Kara Bailey E Portfolio

Students need time in the day to be quiet and mindful; I believe the mind-up program and yoga are a very accessible way of incorporating this into the curriculum. Additionally, I believe all students require time outdoors exploring and learning in nature, in addition to experientially in the classroom. It is for these reasons that I hope to incorporate nature walks, outdoor lessons and a class garden into my year plan. For students to be successful I think they require a well organized, clean , and inviting classroom environment; some…read more

It is important to engage students in experiential learning and be transparent in lesson and classroom goals and objectives. A caring classroom environment can be created by engaging students in meaningful dialogue about their emotions and values. This can be done through effectively introducing daily morning meetings/circles and teaching virtues, which become vocabulary for conversations throughout the day. I hope that my students will internalize these daily routines and act on them in other situations without prompting. As a class we would begin the year with a discussion, setting out…read more

The public school system, at least as I have observed it in Western Canada, praises students for quickly raising there hands and providing frequent boisterous responses in the classroom; this is not a negative observation but what is cause for concern is the lack of reinforcement given to students who require extra time for reflection and thought formation. These children may often have the capacity to formulate eloquent and insightful comments but are denied the opportunity because of the emphasis on speed of response. It is common knowledge that humans…read more