I am so moved by this picture, posted by HumansofNY on their Instagram account. You can tell this teacher wants so much for their students, but doesn't want to also fill them with false hopes. He comes off as inspirational, but also down-to-earth and realistic. I wish the best for him and his students.
I just watched this amazing, heart-wrenching and very moving documentary about the failing American school system. It also follows 5 children and their families and their attempt at enrolling at independent charter schools. Independent charter schools are public schools that are independently run, but enrollment is based on a lottery system. Here's what I took away from it:
Although I loved this documentary and thought it was moving and inspirational, a quick internet search told me many others did not think so, claiming it has unsupported claims, and is one-sided , and biased. There is also apparently a counter-documentary to this documentary called "the inconvenient truth behind waiting for superman". I will also watch that too and will post about that too when I get the chance. And the adult world, where people meet for book clubs and hobbies and such!
What a day! 1) I have officially been certified as an Ontario teacher, with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)! http://www.oct.ca/findateacher/memberinfo?memberid=667442 Also, it is very interesting how I am the only teacher with the name "Penghui" in all of Ontario. 2) Just a regular day volunteering with the school-to-community classroom? Never! I was just sitting at the front, chatting with students when for the first time ever in all my teaching experiences, I got my hair pulled by a student, from behind. It surprised me, but I was not hurt in the least. (Even though this particular student had once previously sent someone to the hospital for pulling the hair out of the person's scalp!). Why do I sound so excited? Weirdly, it kinda felt like a milestone for initiation into the deep world of working with young people, especially for those with special needs and behaviourlal exceptionalities. I am kinda glad this first hair-pull happened while I was volunteering, instead of when I have my own classroom - I would likely have to deal with a lot of follow-up with admin and parents, which is fine, but I am now a lot better equipped to handle it, now that it has previously happened to me. 3) Teaching an adult who perpetually gives up and gets angry! One of the students in my construction math class is very interesting. His heart is in the right place, but the way he shows that can be pretty hard to see at times. He will try at the beginning but as soon as he hits a rut, he will shut down and give up in a blind rage, and won't even try anymore. I sit down with him one-on-one often trying to help him, but it is sometimes hard to stay motivated to help him, as he kinda shuts down everything I explain or try to suggest. I have even tried asking him what I should do differently when I teach or how I explain things to better help him. We eventually came to an idea where he could work in a room beside the classroom where it is quieter,and he can be alone, and I can check up on him and work with him one-on-one. We will see where that goes. As I continue my teaching journey, I would like to discover more and more strategies to be able to help students who perpetually give up or fly off the handle when they don't understand. 4) I made a new friend doing the new hobby that I recently picked up, Geocaching! I put up an ad a few weeks ago asking if people were interested in going Geocaching with me, cuz I realized it would probably more fun with a friend. I got some responses and met up with one person today. She was awesome and we hit it off right away. We then went searching for our first Geocache. It was a multi-cache, so we had to find the first part and get the coordinates to get to our final destination. After we found the coordinates, it started to thunderstorm, so we had to leave it for another day! But we made plans to continue and even putting together what areas we will do next. I am very excited! Initiation complete! Or will there be more parts? Stay subscribed with your RSS feed to find out! *Disclaimer: The term initiation is used to describe new beginnings and becoming part of something. In this context, I am happy and willing to be initiated. Initiation and hazing in a negative context is when the person being initiated endures harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of becoming part of something. If you or anyone you know is being initiated or being the initiator in a negative context, please speak to an authority. (e.g. Police or your school's admin) There is never a dull day when you teach adults in a non-traditional school environment!
Today I had the opportunity to really grow and demonstrate being a lot more assertive. The training center I work at is very strict and all the apprentices are made aware of the rules straight from the get-go. Infraction of the rules can result in very serious consequences. For example, if you miss 3 days without a doctor's note, you can get kicked out immediately. Sometimes if you are late, you may even get marked as an absent. No cellphone use is allowed in class, and no food and drink. Any violent or disrespectful behaviour gets logged and part of their file. The shop teacher and my supervisor, the training coordinator, emphasize that I have complete power to throw them out of the classroom if I need to, or to send them to my supervisor. Today I was teaching computers and overall, it was a great laid-back class. Lots of joking around and laughter, the students were mainly on-task and completing the assignments and asking questions as necessary. About halfway through, most of the students had completed all the assignments, so I gave them one final task: Come up with 1 question you have about microsoft word and 1 you have about excel and send them to me. Afterward, go to these links and play the games to review for the exam (excel millionaire and word jeopardy). (Now that I look back, what I SHOULD have done is said "make up 1 question about excel and 1 about word, and I will pick some of them to be on the exam" - which is a lot more effective in motivating the students, and I wish I did that! I will remember for next time). I caught one of the students texting on his phone. I always give them one chance to put it away or else I take it, but this student had already gotten a warning the day before. I asked him to give to me for the rest of the class. He blatantly refused. I said it was either the phone or leave the class. He left to go to the supervisor (who later told me the first thing he said to her was "well I was on my phone." my supervisor shook her head). I helped some other students out, then when the class was at a lull, I went to go get the student, who was already walking back with the supervisor. I put on my "stern-face" (the same one I also used when I was a residence don! :P), and said "[Name], I know you know you can't use your cellphone, and it HAS been 2 times in the past 2 days. It was very inappropriate. Unfortunately, it will have to be an incident report. Can I please have your cellphone now?" He responded "well, if it's already an incident report, I'm not gonna give it to you." He made a pretty good point, so I responded "Alright, you can go back in the class now. I do not want to see this happen again." Another interesting and similar experience happened yesterday. I was helping one of the students (a differnet one) with the geometry drawing assignments, and he was getting very frustrated. At one point, he threw his papers on the floor in a rage. Without skipping a beat, I responded by saying "I'm just trying to help, and I will always keep trying to help, but I can't do that if you do stuff like this. That was very inappropriate, and I'd like you to go pick up your paper, as I will not." He picked it up and calmed down a bit. The next day, he even sincerely apologized for his behaviour from the day before! Definitely a rare occurrence among students. (In fact, I don't think I've ever had a student do something like that). I know it takes a lot of courage to apologize sincerely and take responsibility for your own actions, so that was great to see. Again, another great growing experience. Don't get me wrong, I was for sure shaky in handling these situation, but I'm getting better and better each time. Also, all that don training and don experience seems to definitely be paying off and helping me know what to do! I attended school at Queen's University in Kingston, ON for 5 years for the concurrent education program, giving me a B.Sc.(H) and B.Ed. Before and after that I lived in Ottawa, ON. Here are the pros and cons of going to school in a different city.
PROS 1) You meet so many new people and make many new friends, all from different places in Canada and the world. 2) You get the amazing experience of living on your own and being independent. 3) You get to have more opportunities that may not be available in only one place and get to experience things from a different perspective. 4) You get to say you went to school elsewhere and have many things to talk about to someone who stayed here. 5) Meeting someone in your home city that also happened to have attended or experienced your school city in some way is an instant connection! CONS 1) It's pretty lonely coming back to your home city, because: a) Your friends from school move back to THEIR home cities b) Most of your original friends from Ottawa are off in other places doing their own thing, and c) you only kept in touch minimally with the ones that are left here. Thus, it's a struggle to reconnect. 2) You miss home-cooked food. And maybe sometimes your parents. 3) Sometimes, you're not really sure where you're meant to settle, and it's a struggle to feel where you belong. 4) It costs more in the long-run. Did you go away for school in a different city? What was it like moving back if you did? Or did you stay in your home city for school? What are the pros and cons of that? Please feel free to comment with your experiences. Looks like I spoke too soon! See May 21 blog post to get context.
You know you love your job when even the bad days feel good. I really got to experience that today. Today, I began to teach the computer class, teaching Excel basics to same students as the math class. A bunch of them apparently wanted to see their grades from previous assignments and see where they went wrong. No problem, we handed them back. I am very open to having the students ask for clarification and ask why a question is wrong or not, because I am human too and I make mistakes. Most of them were good about it and accepted the truly incorrect ones, just like they were for the midterm. However, a few of them were furious, yelling at me for a bunch of incorrect mistakes they made, repeating "you're wrong you're wrong", "I KNOW how to measure!" , "your measuring tape is wrong!", "this marking is stupid, I refuse to have that entire page incorrect." I was blindsided and attacked from many sides and I didn't stand my ground as strong as I should have, even giving back more than 10 marks and "accepting" many of his faulty answers to one particular student, just to get him to stop yelling and calling my marking stupid. My coordinator saw what was happening and went to the shop teacher to ask about the discrepancy between my measuring tape and their measuring tapes. When she came back, she LAID DOWN THE LAW. It was amazing to see actually. She was very firm about it, she said the shop teacher confirmed there WAS no discrepancy, they were just using their tapes incorrectly apparently. She reprimanded them for their aggressive behaviour toward me as well. The class was SILENT. And then we did Excel. I grew a lot from this learning experience. It showed me I have so much work to do in terms of being the firm, but kind and judicial teacher I need and want to be. I know I am tougher than I look, and I usually can hold my own (been through a lot to get to where I can handle myself now!), but sometimes in the moment, the feelings inside can still be distraught and worrisome! The more unique experiences I have, the more I will be able to be better in being authoritative. Another factor that really helped were the staff, my coordinator, and the shop teacher. They reassured me that it is not me, and that they are not allowed to walk all over me like that. They said it is my class, I can lay down the law, and I can be as strict as I need to be with them. The shop teacher also told me a story of one of his worst classrooms, that broke him down every day. (I was shocked, I could not imagine a tough professional construction man breaking down!). They also let me know if a student is getting out of hand, I can even make an incident report, which goes into their file. We talked about what we will do next time about it, and I suggested that I am still willing to be open to going through a grade with a student, but they must make an appointment with me, and it must be one at a time (so they don't all bombard me from all sides). And I emphasized I am very willing to do it, but as soon as there becomes personal attacks made and yelling and threats to my professional authority, then I will no longer provide that service to that student. They agreed with this idea. They were very supportive. It makes such a huge difference in a work setting. Learning and growing through these kind of experiences are so much more meaningful and positive when you don't have to do them alone, and you know you have people that will help you out and support your decisions. I love my job! Even the "bad" moments are good! I recently got a new job as a math and computer teacher, teaching construction workers in a union basic trades math and basic computer skills. As part of their apprenticeship and getting/staying in the union, they must complete their program, and complete many requirements, one of them being to pass (60% in this program) these courses. To get into this program, it is to my understanding (from what the students have told me), they need to have already been in the workforce and log a certain number of hours, something like 1800! And apparently, there's a ton of paperwork and references involved and so on. But once the program is completed, they get to be part of the union, get better pay, benefits, etc. Even as they complete certain courses throughout, their pay scale increases.
My class is made up of 10 tradesmen, all male, ranging in age 18-50. I've only taught 4 classes so far, but it has so far been a really rewarding experience, and so different and atypical! The students have all been great and welcoming, which is nice since I stepped in in the middle of the course (I was a fast and only replacement from the previous teacher, who ended up getting an LTO). For now, I only go until June 19, but if all goes well, I may be invited back for next year starting in September! That would be amazing. I never even knew education opportunities could occur with something like this! It's really given me a different perspective on what's out there and makes me more hopeful for my future and the beginnings of my career. Something very interesting to me I noticed was how different these students were compared to the high school and elementary students I have taught over the years of concurrent education practicums and final year practicums, as well as my own experiences with students when I was in school as a student. Like bviously the age and the context, but so much more. These adult students are actually really into the activities and the lessons I teach, which was surprising to me at first. At first thought, I would have thought older students who are forced to do something would be more close-minded and less willing to learn, or only do the bare minimal. When I was teaching K-12, especially 9-12, there would ALWAYS be a handful of students who would do nothing, no matter what, even when given help and alternate activities. I especially had that experience in applied streams. But this is the trades! Applied streams are supposed to feed into fields like trades! What's going on? I was so amazed. Even a simple exploration activity like picking out one of the household objects that I would bring in, and discovering every possible thing about it. They were really into it! Every single student picked something out and measured the bejeezus out of it. Some chose to work alone and some chose to work in pairs. But no one was ever off-topic or doing something else (another common problem in high school classes), they actually worked at the task at hand. Another amazing thing that happened that was so different from what I was used to happened today, after their midterm. I stayed in the classroom afterward to supervise the last student writing, and used the time to begin marking everyone else's midterm. Another student took a break from the shop and dropped by the classroom and saw that his was already graded and asked to see his mark. Nothing strange so far, right? Here's where it begins to get a little different. While many students in my experience, including when I was a student myself, would just look, see if it met their threshold for self-approval and then cast it aside, he wanted to check it out and see where he made mistakes. Lots of students do that, you say? True, the ones who want to improve and understand for sure. But it gets better. Not only did he do that, he asked me why certain parts were incorrect or correct, and understood after I gave him that feedback. Still normal, you say? I have also had a lot of experience, with students (and my classmates when I was a student), arguing for lost marks and arguing for the right answer and combing through the notes, and shoving it under the teacher's face. Again, he continued to astound me. He asked for clarification on why a certain answer was incorrect, and after receiving the feedback, he said "oh ok, I'll know for next time". He then went back to the shop. A few minutes later, they descended like wolves! They all came into class, hungry to know their mark! But not only that, they behaved all exactly or similarly to the first student, checking it over, seeing their mistakes, wanting to understand it clearly, and being humble about it! There were a few that jokingly asked for part marks, but meant it lightly and did not push or argue. On top of everything, they were very supportive to each other: as they would shake their heads and mutter to themselves "oh darn, that was stupid of me", another would say something along the lines of "ah well, there's always next time" or "ah well now you know how to improve!" YES. THESE ARE REAL-LIFE QUOTES FROM HARDCORE ADULT CONSTRUCTION WORKER GUYS, FORCED TO DO BASIC MATH! Why could ALL these phenomenons be? This almost seems like a perfect classroom! I have thought of several reasons, but I am still having trouble understanding it, because every reason also has its own rebuttal! 1) They're forced to be there and it's a requirement to pass or else they lose attendance in the program. (But if this was the case, why don't they just strive for the bare minimal? After all, their behaviour and actions in class don't count toward their marks, so why do anything at all?) 2) They know they need to use the math for the trades they're in (But some of the required topics are completely irrelevant like calculating , so why wouldn't they just do the minimum to pass? See number 1) 3) They like the teacher and the coordinator (my boss). (But they would work equally as hard when there was a previous teacher, 2 teachers ago, who was verbally abusive to them and call them stupid and say things like "oh my 5 year old son can do this, you can't?" I only know from what they told me). 4) They enjoy the math they are learning (But even the ones who are struggling and don't like it, still do the work, do the activities, and still participate) 5) It's a supportive environment to learn math. (I can't think of a good rebuttal to this one, it seems to good to be true and that can't be all of it, can it?) If anyone else has any ideas about any of these events, please let me know! Whatever's going on here, if we can unlock the secret and sprinkle even 10% of it into each classroom around the world, this world would be crazy better! Vastly different perspectives... Students in different contexts can have such different perspectives on learning and motivation, and I too now have vastly different perspectives about other jobs in education, as well as understanding how context and audience can make such a huge difference in the way people learn and want to learn. I just started a new hobby, called Geocaching. Geocaching is an international treasure-hunting hobby-game in which players can use GPS coordinates to find Geocaches placed around the area by other players! Once you find one, you can write your Geocaching username and the date and share you experience of the search. Optionally, you can take an item from the box, while replacing with an item of your own. It's pretty fun and a great motivation for exercise. Perfect to get warmed up for hardcore race training in a few weeks! (And some AQ and ABQ courses!)
I am so excited for my next few adventures! Marathons was a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe one day. Registered up for the 2015 Ottawa Night Race and will be running the 5K team race with one of my best friends Alice, on August 15th! Also registered for the 10K Canadian Run on September 5th. And last but not least, I have registered for the Terry Fox Run on September 20th! Please sponsor me here: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=2882806&langPref=en-CA#&panel1-2 And I have registered for "Special Education Part 1" AQ through ETFO and "Junior" ABQ through Queen's. PHEW! It looks like it will be a jam-packed summer, especially with training and doing courses. There goes the last of my money, but hopefully it will be worth it one day. Today was the last day of teacher's college and the end of my stint at Queen's University for post-secondary education. I am still in disbelief - I still think I will be seeing all my friends and cracking open the textbooks again in school in September. But alas, it won't be so.
However, I have a lot to do. Between applying for jobs (mainly trying to get on the supply and emergency supply lists anywhere I can), creating and polishing this website-portfolio, and moving back in with the 'rents, things are surprisingly busy. But all these accounts! I can't keep track of them all! Gmail, Hotmail, Queen's Email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Weebly, Instagram, and even DeviantArt. I even have a Twitter, a Pintrest, and a Tumblr, but I don't actively go on those. Maybe Google or Apple should combine forces and just buy all the major social networking sites, and put them all together. |
AuthorCarrie Sun Archives
August 2015
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