Next School Year....

It is linky party time with http://joyin6th.blogspot.ca/

Linky party means you participate with other bloggy-teachers and link up to each other's blogs.. it's a nice way to discover other education blogs and share ideas.

If you want to participate go here: http://joyin6th.blogspot.ca/2013/05/what-will-you-do-differently-my-first.html

Now, Next school year, I am definitely going to.....

• put aside some "me" time.
• do more PBL - it's worked so well this year.
• take some Pro D that is new and exciting for me - try something new.
• Buy travel crates to keep everything filed and organized, instead of just putting it all into one bin that needs sorting at the end of the year.
• Take time each day to connect with a student I don't usually hear from.

How about you?

Teacher's Hall Pass

Found this cool blog post on some teacher blogs I follow and decided to participate.... HALL PASS for teachers....

Product
I love my SMARTboard in my class. It allows me to experiment with so many interactive lessons.

Area
Right now it is the "nobility table" We are doing "The Feudal Games" and each student has a role in the system. The king and queen have a large table in the corner of class where they can oversee everyone and it is near the teachers desk so it is nice.

Signal
Right now it is just a simple "regardez moi" then "ecoutez" because I teach them FSL (French) I like to use those commands throughout the day.

Sanity
Is it a cop out to say my prep block? Last block of the day is prep and it is often when I eat my lunch (finally) and update our class website with homework and copy tomorrow (or next weeks) handouts and create SMARTboard lessons and get organized. Also, the SEA in my class is amazing and keeps me sane, it is great having another adult in the room some of the day to work with.


VIA http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.ca/2013/02/hall-pass-linky.html

Tell me something good...

I have started to be a more avid reader of edu-blogs from teachers all over North America. There is a great network of teachers that do link-up posts on various topics and I promised myself I would try to participate in some. So here is one from Rowdy in First Grade. Share "something good" from home and school....

HOME: We got a new puppy and it has really brought us together for more family time together.

SCHOOL: My teaching partner is doing a VERY cool activity for Socials Studies that I am enjoying learning. We also have finished our public speaking unit *phew* and are going to move onto some debating!

Wordle: Adventures in Classroom Design

My friend and colleague created this wordle for her blog Adventures in Classroom Design.

New Teacher in BC? Explore your options...

If I knew then what I know now... 6 years ago I began my teaching career. Back then you were almost always hired as a TTOC, nowadays, not.so.much.

Yes, it was 6 years ago that I finished my teacher-training program and entered the world of teaching-on-call.

6 years later and I am still waiting, hoping, trying to get my own classroom or continuing contract.

But after that, I get to enter the lay-off/recall procedures, which means I may not have my "own" class for a few more years... I may be moved around several times before I can settle into one grade/level/subject...

and so, my garage is still filled with boxes and boxes of resources for every grade level and subject I have ever encountered... much to my husbands dismay... 22 boxes...

My friends considering teaching in BC, I say, explore your options... I love it here, yes, but if I knew I would be on-call for this long, with unpredictable work and the government's net-zero mandate that aims to destroy public education... well... I may have moved my then young family to somewhere with a brighter future....

This was a great read from a blog I enjoy:

Ah BC, the greatest place on Earth. Let me count the ways:

1. Highest child poverty rate
2. Greatest inequality
3. Expensive housing

The mountains are beautiful, but is it really worth it?

Probably not, if you are a new teacher, starting your career.

Here are some facts to consider about cross Canada comparisons (Out of the 13 Provinces and Territories) for teaching salaries, education spending and working conditions:

-Starting salaries with 5 years of university education: 11th
-Starting salaries with a Masters degree: 12th
-Student teacher ratio (number of students for each teacher): 2nd
-Total spent on education per capita: 10th
-Number of classes with 4 or more students with special needs: 12, 240
-Number of classes with more than 30 students: 3, 627
-Loss of learning specialist teacher in last decade: 1459
-Time available for lesson planning, preparation and marking: 90 minutes per week
-Percentage of Teachers Teaching on Call earning $10,000 or less: 36%
-Percentage of Teachers Teaching on Call earning $30,000 or less: 78%

For details on salary comparisons, see: http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/BargainingContracts/U102-SalaryDocument.pdf
For funding data: http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Publications/Briefs/2011EdFundingBrief.pdf#p8
BCTF Teacher Teaching on Call Survey: http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/TTOC/2008survey.pdf
Child poverty report card: http://www.firstcallbc.org/pdfs/economicequality/3-reportcard2011.pdf
BC Stats report on income inequality: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/releases/info2012/in1204.pdf

[Via Staff Room Confidential Blog]