WestCaST Wonderful!

To begin, I have to say that WestCAST was awesome!  Heading into it I wasn’t too sure what to think of what was up coming, but quickly realized how beneficial it all was.  Each and every presenter that I heard and saw was great, I have never learned so much in such a short span of time.  One session for example, on rubric, was more informational than a whole course based on that stuff. The keynote speakers on Thursday and Friday mornings were great.  Ian Ross and Alex Couros had totally different topics, but could take away many new things from both.  I truly wish I could have seen Hannah Taylor on Saturday morning, but sadly had to attend a funeral. 
The first session on Thursday morning I had presented, Math Resource Kits with Sandy, it went great and I think the people who attended got to take away a lot of great ideas.  The second session I attended was on Inclusion, it was by a young lady from the University of Manitoba.  She did a great job all by herself, presenting the ideas of Therapeutic Pedagogy and a school called Mulberry Bush in the UK.
The third session was the one on Rubric, which was so very informational and useful.  I was impressed with what she was able to present in such a short time.  The final session of Day 1 was POE science experiments.  POE stands for Predict-Observe-Explain, it was a very fun, hands-on sort of session.  They gave a cd with the different experiments with ideas to be modified for different grade levels.

My day 2 started off with a great presentation by some BU girls on EAL.  I liked how they started off with a lady from El Salvador giving instructions to cut the paper and fold it into a boat, Very Fun!  They also had lots of great ideas and resources for if we encounter EAL students which in this day and age is very, very likely. The second session of the day that I attended was by Brenda Margetts and two second year Ed students from BU.  It was on kindergarten units and how easy and fun they can be.  The third session of day 2 was with the same lady who presented on rubric, but this one was on interviews as assessment tools.  Again, she made it very informative and useful.  My last session was one on how we will experience multicultural classrooms.  It gave tips and tricks to use within the classroom.  One idea that I really liked was called the FWC, or Five Word Challenge.  It is where you would choose 5 words from a different language and teach them and utilize them in a week.  I thought it could very easily help with EAL students and having them teach the classroom their language, and having them become comfortable within a classroom.

Though I didn’t take part in the social evening activities, I still found WestCAST to be a lot of fun and very informational and useful.  It’s already got me thinking about going next year!

Governance in Education

It is important as teachers to know and have a good understanding of governance of the education system you are working in, because it will have impact on your job and career.  It makes a whole lot of sense to have even a slight idea of who makes certain decisions, especially those that can directly affect my job.  I think it’s important to have knowledge of control, let’s say if things need to change, you need to know where the influence lies. 

In Canada, the Federal Government provides the provincial government with funding.  The Provincial government in turn is in charge of the Education Act, which is the laws of education, and they are also in charge of setting the curriculum.  The Provincial government also has control over the School Divisions and School boards.  School divisions are a public entity and the school board, a board of elected officials, is in charge of the division, which is also in charge of money and direction.   School boards also do the hiring of principals of schools.  The superintendent is in charge of procedures and all things at the school level. 

As a teacher, I believe it is a good idea to have even the most basic understanding of all this, because as I said before if things need to change, you need to know where the influence lies. 

His Story...the history of education

To me being a history major, I feel that knowing the history of Education is really worth knowing.  Even for those who don’t enjoy history it should be something they need or at least want to know.  To know where it began, how it has evolved, and all the major changes that can easily tell us where education is going. 

In the early years of Canada schools were predominantly run by the church, but nowadays it is not very often you see that.  Most church run schools now are private, and few and far between.  We are now living in a secular world.  The church is gone by the wayside in all aspects.  Early schools based a lot of their teaching on the three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic, whereas now our education is outcome based and assessment driven.  We like to see learning in wide views from many different angles, whereas in the “olden” days it was straight laced right from wrong. 

I as a teacher enjoy seeing how education has evolved, and I like seeing where it is going.  As a prospective teacher, I want to be part of more change, change in how we approach things (for the better), and change in how we let our children learn, to flourish, to let them be as brilliant as they are.

MY MTS

What is expected of me as a professional?

   That question is a good one to answer before beginning as a teacher, as a professional.  Not only the MTS Code of Professional Practice, but any Code of Conduct is important to figure out before beginning a job. 
First looking over the Code of Professional Practice, it looks like a confusing read, but after reading it I believe it is quite straight forward. 
   The code of practice ties in with Professionalism and Sergiovanni’s Four Commitments discussed earlier.  It’s basically a guideline of how you are to act as a professional.  I will take it personally as my guidelines of how to act and go forth my business as a professional teacher. 

   I believe the MTS Code of Professional Practice will help me as a teacher to understand not only what is expected of me, but what is also expected of my colleagues and the MTS.  For me to uphold my duties as a professional under the MTS Code of Professional Practice some qualities need to always be practiced:
- respect
- honesty
- confidentiality in discussions (public and private)
- sharing of resources/knowledge/strategies
- helping wherever I can
- constructive criticism
- flexibility, and;
- openness to suggestions.

   I feel comfortable knowing  that in the future, as a professional teacher, I will have the backing of the MTS and will never be on my own in any situation.

Sir G. O' Vanni: A Professional

For me professionalism means something along the lines of:

-Believing passionately in what you do, never compromising your standards and values, and caring about students, colleagues, and your own career. (David Maister)

-Meticulous adherence to courtesy, honesty, and responsibility in one’s dealing with students, colleagues, and parents and community. (business dictionary)

Most of all, Professionalism as a teacher is:
-Adhering to a standard of high quality while incorporating an element of fun, without sacrificing your beliefs and values, all the while being a Life Long Learner (Triple L’s). It is also recognizing and utilizing all the resources of your community, parents, and colleagues, and providing your own expertise as a resource.

I believe that these three parts all combined and individually reflect Sergiovanni’s Four Commitments to Professionalism.  The four commitments gave me a lot of insight of what it means to be a professional, and how it’s not only in the workplace where it is to be observed, but also in public.  

The Four Commitments To Professionalism:

1.       Commitment to Caring – I strongly believe that as a teacher this will be very, very important.  It would be the most vital part, not only for the students, but everyone else who sees you in your work, i.e. parents, colleagues, etc.

2.       Commitment to Practice in Exemplary ways – to me I think this is how I will be “showing” myself as a professional.  It will be visible within my lesson plans, classroom management, appearance, and presentation within the workplace.

3.       Commitment to One’s Own Practice but also to the Practice itself – I believe I will reflect this with what I call the Triple L’s, to be a Life Long Learner!  It will include continually developing professionally, taking a student teacher (someone who will teach you new way, new ideas of classroom management, and possibly lesson plans), helping with MTS or whichever organization that supports me as a teacher.  

4.       Commitment to Valued Social Ends – being a teacher is all about making the world a better place, and always influencing the lives of the young people you teach.

For me this part on professionalism and Sergiovanni has brought me closer to believing in myself as a Teacher, a Professional.  It will help me to develop my educational philosophy in ways I couldn’t have developed prior to these ideas.  I hope to mimic these ideas in the future boosting me to Professional status!

SUBJECT vs. PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

I would have to say that subject knowledge is a small part of being an early years teacher.  It may be different with senior years teachers, as some have pointed out, but to me for being an early years teacher it would be in I CAN TEACH.  It's not always what you know, or know how to do.  Like hockey coaches, not all were great hockey players, but they know the game and know HOW TO COACH/teach. 
During my student teaching placement, I had this very thing brought to my attention.  My cooperating teacher asked me to teach a class on something I wasn't familiar with.  I was to teach the grade 8 class during my last week, how to cup clap.  He gave me a sheet and told me to look it up on youtube, and said "you may never get it, but can you teach it".  That stuck with me the whole time, as I watched the video and attempted cup clapping, it was pretty difficult.  The day came that I was to teach the class to cup clap, so I taught them how.  I did not show them as I could not do it myself, I broke it down into steps for them to try and then to put it all together.  They all got it quicker than I did, and some much better than others.  Some so good they had a little competition and I gave some treats to the winner. 
It was because of this that I believe that it is more than just what you know that makes one a good teacher, it is more about can you teach, can you relate to the students, understand what they understand and build on that. 
Like discussed in class some teachers know the subject and that is all, I had a grade  9 math teacher like that, was a math expert, but could not teach.
Professional knowledge 1 - Subject knowledge 0!

WHY TEACH??

Why I want to teach?  Ever since the age that I figured out I can't be a fire truck or a tiger, I had wanted to be a professional hockey player, like most young boys growing up, playing hockey in Canada.  As I grew older that dream faded, as reality sunk in and I wasn't Wayne Gretzky, though I can say I portrayed Doug Risebrough in Keep Your Head up Kid: the Don Cherry Story, which would be the closest I ever come!  It would probably be in middle years and high school that I started figuring out that I would like to be a teacher, I enjoyed watching my younger cousin grow and thought it would be a good profession, and SUMMERS OFF, WOOO HOOO! 

After high school, I took some time to just have fun, working terrible part-time jobs and hanging out with friends.  When I applied for University the first thing I wanted to do was become a teacher, but the first two years my grades sucked so I gave up on that and just floated around taking a bunch of random courses which had nothing to do with anything.  As I mentioned before my grandma died in 2005 and I crashed completely.  It was two more years of failing and borderline depression, then I realized I could be so much more.  Inspired by a few things I went back on course to become a teacher. 

Now as I'm almost a teacher I can tell you that:
1. I want to make a difference, and have the same impact on kids as some teachers and my grandma had on me.
2. I look forward to the challenges and rewards that come along with being a teacher.
3. I'm a kid at heart and my hearts in kids.