Category: Education
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N is for Navigation
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! A cool thing that occurred to me is how maps show the big picture, not just point A to point B like GPS gadgets do. I think that is really…
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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…
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M is for Mindset
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 three concentric circles if you will.…
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L is for Light
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 light.…
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Ready, Set, Climate Action
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 were just that… an overactive…
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K is for Knowledge
What’s the point of teaching knowledge when we have Google? Well, it’s simple, because you don’t know what you don’t know. You need to know something to ask something of Google, right? Furthermore, how do you know you should even be asking something in the first place? William Poundstone considers this very conundrum in his…
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J is for Jawbreakers and the Jabberwock
My tongue was a different colour every other day for more than two weeks that summer. The day I saw that jawbreaker I knew I had to get it. It was HUGE! Talk about bang for your buck or quarter as the case may be. I was so excited when Mom let me get it.…
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I is for Imagine
A humble imitation of Margaret Atwood’s reveries on a piece of bread. Imagine a classroom. You don’t have to imagine it, you’re in it right now. The colorful poster on the wall with the sparkly stars that says “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars” stares back at you…
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H is for Happy
Happy makes the learning happen As parents we all voice the same sentiment for our children: “I just want them to be happy.” But do we actively practice that sentiment? Do we teach the frames of mind that would ensure happiness in our children? Do we really know what being happy actually means? Much research…
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G is for Galileo
Galileo experimented, pondered, and tested theories thereby laying the foundations of what we now know as the scientific method. He was also a keen observer, inventer and thought deeply on almost everything – definitely a Renaissance man. It’s an understatement to say he was very clever, and he was very clever at many different things, so…