• Four news articles, written at a level students can understand;
• Relevant background information to enhance understanding of each event or issue;
• A content-area vocabulary assignment;
• On-the-line, between-the-line, and beyond-the-line questions;
• Analyzing a political cartoon assignment;
• Examining a news photo assignment;
• Crossword and wordsearch;
• Community Connections article and assignment;
• Quizzes;
• Map assignment;
• Answer key.

Subscribers receive one copy of each issue which they may photocopy for use by all teachers and students within one school. Subscriptions are delivered by first class mail, or via Internet download. Electronic subscribers receive a password each month enabling them to access the publication on our website as soon as it has been posted.

Cost - $126 for the year.

Link - http://www.lesplan.com/en/publication/what-world-le-monde-en-marche-level-2

Observation at Esquimalt

My observation was quite successful. The teachers and staff were very welcoming in every regard. In the first week I tried to make good contact with my sponsor teachers (of which I have 2 for P.E. and 1 for socials).
Also, I tried to get a good grasp on how the PE program is run. It is different than I expected. There are only 4 PE teachers in total, few classes, and limited resources. There are 3 jr. boy classes (grade 9 and 10 together). 3 jr. girls classes. One grade 11/12 class. 2 senior leadership classes. One fitness class. And one block that is for the curling academy. That's only 11 blocks of gym. Also, there is only one field and one gymnasium that can be divided in two. Sharing of equipment is also done in a strange manner...as there is not much sharing. Each teacher has their own pinnies and their own goalie gear. There are only 7 footballs, 2/3rd's of a basket of basketballs. Same with volleyballs. In other words equipment is limited.
As for the students...attendance is a major problem. One of the jr boys classes would only have 12/24 boys show up each day. The jr girls barely participated in thier class. In the leadership classes there were grade 9 girls competing against grade 12 boys. In other words, the whole program seems rather disorganized, but that's just the way it goes sometimes depending on many factors that are not at the teachers fault.

For most of my observation, I tried to see as many different teachers as possible in as many different areas as possible. I tried hard to get my face and name around the school and volunteered to coach the jr boys bball team. I am excited to do my practicum at this school. I feel like I will learn a lot, especially from my socials sponsor who I am looking forward to working with. He has been especially welcoming, and seems very excited to have me.