This page is dedicated to journaling my experiences at Regina Huda School February 27-March 21, 2008.
17 Responses to “Pre-Intern Chronicles”
As I cursed the alarm clock and hit snooze this morning, I realized that I actually had a very good reason to be waking up so early. Today marked my official debut as a pre-intern. There were a lot of emotions to deal with this morning, nervousness, excitement, tiredness, and anticipation. Would my fate as a pre-intern be half as disastrous as the fate of those pesky burglars who tried to foil eight year old Kevin Arnold’s attempt to be independent? Ok so that is a bit dramatic. I knew it would be nothing like stepping on a tar and nail coated stairway or being hot glued and feathered. I didn’t actually have too many worries this morning. The plan for the first day was observation so I did not feel much pressure this morning. The day was full of meeting teachers and students, learning about the school and standing out in the cold winter weather during a fire alarm (which luckily was of the false variety).
I have been lucky enough to be placed in a very special school, the Regina Huda School. Regina Huda School is unique for a number of reasons. First of all, it is the only Muslim school in the city. Second, as far as I know it is the only K-12 school in the city. Regina Huda School is associated with the Regina Public School but is funded differently and follows a slightly different schedule in order to allow for certain religious days. Being my first entry about the Regina Huda School, I do not want to comment too much on it. I would like more time to learn about the students and absorb what takes place within this unique building. Already I have noticed many interesting things and I am excited to learn more. I am sure that I will have many observations and stories to share over the next three weeks.
My cooperating teacher has been very kind and open with sharing not only what she knows about teaching, but what she knows about the students and the school. The high school portion of the school is relatively small. The school was established in 1999. However, this is the first year that there are grades nine through twelve. There are approximately 31 high school students. This is very different from my high school experience. I attended a fairly large high school that had a student population hovering around one thousand. There are three high school teachers that share the responsibility of teaching all of the subjects and all of the students. My cooperating teacher has explained a little of how their program has been developed. A lot of planning has gone into and I am excited to see how it works on a daily basis. The classes that I am going to be involved with are Accounting 10, Computer Lit 9, IP 10, Psychology 20 and maybe even Food Services 10. Stay tuned to find out how things progress!
Today I attended a conference hosted by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. The conference, Showcase 2008, is a professional development opportunity for teachers within the province. It is a time for teachers to come together and participate in keynote addresses, seminars and lectures about issues and topics in education. The theme of the conference is “Honour our past, sculpt the future.” One of the keynote speakers was Stuart Mclean. He shared one of his Vinyl Cafe stories. It was entertaining, but not in a mindless way. Mclean reminded us of why we became teachers….because we were raised wrong. We were raised to choose heart over profit. His address also made me consider the mindset of young learners and some of the challenges that they deal with while in the early years of school. He reminded us that sometimes kindness is what is most needed in classrooms and schools. One small act of kindness can in fact sculpt a young person’s future, in terms of his/her future choices and the attitudes that he/she adopts or develops.
Mclean also told a humourous story of his character David and his wife Morley. He spoke of a mistake that Morley,as young girl, made . He said it was “the kind of mistake you can’t go back from.” Oh boy, I have had a few of those. This comment was of course, to everyone other than six year old Morley, an obvious exaggeration. It was a six year old mistake that had no consequences beyond what the girl thought and felt. This story reminded me to always consider how students may feel in a moment. An event that I may deem insignificant or trite may in fact sculpt the future of a young learner.
After Mclean’s address I took in the trade show. I was able to gather a lot of great resources. I spoke to the lady at PLEA, and a few gentlemen at the Ready to Work booth. I was also able to gather many Social Studies resources. I ran into a few people with whom I went to high-school. They have been teachers for about five years now and offered to share resources with me as well.
It was another long day but I enjoyed it. When I was an accountant, I never had the opportunity to engage in professional development with my peers and colleagues. I like being involved in a a profession that provides learning opportunities and encourages its members to come together to learn and share.
…When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people” (Chinese Proverb).
I thought of this quote as I sat down today to begin my planning for the classes I will teach next week. I began to wonder what you should do if you only have to plan a short sequence of lessons for an Accounting 10 class. Since the weather is still undesirable for tilling the land, I thought a better place to start would be by dusting off the textbook. And my oh my, what a textbook it is. 767 pages, approximately 2 inches thick. I dragged it from the front door where I had deposited it on Wednesday. I heaved it onto the table and paused to catch my lost breath. I quietly wished to myself ”Please let the task of carrying this textbook be the most difficult part of teaching the students to conquer the contents.”
The textbook that the students are using is Kaluza, Howard, Kennedy-Ambacher, & Slywchuk. (1991) “Accounting: A systems approach (3rd ed).”From what I have heard, 21st Century is the most used textbook in high school accounting classes. However, Regina Huda School does not have the resources to buy new textbooks and has thus far relied on textbooks donated from other schools. I read chapters 1-4 this afternoon. I think that this book is just as good as 21st Century (I am familiar with it from EBUS 285). In fact, I think this textbook does a better job of explaining the beginning and normal balances of accounts. The first four chapters provide a strong introduction of the principles of accounting.
Now one might think that for someone who was once an accountant, that teaching accounting would be a breeze. Let me tell you otherwise. There is a difference between performing accounting tasks and teaching students about them. When I worked as an accountant, which was last in 2004, everything became routine. I performed my daily accounting responsibilities and what I was doing ceased to have names or labels. I no longer thought of things in terms of “This is an increase so I need to debit the left side of an asset account.” Also, I worked for a large corporation and was just one of a hundred accountants. I was not responsible for balance sheets and income statements etc. Teaching students requires one to think of terms, and analyze transactions, and explain in a way that those inexperienced in accounting can understand. Oh my, this is going to be an experience!
I feel confident in creating lessons. I have had a lot of experience over the past 2 years and working with the Evergreen Curriculum and the textbook makes planning easier. However, there is still one part of lesson planning that I need to work on. This is determining timing. I have no idea how long it will take for the me to work through one topic with the students. Should I spend one or two lessons on posting transaction data? How many examples do they need? How long should they have for assignment? Today I sketched out two lessons. I have to fill in the details and then hopefully get a little guidance from my coop in terms of timing.
After a long day of planning, I closed up my books and I made another quiet wish to myself. “I wish that planning wasn’t so time-consuming.” Then I remembered this qoute. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan” (Eleanor Roosevelt). It looks like I am in for another long day tomorrow.
Medicine Chest of the Soul: This is the inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes. I have always been amazed and mesmerized by libraries and also by book stores. Walking into a library or bookstore is an exciting yet humbling experience. It is exciting because one can glance around and see the myriad of volumes that line the shelves. There is an abundance of knowledge that is out there for the taking. Authors, researchers, professionals, and storytellers all providing us with an opportunity to learn something new. The humbling part is realizing there is so much which I will never know. I had this exciting and humbling experience again today as I entered the library at the Regina Huda School. The library is a small space, but through many donations it has grown into a wonderful learning space. As I looked around at the books written in Arabic and the books about Islam, I again realized how many things I can learn during this experience. The librarian spent time talking to us about where the schools collection has come from, what is acceptable and what is not, and just about the library in general. I hope that when I am a teacher that I will have the opportunity to spend time in the library with students. I know that the Internet has somewhat decreased reliance on libraries but I think this quote still applies “Libraries are the key to ensuring that the divide between information rich and poor is kept as narrow as possible.” (Senator Lyn Allison).
One thing that is challenging about the students at the Regina Huda School is learning all of their names. Last week when I glanced at the student list, only a few names were familiar to me. I could not tell from most names whether they were masculine or feminine names. And pronunciation….whoo boy. Thankfully our coop provided us with the phonetic spelling of their names. The students had a hard time remembering my name as well. Michelle told them to think of a man named Mark and a witch. I am not sure if that will be a good or bad thing if this sticks!
This morning the Grade 9 Math class had a test. The students had been studying exemplars. They had a one question test that will be graded by a panel of Math teachers from within the school system. The students had lost of practice in exemplars and seemed well prepared for the test. Then the question was read aloud. The question had to do with dance-a-thons. The students were puzzled. Not because of the math question, but because of the dance-a-thon. The students at Regina Huda school have never participated in a dance-a-thon, some may never have danced. The students had to make assumptions about the dance-a-thon. Some assumed it would last 2 hours. This question may have seemed fairly straightforward, but in this class it appeared very culturally biased. It will be interesting to see how the students scored.
In period 3 we had the opportunity to observe a Computer Lit 9 and IP 10 split class. The Computer Lit 9 class was working on a PowerPoint presentation about themselves. It was interesting to walk around the class and observe what the students were writing about themselves. There may be some visible differences between the RHS students and other public school students (uniforms, segregation in classes), but in many ways these students are ordinary teenagers. The boys wanted to make their presentations funny. The girls wrote about their friends and hobbies such as shopping, laughing and watching TV. Observing this class served to remind me that although this high school is small and in many ways unique, these students are representative of many students I will encounter throughout my career.
Before Psychology 30, I got to spend a few minutes speaking with one of the students. He was complaining that Saskatchewan is boring. He was born in Pakistan, lived in New Jersey and then Ontario, before moving to Regina. I tried to convince him that summer will be better! I am not sure how successful I was. Psychology 20 was spent observing the two boys in the class preparing for their Action Plans. It is interesting to hear their hypothesis and how they will test it. There were many things that had to be considered, such as proximity of boys to girls during the experiment, that may not have been a consideration in other high-schools.
We are only two days into our placement and already I have been introduced to many new things: wodu, prayer, names, Arabic writing and language, and the fact that some of the high school students are married. Wow! that last one was a shocker. That is not something I even thought to consider. Tomorrow I begin teaching Accounting 10. I am sure that many more new things are on the horizon.
{ March 4, 2008 @ 11:32 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: prep time, Regina Huda School } · { Comments }
…and don’t criticize what you can’t understand” (Bob Dylan). I think that it is really important to approach things with an open mind. It would be very difficult to ever truly know all the details, or understand all the perspectives of another culture/race/religion/gender/individual. I think it is important to listen and attempt to know and understand before passing judgements. Beyond the teaching experience, this pre-internship is providing me with the opportunity to learn many things about other cultures and another religion. I consider this to be one of the greatest experiences an individual can have. To become aware of something new and different is always interesting. This morning before lunch, my partner and I went with our coop to drive a Career and Work student to his placement. She has so graciously given up her prep time (so that he did not miss out on this opportunity) to drive him to and from his placement everyday. Being away from the school allowed us to talk and ask questions out of students’ earshot. I had a lot of questions about Muslims. My coop has been teaching at Regina Huda School for a number of years now so she has plenty of experience there and knows alot about the students and their families. She shared some information about what is acceptable and unacceptable for Muslims. I knew some of these things, others surprised me. However, it is difficult to describe this sense of surprise. I wasn’t surprised in a ”Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that. That is so bizarre” kind of way. It was the kind of surprise you feel when you really stop to consider that things which are so common within the society you grew up in, are completely unacceptable to others. Of course I knew this before, but today I began to really consider what implications these differences will have for students in the classroom and even into post secondary education or the workforce.
Speaking of the classroom. Today I began teaching Accounting 10. There are two students in the class! Classroom management was not an issue today. Today I taught the students step 3 in the accounting cycle: Posting the the general ledgers. I felt the lesson went well. There was a lot of material to cover. I felt confident with the material, but I am sure that I missed a few things. Tomorrow we will be doing a brief review and an assignment so I should be able to see in what areas I need to provide more instruction. There were, of course, a few things that I didn’t like about the lesson. One: writing examples on the board. Wowzers, was I messy! TIP: Unless you have a gridded white/chalk board, DO NOT attempt to write general ledger accounts on the board. I felt like my board writing was all over the place. The school has a document projector so I may give that a try tomorrow. Two: At times I felt like I was talking way to quickly. I am not sure if that was the case……that will have to be a future professional growth target!
I find the days are passing so quickly. There are always so many things going on in the school. A new (returning) student arrived this morning. It is a few weeks into the semester so plans had to be made for which classes she could join. Today some of the older students attended a blood donor clinic so they missed some of the afternoon. Our coop was also acting principal in the afternoon so she had to attend to some other small student and administrative issues. Also Regina Huda School does not have a secretary or custodial services so often times teachers are balancing these tasks with their teaching responsibilities. As I said before RHS is such an interesting and unique place.
{ March 6, 2008 @ 12:50 am } · { School }
{ Tags: Diversity } · { Comments }
Mid week already! This week has really flown by. Today was another day full of observing and teaching. This morning Michelle involved her grade 9 math class in a World Math Day. The students took part in an online math competition. They had to perform timed math functions and were competing against students from schools all over the world. It was a lot of fun to see the students engaged in math.
I taught another accounting lesson in period 2. What do I love about this class? I have no classroom management issues! What pre-intern can say this? I would love to attribute this to my incredible classroom management skills, but I think that only having two students in the class may be a contributing factor. It would be difficult for the students to be off task without me knowing this. Therefore, they remain diligent and attentive for 55 minutes of accounting! I know I am spoiled right now but I am enjoying the small class size. My coop always encourages me to consider how my instructional strategies and other logistical considerations would work in a class of 25. I think the lesson today went well, both students seem to have a good grasp of posting to the general ledger. We are going to have a work period tomorrow and then move onto the next topic on Friday.
During Computer Lit 9/IP 10 I worked with one student on a Word task. This particular student’s attendance is inconsistent (this is the first time she has been at RHS since we began last week) and therefore is not working on the same tasks as the rest of the class. There are so many challenges associated with student attendance or lack thereof. This class is already a split class and when a student misses so many classes, the teacher has to make many more adaptations.
During the lunch break, Michelle and I sat in with the female students. It was interesting to hear them talk about school, religion and family. Some shared their stories about how their families came to live in Regina and some shared their thoughts about wearing pants. Some of the students were born in Regina, while others were born in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia. These students are such a diverse group!
{ March 7, 2008 @ 12:09 am } · { School }
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Today there was a special guest at Regina Huda School. The board is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow evening and they have a keynote speaker all the way from Toronto. He stopped in today to speak to the students. It was interesting to hear what he had to say to the students. I continue to learn many new things from these diverse students and enjoy the atmosphere within the school. This experience was also a reminder of the many things that can pop up within a school and disrupt lessons. Teachers constantly have to adapt to what is taking place and sometimes it means losing instructional time which isn’t always easy to recoup.
My teaching went well again today. We continued to work on step 3 in the accounting cycle. The students seem to be following what is going on. The students are diligent and participate in the discussion. They stay on task. The one challenge that I do have is one student is fairly messy in his/her work….This can be a problem in accounting. Hopefully with reminding this student will be able to complete ledgers and journals neatly. I forgot to mention yesterday that I had used the data projector to show examples. I don’t think that it went any better than writing the examples on the board! It is difficult to show 24 different ledgers. I just felt like I was constantly flipping pages. I have to correct an assignment in class tomorrow so I may give it one more go. Hopefully it works better. Tomorrow we are reviewing in preparation for a test on Monday. This week I have had a chance to grade some assignments and the students did well. I am interested to see if they can apply what they know to the test.
This afternoon we participated in a Food Services 10 lab. The students were baking banana muffins. It turned into a boys vs girls competition. The boys had a modified recipe as they used whole wheat flour and peaches in-place of sour cream. Both groups did very well. The students appeared to enjoy being out of the classroom and putting some of their knowledge into practice.
When my professor asked for volunteers to go to Regina Huda School I immediately raised my hand. I knew that it would be an incredible learning experience. One reservation I had was that I was going to miss out on experiencing a large high-school. However, after a week at RHS and after speaking to other pre-interns, I am confident that my experience has been representative of what takes place in other schools. There are students that act out, there are attendance issues, students don’t complete homework, there are family issues to consider, students gossip, students complain, and students make teaching so enjoyable that you can not imagine engaging in any other career!
I remember when I worked in the corporate world, Fridays always seemed more relaxed than other days. Friday was a day to ease off the gas and take life in the office a little slower. As I entered the school, I wondered if a school Friday would have the same atmosphere as an office Friday. Oh boy, not even close! If anything Friday was the busiest day! It was the day to play catch up for things that were missed during the week and even to begin to prepare for the next week!
Accounting went well again. Well except for the darn data projector! If anyone reading this has suggestions for making correcting easier, I am all ears! Today we were reviewing for the quiz on Monday. As I mentioned I only have two students so I have a lot of opportunity to recognize where each of them needs assistance and then tailor my instruction to their needs. We spent most of the week discussing and practicing posting to the ledger and they both seem to comprehend the topic. I hope that they do well on the quiz on Monday!
On Friday I spent the lunch hour in the girls room. They are such a lovely bunch of girls. They asked about being a teacher and why I chose this profession. They shared ideas about women and their role in society and the family. It was interesting to hear their differing views. I told them that I don’t cook (I can, I just choose not to) and they were shocked! One grade nine girl then told a story about how it took her father 2 hours to make a toast and tomato paste sandwich. All the girls had a chuckle about this. I again took the opportunity to learn more about the girls. They wanted me to guess siblings and where they were born. Some were born in Regina but the majority were not. They told me what it is like to speak Arabic at home and English at school. They were laughing about how their cousins who live in their home countries always want them to say things in English. After lunch I listened in on a meeting that the girls were having regarding a fashion show. They are so excited for this event. I could write more now but I think I will dedicate a post to it as the event draws closer.
Friday was also picture day. The students were excited and the grade twelves didn’t want to have their photos taken with the other grades. Sometimes I forget about the separation of males and females because the students do communicate in class and are usually in fairly close proximity. However, for the photos they were divided.
Friday afternoon the students helped set up for the big fundraiser dinner. This isn’t something that the teachers are really involved in. It is more of a community event. There were a few mothers there organizing and directing. It was nice to meet some of the parents. Michelle and I pitched in and move tables and chairs. The students hardly needed any direction, they all participated and did something to help prepare for the evening. The set up of tables was another reminder of the separation of males and females.
After school I offered to help take in the recycling. The recycling program is a good way for the school to make some money. Each class recycles and on Fridays the girls collect it all. Two of the high school teachers take it in every few weeks. They had many bags this week so I offered to take some as well.
Although I was exhausted at the end of the week, I really enjoyed all of the experiences. I am sure this coming week will be just as educational and interesting. I am going to continue to teach Accounting and will also be teaching Computer Lit 9. There are many other things happening this week at RHS. There is a clay workshop for the high school students and then the girls are having a lunch meeting with the board. Both are exciting events but take away from class instruction. Professional targets this week will have to involve keeping students on task and ensuring we don’t fall too far behind.
“As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools”{ March 11, 2008 @ 12:22 am } · { School }
{ Tags: RHS, Tests } · { Comments }
Monday morning. What a great time for a test! This morning I administered my first accounting test. I am so happy with how well the students did on the test! We spent last week studying step 3 in the accounting cycle: posting to the ledger. My students are now well versed in creating a Chart of Accounts and posting transactions to the ledger. The test was fairly straightforward and I only had two questions from the students. Both students asked me if Prepaid Insurance was an Asset or a Liability. I was a little nervous to correct the tests but when the results were in A achieved 100% and ME did very well with 91.5%. ME could have had 100% if it were not for an adding error in the second entry of his cash account! Oh well, at least ME’s work was legible this time! Although this was an easy lesson for me to teach I did have one struggle: What would my target be? It is difficult to come up with a target when you only have two students who will be writing a test and will have your undivided attention (I am sure that attention felt like stares to them today!). I decided to create my target as if I had a class of 25 writing a test. My target was recognizing and responding to student questions in a timely manner. Now as I said, with 2 students this was not a problem. They only had one question each and I did not have to keep my eyes on anyone else while I responded to them. With 25 students I imagine it would be more difficult to assist a student while keeping your attention on the rest of the class as well.
During Computer Lit 9, I helped some of the students finish up their PowerPoint Presentations. I love reading about all of the students, their families, friends, hobbies and interests. During Psychology 20, I worked with H on the Food Studies 10 assignment. She had study hall during this time and is quite far behind the other students. She confessed to me that she is slow because she doesn’t write very often. She said that at home her role is caretaker. She told me she really likes to cook. She told me a little about her high school experience at Johnson and how she wants to go back there next year. Getting to know the students so well in such a brief time is one of the great bonuses of being placed at RHS.
We had the opportunity to learn a little more about RHS from the principal. She has been at RHS for a number of years and has been the principal for 5 years. She also teaches part time at the school. She talked a bit about the growing pains of the school. The population of the school has grown quite rapidly, but the resources and number of teachers has not kept pace. She said five years ago, she had under a hundred students and the same number of staff as she has now with a population of 190 students. I may have mentioned that this school does not have a vice principal, secretary or custodial services. Yikes! Other schools would probably shut down! She mentioned how staff picks up a lot of extra responsibility around the school. The teachers here are a very dedicated group!
Tomorrow my coop will be acting principal in the morning so there will be a substitute teacher in the class. It will be interesting to see how things go. I am going to continue with accounting and also teach Computer Lit 9. We will be doing projects using desktop publishing software. I am looking forward to is. The grade nines are a great bunch!
I knew it was coming. Michelle saw his car parked outside, yes outside!, at the university yesterday. I heard from other pre-interns that he stopped at Johnson yesterday. He is leaving Monday for a conference. He wants to observe us at least once. I should have been prepared for my adviser to pop in today. Was I? Well, I was a little surprised and slightly nervous at first. However, as soon as I realized I wasn’t using the data projector today, I knew I would be fine!Today in accounting we were working on proving journals and ledgers. We reviewed the steps in the accounting cycle and moved into doing the proofs. This is a fairly easy task and both students caught on quickly. Overall the lesson went well. Afterwards, my adviser talked with me about the lesson and accounting. He also reminded me not to center all of my attention on weaker students. I was happy to have him point this out to me. I did not realize that I was doing this and now I have a professional target for Thursday’s lesson!
My adviser stayed around to observe period three. There were some challenges in this class, but again everything went well. Period three is a split Computer Lit 9/IP 10 class. Michelle was instructing the grade 10s and I was beginning Desktop Publishing with the grade 9s. The computer lab at RHS is set up in a U shape which is a pretty good set up for accessing students and being able to see at a glance what they are working on. However there are a few issues with the lab. One: there is not a teacher station from which you can display screens for all students to see. Two: it is a small space. To have two teachers instructing at the same time causes a great deal of noise. Three: some computers don’t have Internet. This meant that some grade 10s who required Internet had to switch computers with grade 9s. Not a huge deal. It just meant that at times, while Michelle was speaking, I had to go help a grade 9 who was in the grade 10 section. I was actually happy to have some issues to contend with while teaching. I know that there will be many more once I am at a larger school with larger classes.
I continue to be amazed at how much, above and beyond teaching, goes on in a school. Today a family came to register their children at RHS. They are new to the city. In fact, they have only been in Canada for two weeks. They are refugees from Malawi. There are four girls in the family and they have all been schooled in English. From all appearances they should have little problem being integrated into the Saskatchewan curriculum. However, registering is not that simple! Given the circumstances under which this family left their home country, they did not have time to gather academic records. It is difficult to place students without having records. They can not be given credit for courses that they have already completed. Another issue is that one of the girls should be in the eighth grade. However, the grade eight class at RHS is full!! There are already 33 students and the board has placed a cap on the class. Some decisions need to be made by the board and with the guidance of Sask. Learning. Hopefully these girls will find a place within the RHS community!
“Art is not freedom from discipline,…{ March 12, 2008 @ 4:06 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Arts Education, RHS } · { Comments }
…but disciplined freedom.” (Rev. Edward M. Catich). Today Regina Huda School was very lucky to have Mr. Jerry Cozine and Mr. Don Gartner come out and lead the high school students in a clay workshop. RHS does not have any Arts Education courses and so once a year a workshop is held for the students. This year the students were making clay masks. Everyone was very excited not to have the normal morning routine. The boys and girls worked in separate rooms. The high school teachers took the morning as prep and Michelle and I each supervised a room as the principal supervised us! I was in the girls room. The girls are really a lovely bunch and they are very diligent with their work. Not many had worked with clay before so it was a completely new experience for them. The creativity that they all displayed was wonderful. As I looked around many beautiful masks were being formed. One lovely girl, F, is an artist in disguise! She went so far as to make her mask into a bust. She was a little disappointed when we told her that it would not dry in time. She decided to remove the face and it still looked wonderful!
One issue did arise during the clay workshop. Some students were concerned that they were making human or animal faces. In Islam, individuals are not to represent animals and people through artwork. One of the teachers went to talk to the Sheik and he said that for educational purposes, students were welcome to engage in this project. Some of the students were still uncomfortable and instead chose to make monster or robot masks.
It was another activity filled day at RHS. I continue to learn more about teaching, schools, students and Islam more each day.
I Love Lunch!{ March 13, 2008 @ 11:07 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Lunch, Meetings, RHS } · { Comments }
Today we had a very unique experience. My partner and I had the opportunity to join the high school girls and the high school teachers at a lunch meeting. Lucky us, the meeting was at Memories! The lunch meeting was with the President of the Regina Huda School Board. The President also happens to be the founder of the school. The President recently had a similar meeting with the boys. The meeting began with all of the girls sharing their names and what they would like to do in the future. This was a great opportunity for me to learn a little more about the girls. It was interesting to hear that most would like to have careers in engineering and medicine. The President advised the girls that he wanted to meet with them for two reasons. One reason is that he wanted to tell the girls how proud he is of them. He said that the girls are very visible when they are out in the community (scarves and abahya) and he always receives positive comments about the girls. He also said how they are a dedicated group and always keep their promises. The second reason for the meeting was to give the girls an opportunity to address any issues or concerns that they have with the school. Two issues were raised. One issue was that the girls would like to engage in more sports activities. There was previously a fitness club but the girls did lose interest. There was some discussion today about regenerating sports activities for girls. Another issue, which was also brought up at the boys meeting, was that of allowing the students to leave the school at lunch hour. The current policy is that students are not allowed to leave the school at lunch. The girls position was that by allowing them time to leave, teachers could have time away from the students. So generous girls! It was suggested that the girls write a proposal to submit to the board.
As for teaching…I continued with my accounting class today. We had a day of reviewing accounting proofs. The students knew their stuff! They were able to answer all of the questions and we had a good discussion about the need to have accurate accounting records prior to preparing financial statements. Tomorrow we are going to be in the computer lab using Excel for a variety of accounting purposes. I will also be teaching Computer Lit 9 again tomorrow. The students will be continuing to work on their Desktop Publishing assignments.
man grows most tired when standing still.{ March 16, 2008 @ 3:41 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Outdoor Ed, Time } · { Comments }
I would have to say I agree with this Chinese proverb. The mornings at school are full of activity. I teach two classes in the morning and generally have little down time. I feel full of energy and time plays that audacious little trick of passing in a flash. My afternoons are a different story. They are usually spent observing and assisting students with work or projects and when I am sitting down the energy slowly creeps away. Thank goodness the afternoons are shorter than the mornings!
Today accounting class was held in the computer lab. The lesson was about using electronic spreadsheets for accounting purposes. Both of the students have used Excel before and have a good grasp of the accounting concepts so they were given a challenge problem to complete. The class was not long enough to complete it, so they were assigned the remainder for homework. There were not really any challenges in regards to classroom management (remember only 2 students) but there were other challenges in the lab. The computer lab is also used as a classroom, so there was a math lesson going on at the same time. It was a bit noisy but my students were able to stay on task. Today was my last day to teach accounting. This experience was a lot less intense than I imagined! Grade ten accounting, two diligent students…I know this wasn’t a typical but I still think that I was able to learn from this experience. And I still have three lessons in Computer Lit 9 so let the learning continue! Speaking of Computer lIt 9. Today’s class went well. The students did a timed keying exercise. They then continued with their Desktop Publishing assignment. They are progressing well but I think the assignment may be a bit lengthy for the time we have. I will have to see how much progress they make on Monday. I may have to take one task out.
In other news….Today during lunch I sat down to talk with a few of the grade nine girls. They were asking me a tonne of questions about university. In grade nine and already worried about university! They wanted to know how big classes are, how long you will have to wait in line to talk to the prof, how long it takes to get to one building from another, how to take notes, if you have to read a lot etc etc. They are really concerned that they will not do well. I advised them that from what I have observed, their teachers will have them prepared in no time! The girls also talked about their summer plans and most are excited to return to their home countries for the summer.
Today the grade 9, 10, and 11 students had a presentation regarding outdoor education. There have been outdoor education trips at RHS for the past few years. The students got to see some pictures and here a bit about what will take place if the trip gets the go ahead (the board has already approved it, now it is just up to the parents). The principal talked about fundraising and the rules of the trip. RHS outdoor education trips would be similar to those of other highschools. However, there are some considerations that are specific to a Muslim school. Boys and girls must engage in all activities separetly (think swimming etc) and also time must be given for the preparation of prayer and prayer. Some of the students were very excited about this opportunity. Some also want to stay behind! These students have never been camping or fishing and do not want to experience it. I grew up in the Land of the Living Skies and life without camping and fishing just doesn’t seem complete. I made sure to tell them what a wonderful experience it would be.
Well, two weeks down and one to go! This is a short week at RHS. There are no classes for students on Thursday. There is however, a full day staff meeting. It will be interesting to see what takes place and what issues they discuss.
Just Another Manic Monday{ March 17, 2008 @ 10:40 pm } · { Not school }
{ Tags: RHS, Science } · { Comments }
But definitely in a good sense. The day was so full of activity that it again passed quickly. This morning I observed two classes before teaching Computer Lit 9. The students are continuing to work on their Desktop Publishing assignments. Some have made a lot of progress. Others have not. However, this is not due to their lack of effort. The grade 9s are very diligent and always put a lot of effort into creating perfect work. The problem is the computers. Some computers were acting bonkers. Assignments were not opening correctly, some computers were not allowing students to use clip art features and also there were not enough computers for the number of students in the class. We did the best we could though and students were still able to get some work done.
During study hall I helped a student with a Food Studies assignment. The assignment is fairly straightforward but the student requires some guidance. In the afternoon I continued to help her during 4th period. In 5th period, I made myself available to help some of the Computer Lit 98 students who had fallen behind due to the computer problems. Two students came to the lab and they both made a lot of progress. They are now in line with the other students.
I only have two teaching days left and tomorrow will be another busy day. I will also be attending the RHS science fair in the evening. I will be judging grade 3-8 science projects. I am excited to see what the elementary students have created!
Science is simply common sense at its best that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.{ March 18, 2008 @ 10:27 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: RHS, Science Fair } · { Comments }
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95)once spoke this truth. However, tonight I saw science as more than just observation and logic. I saw science as exciting and fun and the catalyst for one of the best experiences that I have had during my pre-internship. I was a judge for the Regina Huda School Elementary Science Fair. What a fantastic evening! The science fair was for students in grades 3-8. Some were individual projects and others were a partner or group effort. The students were so excited to share their projects. I was judging some of the lower grades and got to learn about topics such at electromagnetism, hydro-electricity, the heart, Venus, flowers, and butterflies. Thank goodness that the students are evaluated by a number of judges. I never would have been able to chose a winner! I would have to say that the most informative project was the one about hydro-electricity. The most interesting was the project about electromagnetism. The students who did their project about the heart were terrific presenters. The exhibit about the butterflies was my overall favourite. This little girl was so enthusiastic and was such a great speaker that I couldn’t help but get excited about butterflies. She also told me a First Nations tale of how the butterfly became colorful and how secrets can be shared with butterflies! I left that presentation with a huge smile on my face. I had such a wonderful time this evening. It was so great to see the students so excited about their work and about sharing their learning.
As for the rest of the day….Computer Lit 9 was a bit harried again today. Once again there was the problem of not enough computers. RHS is growing so rapidly that the resources and facilities are quickly becoming insufficient (8 new high-school students since February. Considering there are now 35 students this is quite an increase). However, we once again did the best we could. I advised the students that they only had 2 more class periods to work on their assignment so they quickly got down to business. Although the students are diligent, I am going to revise my assignment. The original assignment consisted of 7 tasks but I think I will reduce it to six. I don’t want the students to have to take class time from their regular class teacher.
This afternoon the students in Psychology spent time discussing their action research projects and what they must do for the write ups. In Food Studies I spent time helping students complete questions about leavening agents. Although we were in the computer lab, the students worked so well. Most were able to complete the assignment within the class time. Tomorrow is my last day of teaching. As many other pre-interns have mentioned on their blogs, it will be a difficult day. Being at a small high school, I have had the opportunity to learn many things about the students. I would love to see where the end of the year finds them, both academically and personally!
“A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends” (Richard Bach). I have been at Regina Huda School for such a brief time, and although I may not have had time to make new best friends, during my time at Regina Huda School I have had an opportunity to meet many great individuals, both students and teachers. Whether or not the feeling is mutual, I will miss see all of these kind and unique people on a daily basis.
Wednesday was a day of good-byes. Due to a staff meeting and PD day on Thursday, Wednesday was the last day that I was teaching and that I would see Regina Huda School students. Like many people I am not fond of goodbyes. I am awkward at saying goodbyes. Wednesday was a busy day and the dismissal bell crept up on me and I wasn’t able to say good bye to all of the students. Fortunately I have to return my uniform and a textbook next week so I will be able to see the students again.
Teaching today was fairly straightforward. During first period I helped on of the new students with her math. She did not bring any school records from Malawi but indicated that she knew how to do some of the grade 9 work. She had worked on the course review and had done well. We spent time reviewing some math rules and worked through some problems together. Second period, I observed accounting. It felt strange to sit and observe after teaching this class for two weeks. During 2nd period, the President of the RHS Board came to speak to the high school students about their responsibilities and about following the rules. Third period was spent providing last minute assistance to the grade 9s. They were finishing up their desktop publishing assignments. During fourth period I observed a school assembly. The assembly was to recognize and observe that March is the month in which the Prophet Muhammad was born. It was interesting to observe this assembly. It was a little long for the elementary students and they became a little restless about 30 minutes in. In 5th period, Food Services students cooked soft pretzels. They turned out so well and were really delicious.
On Wednesday, I left Regina Huda School with more than a handful of memories about the school and the students. Prior to arriving at RHS, I was concerned that I would miss out on the experience of a large high school. I have to say that I would not trade my experiences at RHS for anything!
Literally! Some of the guidelines that we followed at Regina Huda School were no makeup and hair in a ponytail (or off your face). The no make up thing wasn’t really a problem. However, by the end of the day the ponytails often left me with a headache! It felt good to leave my hair down today.
Today I was fortunate to sit in on a staff meeting at RHS. I was able to hear discussions regarding some of the issues at the school. Some were elementary issues, some were high-school issues, and some were issues that affected everyone in the school. One issue that was discussed was that of what to do when students leave the school for months at a time. Many families are from other countries and will take trips overseas for long periods of time. Sometimes these parents request that students prepare homework packages for these students (for upwards of two months). The high-school teachers have been asked to prepare their students for final exams and to create a new final exam which can be written earlier. This is an issue for a number of reasons. One: many times teachers spend countless hours preparing homework packages and the students do not complete them. Or the quality of work completed is not acceptable. Two: It is unreasonable to ask teachers to create more than one final exam. Three: In high-school if students can not complete a certain number of hours in a course they should not be eligible to pass this course. It was decided that a policy should be created to help teachers deal with this situation.
This afternoon was PD time for the teachers. I took this time to grade the 66 Computer Lit assignments that the grade 9s completed on Wednesday. What an ordeal! If I had a class of 30+ I would definitely rethink this assignment! One thing I could do differently is have various due dates for each task. However, I was able to finish grading and was pleased with the effort that students put into the assignment. This quiet afternoon also allowed me an opportunity to have discussions with one of the other high school teachers and the principal. We spoke of some of the students. They were generous in sharing stories of these students. The stories allowed me to gain a better understanding of what these students deal with both at school and outside of the school walls. We also spoke of the field of education and of schools and teaching in general. These conversations were enjoyable and provided me with an opportunity to hear more about what is taking place in education today. My only regret with my pre-internship is that I did not have the chance to have more of these conversations! The reality of schools is that they are so so busy that there is not always time to talk and share as much as you would like to.
I’ll admit that I was nervous about pre-internship. However, I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of my experience. This is not an exaggeration. I learned many things, met many kind and generous people, and had the opportunity to teach many unique, enthusiastic and intelligent students. I have to thank my cooperating teacher for all of her kindness and generosity. Over the past three weeks she has been quick to share her time, ideas, advice and resources. She has been a great example of the balance that needs to occur between teaching content and all of the other things that schools and teachers must give attention. It will be difficult to return to university on Monday. I am ready to continue to be in a classroom and to learn more about students, teaching and schools. September can’t come soon enough!
As I cursed the alarm clock and hit snooze this morning, I realized that I actually had a very good reason to be waking up so early. Today marked my official debut as a pre-intern. There were a lot of emotions to deal with this morning, nervousness, excitement, tiredness, and anticipation. Would my fate as a pre-intern be half as disastrous as the fate of those pesky burglars who tried to foil eight year old Kevin Arnold’s attempt to be independent? Ok so that is a bit dramatic. I knew it would be nothing like stepping on a tar and nail coated stairway or being hot glued and feathered. I didn’t actually have too many worries this morning. The plan for the first day was observation so I did not feel much pressure this morning. The day was full of meeting teachers and students, learning about the school and standing out in the cold winter weather during a fire alarm (which luckily was of the false variety).
I have been lucky enough to be placed in a very special school, the Regina Huda School. Regina Huda School is unique for a number of reasons. First of all, it is the only Muslim school in the city. Second, as far as I know it is the only K-12 school in the city. Regina Huda School is associated with the Regina Public School but is funded differently and follows a slightly different schedule in order to allow for certain religious days. Being my first entry about the Regina Huda School, I do not want to comment too much on it. I would like more time to learn about the students and absorb what takes place within this unique building. Already I have noticed many interesting things and I am excited to learn more. I am sure that I will have many observations and stories to share over the next three weeks.
My cooperating teacher has been very kind and open with sharing not only what she knows about teaching, but what she knows about the students and the school. The high school portion of the school is relatively small. The school was established in 1999. However, this is the first year that there are grades nine through twelve. There are approximately 31 high school students. This is very different from my high school experience. I attended a fairly large high school that had a student population hovering around one thousand. There are three high school teachers that share the responsibility of teaching all of the subjects and all of the students. My cooperating teacher has explained a little of how their program has been developed. A lot of planning has gone into and I am excited to see how it works on a daily basis. The classes that I am going to be involved with are Accounting 10, Computer Lit 9, IP 10, Psychology 20 and maybe even Food Services 10. Stay tuned to find out how things progress!
Today I attended a conference hosted by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. The conference, Showcase 2008, is a professional development opportunity for teachers within the province. It is a time for teachers to come together and participate in keynote addresses, seminars and lectures about issues and topics in education. The theme of the conference is “Honour our past, sculpt the future.” One of the keynote speakers was Stuart Mclean. He shared one of his Vinyl Cafe stories. It was entertaining, but not in a mindless way. Mclean reminded us of why we became teachers….because we were raised wrong. We were raised to choose heart over profit. His address also made me consider the mindset of young learners and some of the challenges that they deal with while in the early years of school. He reminded us that sometimes kindness is what is most needed in classrooms and schools. One small act of kindness can in fact sculpt a young person’s future, in terms of his/her future choices and the attitudes that he/she adopts or develops.
Mclean also told a humourous story of his character David and his wife Morley. He spoke of a mistake that Morley,as young girl, made . He said it was “the kind of mistake you can’t go back from.” Oh boy, I have had a few of those. This comment was of course, to everyone other than six year old Morley, an obvious exaggeration. It was a six year old mistake that had no consequences beyond what the girl thought and felt. This story reminded me to always consider how students may feel in a moment. An event that I may deem insignificant or trite may in fact sculpt the future of a young learner.
After Mclean’s address I took in the trade show. I was able to gather a lot of great resources. I spoke to the lady at PLEA, and a few gentlemen at the Ready to Work booth. I was also able to gather many Social Studies resources. I ran into a few people with whom I went to high-school. They have been teachers for about five years now and offered to share resources with me as well.
It was another long day but I enjoyed it. When I was an accountant, I never had the opportunity to engage in professional development with my peers and colleagues. I like being involved in a a profession that provides learning opportunities and encourages its members to come together to learn and share.
“When planning for a year, plant corn…
{ February 29, 2008 @ 5:13 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: accounting, Planning } · { Comments (1) }
…When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people” (Chinese Proverb).
I thought of this quote as I sat down today to begin my planning for the classes I will teach next week. I began to wonder what you should do if you only have to plan a short sequence of lessons for an Accounting 10 class. Since the weather is still undesirable for tilling the land, I thought a better place to start would be by dusting off the textbook. And my oh my, what a textbook it is. 767 pages, approximately 2 inches thick. I dragged it from the front door where I had deposited it on Wednesday. I heaved it onto the table and paused to catch my lost breath. I quietly wished to myself ”Please let the task of carrying this textbook be the most difficult part of teaching the students to conquer the contents.”
The textbook that the students are using is Kaluza, Howard, Kennedy-Ambacher, & Slywchuk. (1991) “Accounting: A systems approach (3rd ed).”From what I have heard, 21st Century is the most used textbook in high school accounting classes. However, Regina Huda School does not have the resources to buy new textbooks and has thus far relied on textbooks donated from other schools. I read chapters 1-4 this afternoon. I think that this book is just as good as 21st Century (I am familiar with it from EBUS 285). In fact, I think this textbook does a better job of explaining the beginning and normal balances of accounts. The first four chapters provide a strong introduction of the principles of accounting.
Now one might think that for someone who was once an accountant, that teaching accounting would be a breeze. Let me tell you otherwise. There is a difference between performing accounting tasks and teaching students about them. When I worked as an accountant, which was last in 2004, everything became routine. I performed my daily accounting responsibilities and what I was doing ceased to have names or labels. I no longer thought of things in terms of “This is an increase so I need to debit the left side of an asset account.” Also, I worked for a large corporation and was just one of a hundred accountants. I was not responsible for balance sheets and income statements etc. Teaching students requires one to think of terms, and analyze transactions, and explain in a way that those inexperienced in accounting can understand. Oh my, this is going to be an experience!
I feel confident in creating lessons. I have had a lot of experience over the past 2 years and working with the Evergreen Curriculum and the textbook makes planning easier. However, there is still one part of lesson planning that I need to work on. This is determining timing. I have no idea how long it will take for the me to work through one topic with the students. Should I spend one or two lessons on posting transaction data? How many examples do they need? How long should they have for assignment? Today I sketched out two lessons. I have to fill in the details and then hopefully get a little guidance from my coop in terms of timing.
After a long day of planning, I closed up my books and I made another quiet wish to myself. “I wish that planning wasn’t so time-consuming.” Then I remembered this qoute. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan” (Eleanor Roosevelt). It looks like I am in for another long day tomorrow.
Medicine Chest of the Soul: This is the inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes. I have always been amazed and mesmerized by libraries and also by book stores. Walking into a library or bookstore is an exciting yet humbling experience. It is exciting because one can glance around and see the myriad of volumes that line the shelves. There is an abundance of knowledge that is out there for the taking. Authors, researchers, professionals, and storytellers all providing us with an opportunity to learn something new. The humbling part is realizing there is so much which I will never know. I had this exciting and humbling experience again today as I entered the library at the Regina Huda School. The library is a small space, but through many donations it has grown into a wonderful learning space. As I looked around at the books written in Arabic and the books about Islam, I again realized how many things I can learn during this experience. The librarian spent time talking to us about where the schools collection has come from, what is acceptable and what is not, and just about the library in general. I hope that when I am a teacher that I will have the opportunity to spend time in the library with students. I know that the Internet has somewhat decreased reliance on libraries but I think this quote still applies “Libraries are the key to ensuring that the divide between information rich and poor is kept as narrow as possible.” (Senator Lyn Allison).
One thing that is challenging about the students at the Regina Huda School is learning all of their names. Last week when I glanced at the student list, only a few names were familiar to me. I could not tell from most names whether they were masculine or feminine names. And pronunciation….whoo boy. Thankfully our coop provided us with the phonetic spelling of their names. The students had a hard time remembering my name as well. Michelle told them to think of a man named Mark and a witch. I am not sure if that will be a good or bad thing if this sticks!
This morning the Grade 9 Math class had a test. The students had been studying exemplars. They had a one question test that will be graded by a panel of Math teachers from within the school system. The students had lost of practice in exemplars and seemed well prepared for the test. Then the question was read aloud. The question had to do with dance-a-thons. The students were puzzled. Not because of the math question, but because of the dance-a-thon. The students at Regina Huda school have never participated in a dance-a-thon, some may never have danced. The students had to make assumptions about the dance-a-thon. Some assumed it would last 2 hours. This question may have seemed fairly straightforward, but in this class it appeared very culturally biased. It will be interesting to see how the students scored.
In period 3 we had the opportunity to observe a Computer Lit 9 and IP 10 split class. The Computer Lit 9 class was working on a PowerPoint presentation about themselves. It was interesting to walk around the class and observe what the students were writing about themselves. There may be some visible differences between the RHS students and other public school students (uniforms, segregation in classes), but in many ways these students are ordinary teenagers. The boys wanted to make their presentations funny. The girls wrote about their friends and hobbies such as shopping, laughing and watching TV. Observing this class served to remind me that although this high school is small and in many ways unique, these students are representative of many students I will encounter throughout my career.
Before Psychology 30, I got to spend a few minutes speaking with one of the students. He was complaining that Saskatchewan is boring. He was born in Pakistan, lived in New Jersey and then Ontario, before moving to Regina. I tried to convince him that summer will be better! I am not sure how successful I was. Psychology 20 was spent observing the two boys in the class preparing for their Action Plans. It is interesting to hear their hypothesis and how they will test it. There were many things that had to be considered, such as proximity of boys to girls during the experiment, that may not have been a consideration in other high-schools.
We are only two days into our placement and already I have been introduced to many new things: wodu, prayer, names, Arabic writing and language, and the fact that some of the high school students are married. Wow! that last one was a shocker. That is not something I even thought to consider. Tomorrow I begin teaching Accounting 10. I am sure that many more new things are on the horizon.
“Come mothers and fathers throughout the land…
{ March 4, 2008 @ 11:32 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: prep time, Regina Huda School } · { Comments }
…and don’t criticize what you can’t understand” (Bob Dylan). I think that it is really important to approach things with an open mind. It would be very difficult to ever truly know all the details, or understand all the perspectives of another culture/race/religion/gender/individual. I think it is important to listen and attempt to know and understand before passing judgements. Beyond the teaching experience, this pre-internship is providing me with the opportunity to learn many things about other cultures and another religion. I consider this to be one of the greatest experiences an individual can have. To become aware of something new and different is always interesting. This morning before lunch, my partner and I went with our coop to drive a Career and Work student to his placement. She has so graciously given up her prep time (so that he did not miss out on this opportunity) to drive him to and from his placement everyday. Being away from the school allowed us to talk and ask questions out of students’ earshot. I had a lot of questions about Muslims. My coop has been teaching at Regina Huda School for a number of years now so she has plenty of experience there and knows alot about the students and their families. She shared some information about what is acceptable and unacceptable for Muslims. I knew some of these things, others surprised me. However, it is difficult to describe this sense of surprise. I wasn’t surprised in a ”Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that. That is so bizarre” kind of way. It was the kind of surprise you feel when you really stop to consider that things which are so common within the society you grew up in, are completely unacceptable to others. Of course I knew this before, but today I began to really consider what implications these differences will have for students in the classroom and even into post secondary education or the workforce.
Speaking of the classroom. Today I began teaching Accounting 10. There are two students in the class! Classroom management was not an issue today. Today I taught the students step 3 in the accounting cycle: Posting the the general ledgers. I felt the lesson went well. There was a lot of material to cover. I felt confident with the material, but I am sure that I missed a few things. Tomorrow we will be doing a brief review and an assignment so I should be able to see in what areas I need to provide more instruction. There were, of course, a few things that I didn’t like about the lesson. One: writing examples on the board. Wowzers, was I messy! TIP: Unless you have a gridded white/chalk board, DO NOT attempt to write general ledger accounts on the board. I felt like my board writing was all over the place. The school has a document projector so I may give that a try tomorrow. Two: At times I felt like I was talking way to quickly. I am not sure if that was the case……that will have to be a future professional growth target!
I find the days are passing so quickly. There are always so many things going on in the school. A new (returning) student arrived this morning. It is a few weeks into the semester so plans had to be made for which classes she could join. Today some of the older students attended a blood donor clinic so they missed some of the afternoon. Our coop was also acting principal in the afternoon so she had to attend to some other small student and administrative issues. Also Regina Huda School does not have a secretary or custodial services so often times teachers are balancing these tasks with their teaching responsibilities. As I said before RHS is such an interesting and unique place.
Happy World Math Day!
{ March 6, 2008 @ 12:50 am } · { School }
{ Tags: Diversity } · { Comments }
Mid week already! This week has really flown by. Today was another day full of observing and teaching. This morning Michelle involved her grade 9 math class in a World Math Day. The students took part in an online math competition. They had to perform timed math functions and were competing against students from schools all over the world. It was a lot of fun to see the students engaged in math.
I taught another accounting lesson in period 2. What do I love about this class? I have no classroom management issues! What pre-intern can say this? I would love to attribute this to my incredible classroom management skills, but I think that only having two students in the class may be a contributing factor. It would be difficult for the students to be off task without me knowing this. Therefore, they remain diligent and attentive for 55 minutes of accounting! I know I am spoiled right now but I am enjoying the small class size. My coop always encourages me to consider how my instructional strategies and other logistical considerations would work in a class of 25. I think the lesson today went well, both students seem to have a good grasp of posting to the general ledger. We are going to have a work period tomorrow and then move onto the next topic on Friday.
During Computer Lit 9/IP 10 I worked with one student on a Word task. This particular student’s attendance is inconsistent (this is the first time she has been at RHS since we began last week) and therefore is not working on the same tasks as the rest of the class. There are so many challenges associated with student attendance or lack thereof. This class is already a split class and when a student misses so many classes, the teacher has to make many more adaptations.
During the lunch break, Michelle and I sat in with the female students. It was interesting to hear them talk about school, religion and family. Some shared their stories about how their families came to live in Regina and some shared their thoughts about wearing pants. Some of the students were born in Regina, while others were born in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia. These students are such a diverse group!
The day before Friday.
{ March 7, 2008 @ 12:09 am } · { School }
{ } · { Comments }
Today there was a special guest at Regina Huda School. The board is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow evening and they have a keynote speaker all the way from Toronto. He stopped in today to speak to the students. It was interesting to hear what he had to say to the students. I continue to learn many new things from these diverse students and enjoy the atmosphere within the school. This experience was also a reminder of the many things that can pop up within a school and disrupt lessons. Teachers constantly have to adapt to what is taking place and sometimes it means losing instructional time which isn’t always easy to recoup.
My teaching went well again today. We continued to work on step 3 in the accounting cycle. The students seem to be following what is going on. The students are diligent and participate in the discussion. They stay on task. The one challenge that I do have is one student is fairly messy in his/her work….This can be a problem in accounting. Hopefully with reminding this student will be able to complete ledgers and journals neatly. I forgot to mention yesterday that I had used the data projector to show examples. I don’t think that it went any better than writing the examples on the board! It is difficult to show 24 different ledgers. I just felt like I was constantly flipping pages. I have to correct an assignment in class tomorrow so I may give it one more go. Hopefully it works better. Tomorrow we are reviewing in preparation for a test on Monday. This week I have had a chance to grade some assignments and the students did well. I am interested to see if they can apply what they know to the test.
This afternoon we participated in a Food Services 10 lab. The students were baking banana muffins. It turned into a boys vs girls competition. The boys had a modified recipe as they used whole wheat flour and peaches in-place of sour cream. Both groups did very well. The students appeared to enjoy being out of the classroom and putting some of their knowledge into practice.
“Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday”
{ March 9, 2008 @ 4:02 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: accounting, Friday, RHS } · { Comments }
When my professor asked for volunteers to go to Regina Huda School I immediately raised my hand. I knew that it would be an incredible learning experience. One reservation I had was that I was going to miss out on experiencing a large high-school. However, after a week at RHS and after speaking to other pre-interns, I am confident that my experience has been representative of what takes place in other schools. There are students that act out, there are attendance issues, students don’t complete homework, there are family issues to consider, students gossip, students complain, and students make teaching so enjoyable that you can not imagine engaging in any other career!
I remember when I worked in the corporate world, Fridays always seemed more relaxed than other days. Friday was a day to ease off the gas and take life in the office a little slower. As I entered the school, I wondered if a school Friday would have the same atmosphere as an office Friday. Oh boy, not even close! If anything Friday was the busiest day! It was the day to play catch up for things that were missed during the week and even to begin to prepare for the next week!
Accounting went well again. Well except for the darn data projector! If anyone reading this has suggestions for making correcting easier, I am all ears! Today we were reviewing for the quiz on Monday. As I mentioned I only have two students so I have a lot of opportunity to recognize where each of them needs assistance and then tailor my instruction to their needs. We spent most of the week discussing and practicing posting to the ledger and they both seem to comprehend the topic. I hope that they do well on the quiz on Monday!
On Friday I spent the lunch hour in the girls room. They are such a lovely bunch of girls. They asked about being a teacher and why I chose this profession. They shared ideas about women and their role in society and the family. It was interesting to hear their differing views. I told them that I don’t cook (I can, I just choose not to) and they were shocked! One grade nine girl then told a story about how it took her father 2 hours to make a toast and tomato paste sandwich. All the girls had a chuckle about this. I again took the opportunity to learn more about the girls. They wanted me to guess siblings and where they were born. Some were born in Regina but the majority were not. They told me what it is like to speak Arabic at home and English at school. They were laughing about how their cousins who live in their home countries always want them to say things in English. After lunch I listened in on a meeting that the girls were having regarding a fashion show. They are so excited for this event. I could write more now but I think I will dedicate a post to it as the event draws closer.
Friday was also picture day. The students were excited and the grade twelves didn’t want to have their photos taken with the other grades. Sometimes I forget about the separation of males and females because the students do communicate in class and are usually in fairly close proximity. However, for the photos they were divided.
Friday afternoon the students helped set up for the big fundraiser dinner. This isn’t something that the teachers are really involved in. It is more of a community event. There were a few mothers there organizing and directing. It was nice to meet some of the parents. Michelle and I pitched in and move tables and chairs. The students hardly needed any direction, they all participated and did something to help prepare for the evening. The set up of tables was another reminder of the separation of males and females.
After school I offered to help take in the recycling. The recycling program is a good way for the school to make some money. Each class recycles and on Fridays the girls collect it all. Two of the high school teachers take it in every few weeks. They had many bags this week so I offered to take some as well.
Although I was exhausted at the end of the week, I really enjoyed all of the experiences. I am sure this coming week will be just as educational and interesting. I am going to continue to teach Accounting and will also be teaching Computer Lit 9. There are many other things happening this week at RHS. There is a clay workshop for the high school students and then the girls are having a lunch meeting with the board. Both are exciting events but take away from class instruction. Professional targets this week will have to involve keeping students on task and ensuring we don’t fall too far behind.
“As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools”{ March 11, 2008 @ 12:22 am } · { School }
{ Tags: RHS, Tests } · { Comments }
Monday morning. What a great time for a test! This morning I administered my first accounting test. I am so happy with how well the students did on the test! We spent last week studying step 3 in the accounting cycle: posting to the ledger. My students are now well versed in creating a Chart of Accounts and posting transactions to the ledger. The test was fairly straightforward and I only had two questions from the students. Both students asked me if Prepaid Insurance was an Asset or a Liability. I was a little nervous to correct the tests but when the results were in A achieved 100% and ME did very well with 91.5%. ME could have had 100% if it were not for an adding error in the second entry of his cash account! Oh well, at least ME’s work was legible this time! Although this was an easy lesson for me to teach I did have one struggle: What would my target be? It is difficult to come up with a target when you only have two students who will be writing a test and will have your undivided attention (I am sure that attention felt like stares to them today!). I decided to create my target as if I had a class of 25 writing a test. My target was recognizing and responding to student questions in a timely manner. Now as I said, with 2 students this was not a problem. They only had one question each and I did not have to keep my eyes on anyone else while I responded to them. With 25 students I imagine it would be more difficult to assist a student while keeping your attention on the rest of the class as well.
During Computer Lit 9, I helped some of the students finish up their PowerPoint Presentations. I love reading about all of the students, their families, friends, hobbies and interests. During Psychology 20, I worked with H on the Food Studies 10 assignment. She had study hall during this time and is quite far behind the other students. She confessed to me that she is slow because she doesn’t write very often. She said that at home her role is caretaker. She told me she really likes to cook. She told me a little about her high school experience at Johnson and how she wants to go back there next year. Getting to know the students so well in such a brief time is one of the great bonuses of being placed at RHS.
We had the opportunity to learn a little more about RHS from the principal. She has been at RHS for a number of years and has been the principal for 5 years. She also teaches part time at the school. She talked a bit about the growing pains of the school. The population of the school has grown quite rapidly, but the resources and number of teachers has not kept pace. She said five years ago, she had under a hundred students and the same number of staff as she has now with a population of 190 students. I may have mentioned that this school does not have a vice principal, secretary or custodial services. Yikes! Other schools would probably shut down! She mentioned how staff picks up a lot of extra responsibility around the school. The teachers here are a very dedicated group!
Tomorrow my coop will be acting principal in the morning so there will be a substitute teacher in the class. It will be interesting to see how things go. I am going to continue with accounting and also teach Computer Lit 9. We will be doing projects using desktop publishing software. I am looking forward to is. The grade nines are a great bunch!
Classroom management issues! Yay!{ March 11, 2008 @ 9:19 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Advisor, RHS } · { Comments }
I knew it was coming. Michelle saw his car parked outside, yes outside!, at the university yesterday. I heard from other pre-interns that he stopped at Johnson yesterday. He is leaving Monday for a conference. He wants to observe us at least once. I should have been prepared for my adviser to pop in today. Was I? Well, I was a little surprised and slightly nervous at first. However, as soon as I realized I wasn’t using the data projector today, I knew I would be fine!Today in accounting we were working on proving journals and ledgers. We reviewed the steps in the accounting cycle and moved into doing the proofs. This is a fairly easy task and both students caught on quickly. Overall the lesson went well. Afterwards, my adviser talked with me about the lesson and accounting. He also reminded me not to center all of my attention on weaker students. I was happy to have him point this out to me. I did not realize that I was doing this and now I have a professional target for Thursday’s lesson!
My adviser stayed around to observe period three. There were some challenges in this class, but again everything went well. Period three is a split Computer Lit 9/IP 10 class. Michelle was instructing the grade 10s and I was beginning Desktop Publishing with the grade 9s. The computer lab at RHS is set up in a U shape which is a pretty good set up for accessing students and being able to see at a glance what they are working on. However there are a few issues with the lab. One: there is not a teacher station from which you can display screens for all students to see. Two: it is a small space. To have two teachers instructing at the same time causes a great deal of noise. Three: some computers don’t have Internet. This meant that some grade 10s who required Internet had to switch computers with grade 9s. Not a huge deal. It just meant that at times, while Michelle was speaking, I had to go help a grade 9 who was in the grade 10 section. I was actually happy to have some issues to contend with while teaching. I know that there will be many more once I am at a larger school with larger classes.
I continue to be amazed at how much, above and beyond teaching, goes on in a school. Today a family came to register their children at RHS. They are new to the city. In fact, they have only been in Canada for two weeks. They are refugees from Malawi. There are four girls in the family and they have all been schooled in English. From all appearances they should have little problem being integrated into the Saskatchewan curriculum. However, registering is not that simple! Given the circumstances under which this family left their home country, they did not have time to gather academic records. It is difficult to place students without having records. They can not be given credit for courses that they have already completed. Another issue is that one of the girls should be in the eighth grade. However, the grade eight class at RHS is full!! There are already 33 students and the board has placed a cap on the class. Some decisions need to be made by the board and with the guidance of Sask. Learning. Hopefully these girls will find a place within the RHS community!
“Art is not freedom from discipline,…{ March 12, 2008 @ 4:06 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Arts Education, RHS } · { Comments }
…but disciplined freedom.” (Rev. Edward M. Catich). Today Regina Huda School was very lucky to have Mr. Jerry Cozine and Mr. Don Gartner come out and lead the high school students in a clay workshop. RHS does not have any Arts Education courses and so once a year a workshop is held for the students. This year the students were making clay masks. Everyone was very excited not to have the normal morning routine. The boys and girls worked in separate rooms. The high school teachers took the morning as prep and Michelle and I each supervised a room as the principal supervised us! I was in the girls room. The girls are really a lovely bunch and they are very diligent with their work. Not many had worked with clay before so it was a completely new experience for them. The creativity that they all displayed was wonderful. As I looked around many beautiful masks were being formed. One lovely girl, F, is an artist in disguise! She went so far as to make her mask into a bust. She was a little disappointed when we told her that it would not dry in time. She decided to remove the face and it still looked wonderful!
One issue did arise during the clay workshop. Some students were concerned that they were making human or animal faces. In Islam, individuals are not to represent animals and people through artwork. One of the teachers went to talk to the Sheik and he said that for educational purposes, students were welcome to engage in this project. Some of the students were still uncomfortable and instead chose to make monster or robot masks.
It was another activity filled day at RHS. I continue to learn more about teaching, schools, students and Islam more each day.
I Love Lunch!{ March 13, 2008 @ 11:07 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Lunch, Meetings, RHS } · { Comments }
Today we had a very unique experience. My partner and I had the opportunity to join the high school girls and the high school teachers at a lunch meeting. Lucky us, the meeting was at Memories! The lunch meeting was with the President of the Regina Huda School Board. The President also happens to be the founder of the school. The President recently had a similar meeting with the boys. The meeting began with all of the girls sharing their names and what they would like to do in the future. This was a great opportunity for me to learn a little more about the girls. It was interesting to hear that most would like to have careers in engineering and medicine. The President advised the girls that he wanted to meet with them for two reasons. One reason is that he wanted to tell the girls how proud he is of them. He said that the girls are very visible when they are out in the community (scarves and abahya) and he always receives positive comments about the girls. He also said how they are a dedicated group and always keep their promises. The second reason for the meeting was to give the girls an opportunity to address any issues or concerns that they have with the school. Two issues were raised. One issue was that the girls would like to engage in more sports activities. There was previously a fitness club but the girls did lose interest. There was some discussion today about regenerating sports activities for girls. Another issue, which was also brought up at the boys meeting, was that of allowing the students to leave the school at lunch hour. The current policy is that students are not allowed to leave the school at lunch. The girls position was that by allowing them time to leave, teachers could have time away from the students. So generous girls! It was suggested that the girls write a proposal to submit to the board.
As for teaching…I continued with my accounting class today. We had a day of reviewing accounting proofs. The students knew their stuff! They were able to answer all of the questions and we had a good discussion about the need to have accurate accounting records prior to preparing financial statements. Tomorrow we are going to be in the computer lab using Excel for a variety of accounting purposes. I will also be teaching Computer Lit 9 again tomorrow. The students will be continuing to work on their Desktop Publishing assignments.
man grows most tired when standing still.{ March 16, 2008 @ 3:41 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: Outdoor Ed, Time } · { Comments }
I would have to say I agree with this Chinese proverb. The mornings at school are full of activity. I teach two classes in the morning and generally have little down time. I feel full of energy and time plays that audacious little trick of passing in a flash. My afternoons are a different story. They are usually spent observing and assisting students with work or projects and when I am sitting down the energy slowly creeps away. Thank goodness the afternoons are shorter than the mornings!
Today accounting class was held in the computer lab. The lesson was about using electronic spreadsheets for accounting purposes. Both of the students have used Excel before and have a good grasp of the accounting concepts so they were given a challenge problem to complete. The class was not long enough to complete it, so they were assigned the remainder for homework. There were not really any challenges in regards to classroom management (remember only 2 students) but there were other challenges in the lab. The computer lab is also used as a classroom, so there was a math lesson going on at the same time. It was a bit noisy but my students were able to stay on task. Today was my last day to teach accounting. This experience was a lot less intense than I imagined! Grade ten accounting, two diligent students…I know this wasn’t a typical but I still think that I was able to learn from this experience. And I still have three lessons in Computer Lit 9 so let the learning continue! Speaking of Computer lIt 9. Today’s class went well. The students did a timed keying exercise. They then continued with their Desktop Publishing assignment. They are progressing well but I think the assignment may be a bit lengthy for the time we have. I will have to see how much progress they make on Monday. I may have to take one task out.
In other news….Today during lunch I sat down to talk with a few of the grade nine girls. They were asking me a tonne of questions about university. In grade nine and already worried about university! They wanted to know how big classes are, how long you will have to wait in line to talk to the prof, how long it takes to get to one building from another, how to take notes, if you have to read a lot etc etc. They are really concerned that they will not do well. I advised them that from what I have observed, their teachers will have them prepared in no time! The girls also talked about their summer plans and most are excited to return to their home countries for the summer.
Today the grade 9, 10, and 11 students had a presentation regarding outdoor education. There have been outdoor education trips at RHS for the past few years. The students got to see some pictures and here a bit about what will take place if the trip gets the go ahead (the board has already approved it, now it is just up to the parents). The principal talked about fundraising and the rules of the trip. RHS outdoor education trips would be similar to those of other highschools. However, there are some considerations that are specific to a Muslim school. Boys and girls must engage in all activities separetly (think swimming etc) and also time must be given for the preparation of prayer and prayer. Some of the students were very excited about this opportunity. Some also want to stay behind! These students have never been camping or fishing and do not want to experience it. I grew up in the Land of the Living Skies and life without camping and fishing just doesn’t seem complete. I made sure to tell them what a wonderful experience it would be.
Well, two weeks down and one to go! This is a short week at RHS. There are no classes for students on Thursday. There is however, a full day staff meeting. It will be interesting to see what takes place and what issues they discuss.
Just Another Manic Monday{ March 17, 2008 @ 10:40 pm } · { Not school }
{ Tags: RHS, Science } · { Comments }
But definitely in a good sense. The day was so full of activity that it again passed quickly. This morning I observed two classes before teaching Computer Lit 9. The students are continuing to work on their Desktop Publishing assignments. Some have made a lot of progress. Others have not. However, this is not due to their lack of effort. The grade 9s are very diligent and always put a lot of effort into creating perfect work. The problem is the computers. Some computers were acting bonkers. Assignments were not opening correctly, some computers were not allowing students to use clip art features and also there were not enough computers for the number of students in the class. We did the best we could though and students were still able to get some work done.
During study hall I helped a student with a Food Studies assignment. The assignment is fairly straightforward but the student requires some guidance. In the afternoon I continued to help her during 4th period. In 5th period, I made myself available to help some of the Computer Lit 98 students who had fallen behind due to the computer problems. Two students came to the lab and they both made a lot of progress. They are now in line with the other students.
I only have two teaching days left and tomorrow will be another busy day. I will also be attending the RHS science fair in the evening. I will be judging grade 3-8 science projects. I am excited to see what the elementary students have created!
Science is simply common sense at its best that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.{ March 18, 2008 @ 10:27 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: RHS, Science Fair } · { Comments }
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95)once spoke this truth. However, tonight I saw science as more than just observation and logic. I saw science as exciting and fun and the catalyst for one of the best experiences that I have had during my pre-internship. I was a judge for the Regina Huda School Elementary Science Fair. What a fantastic evening! The science fair was for students in grades 3-8. Some were individual projects and others were a partner or group effort. The students were so excited to share their projects. I was judging some of the lower grades and got to learn about topics such at electromagnetism, hydro-electricity, the heart, Venus, flowers, and butterflies. Thank goodness that the students are evaluated by a number of judges. I never would have been able to chose a winner! I would have to say that the most informative project was the one about hydro-electricity. The most interesting was the project about electromagnetism. The students who did their project about the heart were terrific presenters. The exhibit about the butterflies was my overall favourite. This little girl was so enthusiastic and was such a great speaker that I couldn’t help but get excited about butterflies. She also told me a First Nations tale of how the butterfly became colorful and how secrets can be shared with butterflies! I left that presentation with a huge smile on my face. I had such a wonderful time this evening. It was so great to see the students so excited about their work and about sharing their learning.
As for the rest of the day….Computer Lit 9 was a bit harried again today. Once again there was the problem of not enough computers. RHS is growing so rapidly that the resources and facilities are quickly becoming insufficient (8 new high-school students since February. Considering there are now 35 students this is quite an increase). However, we once again did the best we could. I advised the students that they only had 2 more class periods to work on their assignment so they quickly got down to business. Although the students are diligent, I am going to revise my assignment. The original assignment consisted of 7 tasks but I think I will reduce it to six. I don’t want the students to have to take class time from their regular class teacher.
This afternoon the students in Psychology spent time discussing their action research projects and what they must do for the write ups. In Food Studies I spent time helping students complete questions about leavening agents. Although we were in the computer lab, the students worked so well. Most were able to complete the assignment within the class time. Tomorrow is my last day of teaching. As many other pre-interns have mentioned on their blogs, it will be a difficult day. Being at a small high school, I have had the opportunity to learn many things about the students. I would love to see where the end of the year finds them, both academically and personally!
“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes”
{ March 20, 2008 @ 9:36 pm } · { School, Uncategorized }
{ Tags: good-bye, RHS } · { Comments }
“A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends” (Richard Bach). I have been at Regina Huda School for such a brief time, and although I may not have had time to make new best friends, during my time at Regina Huda School I have had an opportunity to meet many great individuals, both students and teachers. Whether or not the feeling is mutual, I will miss see all of these kind and unique people on a daily basis.
Wednesday was a day of good-byes. Due to a staff meeting and PD day on Thursday, Wednesday was the last day that I was teaching and that I would see Regina Huda School students. Like many people I am not fond of goodbyes. I am awkward at saying goodbyes. Wednesday was a busy day and the dismissal bell crept up on me and I wasn’t able to say good bye to all of the students. Fortunately I have to return my uniform and a textbook next week so I will be able to see the students again.
Teaching today was fairly straightforward. During first period I helped on of the new students with her math. She did not bring any school records from Malawi but indicated that she knew how to do some of the grade 9 work. She had worked on the course review and had done well. We spent time reviewing some math rules and worked through some problems together. Second period, I observed accounting. It felt strange to sit and observe after teaching this class for two weeks. During 2nd period, the President of the RHS Board came to speak to the high school students about their responsibilities and about following the rules. Third period was spent providing last minute assistance to the grade 9s. They were finishing up their desktop publishing assignments. During fourth period I observed a school assembly. The assembly was to recognize and observe that March is the month in which the Prophet Muhammad was born. It was interesting to observe this assembly. It was a little long for the elementary students and they became a little restless about 30 minutes in. In 5th period, Food Services students cooked soft pretzels. They turned out so well and were really delicious.
On Wednesday, I left Regina Huda School with more than a handful of memories about the school and the students. Prior to arriving at RHS, I was concerned that I would miss out on the experience of a large high school. I have to say that I would not trade my experiences at RHS for anything!
Archive for March 20, 2008
Time to let my hair down!
{ March 20, 2008 @ 10:19 pm } · { School }
{ Tags: RHS, Thanks } · { Comments }
Literally! Some of the guidelines that we followed at Regina Huda School were no makeup and hair in a ponytail (or off your face). The no make up thing wasn’t really a problem. However, by the end of the day the ponytails often left me with a headache! It felt good to leave my hair down today.
Today I was fortunate to sit in on a staff meeting at RHS. I was able to hear discussions regarding some of the issues at the school. Some were elementary issues, some were high-school issues, and some were issues that affected everyone in the school. One issue that was discussed was that of what to do when students leave the school for months at a time. Many families are from other countries and will take trips overseas for long periods of time. Sometimes these parents request that students prepare homework packages for these students (for upwards of two months). The high-school teachers have been asked to prepare their students for final exams and to create a new final exam which can be written earlier. This is an issue for a number of reasons. One: many times teachers spend countless hours preparing homework packages and the students do not complete them. Or the quality of work completed is not acceptable. Two: It is unreasonable to ask teachers to create more than one final exam. Three: In high-school if students can not complete a certain number of hours in a course they should not be eligible to pass this course. It was decided that a policy should be created to help teachers deal with this situation.
This afternoon was PD time for the teachers. I took this time to grade the 66 Computer Lit assignments that the grade 9s completed on Wednesday. What an ordeal! If I had a class of 30+ I would definitely rethink this assignment! One thing I could do differently is have various due dates for each task. However, I was able to finish grading and was pleased with the effort that students put into the assignment. This quiet afternoon also allowed me an opportunity to have discussions with one of the other high school teachers and the principal. We spoke of some of the students. They were generous in sharing stories of these students. The stories allowed me to gain a better understanding of what these students deal with both at school and outside of the school walls. We also spoke of the field of education and of schools and teaching in general. These conversations were enjoyable and provided me with an opportunity to hear more about what is taking place in education today. My only regret with my pre-internship is that I did not have the chance to have more of these conversations! The reality of schools is that they are so so busy that there is not always time to talk and share as much as you would like to.
I’ll admit that I was nervous about pre-internship. However, I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of my experience. This is not an exaggeration. I learned many things, met many kind and generous people, and had the opportunity to teach many unique, enthusiastic and intelligent students. I have to thank my cooperating teacher for all of her kindness and generosity. Over the past three weeks she has been quick to share her time, ideas, advice and resources. She has been a great example of the balance that needs to occur between teaching content and all of the other things that schools and teachers must give attention. It will be difficult to return to university on Monday. I am ready to continue to be in a classroom and to learn more about students, teaching and schools. September can’t come soon enough!