Powerful Lesson on Privilege - buzzfeed

This resonated with me:

I once saw a high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

Then he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

He said, “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

The students in the back of the room immediately piped up, “This is unfair!” They could see the rows of students in front of them had a much better chance.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

Everyone took their shots, and — as expected — most of the students in the front made it (but not all) and only a few students in the back of the room made it.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

He concluded by saying, “The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”

Source

Teacher Costumes for Halloween

What are you being for Halloween?

Love some of these creative teacher costumes....







http://www.buzzfeed.com/weareteachers/31-awesome-teacher-halloween-costumes-h0xt

Art Journal: Passion: Teachers

From facebook:
I belong to an art journalling group on FB (Journal52 if you want to join in). One of the latest prompts was passion and a member in the UK (Angela McOwan...she's given permission for me to share) posted this lovely piece. For a reminder that some people really do get what we do. #rayofsunshine

I am a greedy teacher (Shared Status from Facebook)

I am a Greedy Teacher

Andrew Turner - June 7, 2014 at 1:30pm

As I stress and think about the upcoming strike vote, in order to unscramble my internal conflict, I decided to write down my own thoughts and echo some feelings of people I have spoke to. This is the result...

I am a Greedy Teacher.

I want more than I currently have, a lot more. I don’t think that I should have to apologize for that. You see I have a son that will need help in school. He will need one-on-one attention, and a speech pathologist. I am so greedy that I am willing to walk out on strike and potentially lose over $4000 because he isn’t the only one.

I am a greedy teacher. I work in an alternate school and teach students with behavioural and mental health issues, high anxiety, ESL, Learning Disabilities, and drug problems. I have seen all of the teachers I work with struggle to make decisions as to who should get testing and who shouldn’t, since access is limited. I am so greedy that I am willing to sacrifice my strike pay to make sure that they get what they deserve when it comes to service.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I believe a raise that is in line with cost-of-living is something everyone is entitled to. I am so greedy that I believe this even after being legislated back and taking 0% for almost 3 years (and potentially a 4th) for fighting to protect the rights of students learning conditions, that are illegally being stripped away by a Neo-Liberal government. I am so greedy that as I watch my profession get trashed in the media, and assaulted by many of the parents who have entrusted me to protect their children, I still keep fighting for their rights. I am so greedy I sacrifice my ability to bargain for a fair wage because the government wants a lower wage offer in order to start to negotiate class size and composition and when we give them one they still refuse to negotiate on “key issues.”

I am a greedy teacher. I want the government to tell the truth. Peter Fassbender goes on Global and states that the government has been at the table ready to negotiate 24/7 since last June. Then maybe he can explain why, after threatening our benefits the government wanted to take from April 30th – May 26th away from the table and the BCTF had to use precious negotiating time to try to convince them to come back for May 6th, 7th and 8th. I am so greedy that I think that the fact the government agreed to come back by the 12th, and waste 2 weeks, is ridiculous.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I would rather believe Dr. David Zyngier who did a comprehensive review of 112 research papers, written between 1979-2014 discussing the effect of class size. I would rather believe the 109 research papers that argue smaller class sizes are better for students than the 3 that argue it’s not. I am so greedy that I would rather believe UBC education professors Dr. E. Wayne Ross and Dr. Charles Ungerleider who study curriculum, pedagogy, class size and composition, sociology in education and policy research, and state the government is wrong about class size, rather than Peter Fassbender who read a few research papers and the one OECD report he quotes the most he misrepresents.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I don’t think that “below average” funding is good enough for the children of British Columbia. I am so greedy that despite “below average” funding I have still managed to give my students one of the best educations in the world. I am so greedy that I managed to do this by buying supplies with money out of my own pocket. I am so greedy that I am constantly searching for new technology and software that I can use to engage my students and efficiently facilitate learning, for different learning styles, and then realize it will have to wait because the money isn’t in the budget.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that when the government locked me out of my own school and docked me 10% pay for fulfilling my contractual obligation I stopped doing extracurricular activity. I am so greedy that instead of coaching, running plays, facilitating environmental clubs, etc… I took my VOLUNTEER time and went home and played with my kids instead.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I think that the government should increase the corporate tax rate that they have been cutting since they go into power. I am so greedy that I don’t believe I should have to pay more tax than a mult-billion dollar corporation that has not created the jobs that the Liberals corporate tax cuts promised. I am so greedy that I believe all corporate tax cuts should be incentive based and not handed out until the jobs are created, not before. In legislature, when discussing BC’s weakened finances and loss of revenue Christy Clark admitted, “It just doesn't add up.” I am so greedy that I think we should have a government that will admit it when they get things wrong and fix it.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I think the government should prioritize public education and healthcare above a new roof on BC place, or LNG projects. I am so greedy that I think that the government spending money on students is a better investment than a retractable roof that rarely opens. I am so greedy that I believe the government should not
make promises, about BC’s economy, based on a gamble with LNG and a lot of “could’s” and “maybe’s.”

I am a greedy teacher. I want for all students what Christy Clark obviously wants for her own son. I am so greedy that I want Christy Clark to come on TV and tell the people of British Columbia that she chose private school for her son because she wanted him to have smaller classes and more one-on-one time. I am so greedy that I want her to explain why she finds it necessary to spend over $18,000 a year of the money tax payers pay her to put her son in a school that promises classes no bigger than 26 and senior electives no bigger than 16, when over 30 students in a class with 4 or more special needs students is just fine for everyone else.

I am a greedy teacher because I want more, and I want better. I want more for my own children, I want more for the students of British Columbia, I want more of my taxes to be reinvested into the province not into private corporations pockets, and I want a better government that cares more about the people of the province on all socio-economic levels.

If being greedy means not being complacent, I am proud to be greedy. In fact I teach my students to be greedy, to not settle. In the words of Maureen Dowd, a columnist for the New York Times, “The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

Activity Boxes

Came across this blog spot about activity boxes that can be used similar to centers, or as activities for students who need something different to help them with self-regulation. It can help with classroom management.

The objective is to redirect the negative behavior before it escalates.  I have used activity boxes with students that could become aggressive, and violent not only to themselves but also toward other individuals. It also is helpful for children that may not fully understand why they are behaving inappropriately.

Setting up activity boxes is simple.  Sometimes the simplest idea can be the one thing that helps you connect with a student!

There are a few guidelines I like to follow when setting up activity boxes for individual students for the first time.

1.  Include the student in the process.   This is important because the box is intended to help that student re-direct their negative behaviors.  It isn't going to have the degree of success if the student isn't engaged in the materials included in it.  

2. The container should be the size of a shoe box.  My first activity boxes were actual shoe boxes.  I love the Nike shoe boxes that have the flip flap lid. I would go to the Mall and ask for the empty boxes.   Students can pick their box, and help decorate it.  Shoe boxes are compact, and will stack easily in a storage closet.

3.  The contents of the activity box should have an educational value.   Using activity boxes is not intended for a student to get out of doing work, or to play after disrupting class. This is a tool to use to defuse negative (escalating) behaviors.

4.  Go over the ground rules for using the activity boxes.  This would include proper way to use and take care of the materials in the box, appropriate time to use them, etc.  Remember to focus on the positive as much as possible!

Check out photos and examples of activity boxes at - SOURCE

Foldable Writing Projects

This is from pinterest and links to a teachers pay teachers site where you can purchase the book, but I just liked the photo as it shows some cool foldable writing assignments.

I have done foldables assignments with the Canada Food Guide in Home Ec this year with grade 6/7s, as well as with flour mixtures for my Grade 8s. They made pyramids, cubes, all with foldable parts to give details about different topics. Love it!


Source

Letter: Here’s one teacher who earned every dime

There has been a lot of recent talk about our teachers, government and job action. I'd like to take a moment and talk about Jane Powell. 

She was my drama teacher from eighth grade until I graduated (with a brief respite while I was in 11th grade) and she passed away on Oct. 1. 

Like most people, I had a difficult time in school. With hormones controlling my every move, bullies in the hallways, less than stellar home life and an intense need to be lippy, poor Ms. Powell had to deal with the results of that equation.

All I wanted to do was play around and when I found out how easy it was to make people laugh, I felt that I had found my calling, but Ms. Powell had different ideas.

Very early in my drama studies she was quick to tamp down my eagerness to be a jackass.

I have never been a person to blindly accept authority and Ms. Powell, like all of my other teachers, had to deal with it on a daily basis. She, like the others, never gave up on me. 

I don't know what she or any other of my teachers were paid to deal with the rag-tag group that we were in school, but given the crass behaviour she was exposed to daily, it probably wasn't enough.

This was before teachers had to deal with students text messaging in class etc. (our text messages were hand- written notes passed around the room!).

When the B.C. Liberals gave themselves a pay raise a few years back, there was talk that “we need to attract the best and brightest.”

The best and brightest people in the world are not grown in petri dishes. They are challenged and taught by a specific group of professionals who dedicate their lives to their work.

Teachers.

"They get weekends, stats and summers off” is a common argument I've heard.

According to the Parliament of Canada website, last year our MLAs had 46 sitting days in parliament? (I am not going to give them credit for work they do outside of Victoria until we give credit to the work teachers do outside of the school.)

“It shouldn't be about money, if they really love their jobs,” is another common argument I've heard.

The same could be said about people choosing to run for public office.

JOEY JACK

Kamloops

SOURCE

Blog Staffroom Confidential: BC Teachers: Liability & the Lockout

Here is part of a blog post, I encourage you to go read in its entirety. Regarding WCB coverage, I find the debate interesting as there are several cases pre-job action or lock-out, in which teachers were NOT covered by WCB for extra curricular activities.

Here is the start of Staffroom Confidential's blog post:

The war of words between the BCTF and the BC Government, heated up this week as the government denied that their lockout prevented teachers from organizing and participating in extra-curricular events and blamed the BCTF for warning its members of potential liability.

The Victoria Times Colonist reported this morning:

Education Minister Peter Fassbender said he was against any disruption of extracurricular and volunteer opportunities.

“I think that’s a shame,” he said. “As I said at the beginning, I am concerned because this is now affecting students and their parents and the communities. Teachers have a choice to participate in extracurricular activities as they have previously.”

While the union said teachers should wait until there is confirmation from WorkSafe B.C. that they are on solid ground with extracurricular activity during the partial lockout, Fassbender said WorkSafe B.C. coverage for teachers will not be compromised.

“Any teacher that is at any activity that is sanctioned by a school district is absolutely covered by WorkSafe. There is no question of that."

( - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/union-tells-teachers-to-stop-volunteering-cites-liability-concerns-1.1076148#sthash.BWAx6nAh.dpuf)

What are the facts we know?

The first claim, that teachers are covered by WCB (WorksafeBC), is almost certainly false. WCB has been issuing orders denying WCB coverage to teachers involved in extra-curricular activities for some time now. See, for example, this WCAT (the appeal body of the WCB) decision.

In it, the adjudicator determines that coverage is not provided because the activity was not "work" ....

Read More here

Letter from Colleague: I finally know for certain...

Great letter from a colleague of mine....

I finally know for certain what is most important to BCPSEA and this government when it comes to the education of students.

I am the first one to support extra curricular. I believe in these activities. I have participated in many both as a student and as a teacher.  They have been a source of joy and personal growth. However, I am saddened to hear that our government places more importance on them than on the education of students. According to the 2nd letter from BCPSEA, I can choose to run an extra curricular activity on school property when I am locked out but I can't do homework, mark, contact parents, plan lessons, work on IEPs or participate in Professional Development Activities on or off of school property.

I now see in black and white that it is more important for this government that teachers participate in activities which the public can view than to put in the five hours a night after school that many teachers do in order to prepare for the next day which is done in classrooms after school or at home between preparing meals, taking care of children,  tending to elderly parents, taking courses, volunteering in my community, trying to have some "me" time, staying physically and emotionally fit so that I can do my job etc...  let alone being a union activist.

I hope that parents and the public truly realize what this second lockout letter is saying about their child's education.  I put in long hours before and after the bell because I am dedicated to my students and the profession that I have loved for the past 34 years.

I realize that the government is using this as a tactic to divide teachers.  My suggestion... colleagues, join your hands tighter together and march on.  We deserve better and so do the students of British Columbia.

Charlene Hodgson

Teacher

Blog Post: Dear Parent of the Average Child - One Teacher's Confession

This is a great blog post:

Dear Parent of the Average Child,

I'm sorry. Your child is wonderful. She is always at school on time, does her homework almost every day, works well on her own, and is patient with those around her. I really wanted to go tell your daughter how proud I was of her, of the work she was doing today.

I was about to, but you see, I had a young girl over in the corner crying because she hadn't had breakfast. Another was tromping around the classroom in winter boots. It's May. When I asked her to change, she told me she didn't have any other shoes.

I needed to send them and my CEA (certified education assistant) down to the office to see if we had some food, and any extra shoes in the lost and found.

Oh and over in the other corner, there was a boy screaming at the top of his lungs because, well no one is sure why. He is on a list to see a specialist; they hope to have a plan in place for him soon. Of course it has been three months, but the specialist teacher is overworked and only at our school a few days a week, so we have to be patient.

More children trickled in. One girl told me that her backpack is at Mom's but she was at Dad's last night. He forgot to send a lunch. She also wanted to tell me about her dad's new girlfriend but she told me I wasn't to tell mom because it's a secret.

A young man tells me his cat died last night. Another lost a tooth! Exciting -- until he sees the blood, then the fear sets in.

A child came in a little late, looking afraid and tentative. She watched carefully what was going on, but was too afraid to join in. Everyone agrees that the child's fears aren't normal and that she needs some counselling, but there are only so many hours in a day. They might be able to see her for one or two sessions next month. I started to go over to help her.

Your daughter, wonderful child that she is, helps her put away her things and leads her to her desk.

I was about to head over and say thank you, but I notice three boys in the corner playing rough. I ran over to stop them and have a conversation about expected behaviour at school. I also tried to throw in a lesson on non-violence while I was at it.

I turned back to look for your daughter. I haven't forgotten that I wanted to check in with her, but I look up and realize I should probably begin teaching the lesson of the day. I told myself I would check in with her later.

This was all before 9 a.m. Many other things happened during the day that made it very difficult for me to check in with your wonderful daughter. Students with learning disabilities, diagnosed and not diagnosed. Students with special needs and with behaviour problems. Students who are needier or put up their hand more often. Students who yell louder.

I realized after a day of running from child to child and crisis to crisis, I never did get a chance to check in with her today. I don't mean to leave your daughter alone, but she seems to be doing just fine without me. I hope it is true.

I'm sorry. I feel terrible. Would you mind telling her how proud I am of her? Let her know I appreciate her? I will check in with her tomorrow.

From Your Child's Teacher

Author's Note:

I have 23 little treasures in my room. I care about them all. I want to teach them all and see them all succeed. I've had more days like this one than I would like to admit.

When I think about a classroom without class limits or I think about a school system with even fewer specialist teachers and fewer services for our students, I worry. I wonder how many average kids go unseen everyday. I honestly don't think I can do this job under those conditions. Somedays I wonder how I do it now. I know for a fact I won't be able to do it well.

Please, please please understand how important this issue is. I didn't become a teacher for the paycheque or the glory. I became a teacher because I wanted to help kids do amazing things with their lives.

I want that for all my students. I want to do my job well. That means that I need the tools to do that. This includes a reasonable class size and help from specialist teachers. That is why I'm willing to take a 10 per cent pay cut and walk out in spite of the threats. For me, it isn't about the money. It's about the kids.

A Surrey Teacher's poem - I will always be a teacher

Michelle Mirabueno, a Grade 1 teacher at Woodland Park Elementary in Surrey, wrote this poem in response to the news of ‪#‎ChristyClarksLockout‬

I will always be a teacher

You may try and cut our wages
Threaten, bully and scare
Without stepping in our classrooms
To see why we fight and care

I will still teach all my students
I love the job I do
I teach my children to stand up for themselves
When they cross paths with bullies like you

We will not back down in defeat
We will not let this go
You make a mockery of what we do
Turning it into a media show

My classroom is not for sale
I will not sell out the children's needs
For every child is worth the fight
Despite the trouble this may lead

I wish you had the teachers
Who would have fought for your needs too
Because somewhere down the line
A teacher helped you become you

I will always be a teacher
I will always fight the fight
To ensure the children of our world
Can learn what's wrong from right

So when they grow and make a choice
Of what they'd like to do
Surely one of them will have more integrity
To do the job in place of you

Sharing a great bog post: Within and without the union: prejudices about the BCTF

I recently came across a great blog post, Within and without the union: prejudices about the BCTF, from a teacher who previously worked in a Catholic school and was not a fan of unions. He starts his post with a goal to figure out why the BCTF is so disliked:

I guess that I belong to the most despised union in the province. I’m not whimpering. It’s just a fact. The BC Teachers Federation gets a lot of nasty press. And I try to understand why that might be. To do so, I have to cast my memory back to my pre-union days.

I taught in a Catholic independent school for 11 years. And there was no union. As you can probably guess, a couple of decades ago, some of the BCTF proclivities didn’t play well with Catholics. For one thing, there was the issue of support for LGBTQ realities that the Church would have preferred to deny, but there was more. The Church was terrified of unions.

He then shares his story about when his Catholic school staff tried to create a union after the firing of a teacher because she was divorced and planning to remarry. Next he lists some reasons he believes BCTF is disliked...and Finally he wraps up with this gem....

The tax argument, however, is spurious. The same level of vitriol is never issued when people buy gasoline or groceries. People don’t curse the multimillionaire bank CEO’s when they get ding’d a-buck-fifty at the ATM just for taking out their own money. (By the way, when bank machines first came out, they were free to use, and still people were reluctant, as we knew that the banks were saving huge money laying off tellers). But for some reason, they don’t want to pay tax dollars for a system of universal education that is run and delivered by professionals. They say that in today’s economy we can’t afford it, which is funny, because our modern economy generates more wealth than ever before in history, yet as a percentage of GDP we funded schools much better in the past.

I’ve come to look at the issue as one that I just have to live with. I have worked a few different jobs in my life, finally coming to teaching, and I can say that teaching is most definitely the hardest job I’ve ever done. It can be very rewarding at times – not lately though, considering how hard the government has been working to discredit us. (It really doesn’t feel good when your boss tries to goad you into a fight). But that ‘s a story for my previous blog post.

Please go enjoy the entire blog post. It is very well written and touches on a lot of important topics.

Read entire post here

Never 'just a teacher'

I often say this to TTOCs who say they are "just a TTOC" - no, you are a TEACHER... be proud!
Happy Friday!

You're so Venn....

What Students Really Need to Hear - teacher blog spot

You need to read this blog post by a Michigan teacher.

It is amazing and as a teacher, very easy to relate to. I care about my students, I worry about my students, and I want them to know that they are loved and should never quit.... Here is one excerpt that really summarizes the post:

As long as you are in my life, I am not going to let quitting be easy for you.  I am going to challenge you, confront you, push you, and coach you.  You can whine.  You can throw a tantrum.  You can shout and swear and stomp and cry.  And the next day, guess what?  I will be here waiting — smiling and patient — to give you a fresh start.  Because you are worth it.

Please read the entire post at Source

What you say to students... Positivity...

Game of Thrones Spoilers or Detention?

According to Belgium's Nieuwsblad, the teacher, at wits end with his noisy class, asked which of his students watched Game of Thrones. Around three quarters of the students raised their hands. "Well, I've read all the books," the teacher replied. "If there's too much noise, I will write the names of the dead on the board. They are enough to fill the whole year and I can even describe how they die."

Read whole story here.

Personally, my students are mostly too young to watch this show and I am sure there are other forms of classroom management that would be effective, but this story is pretty funny.

Outside Literacy Centre

As weather gets nicer (hopefully) here is a neat idea to try.....


Outside literacy center: Play twister, or jump from word to word: http://ow.ly/ppOPL

Don't Date a Girl Who Teaches

A teacher friend shared this with me, it made me laugh... Don't date a girl who teaches:

http://www.loveteachblog.com/2013/11/dont-date-girl-who-teaches.html

If you decide to take her anywhere directly after work, just know that it will seem to others as if you are escorting around a cardigan-wearing, homeless witch with unexplainable stray marker/pen marks from wrist to elbow.

Fellas, let me save you some trouble. If you're in a bar and you see a woman in flats and a cardigan with an oversized shoulder tote asking about discounts, stay away.

Social Skills to teach your Students....

How to listen to instructions, how to ask for help—social skills kids need and how to teach them.
http://ow.ly/pooXh

Social Skill: How to Listen Attentively

Skill Steps:  
1. Look at the person who is talking and remain quiet.2. Wait until the person is finished talking before you speak.3. Show that you heard the speaker by nodding your head, and using positive phrases, such as “Okay” or “That’s interesting.”

Classroom Activity:  Invite students to tell each other jokes to practice active listening. Gather joke books from your school library or send students online to Aha Jokes to find their favorite funnies to share with their friends. Have students work in small groups taking turns in the roles of speaker and active listeners. Older students can practice sharing opinions on class reading or plans for college or career.

Social Skill: How to Greet Others

Skill Steps:1. Look at the person.2. Use a pleasant voice.3. Say, “Hi” or “Hello.”

Classroom Activity:  Challenge your students to come up with 25 or more possible greetingsthey can use with each other, with you or with a classroom guest. Include greetings in different languages. Each morning, go around the room and have each student offer a greeting to the class.

Social Skill: Following Instructions

Skill Steps:1. Look at the person.2. Say okay.3. Do what you’ve been asked to do right away4. Check back in with the person.

Classroom Activity:  Play classroom games that help students to increase their ability to follow instructions with traditional games like Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light. Or challenge your students to a scavenger hunt around the classroom or school.  Explain that theirs is no way to succeed without following directions precisely. As with all the skills, have your students go through the steps every time you issue a request until they become second nature.

There are many more amazing tips here: http://www.weareteachers.com/community/blogs/weareteachersblog/blog-wat/2013/10/01/8-social-skills-students-need-(and-how-to-teach-them-step-by-step