I hope that everyone is looking forward to the long weekend. How about starting with a wander around the province looking at great content from Ontario Edubloggers?
3 Heads are Better than 1
- Diana Maliszewski – @mzmollytl
- http://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com/2023/05/3-heads-are-better-than-1.html
You know that it’s a teacher blog when someone says TL AQ and you know immediately that it’s education and what the letters represent.
This is just a wonderful post from Diana. She says that it was just going to be a tribute to Jennifer Brown and I think I would have been happy with that. But it’s much more.
In a bit of a twist, Diana works a collaboration theme through it.
- Jennifer doing a presentation at the TL AQ
- A nod to all of the awesome teachers that are making Track and Field Days happen so well this spring
- A peek inside her family life to see how they use the Facebook Portal to maintain connections and a whole lot of fun while they’re doing it
I can’t help but think that there may still be teachers who are trying to go it alone and are missing out of the power of collaboration and making connections. Diana’s powerful post is such a reminder about how to do it right.
A Popular Facebook Post
- David Garlick – @garlickd13
- https://www.dsgarlick.ca/blog/a-popular-facebook-post
It was a simple little message that David posted on Facebook that inspired me to write a post earlier this week.
I wanted to give him a heads-up that I had written the post based on his inspiration so he got a chance to look at it before it went live.
What happened was pretty amazing. Stephen and I were going to use one of his blog posts on Wednesday morning already. As a result of me reaching out to him, he expanded on his thoughts from this short message and it became a post on his blog.
We quickly shifted gears to include this post instead. I suspect that he speaks for so many educators when he talks about the joy of seeing what former students are doing.
Why Have Students Compare Books Versus Movies?
- Kristy – @2peasandadog
- https://www.2peasandadog.com/2023/05/books-versus-movies.html
I’m old enough to remember a teacher booking a film and a member of the AV club to run the projector for a class. I seem to remember that it was mostly in Health classes as well! It was a great period off. I never really understood why a teacher would do that.
Until I got my own classroom and I could roll a TV into the classroom and plug it into the wall. In the library, our teacher-librarian had a deck of VCRs and, if he remembered would press play at the booked time and we could see it in class. It wasn’t pleasant when we didn’t synchronize timing.
Today, we have better technology and access to movies, long and short, anywhere in the school. Good teachers know that there’s a great deal that can be done – educationally! Kristy lists five in her post.
- Reason One: Student Engagement
- Reason Two: Consider the Struggling Readers
- Reason Three: Compare and Contrast
- Reason Four: The Medium Is Important
- Reason Five: Understandings
She also offers a resource to go along with it. (Link in the post and there is a cost of $4.00)
Rushing Moments #SOL2023
- Melanie White – @WhiteRoomRadio
- https://reflectingonrecreation.wordpress.com/2023/04/26/rushing-moments-sol2023/
I love the honesty of Melanie in this post.
She is quite open about the truth of teachers and, until this post, it might be our dirty little secret. Not any more.
There is so much to do – professional and in the classroom – that we’ve all rushed to get stuff done and messed up at times. Melanie was kind enough to share some of the times that she rushed and things backfired. I smiled; been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
Of course, the answer is to slow down but there is a fine balance between doing that and rushing to get things done.
My thoughts are that we have fixed periods of time for classroom instruction. You’ve got 90 minutes, for example, even if your lesson only requires 70 or might need 105. As a teacher, you have to make it work and sometimes rushing is the only solution.
You’ll nod and smile when you picture Melanie (or you) in this post.
The 500 – #268 – Paul Simon (Self-titled)- Paul Simon
- Marc Hodgkinson – @Mr_H_Teacher
- http://the50-20.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-500-268-paul-simon-self-titled-paul.html
I think I’d included a post from Marc every week if I didn’t make a conscious effort to spread the love around. He’s working his way through that Top 500 list and this week landed on this incredible effort by Paul Simon.
From my early babysitting years, I listened to Simon and Garfunkel after I put the kids to bed. I have my car radio set to jump to a station if a Paul Simon song is playing. He’s such a talent.
That’s recognized by Marc in this post and, like all his works, there’s a nice mix of background and personal thought shared with us.
Stephen and I are not the only ones who appreciate his work. At the bottom of the post is a listing of people who interact with Marc’s content. I thought it was a nice shoutout.
Embracing Change
- Amanda Hardy
- https://heartandart.ca/embracing-change/
My goodness; I had the same, almost exact experience as Amanda.
I was at the Faculty when there weren’t any jobs and I was having doubts that I’d even get a job until I got a call from “way down in Windsor” (I was in Toronto at the time) and the principal at Sandwich Secondary School needed a computer science teacher! I still remember telling him that I’d be bringing my wife and he said that she could go looking for an apartment while we did the interview! So, like Amanda, I got hired right from the Faculty.
I feel for those these days who have to be occasional, all the while hoping to get a job.
Towards the end of my first year, I became very, very aware of our collective agreement as I read over and over the surplus language. I just knew that I was toast. I had a couple of sit downs with our Federation rep to talk about things and processes. I started to realize I wasn’t the superstar that I saw in my dreams; I was just a number on the seniority list.
Where I differ from Amanda is that I never got “that letter”. Whew!
And the rest is history.
She shares a bit of the ups and downs of her career and some recommendations. It’s a good read if you’re at the lower end of the seniorty list or a nice memory if you’ve got a few years under your belt.
Pause as Motion
- IYANUOLUWA AKINRINOLA
- https://heartandart.ca/pause-as-motion/
It is indeed that time of year. The May holiday can’t come soon enough as everyone copes with the stress of the teaching jobs and all that is on the horizon. I’ve also maintained that the temperatures outside and the struggle to maintain a decent inside temperature at school and at home takes a toll as well.
If you’re attentive on Social Media, you’ll hear the stress in the words written. When you go back to work on Tuesday, the end is indeed in sight but there’s a lot that is needed to get you there.
Iyanuoluwa’s post is a nice reminder about taking care of yourself and some tips.
- Self-care
- Mental and emotional well-being
- Cognitive functioning
- Work-life balance
- Role modelling for students
Do yourself some good and read this post.
I hope that you can find some time to read these wonderful posts and then follow them on Twitter. Make them part of your Personal Learning Network.
Diana Maliszewski – @mzmollytl
David Garlick – @garlickd13
Kristy – @2peasandadog
Melanie White – @WhiteRoomRadio
Marc Hodgkinson – @Mr_H_Teacher
This Week in Ontario Edublogs on voicEd Radio
Opening Song
Closing Song
Peace Playlist
Since the situation in Ukraine has started, we’ve opened and closed our show on voicEd Radio with songs about Peace and Love.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.