www.youthsuicide.ca
www.suicidal.com
www.metanoia.org/suicide
www.kidshelpphone.ca
www.kidshealth.org
www.stopcyberbullying.org/teens
www.dbsalliance.org
www.sp-rc.ca
www.bullyingcanada.ca
www.cmha.ca
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Cyber-Bullying and Teen Suicide Unit
This week I began a new unit on cyber-bullying and teen suicide with my grade 9 health class at my last student teaching placement. I put together all of the resources and knowledge that I have gained over this past semester at BU to create this unit. The final assessment is going to be a Public Service Announcement raising awareness about bullying and suicide. I cannot wait to see what the students come up with!
First of all, this is an excellent class. They are great for having discussion about these issues. Most are not afraid to speak up, and those that say nothing are still engaged in our discussions. The first day of class, we discussed the differences between traditional bullying and cyber-bullying. The students did a survey on how bad they think bullying is in this school. Today I showed them the results of the survey in a bar graph. They seemed to really be shocked by the results. Bullying and cyber-bullying are issues here and everywhere. I'm glad this began our class because it makes the information relevant. I also showed a short video to begin class. Students became emotional, and it really opened them up for the rest of the class. I was lucky enough to receive some resources from a prof at BU that we used in class. First we did an agree/disagree sheet to touch on some statistics and facts related to suicide. Then, I divided students into groups and they guessed the suicide risk for each scenario. Students were visibly shaken when I told them that all of these students had committed suicide. I then shared my personal story about a friend who committed suicide. I really felt like I got to them! I'm excited that we are going to start "being the change" as a class. I want us to be leaders in this school!
Here are a list of things the students learned in today's class:
Signs to watch for when a person is considering suicide: bullying, appearance changes, being tired, excluded, grades down, quitting sports or clubs, sudden happiness, planning a suicide attempt, giving things away, loss, family or parent problems, drug and alcohol use, uncharacteristic behaviour, stop caring, acting out, break-ups, divorce
How to help yourself and others: focus on positives, get help, talk, include people, do fun things: sports, music, friends, eat well, build self-confidence in self and others, follow the school rules on bullying, don't bully!, give compliments, say hi to everyone, BE NICE TO PEOPLE
This is a great unit, and I hope that more teachers will start talking about this HUGE issue. I can't wait for the students to make their PSA's and for us to share them with the whole school on bully-prevention day!
First of all, this is an excellent class. They are great for having discussion about these issues. Most are not afraid to speak up, and those that say nothing are still engaged in our discussions. The first day of class, we discussed the differences between traditional bullying and cyber-bullying. The students did a survey on how bad they think bullying is in this school. Today I showed them the results of the survey in a bar graph. They seemed to really be shocked by the results. Bullying and cyber-bullying are issues here and everywhere. I'm glad this began our class because it makes the information relevant. I also showed a short video to begin class. Students became emotional, and it really opened them up for the rest of the class. I was lucky enough to receive some resources from a prof at BU that we used in class. First we did an agree/disagree sheet to touch on some statistics and facts related to suicide. Then, I divided students into groups and they guessed the suicide risk for each scenario. Students were visibly shaken when I told them that all of these students had committed suicide. I then shared my personal story about a friend who committed suicide. I really felt like I got to them! I'm excited that we are going to start "being the change" as a class. I want us to be leaders in this school!
Here are a list of things the students learned in today's class:
Signs to watch for when a person is considering suicide: bullying, appearance changes, being tired, excluded, grades down, quitting sports or clubs, sudden happiness, planning a suicide attempt, giving things away, loss, family or parent problems, drug and alcohol use, uncharacteristic behaviour, stop caring, acting out, break-ups, divorce
How to help yourself and others: focus on positives, get help, talk, include people, do fun things: sports, music, friends, eat well, build self-confidence in self and others, follow the school rules on bullying, don't bully!, give compliments, say hi to everyone, BE NICE TO PEOPLE
This is a great unit, and I hope that more teachers will start talking about this HUGE issue. I can't wait for the students to make their PSA's and for us to share them with the whole school on bully-prevention day!
Friday, March 9, 2012
My philosophy on what makes an effective teacher
This was part of an application I completed for a teaching position! The questions was asked: what do you think makes for an effective classroom teacher? What do you think of my response? I thought it might be useful to include it on my blog, which I am going to continue during student teaching.
An effective classroom teacher knows their student's ability levels, interests, strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge is very important for lesson planning and differentiating instruction. Being approachable and fair are key qualities that help to build trust and a sense of community in the classroom. An effective teacher is resourceful, having multiple methods of instructing and strategies to help students effectively retain the curriculum content. They also find ways to integrate technology into the curriculum in order to make lessons relevant and current. To be effective, a teacher needs to be professional and have good classroom management while maintaining a balance of student-centred activities and incorporating an inquiry based approach. Knowing students outside of the classroom through extracurricular activities and taking time to get to know each student is the first step in developing a positive classroom environment and being proactive in classroom discipline. First and foremost, a teacher must teach students first and content second!
An effective classroom teacher knows their student's ability levels, interests, strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge is very important for lesson planning and differentiating instruction. Being approachable and fair are key qualities that help to build trust and a sense of community in the classroom. An effective teacher is resourceful, having multiple methods of instructing and strategies to help students effectively retain the curriculum content. They also find ways to integrate technology into the curriculum in order to make lessons relevant and current. To be effective, a teacher needs to be professional and have good classroom management while maintaining a balance of student-centred activities and incorporating an inquiry based approach. Knowing students outside of the classroom through extracurricular activities and taking time to get to know each student is the first step in developing a positive classroom environment and being proactive in classroom discipline. First and foremost, a teacher must teach students first and content second!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Final Project!!!
I think this speaks for itself!!! Thanks to Prof. N and my colleagues for all of the help and support this term!
Kudos to Couros
I found the Skype chat with George Couros to be extremely helpful! First of all, I liked that George said he would not speak specifically about technology because it should be integrated in with everything else we are doing in the classroom. How true is that?!?! We have been extremely focused on technology this semester during this class, and we have all learned so much, but the next step is that we find ways to integrate the technology into what we are already doing in the classroom with the purpose of enhancing student learning. In other words, we should not be using technology just for technology sake, but with a purpose!
I'm not sure that I completely agreed with all of Couros' comments about Facebook. I am moving to a very small community where I don't know anyone, so I DO appreciate the fact that Couros wants us to be careful about who we add on Facebook. Just the other day, a student tried to add me but I declined. The thing I was critical about was not adding parents. I have friends in the community who have children that I will teach eventually. I would feel wrong deleting that parents once their child is in my class. I think because it is a small town, you have to be somewhat flexible in your approach, because it is important that people like you, as shallow as that sounds. I think I would come across in the wrong way if I was so rigid about my Facebook membership. I would not want people to think that I am "too good" to add them as a friend. However, I also have absolutely nothing on my Facebook that I could not show a future employer. I can see from Couros' administrative perspective that it is good advice for him to give. At least he made us think about our actions, even if we do not change our ways!
The advice George gave about preparing for interviews was invaluable. It was really great to hear from an administrative perspective what they are looking for in your interview. George put a lot of emphasis into working hard in your final placement. He recommended getting to know the kids as well as you can, and getting involved with the school as much as possible. I am for sure taking his advice to talk to the principal and get her to watch me teach a class. I had never thought of doing that before, but its true, she is the one that will likely play a big role in me getting hired next year! The one thing that resonated with me most from George's advice was his approach to discipline. The analogy about the cop giving out tickets is a great one! As a teacher, you need to deal with discipline as much as possible on your own. We should always try to deal with the child on our own unless we feel unsafe or the situation has exploded. The first step to discipline is to really know the kids. It is much more effective to have a conversation with a child about their behaviour if you actually know their typical behaviour and where they are coming from. An officer gives a ticket and walks away, but that is not something that is effective with discipline in the classroom.
This Skype interview was an excellent end to our guest speaker series. It made me look towards the future, and I am just as excited as ever to get into the classroom and do what I love every day. I am also sad that my time at BU is coming to an end. I have learned so much from my colleagues and professors! I think it is going to be a difficult last couples of days! I think bittersweet is the right word :)
I'm not sure that I completely agreed with all of Couros' comments about Facebook. I am moving to a very small community where I don't know anyone, so I DO appreciate the fact that Couros wants us to be careful about who we add on Facebook. Just the other day, a student tried to add me but I declined. The thing I was critical about was not adding parents. I have friends in the community who have children that I will teach eventually. I would feel wrong deleting that parents once their child is in my class. I think because it is a small town, you have to be somewhat flexible in your approach, because it is important that people like you, as shallow as that sounds. I think I would come across in the wrong way if I was so rigid about my Facebook membership. I would not want people to think that I am "too good" to add them as a friend. However, I also have absolutely nothing on my Facebook that I could not show a future employer. I can see from Couros' administrative perspective that it is good advice for him to give. At least he made us think about our actions, even if we do not change our ways!
The advice George gave about preparing for interviews was invaluable. It was really great to hear from an administrative perspective what they are looking for in your interview. George put a lot of emphasis into working hard in your final placement. He recommended getting to know the kids as well as you can, and getting involved with the school as much as possible. I am for sure taking his advice to talk to the principal and get her to watch me teach a class. I had never thought of doing that before, but its true, she is the one that will likely play a big role in me getting hired next year! The one thing that resonated with me most from George's advice was his approach to discipline. The analogy about the cop giving out tickets is a great one! As a teacher, you need to deal with discipline as much as possible on your own. We should always try to deal with the child on our own unless we feel unsafe or the situation has exploded. The first step to discipline is to really know the kids. It is much more effective to have a conversation with a child about their behaviour if you actually know their typical behaviour and where they are coming from. An officer gives a ticket and walks away, but that is not something that is effective with discipline in the classroom.
This Skype interview was an excellent end to our guest speaker series. It made me look towards the future, and I am just as excited as ever to get into the classroom and do what I love every day. I am also sad that my time at BU is coming to an end. I have learned so much from my colleagues and professors! I think it is going to be a difficult last couples of days! I think bittersweet is the right word :)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Web Based Courses
I ordered four courses from the Manitoba Education website: Grade 9 Social Studies, Grade 10 Social Studies, History of Canada for grade 11, and World Issues. During high school, I took grade 12 Biology using the Blackboard system. After exploring the courses, my opinion of the web-based system has not changed. I still don't think it would be my preferred system of learning. My goal as a history teacher is to make history come alive, because a lot of students HATE history! They find it boring and monotonous. The online courses are based on reading modules and answering questions or participating in a discussion. I'm not sure that this type of system is effective for the majority of students. It does not make the material interactive and relevant. However, I could see online learning being extremely effective for those students that are very self-motivated or who have trouble with classroom interactions. I think it is very valuable to have the online courses for students who have to be away from the school setting, perhaps due to other responsibilities, sickness, motherhood, or work commitments. I could also see these courses being useful for teachers in their planning of courses. It gives a nice outline of topics to be covered, and there are a few assignments that could easily be adapted to be interactive in the classroom. I plan on exploring the courses even further, and printing out the sections/resources that I would be able to use in my own classroom!
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