The new year brought some new classes. Only 2, but it was enough of a change to make things a bit lively. As I mentioned in my earlier post, we were less than impressed with our Psych professor. I have to admit she won us over very quickly. She was tough, but she was spunky, had a great sense of humour, and really seemed to appreciate our off the wall ideas. This cohort was comprised of arts students, so we were all a bit wacky, and she seemed to enjoy it.
Second semester seemed a bit easier than first semester to me for some reason. I had more classes, more homework, more days I had to be in class, but I was comfortable in the routine, my profs, my classes, the GoTrain (I was now sleeping 90% of the time on the train), and I was feeling a lot more secure in my chosen profession. My professor had noticed the change as well - I was more confident in my skills and more importantly my ability to look like an adult in front of teenagers! (I learned an important trick in second practicum I'll address later on). This had been a real concern of mine at the beginning of the school year.
Classes were moving along fine until a fateful evening in February. I was lying on the couch on a Wednesday evening watching TV and I pushed up off the couch to adjust my position and felt a twinge in my back. I had quite seriously hurt my back about 18 months earlier and it went out quite easily. I immediately iced my back, took some Advil and did some stretches, knowing Thursday was my long day and I needed to be mobile. I went to bed hoping the sleep would help.
I woke up Thursday morning and felt not too bad. I started to walk down the stairs and Chewie, our German Shepherd ran up behind me and knocked me down the stairs, where I of course landed on, my back. There was no way I was going to get to school. I was worried my professors would give me a hard time and emailed them to let them know. From all but one professor I received a ton of support. I took almost 2 weeks off school and the school was fantastic and supportive. It was so nice to be a part of a community that was interested in your well being.
I focused on recuperating and was back in class by the time we got our second practicum assignments. Second practicum started in mid February with a couple of evaluation days and then was the last full week of February, and all of March. This time, I was teaching History.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Post Practicum One
I completed my first practicum on a Friday in November, and the following Tuesday had to be back in regular classes. If there was any time I felt like I needed a break, this was it. My Tuesday classes were a bit low, but it was my Thursday class where I really saw the effects of the practicum on other students. We had less than a month left before we broke for the holidays and our class size seemed to be down by almost half. There were people with colds, the flu, bronchitis, you name it. Our professor told us this was pretty normal actually. Not only was it cold and flu season, but we had been exposed to so many more people than we normally were, and teenagers aren't always the cleanest of creatures. With so many germs flying around and our immune systems depleted because of lack of sleep and too much work, we were all quite susceptible to so many things!
Many of us powered through and continued going to classes. I really don't remember missing that many classes before Christmas but I remember wishing I had some days. Because I was coming from Hamilton and commuting to Toronto, just getting to and from school was a 4 hour ordeal every day, so that alone took a lot out of me.
December 13 - 15 there was a conference they called the Professional Preparation Conference (PPC). There were workshops offered every week, all for more money. The school really emphasized the importance of going to these extra conference, so I signed up for a handful of them - only what I could afford really. One thing I made sure I signed up for was the PPC because we kept hearing how fantastic it was. Now one of the problems with OISE and I imagine most schools in general are their overuse of acronyms. On the schedule for the PPC the acronyms were plentiful. I recognized a lot of them, but not all. This proved to be a problem.
The first part of the PPC was on Wednesday and it started in the afternoon. I arrived in time to sit on the steps and listen to a man give us tips on cover letters, resume's and interviews. I don't remember his name or his qualifications, but he was selling a book as well of course. He did have a lot of great information, and it went well with the booklet that we had been given prior to the PPC. I did get quite a bit out of that. The next session was with our cohort (comprised of all the people in my TES, Pysch, and School and Society class) and two Principal's from the TDSB (Toronto District School Board). One of my classmates did a mock interview with them. She dressed the part and answered all their questions. It was fantastic to hear the questions, but her answers really were irrelevant to me, and I found myself wanting to hear more from the Principals and less from the student. This wasn't her fault or anyone's really, just the way it was structured. I did learn some valuable things in hearing the questions though.
Thursday I showed up bright and early for a conference with an acronym I didn't recognize, just to discover it was for the Catholic board students only, which I was not. So I went for coffee with a friend who had also made the same mistake and killed some time. The conferences on Thursday were terrible. I took nothing from the day but incredible frustration directed towards a school that so far I had really loved and gained much from.
Friday I was ready to just stay home but I was afraid to miss something important. Representatives for the different boards of education were all there to meet and talk to, so I thought it would be important to be there. I got the information for all the boards I was interested in (there were 7 of them in total) and came home. I think I was there less than an hour, maybe 2. I came home with a loot bag to go through with tons of information to read over.
This finished off the first term for me, and I settled in for a nice relaxing Christmas. As I've mentioned before this is the first time I haven't worked during school, so this was the first Christmas I've had off in years. It was fantastic. I loved getting all ready for Christmas, attending the parties, church functions, and doing visiting without worrying about getting back for work.
Before we broke for Christmas I met my Pysch professor. She came into our TES class and introduced herself as we'd be taking Psych in the new year. We were less than impressed. She seemed a bit strict - more than I'd had in university thus far, and to make matters worse, she assigned homework, and the purchase of a book before Christmas. The class hadn't even started yet! I have to admit we were ready to tar and feather her by the time classes started up again in January.
Many of us powered through and continued going to classes. I really don't remember missing that many classes before Christmas but I remember wishing I had some days. Because I was coming from Hamilton and commuting to Toronto, just getting to and from school was a 4 hour ordeal every day, so that alone took a lot out of me.
December 13 - 15 there was a conference they called the Professional Preparation Conference (PPC). There were workshops offered every week, all for more money. The school really emphasized the importance of going to these extra conference, so I signed up for a handful of them - only what I could afford really. One thing I made sure I signed up for was the PPC because we kept hearing how fantastic it was. Now one of the problems with OISE and I imagine most schools in general are their overuse of acronyms. On the schedule for the PPC the acronyms were plentiful. I recognized a lot of them, but not all. This proved to be a problem.
The first part of the PPC was on Wednesday and it started in the afternoon. I arrived in time to sit on the steps and listen to a man give us tips on cover letters, resume's and interviews. I don't remember his name or his qualifications, but he was selling a book as well of course. He did have a lot of great information, and it went well with the booklet that we had been given prior to the PPC. I did get quite a bit out of that. The next session was with our cohort (comprised of all the people in my TES, Pysch, and School and Society class) and two Principal's from the TDSB (Toronto District School Board). One of my classmates did a mock interview with them. She dressed the part and answered all their questions. It was fantastic to hear the questions, but her answers really were irrelevant to me, and I found myself wanting to hear more from the Principals and less from the student. This wasn't her fault or anyone's really, just the way it was structured. I did learn some valuable things in hearing the questions though.
Thursday I showed up bright and early for a conference with an acronym I didn't recognize, just to discover it was for the Catholic board students only, which I was not. So I went for coffee with a friend who had also made the same mistake and killed some time. The conferences on Thursday were terrible. I took nothing from the day but incredible frustration directed towards a school that so far I had really loved and gained much from.
Friday I was ready to just stay home but I was afraid to miss something important. Representatives for the different boards of education were all there to meet and talk to, so I thought it would be important to be there. I got the information for all the boards I was interested in (there were 7 of them in total) and came home. I think I was there less than an hour, maybe 2. I came home with a loot bag to go through with tons of information to read over.
This finished off the first term for me, and I settled in for a nice relaxing Christmas. As I've mentioned before this is the first time I haven't worked during school, so this was the first Christmas I've had off in years. It was fantastic. I loved getting all ready for Christmas, attending the parties, church functions, and doing visiting without worrying about getting back for work.
Before we broke for Christmas I met my Pysch professor. She came into our TES class and introduced herself as we'd be taking Psych in the new year. We were less than impressed. She seemed a bit strict - more than I'd had in university thus far, and to make matters worse, she assigned homework, and the purchase of a book before Christmas. The class hadn't even started yet! I have to admit we were ready to tar and feather her by the time classes started up again in January.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Practicum One
Practicum placements came out the Friday before Thanksgiving around 3:30pm. The school did this for 2 reasons. One, to give us enough time to check out our school before we started and make any travel arrangements necessary, and two (and most importantly I'm sure) so that by the time we got our placements they were out of the building and wouldn't be back until the following Tuesday, which means no dealing with students unhappy with their placements.
I didn't really know why people would be too upset with their placements until I got mine. Apparently there was a placement set up for me in Hamilton and at the last minute the teacher backed out or something and they needed to find somewhere new for me. I was hoping to teach in Hamilton for a few reasons: 1) to build a relationship with as many people as possible in the board, 2) to save money on commuting, and 3) to stay home with my husband who is my support system. I looked up my placement and my heart sank. I had been placed in Scarborough - the east end of Toronto and about as far from home as they could place me. I was very frustrated as I knew the school had a commitment to not place me more than 1 hour from my home and this would be a good 2 - 3 hour drive in traffic every day each way. There was no way I could do this. I contacted the school to let them know I couldn't do this and they said I could petition the decision. I didn't want to rock the boat and I started looking at options.
I went on the website for the high school I was placed at and looked at the Music dept's webpage. This school was incredible. There were 4 full time music teachers plus another one teaching music part time. There were 26 sections of music. The average high school in Hamilton had about 6 sections, maybe 7 - 8. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be at this school. I arranged to move to Toronto away from my husband for the month (missing part of our one year anniversary as a result) and decided to suck it up and keep the placement. I am so glad I did.
I learned more from those four teachers in those four weeks than I have in a long time. The kids were fantastic. It was a very academic school with very motivated kids, which was fun to see. It's not the norm, but it was a good experience to see full band, vocal, and strings and midi programs along with a small guitar program. I came away with some great ideas, references, and colleagues who I would be honoured to work with again.
During practicum you are being watched most of the time. It can be a bit disconcerting, however I found when the teacher was out of the room to make the most of that time - build relationships with students so when the teacher comes back you are more comfortable working with them, and they with you. One day a few weeks in my Music professor from OISE came to watch me and give me some feedback. During this time my associate teacher was also watching, as was the other student teacher, a very talented teacher and musician. I was nervous enough with these three, but the other three music teachers would wander in and out at any given time. To top it off, at one point in wandered the Principal to have a peek. So practicum can be stressful, but it's a fantastic learning experience. It's also great for references and networking. Don't burn bridges during practicum, it's not worth it!
I had a lot of friends that said they had bad experiences in practicum. The more they spoke, for the most part, the more it sounded as if they were coming across like the brilliant teacher who needed to be taught nothing. I have a feeling they shot themselves in the foot when they walked in the room. As a new teacher, you don't really have any right to be cocky and arrogant. Sure there may be things I know that a veteran teacher doesn't, but chances are there is so much more I can learn from them than they could learn from me at this point, why not take the opportunity and learn what you can? I have so much to learn still, even after graduating. I think to lose sight of that is to short change your students before you even begin.
With first practicum behind me, it was on to finishing the semester and attending the conference, and that was an eye opening experience!
I didn't really know why people would be too upset with their placements until I got mine. Apparently there was a placement set up for me in Hamilton and at the last minute the teacher backed out or something and they needed to find somewhere new for me. I was hoping to teach in Hamilton for a few reasons: 1) to build a relationship with as many people as possible in the board, 2) to save money on commuting, and 3) to stay home with my husband who is my support system. I looked up my placement and my heart sank. I had been placed in Scarborough - the east end of Toronto and about as far from home as they could place me. I was very frustrated as I knew the school had a commitment to not place me more than 1 hour from my home and this would be a good 2 - 3 hour drive in traffic every day each way. There was no way I could do this. I contacted the school to let them know I couldn't do this and they said I could petition the decision. I didn't want to rock the boat and I started looking at options.
I went on the website for the high school I was placed at and looked at the Music dept's webpage. This school was incredible. There were 4 full time music teachers plus another one teaching music part time. There were 26 sections of music. The average high school in Hamilton had about 6 sections, maybe 7 - 8. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be at this school. I arranged to move to Toronto away from my husband for the month (missing part of our one year anniversary as a result) and decided to suck it up and keep the placement. I am so glad I did.
I learned more from those four teachers in those four weeks than I have in a long time. The kids were fantastic. It was a very academic school with very motivated kids, which was fun to see. It's not the norm, but it was a good experience to see full band, vocal, and strings and midi programs along with a small guitar program. I came away with some great ideas, references, and colleagues who I would be honoured to work with again.
During practicum you are being watched most of the time. It can be a bit disconcerting, however I found when the teacher was out of the room to make the most of that time - build relationships with students so when the teacher comes back you are more comfortable working with them, and they with you. One day a few weeks in my Music professor from OISE came to watch me and give me some feedback. During this time my associate teacher was also watching, as was the other student teacher, a very talented teacher and musician. I was nervous enough with these three, but the other three music teachers would wander in and out at any given time. To top it off, at one point in wandered the Principal to have a peek. So practicum can be stressful, but it's a fantastic learning experience. It's also great for references and networking. Don't burn bridges during practicum, it's not worth it!
I had a lot of friends that said they had bad experiences in practicum. The more they spoke, for the most part, the more it sounded as if they were coming across like the brilliant teacher who needed to be taught nothing. I have a feeling they shot themselves in the foot when they walked in the room. As a new teacher, you don't really have any right to be cocky and arrogant. Sure there may be things I know that a veteran teacher doesn't, but chances are there is so much more I can learn from them than they could learn from me at this point, why not take the opportunity and learn what you can? I have so much to learn still, even after graduating. I think to lose sight of that is to short change your students before you even begin.
With first practicum behind me, it was on to finishing the semester and attending the conference, and that was an eye opening experience!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
School Begins...
I always loved starting school in September. New text books, new notebooks, new computer, clothes, or whatever else I bought. This year was no exception - I was probably more excited than in past years. I was a bit anxious though. I was sure they had made a mistake in accepting me and I figured at any moment someone was going to come to me and tell me I was not allowed to be there.
My schedule looked pretty good. When I went to York you got to pick pretty much your entire schedule so this was new for me. I had my Music Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) course for 2 hours twice a week, same with my History C&I. These were my two teachables and they ran all year. As I was going to be teaching at the Intermediate/Senior (grades 7 - 12) level I had to have two teachables to get into the program. I also had 4 hours of my Teacher Education Seminar (TES) class once a week all year long. I had a 4 hour School and Society class that ran once a week for one semester, and then the next semester that was replaced with a 4 hour Educational Psychology class. The last course I had was a four hour History Wars class that studied issues in history education. That was also once a week for one semester. I then would have 1 month of placement in one teachable, one month in the other, and then a one month internship that I would get to choose down the road. These placements were what we were the most curious about, but we didn't find out about them for several weeks.
I remember handing in my first lesson plan in History. It was part group work, part my own, and I was petrified to get it back. History was definitely my weaker subject. I was elated when I got it back and got 100% on it.
I was so insecure about my abilities as a new teacher and one professor in particular, Dr. Janet Markus, picked this up immediately. She was fantastic, and really got me through the school year. She was my TES course instructor. We all loved her. So my first month was off to a good start. The next hurdle to jump over was placement number one.
My schedule looked pretty good. When I went to York you got to pick pretty much your entire schedule so this was new for me. I had my Music Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) course for 2 hours twice a week, same with my History C&I. These were my two teachables and they ran all year. As I was going to be teaching at the Intermediate/Senior (grades 7 - 12) level I had to have two teachables to get into the program. I also had 4 hours of my Teacher Education Seminar (TES) class once a week all year long. I had a 4 hour School and Society class that ran once a week for one semester, and then the next semester that was replaced with a 4 hour Educational Psychology class. The last course I had was a four hour History Wars class that studied issues in history education. That was also once a week for one semester. I then would have 1 month of placement in one teachable, one month in the other, and then a one month internship that I would get to choose down the road. These placements were what we were the most curious about, but we didn't find out about them for several weeks.
I remember handing in my first lesson plan in History. It was part group work, part my own, and I was petrified to get it back. History was definitely my weaker subject. I was elated when I got it back and got 100% on it.
I was so insecure about my abilities as a new teacher and one professor in particular, Dr. Janet Markus, picked this up immediately. She was fantastic, and really got me through the school year. She was my TES course instructor. We all loved her. So my first month was off to a good start. The next hurdle to jump over was placement number one.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Baby steps to becoming a teacher
There were so many forms to fill out, books to buy, things to get excited about. As the first day of school got closer and closer (September 13, 2006) I got more and more excited. And anxious. I'm not the biggest person in the world and I started to worry that my students wouldn't respect me or think that I was an adult. My anxieties increased the closer school got, but so did my excitement.
I was working for a different telecommunications company at the time and was really not enjoying it. I also worried it would impact my studies, as I had to work every weekend, both days, 16 hours, to keep the job. Rich and I talked and he suggested I quit school to focus on my studies. I was thrilled. I hadn't done JUST school since grade nine. Over the summer I bought a laptop, started looking at commuting options, and drafting a letter of resignation (it was a doozy!).
By the time the 13th hit, I was excited and ready to go!
I was working for a different telecommunications company at the time and was really not enjoying it. I also worried it would impact my studies, as I had to work every weekend, both days, 16 hours, to keep the job. Rich and I talked and he suggested I quit school to focus on my studies. I was thrilled. I hadn't done JUST school since grade nine. Over the summer I bought a laptop, started looking at commuting options, and drafting a letter of resignation (it was a doozy!).
By the time the 13th hit, I was excited and ready to go!
BRIEF History up to April 2006
There isn't a lot you need to know about my undergrad or after in order to understand my current situation as a new teacher, but I thought I'd outline the basics; the things I feel are important to remember.
1) I went to York University in Toronto, Ontario. I graduated in 2004 and received my Specialized Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Music. I studied both instrumental and vocal, but focused more on jazz vocal in the second half of my schooling at York.
2) I was paying my way through university on my own with the aid of scholarships and bursaries, but they didn't last long. As a result, I started working full time very early on in university. I worked 40 hours a week at a telecommunications company, went to school full time, and taught private vocal lessons part time. I was also pretty involved in my church.
3) During the last semester of school I commuted to Toronto from Hamilton, where I currently live. I moved for a boy. That boy will become very important as the blog progresses.
4) Mostly because of #2, and my lack of effort, I graduated with less than stellar grades. I fell just short of the requirements to get into most teacher's colleges. I had pretty much given up hope of ever being a teacher.
5) I had planned on taking off one year, then trying to upgrade some courses so I had the marks to get into a teachers college in Ontario. My plan was thwarted when the boy proposed.
6) Nov 5, 2005 I married Rich, my husband, the most fabulous man in the world. He encouraged me to apply for teachers college even though I didn't think I would get in. We couriered my applications as we were leaving on our honeymoon.
7) April 3, 2006 I found out that I had been declined from my second and third choice schools. I figured that was it, no way was I getting into my first choice, the University of Toronto. April 5, 2006 Rich called to say he thought I got into U of T. I was ecstatic. The rest as they say, is history.
1) I went to York University in Toronto, Ontario. I graduated in 2004 and received my Specialized Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Music. I studied both instrumental and vocal, but focused more on jazz vocal in the second half of my schooling at York.
2) I was paying my way through university on my own with the aid of scholarships and bursaries, but they didn't last long. As a result, I started working full time very early on in university. I worked 40 hours a week at a telecommunications company, went to school full time, and taught private vocal lessons part time. I was also pretty involved in my church.
3) During the last semester of school I commuted to Toronto from Hamilton, where I currently live. I moved for a boy. That boy will become very important as the blog progresses.
4) Mostly because of #2, and my lack of effort, I graduated with less than stellar grades. I fell just short of the requirements to get into most teacher's colleges. I had pretty much given up hope of ever being a teacher.
5) I had planned on taking off one year, then trying to upgrade some courses so I had the marks to get into a teachers college in Ontario. My plan was thwarted when the boy proposed.
6) Nov 5, 2005 I married Rich, my husband, the most fabulous man in the world. He encouraged me to apply for teachers college even though I didn't think I would get in. We couriered my applications as we were leaving on our honeymoon.
7) April 3, 2006 I found out that I had been declined from my second and third choice schools. I figured that was it, no way was I getting into my first choice, the University of Toronto. April 5, 2006 Rich called to say he thought I got into U of T. I was ecstatic. The rest as they say, is history.
Why a blog journal?
I decided to start this blog as a way to journal my experiences up to and including my first year of teaching (and maybe beyond). In the coming entries I will try to document the important parts of my relevant history, my year in teacher's college, my job hunt, and my first year of teaching.
So many new teachers have questions about their programs, how to get a job, and the common pitfalls to avoid. I hope by documenting my experiences someone will be able to benefit from them in the future.
I love teaching, but I have yet to really start. Hopefully by this time next year I feel the same!
So many new teachers have questions about their programs, how to get a job, and the common pitfalls to avoid. I hope by documenting my experiences someone will be able to benefit from them in the future.
I love teaching, but I have yet to really start. Hopefully by this time next year I feel the same!
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