Jan.15, 07: Scientist in School

Today, the freezing rain warning went on. The school buses are cancelled, but public schools are opened as usual. When I arrived at school and saw that most of the teachers were here (some arrived a little bit later), I felt that the teaching is different than a lot of other jobs. In weathers like this, some people might choose not to go to work – call in for a sick day or simply tell the boss that they need to travel very far for work. Teachers, however, are responsible for a class of students. They cannot, or will not, be absent from school if it is unnecessary. Ms. Carson spent last night at her mother’s house because she knew that the weather would be bad, and she lives very far from Greensborough P.S. This is the kind of things that I need to learn, because being a student has so much freedom that sometimes we are unaware of our idleness and irresponsibility.

Talking about responsibility, I learned that teachers must be constantly alert. I learned from the ethics for teachers online (a mandatory part of the education program), as well as my course Education and Human Rights, that teachers’ responsibilities goes beyond being a teacher in a classroom. In and out of school, during and off school hours, we are constantly role models for the younger generation. Teaching is not only a career, but an on-going, 24/7, attitudes and values. It is how we act, how we learn, and how we live.

"Scientist Brenda" came to Greensborough P.S. today to teach Grade One students about structures. Since some parent volunteers were not able to come, I became one of the volunteers. I was responsible for one of the centres. This is my first time doing something like that, so it is quite new for me. I guided a small group of students to explore structures that support, enclose and span. The centres are interactive and fun, and it provides a great opportunity for students to investigate and discover new things. At the very beginning of the session, when Brenda introduced herself, she asked the Grade Ones, “Are any of you scientists too?” Only a few hands went up. In the end, when she asked the same question again, all hands went up. I think that this kind of learning is effective, because children are active in their own learning and they gain information on both the topic and themselves. They learned to view themselves as little scientists because they make hypothesis, observe, investigate, and test things out.

After the session, some of the students from Ms. Jones’s class talked to me when they saw me in the hallway. I felt good because from now on, they would know me as one of the teachers. They want to share with me because they have already made a bond with me.

During lunch recess, I went outside to watch the students play. One girl came to me and said that the big girls would not play with her, so she had no one to play with. So I suggested that she can play with the boy who was standing beside me, who was also alone. Both of them are in Ms. Carson’s class. At first, they were not so sure about what to play. Then the girl suggested that they could make snow angels, so they got all excited and ran away. They played together for the rest of the recess. I felt warm from the inside, because they are good children and they love and share so easily. Sometimes students have issues with socializing, but once they realize the options, they have the ability to solve the problems, and often, better than adults.