Exit Slip Sept 23rd

I'm really bad at poetry but that didn't stop me from just writing down what came into my mind! I tried to incorporate all of my senses and looked at things with a magnifying glass while including some instances of what we see as giants in nature.  

Sensory Activity/Poem:

i feel …

the fuzz on the tomato leaves, the damp surface, 

the smooth skin on the firm tomato, 

uneven ground, 

the mazes in the kale leaves, 

the tomatoes melting into the soil,

bright sky,

the soft breeze blowing against my skin, 

explosion of green, yellow, red, and brown,

birds chirping,

bugs crawling around 

What do they feel?

The braiding activity was super fun and I made a really really long rope! I think it's amazing that everyone in the class found their own little space and started making things out of raw materials or just strips of cloth. It's a good activity to "tie" (haha) in math subjects braids and knots with the nature. Instead of getting students to just sit in the classroom and listen to information, students can explore this new skill at their own pace and also take a breather in their busy schedules. 

Entry Slip for Thurs Sept 23

I really enjoyed thinking about the question: "what if we began to make some of the things that we need for ourselves again as a cultural and social norm?" I feel that the society we live in right now is working towards promoting consciousness of our environment and that deals with people being conscious about the type of food they're eating, the type of clothing they're buying, and how they're living every day life. One can even say that it's the trend to be resourceful, to be able to learn certain skills so that you can make your own clothes, to be able to take care of your body and the environment by choosing the right foods to eat and things to buy. A lot of the conversation today always surrounds what company is ethical and have the future of the earth and people a part of their vision for their company. I really think all these topics relate to thinking about making things we need for ourselves again as a cultural and social norm. Another quote that stood out to me was about how this way of living can not just change the world and environment, but also within the school and our own lives. I recently learned many skills like knitting and riding the bicycle. Although riding the bicycle is less about what we need in life, I thought knitting would be a more suitable answer as it can provide clothing for one's needs. Both of these skills gave me a great sense of enjoyment and I was definitely proud of myself for these accomplishments. With these experiences, I can really relate to how the reading explains that the skills learned can give the individual self esteem. 

 

The video about the braid was super interesting as it reminds me of how my boyfriend's mom likes to braid my hair since she always wanted a daughter. She always teaches me new and different kinds of braids and the braid shown in the video was very similar to one of the braids we've attempted. The pattern is super interesting and it looks very complicated but once you get the hang of it, all you need to do is to repeat the steps! I am also really interested in the simple Turkish lace as it really reminds me of some knitting patterns. I definitely want to try to make a bag using this technique one day!

Exit Slip: Sept 15th

    From today's class, the biggest takeaway for me is the activity when we drew in the garden. During the assignment, I noticed that it was a really relaxing activity that ties really nicely with angles and math. I will definitely try to incorporate this activity in my classroom in the future. I thought the activity will be able to introduce a unified feeling for all the students as they will be focused on doing the same activity with making decisions for themselves. The topic is all about exploring the different shapes and angles that exist in the real world while highlighting what they see and discover on their own. Math can sometimes be too theory based for students and that it might be hard to understand and relate to. So, including aspects of going outside, stretching, walking around, and looking at things up close, will help students feel relieved and possibly become excited to dig deeper into the topic.

    In addition to incorporating math with an outdoor activity, this activity can help students destress and think about nature they might not always think about when they're walking outside. It certainly helped me discover more details within nature and hear my breathing. I was able to zoom in and zoom out of not just what I was looking at, but also of thoughts I had in my mind.

Entrance Slip: Grant & Zeichner: On becoming a reflective teacher

    In the article, it talks about how teachers were permitted at some degree of personal discretion in the selection of content and materials. I think this is still applicable in 2021 as teachers been trying to move education for that cater more for the students and to teach material on students' needs. To focus more on what the students' truly need and how they can learn more effectively and more engaged, there are still options about the kinds of classroom structure. I believe in another part of the article, the idea of being reflective and unreflective and how it's defined is still very true in Vancouver today. It's something that I have been thinking a lot lately - that teaching is not just about getting the information to the student, but making sure that I'm openminded, which is to actively listen to more sides than one and be open to the possibilities of mistakes within beliefs. Something that really caught my attention was about how our ideas are only ideas because it's a widely accepted view, and it's not something we actually think about and believe in, and not something we have examined carefully. I find that a lot of us share our experiences and views only because it aligns with whatever topic the class is talking about, but we don't always think about what makes that certain experience good or what needs improvement. 

    After reading the article, I find it very interesting that they include possible opinions that disagree with the claims made in the article. It helps the reader analyze and think more about why using reflective teaching skills works. I would say it allows more room for the readers to explore and to help with any possible questions raised while reading the bold claims of the direction education was moving towards. Some of the headings or beginnings of a section start off with a question to help teachers think critically since they plant a question that would motivate you to think of possible solutions or answers to it. 

Exit Slip : 'Teacher Man' and teacher inquiry: Frank McCourt

    After watching Frank McCourt speak about his experience on how he got into teaching, there were a few things that stuck out to me. I consider his story to be quite motivating as it's an example of starting a life in a totally new environment, humble beginnings, with no qualifications to what he ended up with in his career and in life. One thing that I definitely changed my mind was when he mentioned that his way of teaching is considered as an extension. It makes sense to incorporate projects and assignments related to what the students already enjoy doing but it's easier said than done. I've noticed for myself that increasing and changing my mindset into creating extension instead of just planting new information in student's head, it would make the experience for students more enjoyable. This resulted in thinking about how math is already everywhere around us, and the question that came out of that is 'How can I show my students that math IS already everywhere around us?'.



    Although his story is quite motivating in my opinion to watch in 2021, it might not seem the same if I were to witness this story at the time he was finding opportunities for a job. The circumstances individuals were facing back in the day is definitely different from society now, so it makes me think about how the story might seem impossible to certain less privileged individuals or women who had different rights and opportunities as men. He had books readily available as his resource and that's how he was able to hold a conversation with a dean that gave him the opportunity to be admitted into the program. The thing is, having access to so many books is considered very lucky already so although his story is still inspiring and motivating, I think it's also important to keep in mind the situation he was already in compared to what other individuals had to face on a day-to-day basis.

Hello!