Today, Ms. Carson let me take the attendence, and I'm surprised that I remember all of the students' names. Then we went to finish the Terry Fox walk, because the Grade.1s didn't get to complete 3 whole labs yesterday. We went with Ms. Jone's class, and each class was accompanied by 2 Grade.8 students, just to look after the little ones. Two of them sang along with the Grade.1s, and it was very nice to see them getting along like this. I believe that it has something to do with The Gators Day and how Mr. Yake and the teachers promote and emphasize on unity. Seeing older students and younger students working and playing together is very powerful, because what we usually see is a separation among different age groups. Parents would let cousins of the approximate age play together, because they play with the same things, and because older children might think that the younger ones are annoying. This few weeks in Greensborough really opened up my thinking horizon.

During recess, I witnessed quarrels among students. Two boys were being rude to another boy. Ms. Carson saw that and stopped them. She asked them how they would feel if their positions are reversed, and she asked them to apologize. However, they came back and said that the boy wouldn't listen, and he just covered his ears with his hands and kept saying "blah blah blah". Sometimes it's difficult, because that little boy is sometimes mean to other students too. Students at this young age might not have the social skills to work and play with different people, and it's important as educators to guide them and teach them as good people as well as good students.

Although it's not pleasant seeing the students quarrel, I'm happy that I haven't seen any students fighting against each other because of racial difference. Greensborough is a very diverse school, and students seem to work well with each other. I believe that addressing to difference is a learned phenomena, so we have to be careful what kind of messages to convey to students.

I did lots of photocopying today, and I also used the computer to make the October calendar with Ms. Carson. We did the word wall words today, where the students stand on the carpet, and they reach, crouch and clap while saying the words. For example, the word "at". The "t" is a word that's "up above the trees", and they would say "a" and clap normally, then say "t" and reach up higher and clap. "p" would be a "down on the ground" word, where they crouch down to clap. This activity gives them a physical and visualized concepts of alphabets and words, which I find really interesting. They'd repeat the spelling a few times, and then say the word "at". Through practice, they would know and internalize the word and the spelling.

After lunch, the class worked on patterning in Math. They were assessed today. I talked with Ms. Carson about assessment in Gr.1. The Professor in my "Teaching Math in P/J" course said that it's not really reasonable to assess Gr.1 students, because they are so new to the schooling system. They had to be there all day, which already makes them feel exhausted half way through. Ms. Carson also mentioned that they do not have the language and vocabulary to express themselves, which makes it hard for evaluation.

After school, two students gave me a hug and wished me a good weekend, which I think is very sweet of them. I'm excited in having students know me and feel comfortable around me. Ms. Carson said that I can bring in a picture book to read to them, and I'm feeling even more excited!

Sept.22, 06: P.A. Day

Today is P.A. Day, and I arrived at Greensborough at 8:30am in the morning. Ms. Carson wasn't there yet, so Ms. Jones opened the door for me. Since I didn't know what needs to be done, I took out my camera and started taking pictures of the classroom and the students' works. After I tidied up the cupboard, I went to Ms. Jones' room to see if she needed any help. In the meanwhile, Ms. Carson arrived, and we started talking about school supplies orders.

Ms. Carson and Ms. Jones flipped through pages in the catelogue, looking for what they need in their classroom. I think there's a misunderstanding about teachers that they teach 8:00am to 3:30pm and then have the rest of their time free to themselves. They have lots of holidays, good salaries, and they just have to go in and teach five days a week. A lot of people make it sound like an easy job, but guess what? Who has to decide which kind of pens to purchase, how many sticky notes they need? The teachers. Who goes out and explore teaching resources, and get everything laminated for classroom use? The teachers. Who do all the cutting, pasting and crafty preparations before they hand the work to students? The teachers. Who brings home unfinished work, assignments and reports home after school? The teachers. Teachers need to do everything, because they are responsible for a class of students, and they have to meet the needs of the 20 children whom they build a strong relationship with. This is the great job of teachers.

During the first half of the day, I did lots of cutting. Ms. Carson sent all her things to laminate, and returned with 92' of lamination. My job was to cut out each individual piece. She asked me to do so in an apologetic tone, but I didn't mind at all. For me, everything is a learning experience. If I want to become a teacher, I need to try doing everything, from teaching a lesson to cleaning the classroom. I'm ready for that! I'm happy that both Ms. Carson and Ms. Jones think that I'm very neat and organized, and that I'm helpful. Everyone in the school is friendly, and I'm feeling really comfortable in this environment.

During lunch, I ate with Ms. Carson, Ms. Jones and Mrs. Kanhai in the staff room. We talked about travelling. It is nice to hear teachers talking among themselves like friends. Not only am I learning about education from them, but I'm also learning about their lifes, which is very interesting and enriching to me.

After lunch, I started working on another job. There are 30 or so envelopes with word wall words written on them, and I had to find the words from a pile of lamination, stick a magnet on the back of the words, and put them inside the envelopes. I had fun organizing it so that I could do it in a more efficient way. Some of the words were missing, and I had to write them and cut them out. There were 10 words left by the end of the day, but Ms. Carson told me to go home, and said that she can do it later.

That's the end of my first P.A. Day as a teacher candidate. I was tired after I went home, but I felt good about myself. I like doing the work, and I'm having a greater understanding of what the art of teaching is all about.

Sept.15: Gators Day!

When I stepped into the classroom this morning, Ms. Carson looked at me in sympathy. She said that she didn't have my phone number, so she couldn't call to tell me to wear comfortable clothing. Because it's "Gators Day"! Gators is their school symbol, and the Gators Day is a play day event which takes place twice a year. The students would be spending most of the day outside, playing games.

The teams were divided in an interesting manner. At first, I thought that the class would be a team unit, but I was wrong. Each team consisted of students from Gr.1 to Gr.8. During the morning assembly, Mr. Yake, the principal, emphasized that the day is arranged to unite all the students in the school. They get to know each other, cooperate with each other, and learn from each other. There would be two awards at the end of the day -- the teams with the most points, and the teams that demonstrate the most spirit (which is the more important award).

Outside, different stations were set up on the playground. Two teachers were responsible for each station. Two teams were assigned to each station, they would compete for 15 minutes, and then each team would move on to another station. Most of the teams made up a cheer, which might earn them a spirit sticker.

Ms. Carson and I were responsible for the "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game. The teams lined up in two rows, and they played against each other. After the first round, the ones who lost would step back, and the winners would keep playing until the all of the players from one team lost. Some of the little kids wasn't sure how to play it, so Ms. Carson and I arranged them to stand closer to us, so we could help along.

Throughout the morning, I saw that some of the bigger children were really kind to the little ones. I really saw them uniting and working with each other. It was quite touching.

After recess, I stayed inside to do work. I helped Ms. Carson to sort some alphabets into a little box, prepared some booklets for both Ms. Carson's and Ms. Jone's class, and copied the word walls envelopes from Ms. Jones. Ms. Carson told me that the teachers get 180 minutes of prep time in a week, and it's increasing by year. She said that it might be reasonable for the higher grades teachers, but primary grades teachers need more time for their preparation, because of all the cutting and pasting that's involved.

After lunch, we met in the gym again. A slide show was projected to the front of the gym, and every student was watching their own photographs in fascination. Beforehand, the teachers asked some Gr.8 students to take pictures while they play along. During lunch, Mr. Yau and some other students uploaded the photos and put together this slideshow. They were really efficient! The pictures captured the warm and cooperative atmosphere in the playground, and I thought that it was a moving moment.

Each student received a participation certificate, and the winning teams were presented. After that, Mr. Yake told us a story. He said that one year, he watched the Olympics, and saw a fascinating scene. It was during the marathons, towards the end of the competition, when one of the athletes fell down due to exhaustion. The other athlete who happened to be next to him helped him up, held him, and walked with him slowly until they reached the finish line. This game has united the two people, and that's what Mr. Yake would like to see. Today, he saw more than one of these incidences. He felt proud of the school, and proud of the students. And most importantly, he let them know. As he talked, he brought with him "his friend", which is an alligator stuffed animal. He told them that whenever the students feel that they have done something really good, they can feel free to knock on his office door, and bring this "friend" to their own classroom. It would serve to remind them of the good deed that they have done, so they can be proud of themselves. In my mind, this is what educators would call "character education". He has shown me how to educate these young people, right in front of my eyes.

I noticed that some of the Gr.1s weren't so fond of the Gators Day in the morning. But when I saw them again in the afternoon, they were so excited! I was really glad.

P.S. While the students were trying to find their homeroom teachers before departing from the gym, a little girl called Mahi found me and held my hand. I was surprised, and I was very happy that she feels comfortable around me. =)

Math Journal: Memories of Math

My memories of elementary school mathematics lessons are complicated. The reason behind is that I have learned under two different curriculums at different times, and the transition was quite a drastic one.

I was born in Hong Kong, and I received my first education there, until 10 years old. Mathematics, to me, was very hard. I remember bringing home a lot of homework, which often brought me frustration. We had large and heavy textbooks, and our work were usually done in little workbooks with grid papers. I never quite understood why we had to do math on those workbooks, because we never drew graphs in them (at least not from my memory), just numbers. We had to write tiny too, to fit in those narrow lines. As a result, my workbooks were always messy.

I have never been a brilliant math student in Hong Kong. There were lots of drilling and memorizing. The teachers and parents believe that practice makes perfect, and that is how the system works – rote learning. It seems that we kept on doing the questions and problems until we know the magical formulas.

On the other hand, after I immigrated to Canada, a huge change took place. I was in Gr. 5, and what the teacher taught seemed so simple to me! It was a whole new world for me. At first, I did not get very good marks because my English was limited, so I had trouble with word problems. But once I got better in the language, I started to succeed in math. I got great marks, I got praised, and I felt really proud of myself. We had games, activities, group work, and not even half as much homework as those I got in Hong Kong. In another words, math became fun for me.

Rote learning did not really work for me. It was just too much. I think that it works for the “smarter” children, because the more they practice, the more they get it into their brain. However, in my case, it was not beneficial because I needed to understand the underlying concepts and ideas before repeating steps and algorithms over and over again. It couldn’t help if I did not know exactly what I was doing. I did not like that at all. It seemed like I could never finish the questions, and the bits and pieces of knowledge just kept on building and building until it becomes too overwhelming. I remember hearing my Gr.3 Math teacher saying that we were rubbish when she got frustrated at us, which, of course, hurt a lot in a very scary way.

Canada’s classroom surely was more fun and interesting. We seldom did group activities in Hong Kong, but there was interaction between students here. People raised their hands, asked questions, gave answers, and the atmosphere was very positive for learning to happen. The teacher wasn’t the “boss”, and each of us could contribute to the class discussions. The teachers were also more positive, they gave compliments (and stickers), and they would not hurt the students’ self-esteem.

I think math is about thinking and inquiring, while much of what I did in early years was doing and repeating. That is probably a major reason of why I like it better here.

Sept.8, 06: I'll be teaching Grade Ones!

This is my second visit at Greensborough Public School. I met up with Mr. Herridge again, and he arranged me to sit in Ms. Carson's Gr.1 class. That was their fourth day of school. I find Ms. Carson really nice and friendly, with a good laugh.

After greeting the class, Ms. Carson asked them to sit on the carpet and make a "rainbow circle". That's the time when they could share everything they want to say. They can pass if they don't want to speak, but everyone has a chance to speak. While students were sharing, a fly flew into the room, and they tried to hit him and slapped at him. In the meantime, Ms. Carson said, "That's Frank the fly, remember?" Apparently, a fly flew into their room a few days ago, and the teacher made up a name for "him". There's also another bug called George! She told the students not to hit Frank, because that would hurt him. Instead, they could blow him away. They had some fun with that. I find this very impressive, because from this little incident, Ms. Carson was encouraging them to be nice to little creatures and to prohibit violence.

After the sharing, they looked at the big calendar on the board together. They have a song for days of the week, for months, and for days. The songs refresh them of the months of the year, the days of the week, as well as counting for the days. It is a fun way to learn, and as they do it everyday, they would slowly absorb this knowledge and understand it.

After figuring out the date, they had to describe the weather. There's a large spinning circle, divided into sections like "sunny", "windy", and "rainy". There are two needles, and students would put up their hands to name one that describes the day's weather. In this case, it was "sunny" and "windy". Then, they had to make a sentence with it, like, "It is sunny and windy today." This exercise allows them to practice their knowledge of the weather, as well as making full sentences from bits of information.

Mrs. Kanhai's class is divided into group colours, and Ms. Carson's is categorized by table numbers. To avoid confusion, table numbers are called one by one as the class is dismissed.

Like Mrs. Kanhai's Gr.3 class, the Gr.1 class has an "All About Me" booklet, in simplified format. They are expected to do one page at a time. On the first page, there is a house with several windows. In there, they could draw their family members in each of the windows. Ms. Carson showed them how to draw persons in windows -- not too small, not too big. She emphasized that she doesn't want fast work, but detailed work. Every time a student showed her his/her picture, she would tell them to add more details in specific places. For example, clothes, hair, eyes, etc. She encouraged them to draw better and add more details, as if the pictures are really people.

After that, they did the alphabet poem. It goes like this: "A is for apple, ah ah ah!" And there are actions to each alphabet according to the correlating word. After saying it and acting it out several times, Ms. Carson handed out a little workbook, with the alphabet poem pasted on one of the pages. The students were to bring it home and practice it in front of their parents and siblings. I think that it is a very good idea! It allows the parents to know what their children are learning, and it strengthens the bond between the parents and the kids, because the kids can be proud of what they can accomplish.

Whenever a student said "Thank you", Ms. Carson would compliment on his/her nice manners. And then, just like magic, the other students would start saying "thank you" again, loud and clear too. Apparently, it works!

When a student wants to go to the washroom, they need to go with a partner. According to Ms. Carson, a little girl has been sexually assaulted a few years back. For safety reasons, the partner would stand at the washroom door while the other student goes to the washroom.

Before having snacks and lunch, students would line up at the sink, group by group, to wash their hands. Stepping on a little chair, they would wash their hands thoroughly with soap. This process often takes a long time, but that is for hygienic purposes.

During lunch break, Ms. Carson met up with Ms. Jones, another Gr.1 teacher, to discuss their teaching plans. Ms. Jones has been teaching Gr.1 for a few years, whereas Ms. Carson has only started to teach Gr.1 this year. Ms. Jones would photocopy resources for her and let her know what and how she's teaching her class. This kind of communication is beneficial for both the teachers and the students, and I can see the bond between the teachers, the sense of community that is so important in a learning environment. Ms. Jones talked about what she did in the first few classes. She asked the students to brainstorm in groups, and draw on a place map on what they did in the summer. With talking and discussing, they would recall the memories from the past 2 months. After drawing their individual pictures on the big sheet, they would choose one specific event and draw it on a smaller piece of paper, and write a sentence to describe it. It helps them make sense of what they are doing. Apparently, students from different Kindergartens show a difference in their levels.

In the staff room, Mr. Herridge talked about joining Gr.8 and Gr.1. They could do drama together, and they can also decorate pumpkins together in Halowe'en. He wants to encourage the Gr.8 to take care of the Gr.1, and let the Gr.1 know the Gr.8. It would create a more friendly environment on the playground, to avoid bullying, and lessen the gap between the little kids and the big kids.

Ms. Carson let me mark some of the assignments. She told me that during the first few weeks, no actual marking would be taken place. We write "good" on it, put on a sticker, with no correction of grammar at all. The children are still trying to express themselves with the limited knowledge of language that they have.

During math period, they did sorting. Ms. Carson dumped out the things in a bag, and let the students sort them. For example, in groups of pencils, erasers, highlighters, etc. After sorting, they would start again and sort them into different groups, for example, by colours.

Throughout the day, I noticed that students asked to go to the washroom or to drink at the water fountain a lot. Usually, Ms. Carson wouldn't let them go, because they are supposed to go during recess. She would stay strong in her decision, and tell them "it's ok, you don't need to do it now." I think it will work in the long term, because they would get used to this rule and follow it.

First Day of School at Greensborough P.S.

I arrived at Greensborough P.S. at 8:00am, and met with my AP, Mr. Herridge. He's a very friendly man, and we talked for a bit. He introduced me to the principal Mr. Yake, who was my Gr.7 gym teacher in Central Park P.S. He told me that a few other Central Park teachers also switched to Greensborough, which made me feel more comfortable here. Mr. Herridge assigned me to Mrs. Kanhai's Gr.3 class, where I would be observing for the first day of school.

Mr. Herridge told me that Greensborough P.S. is a living school, which I have already found out on their website beforehand. They encourage healthy minds, healthy bodies and healthy attitudes. All around the school, there are posters that suggest these aspects. They also encourage character education, where character matters as well as grades. Character traits such as integrity, honesty, confidence, etc., are emphasized everywhere in the school.

Before class started, parents and students were checking the class lists outside the school's wall, getting all excited. Parents communicated with parents, wondering if their children would be in the same class again. The atmosphere was really warm, and I felt a deep sense of community. One of the parents asked me in Mandarin, "Who is your kid?", to which I embarrassingly replied, "I'm a teacher candidate here." One of the parents talked to the teacher enthusiastically when she found out that her son is in Mrs. Kanhai's class, because they are both Indians. It is a very diverse school, and the children seem to work well and play well together without racial discrimination.

The teachers seem to be great friends among themselves. They talk about everything, just like good friends do. Mrs. Kanhai told me that she loves working and planning lesson plans with her great partner Megan, because their classes would have the same progression pace, and they can have efficient discussions.

The students seemed very excited in getting a classroom in second floor, because that's where the "big kids" go. There is a big poster on the classroom door, with all of their names written on it. It gives them a sense of belonging and class pride. They were allowed to choose their own seats, but it would be preferable for them to have a mixture of boys and girls at a table, and with students that they do not already know. Four small tables make up a large table in the classroom, and there are five large tables in total, with 20 students. There is one basket of equipment per table for them to share. They are divided into groups according to the colour of their baskets, ie. "yellow star group", "blue star group". When she dismissed them for recess, she would call them group by group to get out.When taking attendance, Mrs. Kanhai told them to say "Ohayo gozaimasu" when their name was called, which means "Good morning" in Japanese. It is apparent that the teacher wants to suggest diversity in the classroom.

We had an around the school tour when one student said that he wanted to go to the washroom. Mrs. Kanhai planned the tour later on during the day, but when the time came, she thought it would be ok to do it then. Students waved to teachers in other classrooms when they passed by, which was really sweet of them. Mrs. Kanhai also told me that teachers should always overplan for their class. It is better to have extra lessons planned than having no backups when everything is done in the class.

Mrs. Kanhai said that every morning, there would be a morning challenge for them written on the board. When they come into the classroom, they would check the board and go on doing that challenge on their own. I think this gives them both responsibility and trust, the teacher believing them to be independent children who are capable people. There is also a morning message written on a piece of large paper, in letter format. This is served as a sharing purpose among the teacher and the students.

During recess, I talked to a couple of students. I noticed that a few of them didn't have many friends. One Chinese boy is new to the school, and he found that nobody knew him, so they didn't want to play with him. Another Indian boy isn't new, but I learned from his mother (who is a volunteer at the school) that he has speech problems, so other classmates might not understand him, and they would just walk away. While other children play happily with their friends, they would be walking around alone or just sitting there. From observing them, I realized that wherever there's excitement, there's boredom. However, I noticed that both of them tried very hard to make friends in the classroom as well as on the playground, being enthursiastic and friendly to other students. This gave me a positive insight that as long as they are nice children, with the attention and reinforcement from teachers, they would be accepted by others sooner or later.

In class, Mrs. Kanhai gave each of the students a "I am special booklet". The students need to draw a self-portrait on the cover, and fill in the personal information. They can use words and pictures to describe their family and friends and why they are special, the best things about them and why, create an award for themselves, describe whey they have certain feelings and draw them out, write out their plans for the future, and write or draw three wishes for their future. They need to finish it by Friday, but they don't have to do it in any specific order. They are encouraged to be creative and colourful. I heard one student asking his classmate, "Do my hair look straight?" when he's drawing the self-portrait, which I find really cute.

Overall, I found that the students were generally good, with a few exceptions. Mrs. Kanhai would warn them when behaviour problems arise. There was one occasion when they were sitting at the carpet, and Mrs. Kanhai was reading a story to them. A student kept talking to his classmates at the back, and the teacher asked him to sit at the front. She told him that he could go back when he thinks he is ready. Again, Mrs. Kanhai showed him that she respects him, and trusts him as an independent individual. I believe that it works better than plain yelling and punishment, because the teacher isn't the only person to judge him, but he himself is responsible for judging himself.

There were a lot of questions and answers during class time. For example, Mrs. Kanhai would ask, "Why is sitting with friends not a good thing?", and she would let the students answer. It seems that classroom rules are set by the students as well as the teacher, and the teacher isn't there to be in charge, but to guide. During one period, Mrs. Kanhai asked them to stand in two circles, one inside and one outside, students facing each other. The "outside person" was the "speaker", and the "insider person" was the "listener". The talker would tell his/her partner about his/her feelings upon the first day of school, and the listener would listen. The listener was expected to listen very well, and then some of them would present the speaker's feelings to the class. This activity allows the students to know each other's names, and be encouraged to talk, as well as listen. Mrs. Kanhai emphasized that listening requires both the ears and the eyes, so one should put down everything in their hands and look at the speaker when they listen.

Their homework for the day was the "All About Me Poster". It is divided into sections, with headings such as "my favourite animal" and "my favourite food". Again, they can write or draw. Accompanying this piece of homework is that they have to bring in three items in a shoebox that can describe them, and present them to the class.

Towards the end of the class, we played Bingo. Before that, each student got a sheet of "Student Search", where they had to look for students who, for example, "has taken swimming lessons during summer". Mrs. Kanhai told me that this was the time for teachers to observe and make notes for students. They had a chance to go around and talk to people and learn about them. We used that sheet for Bingo, using students' names.

From asking questions and giving students a certain level of freedom, Mrs. Kanhai showed them a lot of respect and trust, and they were expected to be responsible for themselves as well as others. I found it really amazing, because it is an integrated classroom, where everybody are friends.

The Night Before

This year is my 2nd year in the Concurrent Education Program, and I would start my weekly practicum soon. I will begin with observing, learning, and then making lesson plans and actually teaching the class. Tomorrow is the first day of school, and since university classes haven't started yet, all teacher candidates are required to go to their host schools for a visit and observation. I'm really nervous~ I've picked my outfit for tomorrow, packed my bag, prepared some notes, and had a relaxed day. Now I would go take a bath and then have a good night's sleep. Hope everything goes well tomorrow!