Latest news on the non-school front:
Effective in just over a week, I am the president of Paddle Manitoba.
School today was really good, despite it being Thursday. The first class I have is one where the subject material can be dense and less tangible, but twice today, the whole class was laughing so hard that people were crying. We were doing mini-presentations about different types of teaching (direct, indirect, transmissive, transactional, etc). The group doing indirect was doing a mini-lesson plan on gravity and Aristotle's hypothesis that heavier objects fall faster than light ones. One group dropped an empty nalgene and a full nalgene as their two objects, and the full one must have hit at a point key to the structure of the thing because it shattered! To understand the other funny thing, you'd have to know the prof involved, but we were dying laughing. It made the day good.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
busy!
If we weren't passed the initial calm of starting off the term, we are now.
I just realized that I have 8 things due for school in the next 3 weeks. That does not take in to account normal readings and little things that come up in classes. The 4th week is Reading Week, during which I have one thing due. Then the week we come back, there are 4. Oi? Where did this come from? And I'm only taking 4 classes right now!
I just realized that I have 8 things due for school in the next 3 weeks. That does not take in to account normal readings and little things that come up in classes. The 4th week is Reading Week, during which I have one thing due. Then the week we come back, there are 4. Oi? Where did this come from? And I'm only taking 4 classes right now!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Going back to university classes after student teaching is laaammmmmme.
Four classes this semester. Two are very practical and the prof (same for both) is great. One is a drier subject material, but I'm starting to really appreciate the prof. The fourth makes me want to poke my eyes out. It's completely useless.
Four classes this semester. Two are very practical and the prof (same for both) is great. One is a drier subject material, but I'm starting to really appreciate the prof. The fourth makes me want to poke my eyes out. It's completely useless.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
dinosaur comics
I read the "dinosaur comics" website every day. For the past week or so, I've been wishing that they were appropriate to use in class, since I really wanted to show this one to my students.
Digestive energy! It's like food chains!
Toni, my cooperating teacher, would call me a nerd for liking this comic. We have a *supportive* *special* relationship. aka we've really bonded and get along well!
Digestive energy! It's like food chains!
Toni, my cooperating teacher, would call me a nerd for liking this comic. We have a *supportive* *special* relationship. aka we've really bonded and get along well!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
new adventures
It's been occurring to me that I could be continuing to use this site for my more recent adventures. I wonder why I haven't been?
Since September, I have been going to the U of W (that's Winnipeg, for all of you who will think Waterloo), working on a B.Ed. in senior years education. I applied when I got back from Europe last year, and never really expected to get in. Not entirely sure why - something about undergrad taught me the feeling of "can't". But two great references and an entrance essay later, and what do you know.
This program is two (academic) years long, and has two parts to it. The first is our university courses. We have 9-week terms. In the first term, I had three curriculum-based courses (math, physics, and the theory of science teaching) that are designed to introduce us to the MB curriculum, ideas for teaching, activities, evaluation, planning, etc etc. I had the same prof for all 3, and he is extremely knowledgeable and his courses were a great help. The other two were more theoretical - one called Foundations of Teaching and Learning, and the other was Intro to Special Ed. Fdns has mainly been philosophy and psychology so far. Interesting, though not immediately practical. Spec.Ed. was a lot more like a course in classroom management with a section on special ed., which is vaguely unfortunate since I am quite interested in special ed. specifically. Not that the other stuff wasn't useful, but... Next term I continue with math, physics, and Fdns, and add a course about literacy at the senior years. Overall the stuff at U of W is alright, but not stellar.
Student teaching is where most of the learning happens. I am working at a small K-8 Catholic school called Holy Cross. It is amazing. I was placed with a teacher who does grade 7 and 8 science, and K-3 phys. ed. It's an interesting mix, and she's amazing to work with. I've always known that junior high is not my forte or preferred age group, and this experience has verified that for me, so it's great that we have the breaks of being with the little kids. I have a few days left in a block of 5 weeks of being there full time. I've been teaching a unit to our two classes of grade 7s called "Interactions Within Ecosystems." Food chains, photosynthesis, that sort of thing. I've really been enjoying getting in to the community of the school. I will be sad to leave at the end of the year. I've been doing so well on my official evaluations when a woman from the university comes to visit, and my cooperating teacher says she's seen me improving as well. It just seems natural.
Since September, I have been going to the U of W (that's Winnipeg, for all of you who will think Waterloo), working on a B.Ed. in senior years education. I applied when I got back from Europe last year, and never really expected to get in. Not entirely sure why - something about undergrad taught me the feeling of "can't". But two great references and an entrance essay later, and what do you know.
This program is two (academic) years long, and has two parts to it. The first is our university courses. We have 9-week terms. In the first term, I had three curriculum-based courses (math, physics, and the theory of science teaching) that are designed to introduce us to the MB curriculum, ideas for teaching, activities, evaluation, planning, etc etc. I had the same prof for all 3, and he is extremely knowledgeable and his courses were a great help. The other two were more theoretical - one called Foundations of Teaching and Learning, and the other was Intro to Special Ed. Fdns has mainly been philosophy and psychology so far. Interesting, though not immediately practical. Spec.Ed. was a lot more like a course in classroom management with a section on special ed., which is vaguely unfortunate since I am quite interested in special ed. specifically. Not that the other stuff wasn't useful, but... Next term I continue with math, physics, and Fdns, and add a course about literacy at the senior years. Overall the stuff at U of W is alright, but not stellar.
Student teaching is where most of the learning happens. I am working at a small K-8 Catholic school called Holy Cross. It is amazing. I was placed with a teacher who does grade 7 and 8 science, and K-3 phys. ed. It's an interesting mix, and she's amazing to work with. I've always known that junior high is not my forte or preferred age group, and this experience has verified that for me, so it's great that we have the breaks of being with the little kids. I have a few days left in a block of 5 weeks of being there full time. I've been teaching a unit to our two classes of grade 7s called "Interactions Within Ecosystems." Food chains, photosynthesis, that sort of thing. I've really been enjoying getting in to the community of the school. I will be sad to leave at the end of the year. I've been doing so well on my official evaluations when a woman from the university comes to visit, and my cooperating teacher says she's seen me improving as well. It just seems natural.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I think Blogger is permanently in French for me. Maybe because I've used it way more overseas that I have here?
This isn't Europe-related, but I figure I might as well keep using the blog for updates on my adventures. In a week, I am heading off on the next one... back to camp! 4-month officially starts on Friday - 5 sleeps! My goodness. I am once again heading back out to the shores of MacKinnon island for my fifth go at 4-month staff. It's going be a big and exciting season in the life of MPC, with a new director, new programs, and an awesome staff team. Stay tuned....
This isn't Europe-related, but I figure I might as well keep using the blog for updates on my adventures. In a week, I am heading off on the next one... back to camp! 4-month officially starts on Friday - 5 sleeps! My goodness. I am once again heading back out to the shores of MacKinnon island for my fifth go at 4-month staff. It's going be a big and exciting season in the life of MPC, with a new director, new programs, and an awesome staff team. Stay tuned....
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