Wednesday, June 9, 2010
I Love Teaching and Bulletin Boards!
Here are a few current pictures of my English classroom. Its one of my favourite places to be. Teaching rocks. I don't know why you don't all get into this profession. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely the "off" days. But, overall, I love my students and job... sometimes a little too much. It sounds pathetically cliche, but it really is incredibly rewarding when you see development and growth in a student's learning and character. It gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling when I see a student suddenly "get it". For example, today a student pops in at lunch time, while I am eating cold leftovers, and wants to chat about "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. How cool is that?!
I used to think I was the type of person who would study something in university and then, for some odd reason, the information would just vanish from my brain; however, teaching has made me realize that so much of what I have learned in my past studies is safely stored in various corners of my noggin. It really does all come back when you begin preparing lessons and take rabbit-trail tangents in the classroom. Sometimes I even shock myself. Once, while teaching a Canadian history lesson, I had this vivid memory of my old history teacher drawing a picture on the chalkboard which demonstrated a new, World War I army tactic. I can still see the stick-men climbing out of the trench and awkwardly moving through no-man's land, while artillery flew overhead in the upper realms of the chalkboard. I thought, What a random piece of information to so accurately recall from my teenage years! Up until the time a student asked me a specific question about the Viet Cong, I seriously thought I had forgotten every single detail from the ENTIRE course I took on the Vietnam War at McMaster University. But, immediately when she brought up the topic, I remembered the answer, much to my relief! I definitely don't know all the answers to the questions I receive, but sometimes certain ones do bring back those wonderful, educational memories. (As an aside, I do think bulletin boards are important for triggering ideas and creating visual imprints in students' minds. Random teacher tidbit...)
As my hubby knows, I really can go on for hours about teaching and the various challenges and joys it gives. I better cease this rambling.
I used to think I was the type of person who would study something in university and then, for some odd reason, the information would just vanish from my brain; however, teaching has made me realize that so much of what I have learned in my past studies is safely stored in various corners of my noggin. It really does all come back when you begin preparing lessons and take rabbit-trail tangents in the classroom. Sometimes I even shock myself. Once, while teaching a Canadian history lesson, I had this vivid memory of my old history teacher drawing a picture on the chalkboard which demonstrated a new, World War I army tactic. I can still see the stick-men climbing out of the trench and awkwardly moving through no-man's land, while artillery flew overhead in the upper realms of the chalkboard. I thought, What a random piece of information to so accurately recall from my teenage years! Up until the time a student asked me a specific question about the Viet Cong, I seriously thought I had forgotten every single detail from the ENTIRE course I took on the Vietnam War at McMaster University. But, immediately when she brought up the topic, I remembered the answer, much to my relief! I definitely don't know all the answers to the questions I receive, but sometimes certain ones do bring back those wonderful, educational memories. (As an aside, I do think bulletin boards are important for triggering ideas and creating visual imprints in students' minds. Random teacher tidbit...)
As my hubby knows, I really can go on for hours about teaching and the various challenges and joys it gives. I better cease this rambling.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Posting
I have changed the settings so that anyone can post on our blog now. Sorry it took me so long to figure it out!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Weekend Get-a-Way II
Sorry, the pictures are rather inconsequential, and don't tell you a whole lot...
Weekend Get-a-Way
In case you haven't heard, this past Monday was the Queen's birthday. Thanks to New Zealand's Commonwealth ties, we had the pleasure of enjoying a Monday off of work! Sam and I drove the windy, treacherous road over the Rimutaka Hills towards the city of Wellington. Although it was a wet weekend, we still enjoyed window-shopping (let me stress WINDOW, as prices of items around here are sickening), digging through piles of literature at the second-hand book shops and reading our inexpensive, new treasures in local cafes. We chuckled at the idea of a "weekend get-a-way", as if we are not far away enough :). Still, it was nice to leave behind a house that always needs cleaning, laundry that always needs washing and lessons that could always use more creativity and planning.
Just for Fun...
To kill time, Sam and I often dress up in costumes that start with "P"- hence "Plastic-Man" and "Pink-Lady"... that is how bored we are in New Zealand.
Jokes- this was for a fun activity with some youth from the community whom we work with on the weekends.
Jokes- this was for a fun activity with some youth from the community whom we work with on the weekends.
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