April 27th- May 1st
Welcome to my blog, I am going to start this post by introducing myself. My name is Jade Davidson. I am a teacher candidate at the University of British Columbia. At the moment I am doing my Community Field Experience (CFE) at Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature in Vancouver. The Lyceum is an amazing place, as soon as you enter the door you feel at home and at peace. Everyone that works there is supporting and helpful and full of happiness and not to mention very intelligent. The students that attend the Lyceum are also intelligent and gifted and love writing. The atmosphere of the Lyceum is absolutely what I needed to experience after the 10 weeks of teaching I had to do during my long practicum.
The first week I was over-joyed by how at home I felt in the Lyceum. I got to experience so many different classes and interact with all different age groups of children. Tuesday I was able to help out a young writers workshop, I experience some one on one time with a few students and I helped them with their Zines. Zines are one of the Lyceum’s greatest projects. Each student that creates a Zine chooses a topic and writes in any style they want. After their writing has been edited it gets bound and each student gets five copies to sell at the Zine fair. I am very much looking forward to the Zine fair in June. I also got to help out with the preschool class, we did self portraits; each student got to draw and then paint their own self portrait. It was amazing how after each of the portraits were finished you could tell by the student’s personality which painting was there.
My big project for my three week CFE is reorganizing their library. The Lyceum has a relatively extensive library and Christianne would like it if it is reorganized and re-alphabetized. I enjoy tasks having to do with organization so I volunteered to take on this task as well as helping out with the classes. Included in reorganizing the library it is my job to create a document outlining the rules of the library and how the books are being organized. During my three weeks I hope to get this task finished but if I cannot I have help from one of the Lyceum students; Abby. She is going to help me and learn how the library is going to be organized so she can take over when I am not there.
A lot of what practicum is, is realizing what you want to get out of it. I have come to realize that I am the only one that can decide how I spend my next three weeks. I am going to be the one who makes this experience what I want it to be. What I want it to be is a look into a different type of education. I have discovered that there is a lot you can do with a teaching degree, and I want to understand all of my options. The Lyceum makes me feel like maybe that is the type of education I would like to get into one day if teaching in a formal classroom does not work out. That is why I believe the CFE is so important to the Teaching Degree.
May 4th- May 10th
Another week of CFE complete, where is the time going? This week has been more concrete and fulfilling then the last week. I had an idea of what classes I wanted to partake in and I knew more of the kids, which made attending classes more enriching.
Tuesday morning, the Lyceum has a home learners class where kids whom are home-schooled come in and do a writing workshop and learn different curriculum. It was great getting to know this group of kids because this class is the most relatable to my long practicum but it is still so different because it is an open lesson style.
The biggest event of the week for me was Wednesday evening I got to partake in my first book club. This was a lot of fun, the two children that attended were passionate about the book so the discussion was really in depth. The book we read was titled Echo, it is an historical fiction novel that has three sub stories in the novel all having to do with music and the power of a magical harmonica. During the book club we did a crossword, then we had discussion questions and then we played Pictionary. During the book club there is always a snack provided for the children and a craft that has to do with the novel. My favourite aspect of the book club is that the children bring their parents. Including parents in reading really helps the children want to read. When parents get involved with reading, their children will want to get involved as well because they will have their parent’s support.
The second big event of the week was I finished my big CFE project. The project I was in charge of was re-organizing the Lyceum Library. And on Saturday Abby and myself finished the last row in the library and we wrote out a set of rules for the library. It was nice to see my project come to an end and be finished. Now that all of the books are organized and in their correct spot it will make the Library more accessible for the people working at the Lyceum.
Next week is my last week, this realization is weighing heavy on my heart. Three weeks is not enough time but I am happy that Christianne has said I may return to the Lyceum when ever I would like.
Until next week.
Jade
May 11th- May 15th
My final week of my CFE.
I cannot believe the final week is here and my CFE is over. These last three weeks have gone by so fast and they have been so enjoyable. In this blog post I would like to reflect on what I have learned, what I have accomplished and what I have taken away from these last three weeks.
To begin, I have learned so much in the last three weeks. I have learned about myself, about what kind of teacher I would like to be and about the alternate school environment. I have drastically changed during these three weeks, I feel like I know more about myself. I am patient, I am resourceful and I am creative. The Lyceum fostered these characteristics in me during my three weeks of volunteering. I have also learned that sometime in my teaching career I would like to open a center like the Lyceum because I am invested in the alternate school system. I love the freedom of the programs and I love the students that are drawn to this type of programming.
Secondly, I have accomplished finishing organizing the library. The library was my big project during my three weeks and I have refurbished the library into a more organized area for the volunteers to use. The books are all organized in alphabetical order and they are easier to find because I have made letters to put up in the library. I have also made long lasting relationships at the Lyceum with the staff and the students, which was very important to me.
Thirdly, I am going to take away a new sense of the education system. I want to someday incorporate a book club in my future English classes because book clubs are such an amazing way to interact with novels. Also I do not want to ruin novels for my students and I believe book clubs are a great way for the students to engage with the novel and their peers without ruining the reading experience.
To end this blog post I would like to describe my last week at the Lyceum. This week was solidified by the fact that my relationships with the students are getting stronger and their Zines are coming along. I was able to help out more with their Zines because I am becoming more aware of the procedure. The most exciting event of the week was my second book club. Christianne asked me to take part in another book club and this time I got to take charge of the whole event. I was in charge of making the crossword, the questions, the craft and the Pictionary terms. It was very gratifying being in charge and seeing my hard work pan out. This book club had 4 members and their families which was the largest group I have seen at a book club. Interacting with all of these people was very educational and entertaining.
I will never forget my time at the Lyceum and I hope to return often to help out and further my education in this environment. It was very enriching and self affirming. I loved every second I spent in the Lyceum.
I am going to end this blog post with a metaphor titled,
“The Lyceum”
The Lyceum is a glass full to the brim that never overflows. The Lyceum always has something to give and it quenches the thirst of everyone that drinks from it.