In my LLED summer class we have weekly presentations on the current readings. Last week there was a great presentation that had 4 literacy “workshops” set up around the class. Each workshop was designed to use writing strategies to encourage creativity and imagination. I have posted one of my pieces that came from doing one of these workshops. The strategy works like this: Pick 5 letters from the alphabet and write down as many words that start with those letters as you can (up to 5 words for each letter) then, write a poem useing MOSTLY only those words. Very fun! Here is what I came up with. If I had known that I would have had to think of words with the letters I probably would have used different ones, haha.

E -Egg -Ethereal-Entity-Effervescent -Empathy

K -Keep-Kilogram-Kale-

Q Question-Quail-Quilt-Qualm

X -Xylophone-Xenophobe-

Z -Zebra-

Question: The empathetic effervescent entity known as the quilted quail egg.

Not a xylophone or xenophobe but a zebra.

No ethereal qualms on kilograms only empathy to keep us calm.

I like to eat Kale.

Below is a poem that I wrote in another workshop that used imagery to inspire creative writing. We were shown a picture of a thunderstorm on an ocean with waves, lighting and a small shore. The narrative below is what came from it:

I was born in the center of the ocean. I learned of life as I grew. In the beginning I thought the world was only made from water and salt. I believed I knew what life was. As I grew I began to see something I had never seen before, a dark speck on the horizon. “What is that?” I asked “There comes a time in life when we begin to see where they are going. That dark speck you see in the horizon is your destination.” At first I was afraid to see where my eventual demise would be. As time passed and as I grew older and older, I began to take comfort in my direction of life. The day came that would be my last. As I approached the land, I could see more detail of its beauty and life. New life I had never seen before. There isn’t only water and salt in the world, there are trees and big moving animals and sand. What a glorious sight. I began to feel sad, sad that I could not tell anyone of the beauty of life. I released all regrets as I built myself up and crashed one final time, one final breath, and broke on the sand.

I am loving my LLED class. So many cool literacy strategies out there.

First Addis School visit: April 25 Meeting the Dean.

We got to visit Miskaye today for the first time. What a fun experience. The K to gr.3 students were out in the compound playing in their uniforms and when they say us coming they crowded us all yelling out the English words that they knew. A few students could carry on a conversation with us, and were very proud indeed to do so.

Apparently Jemma is a common name in Ethiopia and means “the people”. Three school girls were very excited that I was there and asked my what my names was and then were yelling it around the compound. After speaking with the Dean we left the school and outside the gates. The three girls climbed onto the roof of one of the school buildings and in unison yelled “JEMMA” and proceeded to wave frantically, even though I had been speaking with them moments before.

I will be teaching highschool students, who are taught in English, it looks like they are gr.11. I am excited but unsure how this is going to work out. The young students are care-free and totally excited to have foreigners around. The older kids on the other hand may need some quality persuasion. We shall see. I have yet to meet an un-friendly Ethiopian.

My educational experience is going to be difficult to s eparate from all the cultural things I am observing. Ethiopia is a world away from Canada, but I feel they have the same “salt of the earth” kind of people. I suspect observing within their education system will be a real treat.

I do not know what to expect, but I hope to learn more about my own teaching philosophies as well as the Ethiopian standard of education

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This is a picture taken at the local Mercato (open Market)

This is my Husband Mitchell and Professor Hareg from the University of Addis.

Well all my classes are going well and I am in the full swing of practicum. I am saddened that the end is drawing near, but luckily I am going on an educational adventure to Ethiopia, which helps leaving the wonderful John Oliver and all the great people there. Within graphic design the students have begun to create their leatherwork pieces and are now in the electronics shop instead of the computer lab. Having that change of scenery seems to have helped the entire class to be more productive. That situation reminded me of the “disequilibrium” context for educating. So because I took the kids out of their comfort zone and into a stimulating new one, they could not fall back on the old tactics that they once had, like gaming on the computer.

The engineering students are making helmets in the metal shop, they have just begun the prototype process but they are coming along well. I made these helmets as a template, and gave one to my SA to keep.

I have begun to create European 4 in 1 chainmaille. I used 16 gauge galvanized steel wire that I bought from Canadian tire and wound it up on the jig that I made for John Oliver. Then I purchased my own pair of bolt cutters and went along the roll cutting off single links. The engineering students are currently working on helmets for metal work project and I think that having the ability to make chainmaille will help them in their quest to make great armour.

The European 4 in 1 chainmaille takes a long time to make. Each ring has 4 partners and each link must be closed individually.

So I have begun to teach two computer classes, Drafting 12 and Graphic Design 10. These classes are quite different then my Electrnics blocks or STEM or senior wood work. They are different in one respect: I now have to manage 30 computers and about a billion websites. The projects and work is fun and engaging, at least for most of the students most of the time. There always seems to be 4 or 5 students that, as I circulate the room, always change their monitor to look as if they are working when I can see a tab from a game still open. It is rather funny that they think that I do not notice this. Anyways, I recently employed a new tactic to inspire on task behaviour. If I catch a student on a gaming website, they have to draw me a cat picture, with their name on it and I will hang it up in class. Now this tactic would either be a disaster or a success, but I was willing to give it a try. For this perticular class, it worked very well. They do not like to go off computer and hand draw so they are less likely to simply troll the internet for fear of loosing internet privileges. I have featured a few cat pictures below for your enjoyment.

Leatherwork bracelet examples

Haida Carving example

Finished chain maille demonstration

The title says it all. This week, during my practicum, I have been struggling with balancing my shop time with class time. I realised that I can not dedicate as much time as I want to pursue projects that I find fun, unless they relate to my class. As a new teacher, I am spinning like a top in my classes. I want to give students every helping hand I can give. I am realizing that this is not an efficient way to run a class. For my ‘down time’ I find myself wanting to shut myself up in the metal shop and blast some radio and just work. I want to just do what I have always done. Make stuff. I am not sure why it has taken me this long to realise that just because I teach shop, doesn’t mean I get to b involved with that fun making stuff experience. I only provide that experience for my students, and in payment, my shop time is no longer shop time. It will take me a while to get used to facilitating a class-all class, as opposed to beginning a class and then working on my own projects…that is definitely a no-no. There is some gratification in knowing that although I may not be having fun shop time during class, my kids are. All 25 of them. That is a pretty good trade off if you ask me.

OK, so honestly I am having such an amazing time teaching and learning at John Oliver High School. This third week has been the best one so far, and I think it will only get better as I get used to teaching. As my SA would say “you have to get into teacher shape”. This week was full of new experiences. I taught in a ‘Trades Sampler’ for Aboriginal students. We taught them how to braze and spot weld. The students really loved it I think. I also got a hold of the senior wood class that I am teaching, meaning that I feel comfortable facilitating that class to its full extent. I am focused now on how to bring exciting and new projects in for the kids to work on. It is tough because you want to give them the best, but in order to do that it takes a lot of prep time and long hours. During my practicum I am happy to spend my time working on projects for the kids but it is quite tiring. Teaching has been a blast though!

This is the chain maille hacky-sacks that I made for an example (thanks Steve for the idea!)

this is the stand that  I made for the carving tools in the wood shop

This is the brazing and spot welding frame that I made for the Ab Ed trade sampler

More pieces I cut for the sampler

One of the students made this diamond frame, very cool!

Finally got the plans for the candy pooping dino for my 2 new international wood work students.

Today was a proD day at John Oliver. There was a math conference held there and my SA was doing a session on STEM.  After lunch some fellow STEM enthusiasts (and practitioners) met up in our lovely electronics room to discuss all things STEM: the pros, the cons(if any), and general quality information. I pick up the STEM block from my SA next week starting on Monday. The students are currently planning for building multiple instruments out of various materials laying around. I am very excited to begin this next week. I will also be picking up the senior wood class. This class will be an interesting experience, one that I am excited to learn about.

So far I have used the knowledge gained form UBC more than I had expected to. When theory is actually put into practice and we can see the benefits of having that pre-knowledge, it is a wonderful experience. I am sitting here in the electronics classroom on a sunny afternoon, planning out my next lesson, sourcing leather-working tools for the leather-working club that I am starting, and generally enjoying my situation here at wonderful, eclectic John Oliver.

Here are some leather-work tools that I have for a JO leather-working club (has yet to begin,**very excited)

This is a bamboo bike that one of the STEM teachers is making. He makes it right in the shop where the STEM kids are so that they can see how they can use their skills to pursue their own projects and passions.

This is a giant “Slap-sa-phone” that my SA made (giant PVC pan flute)

Here are some examples of our first class PCB (printed circuit board) creation and my works space as I plan for lessons and leather-work:)

First week of my long practicum at John Oliver Secondary School

I taught two blocks of electronics in the morning and just observed my wood work class. I had a great day! Very tiring.

I got to trouble shoot the water piano circuit that hadn’t been working that I need for the beginning of the Wednesday class,

luckily it was just a blown capacitor and it now functions perfectly. I was very glad to get that done. At the beginning of class I told

the students that we would start off each class with the game “two truths and a lie”. As I did attendence for the first time,  asked the students

to tell me one thing I don’t know about them, they seemed to enjoy that. I got the etchant tank working today with the help of my SA and hope

for a productive day tomorrow of making more prototypes of the water piano.