Welcome back teachers, administrators, parents, and students!I am happy to launch the school year, and work with students again! I hope your summer was fantastic, restful, and inspiring.Teachers in Vancouver and the province (who are members of the British Columbia Teacher's Federation) are in phase one of job action. Teachers are trying to achieve improvements to conditions in our schools along with a fair and reasonable salary and benefits package. The union (BCTF) and BCPSEA (BC Public School Employer's Association) are negotiating our collective agreement. Bargaining must be a difficult and tenuous process for both sides - I can't imagine being part of this complex process!What does this mean for teachers, and specifically, the Challenge Centre? I am in the process of clarifying this for teachers who want to refer students to our gifted programs. Here are a few things I do know:
Teachers can submit referrals to programs, as long as the paperwork is done during school time.
Teachers can attend our Contact Meeting on Oct. 3rd, as it will be during school hours and is lead by other teachers.
I will be updating this blog as to what can and can't be done with regards to job action and the challenge centre.
Well, let's do our best and inspire our students! "The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn" - John Lubbock (1834-1913); English writer.
Welcome back teachers, administrators, parents, and students!
I am happy to launch the school year, and work with students again! I hope your summer was fantastic, restful, and inspiring.
Teachers in Vancouver and the province (who are members of the British Columbia Teacher's Federation) are in phase one of job action. Teachers are trying to achieve improvements to conditions in our schools along with a fair and reasonable salary and benefits package. The union (BCTF) and BCPSEA (BC Public School Employer's Association) are negotiating our collective agreement. Bargaining must be a difficult and tenuous process for both sides - I can't imagine being part of this complex process!
What does this mean for teachers, and specifically, the Challenge Centre?
I am in the process of clarifying this for teachers who want to refer students to our gifted programs. Here are a few things I do know:
Teachers can submit referrals to programs, as long as the paperwork is done during school time.
Teachers can attend our Contact Meeting on Oct. 3rd, as it will be during school hours and is lead by other teachers.
I will be updating this blog as to what can and can't be done with regards to job action and the challenge centre.
Well, let's do our best and inspire our students!
"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn" - John Lubbock (1834-1913); English writer.
There are many ways to get the children ready for school. Right now the stores are packed with parents buying school clothes, knap sacks, lunch boxes, school supplies, and computers to aid their children in learning.
What should you do to get your child ready for school?Look ahead with the year in mind! You can either have a family meeting, depending upon your child's age, or you can think about the following ideas, and plan accordingly.I reflect upon the year ahead of us with the family. Since my sons are old enough, we have a meeting that includes their ideas. A Family Meeting! These are the things we address.1. Appropriate bed time. For all students, this is so IMPORTANT. Students need more than 8 hours of sleep; students need 10-12 hours. We talk about a firm bed time, and then we count backwards: bath or shower time, reading before bed, and we chose a time to start the bedtime process. Ours usually begins at 7:30 pm with lights out at 8:30 (I have a 10 year old and an 8 year old). I give them an hour, to leave time to have our bed time discussions....do you like this book I am reading to you? What was the good thing about your day at school? Was there anything that made you laugh? Bedtime discussions are my "check in" times with my kids. Usually they are quieter and calmer, and are ready to talk about their day.
2. School routines. If you do not know your child's school schedule, that is okay, but it is important to figure out all the necessary things like how the kids get to school, who picks them up, do they have to take a lunch, and so forth. You need to establish a wake up time, how breakfast will be organized, the packing of knapsacks, lunches, is it a Physical Education day and the kids need appropriate attire? Is there a fieldtrip? Are any notices due? It can be extremely overwhelming, but it is good to establish who does what and when.For example, this year, my kids are responsible for: 1. homework done2. knapsacks packed3. coats and shoes ready4. teeth brushed5. knowledge of whether or not they need to bring gym strip that day, and have it packed in knapsack. My husband or I will make breakfast and their lunches, but our goal for our sons is to learn to be more independent and responsible.
Now, if you have younger children, you will have to figure out and plan "getting ready" for school. Thinking through it all, and having a plan makes the mornings much more easy and smooth. 3. Computers, social media, gaming systems. As the year begins, make decisions about television time, computer use, and gaming time. Will you allow television during the week? How about surfing the web....is there a time limit? Or Playstation or DS or Wii? Can your child play these games during the week?
It is important to have clear guidelines from the beginning. For our family, we don't have cable (yah!!!) so we don't have the TV to worry about, but we have Netflix and Apple TV, so our goal is to establish if and when there is any movie watching during the week.
As well, with computer use, establish if you will allow this and when. What can your kids view? Where is the computer and are there parental controls? For our family, the rule is that the computer is in a room with adult supervision, and we allow a bit of free time after homework is done. We haven't put any parental controls on our computers, as we are experimenting with the kids deciding what is appropriate or not, and having conversations about this.
Finally, with gaming systems, establish when or if your child will be able to use during the week. With the Playstation, we don't allow gaming during the school week; only on Friday afternoon and Saturday after we have outdoor and personal interactive time. 4. Homework. Some students have it and others don't. My kids have homework usually Mon-Thurs. I have them do their homework after school before dinner. Usually they come home, have a snack, and read for 30 minutes, and then begin their homework. Reading is mandatory, so either it is done after school or before bed.Having set routines and guidelines established will help avoid arguments, and will let your child know that there are clear expectations for learning and how the school year will unfold.
There are many ways to get the children ready for school. Right now the stores are packed with parents buying school clothes, knap sacks, lunch boxes, school supplies, and computers to aid their children in learning.
What should you do to get your child ready for school?
Look ahead with the year in mind! You can either have a family meeting, depending upon your child's age, or you can think about the following ideas, and plan accordingly.
I reflect upon the year ahead of us with the family. Since my sons are old enough, we have a meeting that includes their ideas. A Family Meeting! These are the things we address.
1. Appropriate bed time. For all students, this is so IMPORTANT. Students need more than 8 hours of sleep; students need 10-12 hours. We talk about a firm bed time, and then we count backwards: bath or shower time, reading before bed, and we chose a time to start the bedtime process. Ours usually begins at 7:30 pm with lights out at 8:30 (I have a 10 year old and an 8 year old). I give them an hour, to leave time to have our bed time discussions....do you like this book I am reading to you? What was the good thing about your day at school? Was there anything that made you laugh? Bedtime discussions are my "check in" times with my kids. Usually they are quieter and calmer, and are ready to talk about their day.
2. School routines. If you do not know your child's school schedule, that is okay, but it is important to figure out all the necessary things like how the kids get to school, who picks them up, do they have to take a lunch, and so forth. You need to establish a wake up time, how breakfast will be organized, the packing of knapsacks, lunches, is it a Physical Education day and the kids need appropriate attire? Is there a fieldtrip? Are any notices due? It can be extremely overwhelming, but it is good to establish who does what and when.
For example, this year, my kids are responsible for:
1. homework done
2. knapsacks packed
3. coats and shoes ready
4. teeth brushed
5. knowledge of whether or not they need to bring gym strip that day, and have it packed in knapsack.
My husband or I will make breakfast and their lunches, but our goal for our sons is to learn to be more independent and responsible.
Now, if you have younger children, you will have to figure out and plan "getting ready" for school. Thinking through it all, and having a plan makes the mornings much more easy and smooth.
3. Computers, social media, gaming systems. As the year begins, make decisions about television time, computer use, and gaming time. Will you allow television during the week? How about surfing the web....is there a time limit? Or Playstation or DS or Wii? Can your child play these games during the week?
It is important to have clear guidelines from the beginning. For our family, we don't have cable (yah!!!) so we don't have the TV to worry about, but we have Netflix and Apple TV, so our goal is to establish if and when there is any movie watching during the week.
As well, with computer use, establish if you will allow this and when. What can your kids view? Where is the computer and are there parental controls? For our family, the rule is that the computer is in a room with adult supervision, and we allow a bit of free time after homework is done. We haven't put any parental controls on our computers, as we are experimenting with the kids deciding what is appropriate or not, and having conversations about this.
Finally, with gaming systems, establish when or if your child will be able to use during the week. With the Playstation, we don't allow gaming during the school week; only on Friday afternoon and Saturday after we have outdoor and personal interactive time.
4. Homework. Some students have it and others don't. My kids have homework usually Mon-Thurs. I have them do their homework after school before dinner. Usually they come home, have a snack, and read for 30 minutes, and then begin their homework. Reading is mandatory, so either it is done after school or before bed.
Having set routines and guidelines established will help avoid arguments, and will let your child know that there are clear expectations for learning and how the school year will unfold.
I love going back to school; I am filled with fear "how am I going to do it all this year with work, family, keeping up with my field..." and on it goes; but there is something wonderful about closing summer and beginning the year.This year is especially bright as my oldest is entering grade five. Grade five is my special year; this was the first grade I taught, and I love the curriculum. I love the age. I am a classic grade five teacher and I can't wait to return to teach that grade. The students are on their way with reading, they can write, and they have a level of independence that is so lovely. They want to do things and take on responsibility!!!! It is truly my favourite grade to teach. So, as a back to school treat, I thought I would watch the documentary Waiting for Superman with my kids. I am generally a poor documentary follower - documentaries make me really nervous for these reasons:1. Usually a broad brushstroke is taken to a hugely complex problem or issue2. It is filtered through the eyes of the documentary maker3. The documentary is taken as the "word of God" or the "truth" for many individuals, and all sorts of things get distorted. Now, I know that Davis Guggenheim is highly regarded, and overall, he has an interesting idea: take on public education! These are my thoughts after watching:1. Yikes, is this the state of education in the USA? Or parts of the USA? And this is precisely the way the writers want me to think....is it all really that awful? I know that it isn't and I know that there are fantastic schools; so why am I starting to think in "broad brush strokes" like this?
2. Poverty and the American dream....diametrically opposed yet so intertwined. I found the sequences with many of the struggling families universal: wanting a better future for their children, working hard to make this happen, and yet, so far away from their goal.
3. Where is the dignity of the individual? I found watching the end sequence, where families and their children were waiting to see if they made it into a charter school, and their names were called out it public, very very very sad. My sons asked, "Mommy why are you crying?" I was crying for each of those families not able to get into the school their child needed, and in a way, being publicly shamed because they were not chosen. How awful. Was I watching a documentary or a horror film?Did I like it? Not really. I didn't feel uplifted by the social message. I visited the website. We can do it...we can make education better. And yet, I don't think the problem is really a problem of education. It is easy to target. Just like health care, or taxes, or the state of the economy. I think our education system mirrors who we are, and what we value, as a society. So I will leave it at that (yikes, another brush stroke!!!). Do you value education? Does the country you live in value education? What about the city you live in? The community? Your family?
I love going back to school; I am filled with fear "how am I going to do it all this year with work, family, keeping up with my field..." and on it goes; but there is something wonderful about closing summer and beginning the year.
This year is especially bright as my oldest is entering grade five. Grade five is my special year; this was the first grade I taught, and I love the curriculum. I love the age. I am a classic grade five teacher and I can't wait to return to teach that grade. The students are on their way with reading, they can write, and they have a level of independence that is so lovely. They want to do things and take on responsibility!!!! It is truly my favourite grade to teach.
So, as a back to school treat, I thought I would watch the documentary Waiting for Superman with my kids. I am generally a poor documentary follower - documentaries make me really nervous for these reasons:
1. Usually a broad brushstroke is taken to a hugely complex problem or issue
2. It is filtered through the eyes of the documentary maker
3. The documentary is taken as the "word of God" or the "truth" for many individuals, and all sorts of things get distorted.
Now, I know that Davis Guggenheim is highly regarded, and overall, he has an interesting idea: take on public education!
These are my thoughts after watching:
1. Yikes, is this the state of education in the USA? Or parts of the USA? And this is precisely the way the writers want me to think....is it all really that awful? I know that it isn't and I know that there are fantastic schools; so why am I starting to think in "broad brush strokes" like this?
2. Poverty and the American dream....diametrically opposed yet so intertwined. I found the sequences with many of the struggling families universal: wanting a better future for their children, working hard to make this happen, and yet, so far away from their goal.
3. Where is the dignity of the individual? I found watching the end sequence, where families and their children were waiting to see if they made it into a charter school, and their names were called out it public, very very very sad. My sons asked, "Mommy why are you crying?" I was crying for each of those families not able to get into the school their child needed, and in a way, being publicly shamed because they were not chosen. How awful. Was I watching a documentary or a horror film?
Did I like it? Not really. I didn't feel uplifted by the social message. I visited the website. We can do it...we can make education better. And yet, I don't think the problem is really a problem of education. It is easy to target. Just like health care, or taxes, or the state of the economy.
I think our education system mirrors who we are, and what we value, as a society. So I will leave it at that (yikes, another brush stroke!!!).
Do you value education? Does the country you live in value education? What about the city you live in? The community? Your family?
I found a great new blog that is inspiring called the Pithy Python.I just read a great entry called a Tale of Two Nine Year Olds. Please read as it is very meaningful. This is what I have being saying to parents again and again: read to your child, inspire them with literature. It will make all the difference in their lives!A great blog to follow!
