This Week in Ontario Edublogs

There’s every chance that this post will be smaller and shorter than my regular weekly post. We’re still struggling with dealing with the ice storm that went through here. I thought we got off lightly when I went out this morning but it turns out I went to the wrong side of the house. With ice this thick, trees and bushes really didn’t have a chance.

Making Memories at EOEC

• Diana Maliszewski – @MzMollyTL
• https://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com/2023/02/making-memories-at-eoec.html

I’m a big fan of Diana and what she does in education but this post just tells us how over the top that she can go when given the chance.

She, and colleagues, took 49 Grade 7 and 8s to the Etobicoke Outdoor Education Centre for four days and three nights. Wow!

The blog post is actually a diary of the event which included

• chickens
• First Nations and Inuit games
• plants
• deer
• a GPS Scavenger hunt
• did I mention chickens?

If you’re an educator, it’s easy to put yourself in the position of the teachers leading this event. You’ll be tired when you get to the end of it if you have any kind of empathy. It would indeed be a memorable event for those students.

Imagine then going back to school on the Thursday night for parent interviews!

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A Move To Small Group Instruction: Part Of My Impact Story

• Aviva Dunsiger – @avivaloca
• https://adunsiger.com/2023/02/18/a-move-to-small-group-instruction-part-of-my-impact-story/

Those that follow Aviva on social media know that she’s taken on a new position in education this year. She’s a reading specialist.

This post really outlines her strategy as she pairs with colleagues to provide support for students.

The post is nicely documented with Twitter messages including images that show her plan in action. I found it particularly interesting as a person who never taught reading or elementary school students. It’s not just Aviva striking out on her own; she has all kinds of explanation of what she’s doing and what her expectations are.

I would recommend that anyone who is in the same or similar situation take some time to digest this long post as there’s so much wisdom there and I think that the ideas and concepts are replicable.

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Need a hug?

• Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
• https://persistenceandpedagogy.com/2023/02/14/need-a-hug/

This is a wonderful story that speaks volumes about Amanda as a compassionate educator and person. It starts out with a situation that we’ve all been in. A student needed to have a new seat in the classroom in order to be successful and less interruptive.

What happened next was something that I never had to experience and I could only imagine what must have been going through Amanda’s mind.

Then, the Winter Break sets in.

The best part of this post, for sure, comes after the semester with a meeting not on school properly but at a public library where the playing ground is a little leveller. There was a moment that called for a little compassion – a hug – but then the teacher and the missive from the Ontario College of Teachers kicked in. I thought that Amanda’s choices of words really protected the identity of the student nicely.

So, how do you comfort the student and yet remain true to the direction of your profession? It’s a good question that everyone should be prepared to answer.

The whole story reminded me of one from David Garlick’s book Principal Chronicles. You can hear it at this podcast link below. It was one of his embarrassing situations. If you’re ever at a Garlick reading, ask him to read the wasp story. I did!

https://voiced.ca/podcast_episode_post/two-embarassing-situations/

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Old Fashioned Love Songs

• Sheila Stewart – @sheilaspeaking
• https://sheilaspeaking.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/old-fashioned-love-songs/

Sheila shares with us her thoughts about Valentine’s Day in her world. Of course, there was chocolate and music involved. Her title had me thinking it might be this song.

But this would be more appropriate given the title of the post.

Sheila does provide us with a nice playlist of songs and, of course, there had to be a Melanie song.

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OPSBA Conference in the Time of Covid

• Marie Snyder – @MarieSnyder27
• https://apuffofabsurdity.blogspot.com/2023/01/opsba-conference-in-time-of-covid.html

This was a sad post to read and I’m disappointed that OPSBA didn’t move to address Marie’s concerns about Covid safety.

After all, the conference that Marie missed would have been indoors and could conceivably be a super spreader event if the wrong things happened.

I think we’re all struggling with how to move back to whatever normal is going to be.

This was her exhibit to explain spreading…

As I wrote this post, I went back to Marie’s and she had listened to the show. I’ll own up to being the one who goes grocery shopping first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds.

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I apologize for this shorter than normal post but nature got in the road.

Please take the time to follow these educators.

• Diana Maliszewski – @MzMollyTL
• Aviva Dunsiger – @avivaloca
• Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
• Sheila Stewart – @SheilaSpeaking
• Marie Snyder – @MarieSnyder27

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

Opening Song

Closing Song

Peace Playlist

For a year now, since the situation in the Ukraine, we’ve opened and closed the show with songs of peace. The entire playlist is here.

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