Finding a Job!

Finding a job is what many first year educations students are worrying about, myself included. I know this feeling will only increase as I enter my second year of education. I think it is good to be aware of this, rather than being naïve and assuming getting a job will be easy, when the reality is, many of us will not.

One thing that I feel I can be doing right now is subbing and volunteering to get my name out in different schools. If a job does not come open for me my first year out of school I will more then happy to substitute teach and gather ideas from different teachers.

I really liked in class the other day how you mentioned cover letters and how you feel that your one cover letter got you an interview and potentially the job. I would have never of thought to work an analogy into my cover letter, but once you mentioned it I thought it was the best idea! Anything that sets you apart from the rest is going to help you in the long run.

I really found today’s class beneficial, we could have easily done a whole week on this topic!! The six points you mentioned that will most likely show up during a job interview were, classroom management, assessment, curriculum, working with parents, philosophy of education, and lesson planning. I agree that all of these are extremely important and as was mentioned in class all of the potential candidates being interviewed are going to know the answers to these areas. I feel that in order to stand out you need to find away to stick in their minds. In my view, this is finding unique ways to build strong parent-teacher relationships and it is something that I am going to stress during interviews. I also believe that your philosophy of education is going to set you apart from other candidates. For example, in my philosophy the classroom set up is something I highlight. I believe that it is part of my preventive discipline. The thing that I feel I will have to practise is being confident. I am a confident person, but when I am nervous or in this case want to find a job with everything in me I am going to put a lot of pressure on myself.

            Jackie, I just wanted to conclude by saying I had a wonderful year with you. I looked forward to coming to your class everyday and found I got so much out of it. Your assignments challenged me and made me think outside of the box. I can honestly say that the assignments I completed in Classroom Management and Professional Teacher I will use and I know they are going to help me find a job! So, thank-you. I really hope that I am able to have a diverse career such as yourself.

WestCAST

I have to be honest I was a little hesitant of presenting at WestCAST. I pictured a group of people presenting to a large group of people in the gym and it overwhelmed me! However, after attending and presenting my opinion is completely different. I had such an amazing time and I learned a lot. I cannot image the work you and some of the other professors must have done to make it a success.

One session that I attended was on engagement. The presenter was extremely knowledgeable in her field and successfully taught how to get students engaged. Her ideas included rewording things so that students are excited to learn. Place assignments in envelopes so that gets are curious as to what their assignment is and build up that anticipation, then they can’t wait to rip it open and see what it is. Turn things into a game, so that it seems fun for students and they feel as though they aren’t forced to learn from you (this feeling depends on the grade). Finally teach with enthusiasm and passion, so it transfers into their learning.

Another session that I went to was all about rubrics and evaluation. She emphasized the importance of rubrics for assessment. She believed it was important to make a student friendly rubric and go over it with the class so that they can understand what is expected of them. That way the assignment is set out in advanced and the grades are recorded fairly. Many of us at the session felt that we would have loved the session to be long, because we were learning so much.

My favourite part of the event was presenting. Everyone wants to be there and they are excited to hear your ideas and I found that to be an extremely positive feeling. The sessions that I went to I learned a lot at and know I will incorporate the ideas into my teaching. I feel as though I got a lot out of conference and I know others did as well!

Finance

I learned a lot in our discussion on Finance and I found it to be particularly interesting. Before this class I knew that at a certain date (September 30th) the school would receive funding for special needs students as well as rural area funding. I may be a bit confused, but I think it would be great if the federal government contributed money to education. In my view the federal government could contribute to the maintenance of the building. I realize that this may not ever happen, but I feel it would help relieve cuts that keep taking place.

I thought it was extremely interesting and practical to look at an actual school budget and try to make cuts from it. In our group we found that we were a little biased and were cutting things that we didn’t use. For example, we cut music, art and the cafeteria. After doing so we realized that we were being biased and we needed some in for the multiple intelligences.

When doing this assignment it put me in the mind set that this was real and there will be a public outcry with anything we cut. I feel bad for those who are in charge to make the cuts. It seems to me like it is a lose lose situation. I feel that education is often at the scrutiny of the public and I can’t figure out why. Who out there does not want their child to have a great education and is exposed to new things so that they can reach their fullest potential. I have no problem with my tax dollars going to education. I think it is money well spent, especially compared to other things municipal governments spend their tax money on.

I feel that by continuously cutting education funding we are saying that education does not matter. We are saying that our children do not deserve it. When the reality is, they do deserve it.

Governance

When looking at the levels of governance throughout the education system I cannot help but feel a little overwhelmed! It is simple when broken down, but at first glance it appears daunting.

I think the most important thing to mention is school boards. In my view it is a good thing that in Manitoba school boards are elected into office. This allows the public to have some input on how they feel things are being done.

I think at the community and school level it is good to have parent councils, but I think these can sometimes become a select group and so I think it is important to note that they should be open for all. I think schools having community partners I a fantastic thing. Getting kids involved is the best thing we can do for them.

I found it very interesting how you mentioned in class that you, yourself found it interesting how certain staff at different schools have different levels of power among each other and principals have varying levels of authority and say within the division. I just had this moment where I realized it is like this anywhere. Politics are everywhere. No matter where you work or what you do they are everywhere! I guess I knew this on some level, but when I began to think about it some more I just became more and more, shocked? I guess would be the word. So, thank-you for the enlightening class today, Jackie!

History of Ed

I found it very interesting to look at the history of education in Canada. It has evolved tremendously over the years and will continue to.

When looking at the French tradition, it reminds me of a private school. How boys and girls are separated. As a female it upsets me that in the olden days males received better educations than females. It is sad that in some places of the world it is still like this. In recent years education in Manitoba has seen a shift to not include any religious teachings, such as Christmas and Easter. In these cases I do not know what the right answer is. I know that Canada is considered a mosaic society, but I feel with moving to a new country people should try to embrace new cultures and traditions, while still keeping their cultural heritage alive. When looking at the English and American Tradition it is not surprising that education was divided by social status. I am glad that in Canada this is not the case, as I feel everyone is entitled to education. The French, English and American all had a strong influence of religious teachings in their education system. The Scottish Tradition, however, solved the problem of religious differences. The Scottish Tradition is one that I most agree with, maybe it is because it most closely resembles our modern day education system, with boys and girls being taught together and education having no class structure.

            The education system varies in different countries and is ever evolving. I am quite happy with Canada’s education system. However, in my view there seems to have been shift among students and I am not sure when it took place. I recently went to a Professional Development where this was the main discussion. When I went to school students, for the must part, respected their teachers and listened. Now it seems students are not scared of anything. They are not scared if they go to the principal’s office, they are not even scared if their parents are called. I know if my parents received a phone call, you were in deep trouble. My conclusion to this shift is that many parents now days have a more laissez faire parenting approach it seems and in the schools we have eliminated the fear of teachers and principles. Now this might be considered a good thing, not having students feeling scared of those in charge. But I feel that it is a good thing for teachers to have the upper hand.

Code of Professional Practice

Today in class we discussed the code of professional practice. I thought this was a good discussion to our two previous classes as it outlines exactly what is expected of professionals. When I was making up my definition of “professionalism” I was thinking more on how a professional should dress and what some of the personality traits should be. The Code of Professional Practice outlines the duties and responsibilities that all members of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society must follow.

I really liked discussing this in class, as well as some of the scenario’s you included. I found it interesting how many of us felt the same regarding some issues, while on other issues we seemed to have different opinions. An example of this is:

Yesterday afternoon, you were called to the phone. As you were returning to your classroom, you overheard a senior teacher on your staff talking to a grade one student at the back of the classroom. The teacher was threatening to pull down the student’s pants in front of the other children and spank him, if he didn’t get back to work. How would you handle the situation? Would the fact that it was a senior teacher have an impact on your actions?

One thing that our table noticed and discussed was everyone immediately assumed that the teacher in this scenario was male, when the case doesn’t include the sex of the teacher at all. I liked your approach, Jackie, in saying you would go into the classroom at that moment, rather than bringing it up later, and ask the teacher what was going on. I think this approach allows everyone involved to re-evaluate the situation, while saving face at the same time.

      During our first couple of days of orientation a member of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society attended and went over some of these standards, so some of them were familiar in my head. I think an important term that is in The Code of Professional Practice is Judicious. I think that teachers need to remember this term and apply it to the classroom. I am sure there are students who it seems are always causing problems, but a teacher cannot assume and make a biased judgment, as a result. I really liked # 7 of the code:

7. A teacher first directs any criticism of the professional activity of a colleague to that colleague in private. Only after informing the colleague of the intent to do so, the complainant may direct in confidence the criticism to appropriate officials through the proper channels of communication.

 I am sure many teachers have caught themselves in this situation and I think it is a good standard. By following this rule I think shows professionalism.

I am really glad we went over these standards in class as it was good to hear different view points. As soon to be professionals, we need to be following this code.

Sergiovanni

I think that professionalism is a very important topic to discuss with any future graduate. In my personal opinion I feel that whatever career you choose or job you work at you should be conducting yourself in a professional way. It does not matter the age of the individual.

Today in class, we were asked to think about the term professionalism and come up with a definition. In my view, professionalism is acting in a professional manner and carrying one’s self out in an appropriate matter. Some characteristics that are included with professionalism are confidentiality, respecting others views and opinions, dependability, attitude, responsibility and accountability.

Believing passionately about what you do, never compromising your standards & values and caring about your students, your colleagues and your own career, by David Maister, edited by Jackie Kirk. I think this is an excellent definition to follow. I know that for me personally I never compromise my standards for anyone or anything.

Sergiovannis’ 4 commitments to professionalism

1.       Commitment to caring

-          Families, students, the school and colleagues

-          Example: if someone is discussing another colleague in an inappropriate way you will have the commitment to say you do not feel comfortable in this conversation and find a way to remove yourself from it.

2.       Commitment to practice in exemplary ways

-          Lesson Planning, Classroom Management, Communication

3.       Commitment to valued social ends

-          Need to make the world a better place, global and local support

4.       Commitment one’s own practice, but also to the practice itself

-          Making a commitment to teaching and the profession, Attending professional development days as well as leading professional development days, hosting a student teacher

So, because this is a blog I have to go on my first little rant! I am not sure the way people carry and present themselves has been changing over the last few decades or whether it is because I am more aware of it as I get older, but there are many people in society who do not seem to care how they are presenting themselves. I feel that many professionals are jeopardizing their reputation by the things they are posting on the internet (mainly Facebook) and the actions they carry out on their free time. I would like to share this story with you. It was near the end of the school year when I turned 18, as my birthday is in May. I was at the bar with some friends from work. I was still in high school and I saw one of my previous teachers there ( this teacher was not teaching me in any classes at that time, but was at the same school) and this teacher gave me the finger from across the bar and I guess my mouth must have dropped, because they came over and said I hate how you are so young. Now, how was I ever supposed to respect that teacher as a professional again? I didn’t and I still don’t.