"talking about divergent topics in other classes would encourage students to see the interconnectedness of our world"
S is for System
R is for Reflection
Mirror, mirror, on the wall... Usually, when we talk about reflection in education we are referring to assessment and evaluation. We evaluate through reflecting, that is, thoughtful consideration (#7) or meditation (#6) on something. Both of these qualify as the action we take as educators to assess and evaluate whether it be our students or…
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Q is for Questions and Not Getting Caught in the Quagmire
A teacher's job is full of questions; that's what we do really, live in questions. Answering, asking, composing, rephrasing -- all those questions fill our day. And then we ask some more questions -- questions that we hope will challenge our students, push them deeper, and foster critical thinking. We perfect our questioning skills to…
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P is for Patience
"If we want to live wider and deeper lives, not just faster ones, we have to practice patience -- patience with ourselves, with other people, and with the big and small circumstances of life itself." M. J. Ryan Have you ever felt frustrated? Exasperated? I think those are pretty natural feelings to experience occasionally but…
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O is for Outside the Box
"Once you stop learning, you start dying." Albert Einstein We hear the phrase "outside the box" a lot and it can get tedious through overuse. It can also be scary to people who feel they aren't that creative or who don't want to be WAY out there. The thing is I don't mean outside the…
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N is for Navigation
Audio read by Lynn Thomas I love old maps. They speak to me of adventure, exploration, new worlds. Ultimately, they tell stories, and being an English teacher, I love stories! Sea map of PortugalGedaente en ... vant Landt van Portugal; from: Mariner’s Mirror,Lucas Jansz Waghenaer, 1584 A cool thing that occurred to me is how…
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Empowerment and Star Trek
Today I want to tell you about Sarah. Sarah is a student in my grade 10 academic English class. I don't have to engage Sarah. She came engaged and ready to learn because she has goals, big goals, laudable goals. But, Sarah struggles in my class sometimes. She has a hard time keeping up with the readings. Sarah has…
M is for Mindset
Audio as read by Lynn Thomas There is a lot of talk about mindset in education today, and I agree, it is important; I just think that we put too much emphasis on only one type of mindset and we need to broaden our scope. I see mindset on three levels that are interdependent, picture…
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L is for Light
https://view.genial.ly/5d39d17d349b990f8d319e7e/social-action-light-it-up The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Let there be light. (A teacher's life) Dawn Illuminate, elucidate, fill with curiosity and wonder. Morning Bring to light. Use a light touch. Trip the light fantastic. midday Light bulb moment. Brilliance, radiance. Afternoon See the light. Blaze, glare, dazzle. Understanding, enlightenment. Sunset See things in a different…
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Ready, Set, Climate Action
Audio reading by Lynn Thomas The fall of 2017 was a turning point for me. It marked my official deep dive into global projects... and I was terrified! All the 'what if' scary scenarios popped in my head like 'what if my students hate it?', or 'what if I bomb this?' Fortunately, those scary scenarios…
