Before I became a teacher, I volunteered at my alma mater elementary school with a seasoned primary teacher who banned handouts in her grade 2 classroom. Although it was a rough start, it was amazing to see the growth in her students’ penmanship and literacy skills as the year progressed. That experience stuck with me,… Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Note Taking Rocks!
Yesterday was a disappointing day for Ontario’s teachers, parents and students. On a day when we reached out to begin good-faith consultations with Ontario’s Ford government, we instead heard you blame teachers and unions for a student walkout at schools across the province, when in reality it was your government’s policies that sparked this action.
Why are young/less experienced teachers losing their jobs when there are veteran teachers that exist who are performing poorly or complacently, making more money, and don’t have to worry about a pink slip? It’s just not fair…
Inferencing is much more than a reading skill; essentially, it is the process of training the brain to think metaphorically rather than literally. Many students have already acquired this skill as it has been modelled at home in the context of both reading materials and experiences, but for many of our students it is something completely foreign to them that needs to be explicitly taught.
As both a teacher and student, the e-learning environment works for me, but I’m an adult with a university education. I also happen to be tech savvy, and have good literacy and independent learning skills. Despite my personal admiration for the virtual teaching world, I can’t ignore the reasons why it’s not a great fit for many teachers and students.
As both a teacher and parent I value standardized testing – read on to learn why!
Is group work overrated? What benefits and drawbacks does it have for students and how can teachers make the most of it?
