Category Archives: Uncategorized

05/3/15

Week 3 — Connect-with-a-child day; Week 5 — Eye of the Tiger

This is an old post, to be cross-posted over.  The context was “describe a student you would like to form a better connection with:

* * * * *

Student I want to connect with:  D
In what ways can I connect with the student?
I’ve managed to connect with D in several ways — asking him for feedback, allowing him to speak his mind and share his perspective in each situation.  I’ve noticed that mentioning my expectation and providing him a chance to choose his own way of meeting those expectations seems to help focus him towards focusing his efforts.  Also, he quite enjoys engaging in idle conversation about topics of interest while I am in the vicinity as he is working on a task.
 
What are his learning and social-emotional needs, and how are these met (or not) in the classroom?
I’ve noticed that control, autonomy, and engagement are important motivators for D to do work.  One of the ways his previous social support worker encouraged him to work and refocus whenever he became off-task would be to engage him in idle chatter while he was completing his work.  Occasionally he may become distracted by the conversation, but when redirected, he would acknowledge and agree and refocus shortly.  This, however, is not only difficult to achieve within my classroom (there are several med/high-needs students in my class) but discouraged, as we expect student independence.  Being by his side as would an EA or personal coach/tutor would definitely facilitate improvements in academic performance, but could reinforce his preference for and dependence upon the presence of a facilitator, detracting from his development as a student capable of independent effort.
 
The way I interact with him seems to have struck a chord with him, as he responds well to my suggestions and encouragement.  That being said, in my haste to facilitate his learning, I repeatedly forget that I also want him to develop the ability to work independently.  This is an issue that I feel will be present for quite a while…
* * * * *
It’s fitting that I revisit that bit, written two weeks ago.  It seems like ages ago since I last put down my thoughts regarding D… and it’s safe to say that the honeymoon period has ended with him.  He was heading towards normalcy (his plate was finally about to be cleared after so many weeks of hard work) and then all of a sudden, he was out an entire week with some bug… of all the kids in the class, he’s the one who had the least to gain from getting sick.
By the time he had returned to our class, he had another week’s worth of homework piled on top of what he had already owed.  What little progress he had made had been flushed down the toilet with his sick leave… this time around, we’ve been noticing more defiance, more resignation, more acting out; to the point that the kids around him are starting to get really silly.
And this week had been a rollercoaster, too.  Started off the week with a good perspective check — I’m doing better than I thought I did.  Almost immediately afterwards, making a series of bad decisions that led to a grievous error.  Navigating that culminated in a Social Studies lesson exploding in my face.  Not a pleasant experience at all.  On the bright side, the contents of last week gave me a lot of valuable data for my inquiry project, as I was caught completely unawares and while my guard was down I was completely run over.
Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week… and is definitely a new beginning.  Transition into 80%.  I’ve made it this far with the tireless hard work and bottomless patience from my SA and FA.  Their continued faith in me has inspired me to keep pushing forward through those roadblocks; hopefully I may continue to blow through those blips as they arrive.  Who knows, maybe by the end of this I may end up channeling Mr. Simpson.  How might that look like in this day and age?
03/15/15

Walk the Plank

This is a 2 by 4:

This piece of lumber gets its name from the dimensions of its face (2 inches by 4 inches).  2 by 4s vary by length and are popular due to their versatility and strength.  For the purposes of this thought exercise, imagine you have at your disposal a 20 yard-long (~7metre long) 2 by 4 graded at C40 (also called glulam, these GLUED and LAMINATED pieces of lumber possess strength comparable to steel); rest assured, it will not be breaking anytime soon.

Now that I confirmed your knowledge of 2 by 4s, I will lead you on a mental journey — a virtual experiment, if you will.  Form this piece of lumber in your head, rotate it around a few times, try your best to snap it in half with your mental muscles.  If it is indeed graded at C40, it should at most bend slightly in response to your immense mental powers, but should hold true.  If you’ve succeeded in breaking the 2 by 4, congratulations!  Create another and try again — you want a really sturdy 2 by 4 before you continue!  We shall begin once you have your very own 2 by 4 that will not bend nor break and will reliably hold your weight.  From here on out, keep one rule in mind:  Honesty is the Best Policy.  After experiencing each scene, you will be asked a question.  Keep track of the answers to the questions that come ahead. Continue reading →

09/30/14

September 23rd, 2014

– It’s rather unfortunate that teachers are on the front lines with regards to providing to support to children developing mental disorders
–> Training in SEL can help teachers proactively prevent situations prone to producing mental disorder, intervene on behalf of children at significant risk, and as a side bonus, improve grades across the board, too!
–> More training!

– Shifting demand from memory- and analysis-based skills to social skills, adaptability and flexibility drives home the need for educational reform to account for this
–> Getting As in school no longer has the significance and practical importance it used to have – while high grades form entry slips into post-secondary education, educators must also address the need to help children develop strong social skills and self-regulatory practices to prepare them to cope with the stresses and challenges of entering the workforce

  • What’s the point of getting straight As if the student still cannot find a way to effectively employ their abilities on a path of their choosing? Worse yet, for that same student to not even know how to choose a career path because they’re so focused on consuming and regurgitating information…

– If every province strives to create good citizens of upstanding moral character, what infrastructures and programs do they have in place to achieve this goal?
–> Do they hope to encourage the growth of character through emphasis on academics?
–> Much of kids’ social learning occurs outside of the classroom, but within the school context; and some teachers include a “hidden curriculum” of sorts…

  • The problem with hidden curricula is that they’re hidden! Make it overt and practiced, just like academics!
  • Social learning occurring outside the classroom remain outside the control of educators; we have serious issues with mental health and bullying, but due to the current system, educators are playing a largely reactionary role
    • Even though there are programs in place that advocate prosocial behaviour, anti-bullying, as well as mental health education, they do not address the reality that these programs do not take place enough in the classroom, where children are most receptive to learning
    • Educators should emphasize and take advantage of the high degree of control they exercise over their classroom environments to provide a safe, secure, welcoming, and compassionate place in which to learn and develop these essential skills