Class Recap: EDPS 410

EDPS 410, also known as Law & Ethics. This was such an interesting class, to say the least! Yesterday afternoon we had our final for it (I know what you're thinking, on a Friday? Sucks doesn't it hey?). But truthfully, in one word it was insightful. In a nutshell our class was case study after case study. I found this a lot better than full-blast lecture because we're actually applying our knowledge about ethical and legal teacher issues. Here are some main key points I learned from 410:

- Do not establish personal relationship with your students outside the classroom

- You are a teacher 24/7 - meaning the fiduciary principle (acting as a role model and trusting person) is always applied, even on your personal time

- Do not have intercourse with your students at all

Okay, so the first one is kinda obvious. Kinda. Second point, I somewhat knew but also very glad we went in depth during class and discussed. Fiduciary principle I also discussed both in my midterm AND final, so I think I should get bonus points, right?! Third point, PRETTY MUCH obvious and who ever even THINKS about doing it, shouldn't even be a teacher. Period. Enough said. End of conversation.

Lastly going to class I had lots of teacher friends to see! We occupied the back 2 rows and it was VERY bitter-sweet parting ways after our exam because it was the last one for all of us. A big shout out to all you guys because I wish you nothing but success and triumph through your teaching practices! 

Goodbye 4th Year!

I feel that once I start school, I can't wait for it to be over. And then when school ends, I can't wait for it to start again. It's the irony of learning and University I guess! Last Thursday (my birthday actually!) was when classes finished. I only took 3 this term! CHRTC 380 (Teaching Religious Education to youth), EDPY 416 (Intro to Teaching English as a Second Language) and EDPS 410 (Law & Ethics). Although I'm not graduating this year with all my other friends, it's exciting to know I'll be back this fall to take just Art class and then my final practicum. And of course, wish all my fellow Education graduates success to new challenges! 

I'm not graduating this year (/sad face) because I decided to finish my degree with my practicum instead. Although it pushes me behind a semester, I also believed I wasn't ready to do my practicum last year either. Don't get me wrong; I love teaching and it is my honest passion doing it, but I needed something to regain myself. Time. 

I needed time to learn, grow and absorb more. I needed (and maybe still need!) to energize and regroup my thoughts and ideas. I wanted to connect more and build upon ideas. Looking back, I'm pretty positive I made the best decision for myself. And who knows? Maybe I'm not fully ready right now. I'll sure take this upcoming summer for more me time will help me even more. I think of the second practicum as a "9-week job interview" because essentially, it is. My evaluation means everything for me, and I'll be bummed if it's sub-par or just average. I hope to excel and to succeed even more with those little learners. Watch me ;) 

January Recap!

I can't believe it's already the end of January! I remember just buying new pencils and pens for the term to start. This term is different for me, and I am not entirely sure why!

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I'm in three classes only, which is super strange as every semester I take either 4 or 5. I originally was in 4, but I dropped one because I figured I didn't need it and I didn't want to add any more unnecessary stress. I only go to class twice a week - which is beautiful - because then I get to catch up with life on my other days off. I remember in first year going to class every day between Monday to Friday, and I just COULD NOT WAIT until the weekend. Having breaks in the middle of the week alleviates that stress! Plus, sleeping in past class time is always a bonus.

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In a nutshell, January flew. Course outlines were distributed first week and then we jumped into course content. I also volunteered at a school and at my friend's parish this month where I'll be talking about that in a separate blog post. I worked as always and met up with friends more times than average. Social life wise, I think it's as strong as ever as I've been able to meet and catch up various education and non-education friends! You can never have too many!

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Goals for The New Year

Well, I shouldn't say "goals", rather areas of improvement I could focus for myself, for my friends and for my family. Nobody's perfect, as we all have flaws and weaknesses, though being aware of how we can be better people and better learners, I'm all for it. I need to make one of these for my classrooms!

My class about happiness did have the most influential and worthwhile impact on me. I'm pretty bummed that I took this so late in my undergrad, but better late than never right? Looking at the pictures and responses by my peers, their words remind me of what really does matter in life.

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When I see words like honesty - gratitude - optimism - kindness - and selflessness, I always reflect if I am just that. I feel like I am, I know that I am, but sometimes we all could be better in ways we struggle with.

I believe instead of working on individual and monthly goals, it's more realistic to work on one goal as a whole. I don't know if that makes sense with anyone, but it did for me in some capacity.

My main focus for 2016 is to be a better person. I'm more than just a person, I am Christian, I am a student, I am an educator, volunteer, colleague, cousin, brother, son, etc, that a person just sums up who we each individually are. Now, what's the best way to work on this "becoming better person" image?

I see this as a manageable and realistic goal to work on throughout the new year! From class we talked about being grateful for what we have and do, maintaining and creating new social relationships and smiling & laughing more often. I usually think New Year's Resolutions are a fad as everyone hits the gym for the January 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th; but if you interpret this as an opportunity to improve yourself in some fashion, no one should bring you down because of that. I found this last picture on facebook, which I thought was pretty deep. I'll leave it here for you guys and all the best in 2016!

My Sassy, Superb and Stunning Group of 6's

Today is Saturday. For the past weeks, my Saturdays would include working and creating lesson plans for the upcoming week. Today, however, is different. I don't have any more lesson plans to make until my APT and I don't work today since I switched shifts. I'm so used to having routine that it's strange for me to have it changed.

It's also strange that I won't see my fantastic group of grade 6's anymore. As the title says, they were a sassy, superb and stunning group of 6's that have further inspired my passion to teach. This blog post will explain what I gave each of my 6's as a little, parting gift!

I learned throughout my practicum that at any elementary age, you are never too old for stickers! So, I took a trip to The Education Station, recall my earlier blog post of how I'm in love with that store, and bought smelly stickers for each child. I gave them a sheet of varying smells in their bag!

strawberry, caramel & pineapple!

In addition to the stickers, I also made a personalized message on a colorful index card, highlighting their strengths and wishing them the best in their future schooling! It had many happy faces!

Do you remember my blog post about my class field trip to the legislature? Well, it was my second day with them and our class happened to run into the Alberta Premier -- Jim Prentice! I took a class photo of my 6's with them and printed the photo out so each child had a copy! When I gave them those pictures, every single one came up to me asking for my (messy) signature/autograph. It was super awkward, as I never consider myself famous or anything... but truthfully, it was pretty cool. But then again, people don't ask for "autographs" of famous people now-a-days, rather it's a selfie. Oh man. 

Lastly, I each gave them a lyric sheet of my Body Breaks/Transition Songs I used in class. There were 2 songs I used, since they were an older group, and as a result they totally LOVED! I told them how I was surprised that every single one of them participated in the songs and how the lyrics will help them remember to sing it, even when I'm not around. Here are the two songs I used -- they are pretty darn cool! There Was A Crocodile and Shark Song :) 

Orientation for Orientation

I was so busy throughout the Orientation training today that I didn't even snap a picture, so this one below is courtesy of my friend Ms. L! 

This is my 3rd time volunteering with the UAlberta Orientation program as an Orientation Leader that I'm so stoked to work with the group of OV's (Orientation Volunteers) I'm assigned! 

Being a part of this amazing program I can see the skills and attributes correlating into being a(n awesome) teacher. As there are certain positions within Orientation, as an Orientation Leader I know that I'll be leading new students around, showing them the reasons why UofA is the best institution they have chosen and "educating" them about campus.

In relation to teaching, being an OV you also have to be energetic, enthusiastic and model leadership-like qualities. Which in my mind, having done it twice previously and once more this year will help strengthen my teaching abilities. Also, I love Orientation as it's a great way to start off my academic school year! Plus you meet a bunch of new friends!

Weekend Recap

In junior high, every Monday our homeroom would go around, one by one, describing what we did on the weekend. We were too young to say "worked all weekend" since we were <14. I remember most of us mentioned homework, homework, homework. Now, I'm not one for sharing my weekend highlights every single weekend, only when it's worth sharing.

This is the first weekend after school started last Monday. First off, I ordered my laptop on the 2nd of January and it came in last Thursday! I bought an Asus brand off the Microsoft store. It's this one! I've been searching around since December to find a workable, durable laptop for school and such. My brown Lenovo one, which I bought in Oct 2012, is becoming slower all around. I actually timed its battery life and guess how long it was. Two hours? Wrong. One? No way. 30 minutes? Nice try. It was 9 full minutes. Yes, 9 whole minutes from 100% to 5%. That's about 540 seconds. That instant I needed to find a new investment of a laptop, especially since my IFX is just around the corner. I'm using both laptops 50/50 so that I slowly transition towards the Asus one. Isn't it nice?!

After several weeks debating and searching, I finally have a new laptop. I'm not sure why everyone's gun-ho about Mac and Apple. I mean, I have an iPhone and an iPad, but I don't think I'm ready for a Mac commitment. It's just too much. Not now, maybe not ever. 

Friday I volunteered at an elementary school as always, but I talked about that in a December blog post. It was after that is what's worth sharing. I had a really nice lunch with a great friend from high school. I graduated from a small Catholic high school with about ~250 graduates. Since then, I don't keep in contact with a whole lot, just a couple (meaning 1 or 2). The person I had lunch with, we worked together endlessly through grade 12 student council and that I owed so much to her hard work and efforts. It's outstanding to see that after so many years still, our friendship is still going strong. Even though we don't depend on each other as much now as we did in high school, it's nice to see fellow high school friends then and there. 

I worked Saturday evening and driving home each time, I always pass by my local elementary school. The signs each school has for over-the-school-zone speed limit drivers are always interesting! That night I actually took a picture of what it said because I thought it was meaningful. This is the quote:

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, engage me and I learn." 

I love this quote because teachers can do all: tell, teach and engage students. Differentiating its influence towards students is what's rewarding as a teacher. Of course as a future teacher, I want my students to learn and remember my teaching, never forget it. 

And to finish off my weekend, I made (or put together?) chocolate covered licorice! I'm never known for being the best baker or cook, but really as a student, this is cheap and delicious. The perfect combination!

Three Top Notch Shout-Outs

Before I forget and when 2015 rolls in so quickly, I have to give out top notch shout-outs to 3 important friends who have tremendously helped me out during this past term. I would give them all unicorns or chocolate or even a new car, however I'm a student, they're all students, therefore apparently everyone I know are students. 

Basically the point of this post is that without teamwork, group work and collaboration from my fellow classmates and friends, I would fall off my study table landing back first. Literally and figuratively (dying from the stress of these courses).

Shout out to Ms. R! I think I wouldn't have survived educational psychology fully without her. We sat beside together every class and we had language arts curriculum together (though unfortunately we didn't sit together in this class). She also helped me a bit to prepare for the math curriculum final. I love having a class with Ms. R because she has the best sense of humor that cracks me up during the most inappropriate class time. 

Shout out to Ms. N! She's the reason why I went to Aboriginal educational context class every weekly lecture. She would make sure (or attempt to) keep me awake. Though, I actually slept through 11/15 lectures, because it was dry, unfortunately. Even though Ms. N is teaching secondary, we did a power afternoon of hardcore studying for this final and I'm so glad we did. Study groups are useful, trust me.

Last but not least, shout out to Ms. M! We sat beside together in math curriculum class, and did a major math lesson plan together and studied for this final endlessly. You can say that we did spent quite some time together. I convinced her to even take a class with me next semester! I just feel that our work ethic and personalities mesh that in all honesty, I'm so glad I chose to sit beside her on the very first day of classes. (She looked lonely, so I took pity. Kidding.. maybe).

To sum this post up, my teacher friends/classmates have a major impact on my learning that it continues to inspire me to become a better teacher someday! I'm excited to learn from other pre-service teachers in my future classes. 

PS - If you know who this is, then I'm sure we can discuss all about Big Brother in the new year, I'm close to obsessed with the show. (Who's excited that BB Canada is starting in Spring?!)

First Post!

This is so exciting; this is my very first blog post on this blog! Okay, so the reason why I want to start blogging is because as a pre-service elementary teacher, I want to document experiences, stories, laughs, comments, etc that other (future) teachers can either relate to it and give their two cents saying something like "been there, done that, here's some advice for you sir..." Whether it's through my two field experiences or during my volunteer, I want to document those experiences for others. Also, I'm always, and I always mean looking for feedback on my teaching skills, strengths & weaknesses and so I hope my readers will be interactive with me as much as possible, anything from posting questions to sharing their stories, any contribution helps. I'm so excited for this electronic blogging journey to start, and I hope you are too!