Education in Finland...

I read this interesting article today about the proposed changes to the education system in Finland. You can read the article here.

What does everyone think? Is teaching subject by subject the best way? Can you picture similar reforms happening in Canada?

What's next?

           As classes have drawn to a close, the B.Ed program is almost finished with only 5 weeks left of placement. I'm wondering: what is next for my blog? How can I continue to use this during my teaching career? I've really enjoyed writing my thoughts especially in the online format. I'm hoping to do the following things:

• Share any resources I find here in the future so that my fellow teachers can benefit 
• Describe my experiences supply teaching and moving up the ranks in the profession
• Develop lesson plans and share them on here for any other teachers
• Create a list of tips for new teachers that I wish I had
• Anything else that is of interest to me

          
           Overall, I am very pleased that I chose PED 3148 for my elective this semester. I've learned the benefits of teaching students how to write, and felt challenged to branch out in my own writing ability. I wish my fellow classmates the best of luck in the upcoming placements and hope everyone finds fulfilling work in the future. Thank you Linda for a great semester and organizing our sessions at Hawthorne!

Class 9- The Bittersweet End

           So today was our last day at Hawthorne Public School. Although the day started out on poorly (broken water main, traffic backed up for miles, and being the recipient of some unwarranted road rage), it was redeemed by our experience with our students. I'm sad that these 4 weeks of writing mentorship have ended, but I look forward to learning as much as I can in my upcoming placement.

           Since it was our last session, I wanted to provide the most help I could to Edward. He suggested that we work on his assignments for his "Harder Midsummer Night's Dream" project. So far, Edward had completed one scene summary, one commercial, and he also wanted help on the social web. By the end of the session, I felt we had made good progress and I hoped I left Edward with some tips how to finish his assignments, and in the grander scheme of things, how to pursue his interests in life and be happy.

           The first task we worked on was the scene summary. Edward had already shared his documents with me on Google, so I came prepared with some constructive criticism. I suggested to Edward that he introduce the reader of his summary to the scene by providing some context– that is, the setting, time within the play, and characters present. By including an introductory sentence containing that information, Edward would create a more informative summary.            

           Next, I helped Edward with his commercial ideas. His existing one involves a herb juice-removal system to combat Puck's prankster ways in the play. I read over his script for the commercial, but felt it lacked some of the manipulative methods used in advertising. I brought with me a handout explaining different strategies that advertisers use in marketing to try to sell a product. We went through the list together and I asked Edward to try to use some of those techniques on the spot in his advertisement. I will check back on the shared Google doc to see if he incorporates them. Here are the marketing techniques I brought:



           Lastly, I helped Edward plan his social web. I brought in a few examples of character webs, and explained how I would approach creating one. We decided to focus on one character who had the most social connections, and branch out from that person. Hermia seemed like a good choice to Edward, so we placed her in the center of our page and made connections moving outward from there. I also suggested he provides a brief character description under the character name, as well as providing a relationship description along the linking lines. After our session, I feel that Edward is very capable of creating a clear and organized character web and I look forward to seeing the finished product.      

          We finished our 4 week stay at Hawthorne with a very inspiring speech from John Harder himself– he spoke about our future careers in education and imparted some words of wisdom. First, we should only be so vested in our work. It's unhealthy to always take work home and dwell on those issues. He also told us to put up some armour– against colleagues, students, parents–  and keep people at a certain distance. Then he told us that this job can be vague since there isn't always assistance. You have permission to be yourself as a teacher. Along the same lines, with limited funding in the school system, we as teachers have to be the resource for students. We need to be creative to make lessons and activities that can stimulate the mind. Lastly, he advised that we go with the flow. Do this job because you love it, and you will have better luck not burning out if you embrace any challenges that come your way as learning opportunities. Teaching can be an extremely fulfilling career and he believed that everyday that you go to work, you become more you.

           On that note, he wished us success in our endeavours. His words really made me feel a lot better about the impact I have on students and was surprisingly motivational (especially after Edward rolled his eyes when he realized his teacher was about to give a speech).

           In the end, I felt like this experience presented me with a variety of challenges and new opportunities for growth. I wish we had more time with our students, but thankfully I have Edward's email and I encouraged him to send any assignments or questions my way! I am sad this experience is ending, but happy that it happened.

Class 8- Back to the Grind (Hawthorne Day 3)

           Today marked our third visit to Hawthorne Public School for our mentoring sessions. I was pleased to see that Edward was back and we got right into working on writing. I brought the same resources with me as I did last week since I made them with Edward in mind. He thoroughly enjoyed the English Pronunciation Poem! He read through it and I corrected him when he made a mistake the odd time. I prefaced this reading by saying it is purposely trying to trick the reader by showing the plethora of inconsistencies in the English language. If you want to check out this poem, read my previous blog post here. In the interest of saving time, I only chose one more activity of the five I had prepared, and that was the list of English Homophones. I figured they would be the most useful to review in an age where spell-check does most of the work for you. To my surprise, Edward knew them all! 

Is it bad to say I felt proud?

           Anyway, after we whizzed through these activities, we got straight into Midsummer Night's Dream. The main assignments that Edward predicted he would have difficulty with were: Product Commercials, Scene Summaries, and Social Web. We made an initial plan of him emailing me with his progress, then we decided on which activities to focus on first. Since he was struggling with a commercial idea, I probed his knowledge of the play by asking what goods or services he could remember. When we brainstormed a few ideas, he felt less worried about the assignment. Then we moved on to thinking of ideas for the Social Web. I suggested making a list of characters, then writing one linking character to each of them as a start. If he remembered more, great! if he needed some assistance, then I suggested re-reading the play and the dramatis personae. 

           By the end of the session, I felt like we had made some great progress even though we didn't do any actual writing! It feels so motivating and reassuring that I am actually capable of helping students... see below:

           Something that John Harder explained to us at the start of this session was that our influence during these sessions was important to student's development, regardless of what we actually accomplish. I was feeling worried that I wasn't helping these students enough in our short time together, and I wouldn't have a positive effect on their learning, writing, and knowledge if I wasn't editing their work. His sentiments made me feel extremely relieved that I was there for a reason and I was having a positive influence. Can't wait for next week!

Class 7- Mentoring Student Writers (Hawthorne Day 2)

Today was our second session at Hawthorne mentoring student writers. Unfortunately, our regular class was away on a field trip on Monday so we weren't able to meet with our previous partner. It would have been nice for consistency, but I was happy to work with a new student, regardless. 

I worked with a grade 7 student named Andy, whose first language was Mandarin but he still spoke English fluently. My last session with a student felt unproductive because there were no errors in his writing- I felt I had no reason to assist him. To prevent that same feeling, I brought a few worksheets and activities all about the English language and the difficulties that can arise during writing, speech and pronunciation (they will be listed at the end of the blog post as well as the Resources page). 

I started off with the famous English Pronunciation Poem by G. Nolst Trenité. I thought this would be a fun read-aloud activity for my student because even though it's difficult, there is fun in making mistakes and guessing the pronunciation of words by trial and error. It's an extremely well-written poem with lots of difficult and unusual words (even for a native English speaker). Unfortunately, my student gave up within the first 10 lines and said it was boring and that he wanted to do something else. I was taken aback and quickly moved on to the next thing I prepared. In hindsight however, I recognize that this student was feeling particularly overwhelmed by the material. I should have scaffolded for his learning by reading some of the poem to him first or pronouncing certain words that I could have anticipated would be challenging. 

Next, I moved on to some writing prompts. I handed the page to Andy and instructed him to choose a writing prompt that inspired him and to fill the blank space below with what came to mind. We did this twice and his results are below:

Although his responses lacked depth and sometimes substance, I was pleased that he humoured me for both of these activities and chose the writing prompts that appealed to him. 

The next activity we did was reading a list of English homophones (words that are pronounced the same as another word but differ in meaning and/or spelling)  and explaining the use and/or definition of each one. Andy seemed to enjoy this activity thoroughly and he liked the challenge of figuring out which word was which. I also included a sentence at the bottom that required him to re-write a sentence using homophones:

The last activity we did together was taken from our workshop with Deanna Young on poetry. I gave Andy the guidelines for the Math poem and let him create a piece of writing that reflected his feelings on the subject. I actually found his poem very interesting because he is very skilled in math (he said it was his best subject) but he isn't too fond of it. You can read his poem here:

Overall, I felt like I helped this student more than I was helpful in my first week at Hawthorne. I was more prepared and I had resources ready incase the student's writing was near perfect. Next week I will try to prepare material for Midsummer Night's Dream to help Edward.

Resources I used: 

Class 6- Rules of Writing (Hawthorne Day 1)

            Today was my first day as a student mentor at Hawthorne Public School in Ottawa, Ontario. It was a whirlwind of a day: finding a new school, getting a tour, and worrying how well I could help these students. We are working with John Harder's grade 8 Gifted class and I am paired with a student named Edward. It is surprisingly a really good match- we are both in the gifted program since grade 3, we both play instruments, we both love Latin, and he speaks Mandarin (a language I studied for 3 years in high school).

            Edward and I retreated to the library where he showed me some samples of his writing on his tablet. I was pleasantly surprised― he was very articulate and intelligent for his age. I read through numerous written assignments and found zero grammatical or spelling errors. I was at a loss for how to help him; his work was easily Level 4 material. I began asking him how he felt about his writing, if he did any creative writing during his free time, or if he had any personal goals for his writing (either for scholarly purposes or private). Again, I had little suggestions to make because Edward hadn't formed any personal goals. So, my task this week is to find resources that could help him improve his writing and how he feels about writing in any subject in school.

            Here are some helpful tips from resources I found:

Elmore Leonard (from here):

- "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip."

- "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."

Stephen King (from here):

- The magic is in you. “I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”

- Don’t worry about making other people happy. “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”

- The research shouldn’t overshadow the story. “Remember that word back. That’s where the research belongs: as far in the background and the back story as you can get it.

- You become a writer simply by reading and writing. “You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.”

More writing tips (from here): 

- Try not to edit while you're creating your first draft. Creating and editing are two separate processes.

- Learn the rules of good writing... then learn when and how to break them.

- Write as if you’re on deadline and have 500 words to make your point. Then do it again. And again. (I especially like this one because it emphasizes concision and efficiency)

- You are what you read.

- While editing, use a text-to-speech software to listen to your writing.

From this website:

- Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, emassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass. -David Ogilvy

and lastly...

- Don’t take anyone’s writing advice too seriously. – Lev Grossman

            Ultimately, you have to determine what works for you. Of course reading and practicing writing as much as possible will have a positive influence on your work; there is no set formula that produces a quality writer. My advice for the students I work with is to try things out, be creative, and always take a break and edit your work with a fresh mind. 

Class 5- Poetry and Prose

During this week's class, we had the privilege of listening to guest lecturer named Deanna Young discuss the benefits and struggles of writing and poetry. Deanna is a published Canadian poet who has written three books of poetry. She led us through a workshop that analyzed a variety of poems and instructed us to write our own poem about one of two topics: the Beauty of Math or the Trouble with Math. 

I already felt the anxiety building up... not only was I uncomfortable with math in general, but now I had to write a poem about it? Another reason why I felt anxious was because this poetry task came first thing Monday morning. I hadn't had my morning tea yet and the thought of writing something― let alone something creative― seemed like an impossibility. The rules Deanna gave us for our poem are below:

1. Cannot say the word "math"
2. Cannot include numbers
3. Must include one emotion
4. Must include one colour
5. Must be 9 lines long

The added difficulty I found was something Deanna said immediately before giving us this task:she can never write anything out of the blue without a writing warm-up. So why was she making us do exactly that? We had 7 minutes to write a piece of poetry that followed all the rules and explored our feelings, whether they were positive or negative, about mathematics. I sat at my desk completely blank. I was excited to write poetry, yet I wasn't expecting so many restrictions. How is one to write a poem that explores their emotions and feelings when an outside source places so many limitations on that piece of writing? The following picture shows my "success" with this activity.

What I got out of this workshop is that I cannot force students to write. Instructions and restrictions work for some, but for others it will feel too constraining. However, other students will be overwhelmed when given little to no instruction, while other students will embrace the challenge and show their creative writing skills. Every student is different, and it is up to me to make my students feel safe to explore beyond their comfort zone and to help foster a trusting relationship that allows them to be vulnerable when trying a new task. 

Thinking about words and what they mean...

               English is one of the most-spoken languages in the world. Many people want to learn it, schools have programs to teach foreign language speakers, and knowing the language will probably help you throughout various countries in the world. The roots of languages have always been fascinating to me, and this visual representation below shows how intertwined they can be:

(larger version here)

               Although the English language is an amalgamation of words from across the globe, we are still missing out on some key untranslate-able words or phrases. Here are some of my favourites:

Kummerspeck (German)- Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. It literally means "grief bacon".

Esprit de l'escalier (French)- Thinking of the perfect retort too late. Literally meaning "staircase wit". We've all been there.

Fernweh (German)- Feeling homesick for a place to which you've never been. I feel this for Scotland, the home of my grandparents.

Age-otori (Japanese)- To look worse after a haircut. It's one of the worst feelings.

Forelsket (Norwegian)- The intoxicatingly euphoric feeling you experience when you're first falling in love. A similar English phrase would be NRE, or New Relationship Energy.

Gigil (Tagalog)- The overwhelming, irrestible urge to grab or pinch something extremely adorable.



               If you want to watch a funny video of Rhett & Link talking about similar words and making their own English translation (trust me, you do), check out the video below:

Class 4- Narratives and Poetry

            I've always thought poetry came from the soul. Some writers naturally had the gift of creating poems and somehow I missed the boat. However, Peterson referenced Michael Ondaatje who wrote that the revision process is where all the "extra clothes" come off of his writing. I think it is important to stress to students (and anyone pursuing writing for that matter) the necessity of practise and editing― your poem is not required to be stellar when you first put pen to paper. It is through repetition and revision where your work can truly become precise. I know first hand that the pressure to be perfect and to have your words succinctly express your emotions and thoughts is anxiety-inducing. It is relieving to think that poetry can be a learned skill and every student of every capability has room to grow.

            The creative process involved in writing has also been discussed by various authors. The following quotes have made me feel less concerned with creating emotive and precise work from the beginning:

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” 
― Ernest Hemingway

“Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” 
― Mark Twain

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly."
― C. J. Cherryh

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” 
― Anton Chekhov

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” 

― Homer, The Odyssey

            It seems to be a running theme among writers that no one is satisfied with the quality of their work at the beginning; maybe some still aren't satisfied by the "end". My goal in this course is to feel more confident about my writing and to just "let it bleed" as Hemingway described. I will practise my ability to write organic organically and become proficient at selecting my words with precision.

            Lastly, I will leave all my lovely readers with a video of my classmate and I performing some poetry in the format of a rap song about World Issues. I was inspired by a classmate's spontaneous spoken word performance this morning and I wanted to share a performance of my own. I can definitely see the appeal of integrating creative formats of expression into the classroom because it allows students to formulate their own thoughts and ideas in a way that makes sense to them.

          

Class 3- Mentor Texts

I found an excellent article on the website History Today that gives insight into how to write an effective history essay. The author stresses how one must really think before writing an essay, and the bulk of the work occurs during the planning process. One must fully understand the question, be able to siphon out irrelevant details when researching, and try to be original. I believe this article will be very helpful to students writing any essay, especially for history. It provides explanations for what each paragraph should contain (while going beyond the standard 5-paragraph essay format forced down our throats in high school). It is worth it to peruse this webpage because it is written clearly and succinctly explains the best features of an essay. This would definitely be useful for a student who is struggling with essay formatting, or who wants to improve their planning, researching, and essay writing skills.