Monday, March 26, 2018

BOOKS!!




I am a total book nerd. I love reading! I read all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, fluff and serious books. What really gets me excited though, is a book that is well-written, in that the author has a beautiful way with words. I've read some engrossing books where the story has been worth reading, but the writing itself has been pretty awful. This is too often the case with YA fiction, which I do read sometimes.
Anyway, right now I am reading a book called Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk. I love it for its story, but also for the author's mastery of language. I laughed out loud on the weekend as I was reading and came across these gems:
"Extending hospitality to all, even to the most cloddish, truly is the basis of civilization. The fact that the most cloddish, having nothing better to do, always show up and spoil the party for everyone else probably spells civilization's ultimate doom."
"Among the many unsurprising facts of life that, when taken in aggregate, ultimately spell out the doom of our species is this: People who command respect are never as widely known as people who command attention."

Monday, March 19, 2018

Teaching

I am a teacher. I have been teaching on and off between maternity leaves since 2001. I love teaching and I love watching kids get excited about learning. I only have a permanent job on Wednesdays and the rest of the week, I either teach on call, or stay home/chauffeur/volunteer/cook/clean etc. My Wednesday class is a job share, so there is another teacher there for four days a week. This makes it challenging to have any kind of cohesive program, but it is working really well, for now. There have been so many Wednesdays where I have had those "this is why I teach" moments; I love my job.
Teaching on call, for the first time in years, has been interesting and eye-opening. First of all, there are lots of great ideas about how different classrooms are run and I love getting to borrow lots of new ideas. I am constantly standing in hallways taking pictures of great bulletin board ideas. But there are also classrooms that make me sad. I have been in some classrooms where it is clear that there is no fun being had. The day plan consists of piles of worksheets, there is no student art brightening the classroom and no games, manipulatives, cards, dice or anything that would allow for free play. I know how laborious it can be to plan for a teacher on call, so I am sure that some of the worksheets can be chalked up to easier and more straightforward plans for a TOC. Regardless, when I look around a room and see nothing besides more worksheets, I wonder. What is it like to be in grade 1 and have no fun at school? What would make a child in that kind of class excited to learn? With the readymade exciting lessons available at the click of a button, with all the fantastic picture books that beautifully illustrate social responsibility and other great themes, with beautiful BC right outside the school, why is there still boring, repetitive, meaningless work being done in some classrooms?

PS. I try to go outside with my students as much as possible. Last week, we were studying Emily Carr, so we went outside to sketch trees. When it's gross outside, we get creative by doing things like indoor camping day...


Friday, March 16, 2018

West Palm Beach



I just spent six days alone, on a trip to Florida and it was glorious. My parents bought a condo in the fall and completely renovated it during the last few months. We had originally planned to go as a family, but the tickets during spring break were just ridiculous. So, I decided to fly out while school was still in session by myself. Kudos to Pentti who is so generous in letting me get away. He was the one who insisted I go alone, despite the fact that that meant him staying home alone with three kids and even taking time off work.
The trip was wonderful in every way. My mom did all the cooking; I haven't been that pampered/served by her in 20 years. Their condo was beautiful and had two swimming pools, a sauna, library, gym and a whole community of Finnish people. I think every person that I met in their complex was Finnish; it was pretty funny. In the evenings, the sauna was unsurprisingly full of Finnish ladies and it was neat to hear the Finnish chatter. The shopping was fantastic. I didn't actually end up buying very much, but there were so many great stores and outlets!
Coming home, I felt so grateful and refreshed and I am still basking in how great the trip was. It is so healthy to get away and have some time to myself. I feel like I am a better person since my trip and I would wish for every mom to have the chance to get away sometimes. Too bad not all husbands are like Pentti...