WHO IS THAT GREAT TEACHER WHO INSPIRED YOU??

Who do you want to be like when you become an educator?

Where would you be without that one GREAT teacher that inspired you?

Maybe you had more than one!  I hope you did. 

If that teacher does not know that you really appreciated them in your life why not look them up on Google or Linkedin and let them know. 

I dedicate this video to the GREAT TEACHERS I had who inspired me and motivated me throughout my academic journey.  

Some were in high school, others were in University. Some were even educational colleagues. 

THANK YOU TO:

Barb Sproule Singleton: Grade 13 English, Lord Elgin High School, Halton District School Board - You inspired me to go to university when I was lacking confidence to apply.  If it were not for you I may not have taken that step.  You made learning English fun, engaging and relevant. You took the class to live theater and ballet. You developed positive relationships and inspired your students to chase their dreams.  You were one of the most impactful teachers in my life. I can not thank you enough. 

Bryce Legget: Grade 13 Physical Education, Lord Elgin High School, Halton District School Board - Bryce taught me courses in anatomy and physiology as part of my Exercise Physiology Course.  You inspired me to go on into Physical Education at McMaster in 1974. I eventually became a physical education teacher in Halton as a result.  You were classy, confident and professional.  You were an outstanding builder of relationships and an inspiring leader. I ran a golf tournament for all of the Halton High Schools while taking that course which taught me a lot about leadership and the impact I could have on students and the school system. a "lightbulb" moment in my life! You became an outstanding leadership role model. Thank you so much for making me believe in my potential. 

John McLennan: Physical Education Teacher at Nelson High School and senior basketball coach, Halton District School Board - John was my Physical Education and Health teacher for several years. He recruited me to play basketball after he watched me play pick up ball after school.  John became my role model in life. He had the leadership qualities I admired. John was athletic, confident, and had high expectations of his athletes. I eventually coached basketball in Halton and in the city of Burlington because of his influence. He was the coach and educator I looked up to and wanted to emulate. Thanks for being my motivator in life.

Frank Grebenc, Al Slater and Larry Zavitz: History Teachers at Nelson High School, Halton District School Board: You all made learning fun.  You were engaging educators.  I minored in anthropopogy at McMaster University because of Frank Grebenc. 

Harv Collison: Harv was my first Associate Teacher at Tuck School, Halton District School Board. He became a future teacher colleague and administrative colleague. Harv was a great Associate Teacher.  Very supportive and an awesome instructional role model. As an administrator he was the one who put my name forward for administration in 1998 and trained me for that role. I am forever grateful to this great educator. 

Bev Bowra: Principal of Sir Ernest MacMillan School, Halton District School Board - Bev was one of my most outstanding principals. He was my leadership role model. He knew how to develop positive relationships with all of the school and community stakeholders.  He was skilled at developing grade teams.  He was the most inspiring leader that looked after staff morale.  He made his school environment fun for students and staff.  He was a visionary leader.  He was the leader I emulated my leadership career after. Thanks for being the best and for years of support. 

Fred Moyes: Anatomy Instructor at McMaster University, Hamilton - Dr. Moyes would take coloured chalk and draw what looked like photographs on the chalkboard.  He made learning anatomy so interesting.  It was his course where I realized I may have some talent in this area. To my surprise, I placed third out of 425 students on one of his exams.  This was an academic turning point for me. I had never placed so high on any exam in my life.  Fred took me under his wing, and gave me the opportunity to teach anatomy labs at McMaster for Physical Education students and then supported me in becoming an anatomy instructor at Sheridan College. How Unbelievable. I could never have dreamed when I was young that I would ever do this! He inspired me to go on to apply for Medicine or Education.  I accepted my acceptance to teachers college in the anatomy lab at McMaster.  He influenced my whole career trajectory. Thank you sir, for all of the support and guidance you gave me during those university years.  

Cheryl Ende: ELL / ESL Course Director, Faculty of Education, Brock University, St. Catharines - Cheryl was an incredible educator.  She was academically inspiring, collaborative, and a team player who developed other leaders. Cheryl was the my university instructor role model.  She took me under her wing and put me in charge of teaching ELL / ESL Additional Qualifications for teachers. This lead to me taking new teacher candidates and established educators on one month international teaching blocks to China.  This became my passion and I am still working on these initiatives today. Cheryl was the consummate educator that I wanted to be like. Thank you for believing in me and for giving me these opportunities. 

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO 

FAMOUS INDIVIDUALS WHO MET THE TEACHERS THEY WERE GRATEFUL FOR!

CLICK HERE FOR: "A Teacher's Impact Lasts A lifetime" 

Posted to this blog and the INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS TAB

Nov. 2024

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Ontario has been exploiting student teachers for years.

It Has to Stop!

I liked this opinion that was written by one of our new teacher candidates at Brock University's Faculty of Education for the Toronto Star (October 24th, 2024)

It is a great discussion starter!

What do you think?

Preamble:

I have taught at the Faculty of Education, Brock University for the past 14 years.  

When I started teaching there in 2008, the Teacher Education Program was one year long.  

That included two teaching block placements.  Each 7 weeks long. 

I feel that after students have attended university for four years that the present two year new teacher education program could be shortened as far as time spent in lectures.  The practicum placements should be longer in my opinion.  This is where the theory is applied. The real hands on experience is  invaluable. 

Students are shouldering huge economic costs to be in post secondary institutions for 5 to 6 years.  The final year could certainly be a paid apprenticeship. 

Newly hired teachers also need to be part of NTIP (The New Teacher Induction Program).  This helps support new educators as they learn to take on the burden of their new roles in their schools. Why not help them transition into the world of education with a paid apprenticeship?

Mark Wickens M. Ed.  Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Education, Brock University (2008 to 2023)

Check the article: 

This is a link to the article posted below: Student Teachers and Teaching Blocks 

By Jacob Lopez, Contributor
Jacob Lopez is a student in the concurrent education program at Brock University.

Ontario is facing a looming teacher shortage by 2027 according to briefing documents prepared for the new Minister of Education. There is no one, simple way to solve that problem. It is imperative, however, that more young people enter the profession. After all, you cannot solve a teacher shortage without more teachers.

Surely, then, to entice students to take on the lengthy six year teacher education program, it must be designed with their best interest in mind, ensuring that their dedication to learning the craft through classroom based practicums is compensated fairly.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Of particular note, practicums — the practice teaching periods fundamental to teacher training — are unpaid. That basic fact is harming and hampering the future educators of Ontario.

The majority of those enrolled in teachers college are young, with real financial responsibilities such as rent. More than half of post secondary students in Ontario are living alone, and the cost of living has skyrocketed. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is around $1700 in Ontario, leaving many unable to balance the rising cost of basic living expenses with unpaid practicums.

Additionally, practicums are rigorous, requiring students to put in eight-hour work days. More puzzling is that, due to having little say in which school board they will work in, a candidate living in Toronto may be placed in a school in the Niagara Region, leaving them to spend more time and money just to complete the requirements of their degree.

This design of the practicum structure thus becomes actively harmful to the livelihood of future educators. In large part, it’s because that structure prevents students from earning money in other, ordinary ways. In order to properly complete the placement, they must drastically reduce work hours or even take time off completely from their paid jobs, leaving them with no source of income to cover the increasing cost of living. For many teacher candidates, reducing work hours or quitting their jobs during practicums is not an option, forcing them to find new work while having very limited availability, or deterring employers from hiring them.

One may argue that the level of compensation relates to the demands of practicum – that little is expected out of new teacher candidates in the classroom. This is far from accurate. Teacher candidates are often expected to take on extra responsibilities such as lesson planning outside of school hours, attending before and after school meetings, and running school teams and clubs. I personally found myself at school until 7pm on some days running clubs and then having to commute back to Toronto from Markham.

Interestingly enough, unpaid internships are illegal in Ontario. But the Ontario Employment Act of 2000 outlines how they are permitted if they are either offered through a post-secondary institution, or approved by a secondary school board. Young adults with a passion for their career are being exploited for free labor under the guise of “paying your dues” to the profession. This legal loophole allows institutions to sidestep employment standards, and ultimately, allows for exploiting future educators who are burning themselves out for that same institution.

It can be argued that paying teacher candidates is costly, and regardless of who shoulders the burden, in the end it would cost the Ontario Government. This uncompensated model has functioned thus far, so why change it? Why shell out 50 million dollars by giving nearly 5000 teacher candidates a weekly stipend of $1000 for 10 weeks?

The answer is because the model’s limitations have become increasingly apparent. In a time when a teacher shortage is inevitable, change may be required to encourage future educators to not only join the program, but remain in the program. Such an investment would alleviate financial burdens and attract candidates into the profession who will remain there in a time when Ontario is facing a teacher shortage. In the long term, investing in future educators is an investment in the stability and quality of Ontario’s education system.

Posted to the Blogs and Articles That Inspire Tab October 29th, 2024 

LEADERSHIP 

Humanity, Social Intelligence & High Performance Teams 

This is a great article on leadership for educators or for leaders in the public sector.  It really impressed me. Outstanding research done by James R. Rychard 

It includes the practices I believe in, that helped me as a teacher in the classroom or in my administrative roles.  It continues to amaze me that leaders in our university and public schools have not made relationships the foundation of their leadership practices. I have so many times heard my colleagues and students say, "They just feel like they are a number".  

I particularly like the references to the work done by Daniel Goleman. 

ABSTRACT

James R. Rychard explores the essence of high-performance teams, emphasizing the role of collaboration and how it is rooted in social intelligence as part of the character dimension of humanity. After examining the threat of “dark triad” personalities to team dynamics, the article presents an exemplary case of socially intelligent leader Kazuo Inamori, former CEO of Japan Airlines, and extracts important lessons for the public sector. Rychard underscores the importance of investing in leadership development and fostering a culture of character to support collaboration in the public sector.

Click Here for: Humanity, SOcial Intelligence & High performance teams 

by James R. Rychard: Burlington Ontario 

 Posted October 2024 

Also Posted to the Leadership Tab

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What Happens When a School Closes Its Library?

This issue of closing libraries in public schools is occurring more and more.

What impact is that having on teachers, students and student learning?

The Faculty of Education at my university has just closed its library and the staff have been released. Students are being sent to the general campus library instead. 

A saving money strategy?

Now the students sit in the hall to collaborate and work. 

Read this article to learn the impact of closing school libraries. 

Click here: What Happens When a School Closes It's Library?

Click Here for Article 2: What is the Impact of a School Not Having a Librarian

Posted here on October 7th, 2024

Also posted to the 21st Century Learning Tab

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 GETTING READY FOR KINDERGARTEN

Registration for JK & K are in January.

What skills are most key on entering the classroom.

Check out this article to find out!

Click Here: To Be Ready for Kindergarten. 

Posted here in October 2024. 

Also posted to 21st Century Education

 THE BENEFITS of a BILINGUAL BRAIN

A very informative animated TED Talk

It's obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier -- like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? 

Educator Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged. (Directed by TED-Ed, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen)

CLICK THIS LINK: Benefits of the Bilingual Brain

Posted to this website September 2024

Also Posted to the ELL Tab

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READING STRATEGIES WEBSITE

READING ROCKETS

This is a website worth exploring for research based reading strategies 

Check out the videos too

Check Out the site by clicking here:  Reading Rockets 

Click here for more on ELL teaching strategies: ELL Instructional Strategies 

Posted to the High Yield Strategies Tab and the ELL Tab

July 5, 2024

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 A FRAMEWORK for UNDERSTANDING and TEACHING LITERACY

Check out these researched based strategies 

Click this link to go to the: The BALANCED LITERACY DIET

Also posted to the ELL and High Yield Strategies Tabs 

July 5th, 2024

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 PROJECT of HEART WEBSITE

Project of Heart” is an inquiry based, hands-on, collaborative, inter-generational, artistic journey of seeking truth about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada. 

Its purpose is to:

• Inspire the building of relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada based on mutual understanding, respect and collective action to create a different future

• Examine the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools in Canada and to seek the truth about that history, leading to the acknowledgement of the extent of loss to former students, their families and communities
• Commemorate the lives of the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result of the residential school experience.
• Call Canadians to action, through social justice endeavors, to change our present and future history collectively
• and more....

Find out more.

Click the Following link: Project of Heart

Also posted to the Indigenous Education Tab Feb. 2024

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 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Curious about the role that hashtagChatGPT and other emerging technologies will play in the future of education?

Dwayne Matthews is a Innovation Evangelist, and Future of Education Strategist.

In this video he speaks about the future directions of education on TVO's  "The Thread".

Click This Link for the Video: The Future of Education

This next link will take you to an interview with Amber Mac and Dwayne Matthews on Linkedin.

I attended this presentation and asked a question (at the 11:00 minute mark) about the role of ChatGPT in the future of education.

Click the #AI link below and sign into Linkedin if asked:

 

hashtag#AI
hashta#AI Link: 
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hashta#AI

Posted to this website and under the Technology Tab: Feb 15, 2024

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