"The only source of knowledge is experience"- Albert Einstein

Over the past two days I attended a conference called "Pyramid Response to Intervention" which was organized by solution tree and run by Mike Mattos, author of "Pyramid Response to Intervention: RTI, professional learning communities and how to respond when kids don't learn." I can honestly say that this workshop has single handedly changed my perspective, approach and motivation towards being an educator.

     It would be impossible for me to sum up everything I learned, nor would it be as effective as hearing it from Mike Mattos himself, but I wanted to take a bit of time to reflect on some of these groundbreaking practices which will hopefully reinvent the current education system.

According the the ideologies of Professional learning communities (PLC) and the Pyramid Response to Intervention, all educators must believe that all children are capable of being successful. WHY do we need to change? Unfortunately, the education system of the past does not work for the skills our children need for the future.

To put it into perspective. 100 years ago, the economy thrived on agriculture and manual labour. This means that a grade 8 or high school education was not what made you successful as an adult. Rather, hard work and physical strength defined someone who was successful. As long as you knew how to read, write and compute basic math, you would be fine in life. THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

TODAY our economy thrives on technology and communications. This means that you can no longer have the bare minimum. Currently, 9/10 jobs require higher levels of learning in order to get an entry level position. This means that simply graduating high school is NOT ENOUGH. Success in the school system is equipping students for tools for LIFE and without success in this system, they have NO CHANCE at surviving. This means that failure in school has never had the most devastating consequences. One quote that stuck with my over the course of the past two days is that the "high school diploma has become the ticket to nothing." Students need and deserve more than that from their teachers. If a student is not successful in the k-12 system, simply put, will have zero opportunities in life and will be extremely disadvantaged when competing in our global marketplace.

As an educator, our roles and perspectives need to change. For ALL students, failure can not be an option. This means, EVERY child needs to be successful in the k-12 system, it is simply not an option. Teachers need to change their practices and their perspectives. The stakes are way to high to let any child fail. All too often, students go through the system year after year and do not get the support they need. With every passing day they fall behind.

 Rather than waiting until the child fails the test, fails the unit, fails the year, it is the teachers job to create interventions for EVERY student so that failure is not an option. In order to get this message across, I am going to use the example that really hit the message home to me.

When someone is sick, they go to the doctors. When the doctor discovers that the sickness is an ear infection, they prescribe some antibiotics and the infection clears up. Doctors do not see an infection, watch it grow, and then tell you that theres no hope of clearing it up. Likewise, if someone is diagnosed with cancer, we do not wait until its terminal and then say "well, there is nothing we can do!" When someone needs help medically, there is an urgency to help them right away.

Why is this urgency not the same when it comes to education?  Teachers see students struggling with a concept every day. Rather than intervening and re-teaching this concept, teachers: lower expectations, and wait for them to fall so far behind that it is almost impossible for them to recover. These actions have serious implications for the students.

We can no longer work with a system that has made failure the norm for many students. Without a k-12 education, students will literally fail at life. Every student deserves the chance to be successful and it is OUR job to  provide them the best possible avenue to ensure that failure is never an option.

This is the very watered down version and a mere glimpse as some of the things i've learned over the past 48hrs. This rant is literally the introduction to the WHY we need to change. I have been equipped with the tools for HOW I can do this. I have seen examples of successful PLC groups and have been given the tools necessary to begin creating a successful RTI group our school.

I am honoured to have been given this training and I think that this is a pivotal point in my education career. As educators across North America continue to recognize the need for change in our current system, I am lucky to be a part of this cutting edge professional development.

I look forward to reporting about how we work as a team to implement this in our school.

"We embrace explicitly the proposition that effective practice and popular practice are very likely two different things"

- Douglas Reeves

UNPLUGGED!

Today in class we read an article about how addicted youth have become to media. This includes internet, phones and television. A study from the University of Maryland found that of 1000 students from 10 different countries many had difficulties going 24hrs without their social media. Several students could not even successfully complete the study.

I find it rather embarrassing to admit that I might be one of those people that would fail this challenge. I can not remember the last day I went without my phone. If it is not working for a mere few hours I feel "lost," I can not imagine going an entire day. Aside from my phone, my laptop and the internet are a huge connection for me. Between skype, facebook and using the web for lessons/school purposes, I can honestly say I could not survive without it.

My plan next month is to have an "unplugged" day in my classroom. I have put my students up to the challenge of joining me in our quest to live one full day without our phones and computers. I plan on opening up the gym and having fun activities available to the kids after school. Maybe we'll pull an all nighter in the gym, that would be fun. The possibilities are endless. 

As I did my daily round this morning collecting students cell phones, one child said to me, "you know what Ms. Whiting, I much prefer hand written sentiments......" 

Have I ever told you I have the best job in the world????

Que: Royal Wedding bells

So, heres my rant of the week. I'm just gonna say it, I could give a Royal Sh*t about the royal wedding. Its all over the TV, all over the internet and all over the mad marketing campaigns of pathetic companies that want to make a dollar. But when it comes down to it, let me ask the world: Is your life going to be any different because some rich dude gets married? 

I can hear the criticisms now (mainly my mother): "well he could be the heir to the next thrown," "He's going to have children that keep the royal family alive," "its going to be better than charles and diana's wedding"......and the list goes on..... my response to that is.....

BLAH BLAH BLAH


As an avid history buff, i'm the first to acknowledge the Canadian connection the England and the traditional significance of the royal family. I just think that Canadians have more on their plate to worry about (hint: an upcoming election) than what William did on his bachelor party, or who is (or isn't) being invited to the ceremony.

 I guess I can only speak for myself, so I am happy to say that I have better things in my life to worry about than what kind of dress Kate Middleton is going to wear or whether the quarter I use to pay for gas has the newlywed couples face on it. People are cashing in on this silly event all because society buys into it. Jokes on us.

While the rest of the world obsesses over the manufactured wedding day, i'll be patiently awaiting the first magazine that advertises their divorce! (stats tell us that its bound to happen)

Happy Hump Day everyone :)

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it". ~Charles Buxton

http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCATRE72R1B820110328

Article is titled: "New app lets parents read to children from afar"- If you don't have time to read it, here is a synopsis. Parents that are too busy to read to their kids can use technology to read them a bedtime story.

What garbage.

I understand life gives us circumstances where we need to be away from our families (ex: my choice to live in BC) but I personally don't feel that it is fair for children to have to use these tools to have a relationship with their parents. If you are "too busy" to spend time with your children (face to face time) maybe you should reconsider your responsibility as a parent.

As a teacher I can see that parenting is a full time job. Its not something to be taken lightly, nor is it possible to continue living the way you did prior to having children. I believe that people have lost sight of career goals vs. family goals. You can not have your cake and eat it too. If you choose to have children, you choose to make that your number one priority, not the other way around. I think that allowing parents to use technology to communicate with their children is a nice idea, but its not doing your children any favours. In a world that is already bombarded with technology, it is important that we preserve the little things in life, before it is too late. Not to mention, if we adopt this technology as acceptable where do we draw the line? Why not just give our children audiotapes and never have to talk to them again............I know that is a bit cynical and extreme but I just think we need to put VALUE on the things in life that are important to us.

This whole rant was sparked by the quote "You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it." Lets face it, life is a busy place and everyone has their own priorities and schedules. But as life gets busier, lets all remember to take time to appreciate the little things, like reading to little kids, going for walks, enjoying the sunshine!

Back to blogging......

Back by popular demand- i've decided to start blogging again (I can hear the cheers of excitement coming from anyone who reads this). Although I do spend a great deal of time skyping/talking on the phone to people while i'm in BC, a blog is another great way to keep connected. I think the biggest reason why I am starting this up again is because, lets face it, i'm loud  and sarcastic and like to rant about things that piss me off. So let the blogging begin.

I am currently enjoying my first official spring break as a teacher, and I must say, it is a much needed break! I absolutely love my job with all my heart but if you ask ANYONE, who doesn't want a random 2 week break in the middle of the year?

After humming and hawing for a while I finally decided to come back to Ontario for break. It turned out to be the best idea ever because its really nice to relax with FAMILY and FRIENDS! I love living at home and just having no responsibility. (i'll stop rubbing it in)

I haven't done anything too exciting since being back. I have realized that I can no longer party the way I used to........I guess that all comes with growing up. Today, we had a fun girls day where we made my sisters wedding invitations. They turned out AMAZING and I am so happy to have been a part of it. We should help each other out with crafts more often <3

I am so excited to go horseback riding and catch up with all those people I haven't seen since Christmas. Ia m so busy, but I love every minute of being home. If i've learned anything this week, its that life is short and it can change unexpectedly. I also have realized that life is too short to sweat the small stuff. These are all amazing life lessons.

Anyways, i'm still on BC time but I think 2am is time for bed- horseback riding in the morning, YAY!

A Week full of Lessons :)

‎"To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must first practice, to practice you must first learn, and to learn you must first fail."

This week- I have learned so much in such a short period of time. As my classroom has past the "honeymoon period" we are now entering the stretch where classroom management becomes vital for the remainder of the year. I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet with a woman named Karen who is from the district school board. Her job is to help me create a plan for myself on how, over the course of the year, I can become the best teacher I can be. While I first thought that she would come in and tell me how terrible of a job I was doing, meeting her ended up being like a breath of fresh air! 

After she observed my classroom we had a meeting where she started off by asking me, "what are some things that you think you do well as a teacher?".....I sat for a minuite and listed off a few things.....patient, genuine, prepare, honest, relatable etc....and she said "what else?" ....after a few seconds........I responded with..."to be honest, I dont find myself sitting down thinking about myself or how i'm doing, i'm busy worrying about the kids and what they need." She replied with "I can tell you a lot of things you are great at...." She started listing things..."i've never seen anyone on their toes like you....you are so well prepared.....you care about these kids so much and its so obvious how much you care and want them to do well"........hearing her say that really made me emotional. I usually have a hard time explaining things that i'm passionate about and hearing her acknowledge that I care so much and am giving this job my 100% really made me have a loss for words. With tears in my eyes I explained to her how hard it can be sometimes and how much it helps to have someone acknowledge my strengths. 

All too often I beat myself up for things not going well, or students not working to their full potential. She reassured me that my heart is int he right place and that i'm so close to having the students exactly where I want them. For the most part, they care about me, and with a few changes in my daily instruction (having a symbol for being quiet, a non-verbal system for controlling behaviour) I will be able to create a safe and positive environment for everyone.

I find myself so fortunate to have the opportunity to create a growth plan and have the support that I do. At the end of the day, Karen came into my classroom and said- "I'm not worried about you for a second- you have some challenges to overcome but by the end of this year- this is going to make you an unstoppable teacher......you have such a challenging class, but you won't let them win- its not in your nature." I found it amazing that after meeting me for one day, and watching me teach for 20 minutes, she was able to observe all of that. She knows how much I love my job, and my students and is going to give me the tools to create an amazing classroom! 

I am so excited. Despite the emotions, tears, and changes that are coming ahead. I am so excited! I have no doubt that this is going to be an amazing year- I love those kids with everything in me and these 2 months have already changed me as a person and educator!!

 

Long anticipated updates :)

You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

- Dale Carnegie

I came across this quote today and decided to open my blog with it because I've been a little "down in the dumps lately" (for lack of a better word).  To no surprise- I've been finding it rather challenging to meet friends here on the North Island. Its difficult to come into a new town, have a new job, and try to establish myself with a social network. I know that I have only been here for 2 months and that making friends takes time, but I keep constantly finding myself asking "In a town of 5000 people, what does everyone do with their spare time?"

 I Think one of the reasons that I am having such a hard time finding friends is because back at home I have been blessed with a very strong social network. I am such a talkative person that I've never had a hard time meeting people. I'm the girl that can go into a room of 100 people knowing absolutely no one, but will come out knowing not only everyones name, but something interesting about them. I guess I have taken this skill for granted over the past 20 years because I am finding it challenging just to put myself out there and spark up a conversation. Challenge number 1 is finding someone my own age to talk to, and challenge number two is to have the confidence to say something too them. (this sounds silly when written down and not in my head, but I guess that's the joy of reflecting)

I guess the reality is that ever since I've moved out from home (6 years ago) I've always been put into a situation that was prime for making friends. A university town where everyone has shared experiences. In many ways I've never been the only "new kid" on the block. People in Port Hardy have their lives established, they have their social networks and they have their routines- I'm the one who needs to put myself out there and take an interest in how things are done. 

Despite the fact that I feel like I'm writing in a diary (and posting it online for the world to see) I have accomplished something for myself today. I have realized that sitting in my apartment and feeling lonely is not going to help my cause for meeting people and getting involved. My plan for this week is to challenge myself to make a friend by stepping outside of my comfort zone. 

So if you're from Port Hardy, and happen to be reading this (doubtful) save me the awkwardness and be my friend :) HA.  I'm pretty fun to hang around.....ha ha ha

"If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere."

- Zig Ziglar

(im pretty sure my mom is one of the only people that read this and I want to assure you that I am LOVING MY LIFE out here, it is amazing! I couldn't ask for anything better. I love my job, love my apartment and love my car- life is good) I would just like to have more people to hang out with in my spare time- theres no need to worry about me! xoxo)