A Life, Lived

PSA - Bus Safety

An important reminder now that school is starting up again.

Critical Thinking

This is why a strong public education system is so damn important.

A Message from the Past

A student I taught more than 20 years ago tracked me down on Facebook and sent me this message:

Yes, I remembered her.

It got me thinking about the current push for more online learning in public schools. In an online learning environment I doubt a teacher would notice what I noticed - you see those human interactions happening right in front of you. Those same interactions don't take place in an online learning environment.

Another very good reason not to go down that road.

Education in the COVID19 World

In Ontario the Ministry just announced that schools would be closed for four more weeks (although many assume it will be far longer).

On Monday we will be transitioning one of the largest school systems in the world to a distance education model. This is no simple task!

I know a lot of educators feel like this right now . . .

Be kind to us. :-)

That was fun!

Yesterday 20,000 education workers, community members, and random people who like a protest gathered at Queen's Park to protest proposed cuts to education.

I think it turned out well . . .

Back to School

It is back to school next week. Parent's often ask their children how their day was when they return from school. The answer is usually the same 'fine' but it doesn't say much. Here is a list of 50 questions parent can use to dig a bit deeper or to take the conversation in a different direction.

50 Questions To Ask Your Kids Instead Of Asking “How Was Your Day”

1. What made you smile today?
2. Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw/showed? 
3. Was there an example of unkindness? How did you respond?
4. Does everyone have a friend at recess?
5. What was the book about that your teacher read?
6. What’s the word of the week?
7. Did anyone do anything silly to make you laugh?
8. Did anyone cry?
9. What did you do that was creative?
10. What is the most popular game at recess?
11. What was the best thing that happened today?
12. Did you help anyone today?
13. Did you tell anyone “thank you?”
14. Who did you sit with at lunch?
15. What made you laugh?
16. Did you learn something you didn’t understand?
17. Who inspired you today?
18. What was the peak and the pit?
19. What was your least favorite part of the day?
20. Was anyone in your class gone today?
21. Did you ever feel unsafe?
22. What is something you heard that surprised you?
23. What is something you saw that made you think?
24. Who did you play with today?
25. Tell me something you know today that you didn’t know yesterday.
26. What is something that challenged you?
27. How did someone fill your bucket today? Whose bucket did you fill?
28. Did you like your lunch?
29. Rate your day on a scale from 1-10.
30. Did anyone get in trouble today?
31. How were you brave today?
32. What questions did you ask at school today?
33. Tell us your top two things from the day (before you can be excused from the dinner table!). 
34. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
35. What are you reading?
36. What was the hardest rule to follow today?
37. Teach me something I don’t know.
38. If you could change one thing about your day, what would it be?
39. (For older kids):  Do you feel prepared for your history test?” or, “Is there anything on your mind that you’d like to talk about?” (In my opinion, the key is not only the way a question is phrased, but responding in a supportive way.)
40. Who did you share your snacks with at lunch?
41. What made your teacher smile? What made her frown?
42. What kind of person were you today?
43. What made you feel happy? 
44. What made you feel proud?
45. What made you feel loved?
46. Did you learn any new words today?
47. What do you hope to do before school is out for the year?
48. If you could switch seats with anyone in class, who would it be? And why?
49. What is your least favorite part of the school building? And favorite?
50. If you switched places with your teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?

Skip the Tests

With the increasing focus on test and test scores in education this info-graphic is an important reminder . . .

Elementary Teachers in the News . . .

Because last week was our Annual Meeting there was a bit more news coverage of our actions than normal . . . like this editorial cartoon in the Hamilton Spectator.

SIGH

Calvin and Hobbes on Creativity

This popped up on my twitter feed the other day  . . . interesting because I had just had a similar conversation with a colleague . . .

What do Teachers Do When they are not at School?

A teacher asked her students to draw a picture and write about what teachers did when they were not at school . . .

It's true!