Welcome to Friday and another amazing collection of blog posts from Ontario Edubloggers. Enjoy!
Hometown
- Sheila Stewart – @SheilaSpeaking
- https://sheilaspeaking.wordpress.com/2022/04/14/hometown/
While many people live in their original hometown, Sheila may have you longing for a return if you moved away. I lived in mine for 18 years and then left never to return except for a couple of times to tour the place, visit the cemetery, and relive some memories.
If you moved away, there might be something special to remember – maybe it’s because we were kids and biked everywhere, played everywhere, and didn’t have to worry about work and family? I feel like I know my original hometown better than my current. I’ve got to get the bike out.
In the post, she brings up some music videos that got me thinking. The first one was Bruce Springsteen’s My Hometown
and then there’s one where he actually did as a tribute to his hometown but notes if you listen live that there are some bad words in it.
Hometown is an amazing thing to consider and I thank Sheila for the post. Long-time blog readers around here might remember this post from 2010. https://dougpete.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/a-multimedia-childhood-tour/
I still think that it’s a great activity for the classroom. Lots of room for research and also a chance to apply some computer skills.
The Importance of Student Self-Reflection on Their Own Learning
- Gonul Turkdogan – @turkdogan_gonul
- https://www.howtopronounce.com/gonul
Reflection is an important part of education and Gonul certainly drives that point home in this post. There’s no room for argument.
I would suggest that, while it’s important to be ongoing, this time of year it’s especially important to reflect on an entire year and the growth and learning that has happened.
She offers a great list of advantages of reflection:
- Determine their strengths and weaknesses in skills they have developed
- Analyze their learning process and style
- Learn to be more independent
- Understand how they learn
- Monitor their learning progress
- Set realistic learning goals
- Respond positively to feedback to improve performance
- Take ownership of their own learning
What do you have planned to reflect on a year’s worth of learning?
Becoming a Better Person for Others: Faith into Action
- Rolland Chidiac – @rchids
- http://wcdsbleadership.blogspot.com/2022/04/becoming-better-person-for-others-faith.html
I’ve written a lot of blog posts in my time but, after reading Rolland’s at least four or five times, I leaned back in my chair and just said “Wow!” to myself.
It’s appropriate that it follows Gonul’s post about reflection because this is truly what happens there. Rolland takes four concepts from a resource that he’d read and does an amazing job of internalizing them.
- Dignity of the Human Person
- Call to Family, Community, and Participation
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Given his work, he makes the connections to the Catholic Leadership Framework. In addition to analysing the concepts, he identifies next steps for himself.
What is right is more important than who is right:Speaking Truth to Power
- Charles Pascal – @CEPascal
- https://www.charlespascal.com/blog/what-is-right-is-more-important-than-who-is-rightspeaking-truth-to-power
Of course, leaders should get a copy of Charles’ book on leadership. He’s been using his blog to go through the messages and podcasting on voicEd Radio in conversation with Stephen Hurley at the same time.
“Being right” seems like such a simple concept. We all want to be right but, as Charles notes, he’s seen so many instances of “deleterious short-termism”. Haven’t we all?
The complete discussion with Stephen can be listened to here.
I’d be interested in listening to a follow discussion about what happens to staff and the community when the decision made goes wrong because it was important for the decision-maker to be right whether it was the right decision or not.
Expat or Local?
- Ann Marie Luce – @turnmeluce
- https://aboutfaceconsulting.com/2022/04/10/expat-or-local/
While she was a principal at a school in China, Ann Marie was great at blogging and sharing her own thoughts about life and leadership. Many of her posts ended up her for discussion.
Things change though.
Upon returning home for the Chinese New Year, she didn’t return to China but rather spent the rest of the school year doing the principal thing remotely. There’s been a lot of that done lately – the remote thing.
The bug to travel again is starting to bite and Ann Marie shares her thoughts there along with her vision of a “dream job”.
Certainly, things have changed thanks to COVID for all of us. Travel is more of a conscious decision than ever. Read about how it affects a principal that likes to move around!
Unfilled Jobs = Increased Guilt: Reflecting On Needing To Be Away
- Aviva Dunsiger – @avivaloca
- https://adunsiger.com/2022/04/10/unfilled-jobs-increased-guilt-reflecting-on-needing-to-be-away/
As teachers, we all know the hassles that being sick or away from the class can make being away more pain than actually going in. And yet, there are some times when that isn’t an option.
Such was the case with Aviva who had to take three days away. This is probably a better scenario than most since she does have a teaching partner so continuity should/could be good. I know from experience that the experience may be better or worse depending upon who got called in during my absence.
It’s not easily handled anywhere…
This means that educators are missing preps, volunteering to take on extra duties, and juggling schedules to make sure that there’s a teacher for every class.
When someone misses a preparation period due to you being away, there’s always this feeling of owing them something when you indeed do get back. I read Aviva’s post and I can totally understand where she’s coming from. It’s the story for all teachers who are away.
Math Links for Week Ending Apr. 15th, 2022
- David Petro – @davidpetro314
- https://ontariomath.blogspot.com/2022/04/math-links-for-week-ending-apr-15th-2022.html
There’s nothing like a good mathematics challenge and David is good every Friday for some inspiration.
My big takeaway was kind of mathematics How many calories do people really eat at Chipotle? but it was more about a presentation technique called “Slow Reveal Graphs”.
How many times have you seen a presenter throw up a screen of information and then use a laser pointer to talk you through the information? This is a much better way of presenting the same information with better results and less information overload.
And, it’s not all that different! You already have the content; this is just a better way of handling it.
As you head into the weekend, I hope that you can click through and enjoy all of these posts and follow these great bloggers.
- Sheila Stewart – @SheilaSpeaking
- Gonul Turkdogan – @turkdogan_gonul
- Rolland Chidiac – @rchids
- Charles Pascal – @CEPascal
- Ann Marie Luce – @turnmeluce
- Aviva Dunsiger – @avivaloca
- David Petro – @davidpetro314
This Week in Ontario Edublogs
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.