Today I had my first day in my CSL placement.. at Hawthorne public school, the same school I will be attending for my practicum placement. Hawthorne school hosted 700 students a few years ago, and now hosts only 290. I believe half of the school is in a gifted program, and then another considerable portion have IEP’s, around a quarter or so. It is a unique school because it doesn’t offer French Immersion like the majority of Ottawa schools. It has a large immigrant population and is home to students who have various degrees of exposure to Canadian culture and the English language. The school has ELS and ELD programs for those in need.
A few things struck me today.
The first, was a rant my homeroom teacher made. Students were working on a “CASI”, and were having some difficulties answering some of the questions that required more long-winded, subjective answers. The homeroom teacher spoke of examples within her academic career, where being honest in composing her assignments worked to her detriment, that she only got the marks she wanted by writing what the teacher wanted to hear. She concluded her rant with the statement, “fake it till you make it”. I think a grade 8 could take that statement and run in some potentially harmful directions, but I also think that it may be a practical statement for a variety of instances in life.
I noticed that some students didn’t try in some classes, or at some things. That their roles were defined in comparison to others. Reminiscent of the “fixed mindset” idea we’ve been talking about in PED 3121.
The final two working periods of the day were allocated to L.A. A composite class that combines, English, Geography, History, Drama, and Art. The students were asked to complete a preliminary storyboard of a tableau they would put together to present a fairytale. They were required to write a script, demonstrate their knowledge of the elements of a storyline, and begin working on the tableau’s they would use when performing. I admired the multidisciplinary approach. However it seemed as though a good portion of the class did not want to be bothered with putting effort towards the project, especially the boys. One group chose to do the fairytale of “The 3 Little Pigs”.. un-edited. A choice for a group of grade 8 boys that screamed, “lets just get this thing over with”.
After class I spoke with my homeroom teacher, about an idea I had for an art project, and she greeted it nicely and some what hesitantly.. I couldn’t tell whether she just wasn’t too hot on the idea or couldn’t quite picture it. As I left I thought that a multidisciplinary project would probably be a better sell to teacher and students. I’d like to present the class with a startup project. Where students would group themselves in companies, develop business plans, logos, branding and marketing campaigns, determine the demographics of the market they would be providing their service or selling their goods to, make skits acting as commercials and presentations to “investors”. I hope to really engage the students with this project, motivate them, and show them the applications of the disciplines they are learning about.
All in all, my homeroom teacher was very welcoming, along with the rest of the staff at Hawthorne; and provided me with the space necessary to meet the class on their level as well as increasing responsibility through out the day. I very much appreciated it.
A few things struck me today.
The first, was a rant my homeroom teacher made. Students were working on a “CASI”, and were having some difficulties answering some of the questions that required more long-winded, subjective answers. The homeroom teacher spoke of examples within her academic career, where being honest in composing her assignments worked to her detriment, that she only got the marks she wanted by writing what the teacher wanted to hear. She concluded her rant with the statement, “fake it till you make it”. I think a grade 8 could take that statement and run in some potentially harmful directions, but I also think that it may be a practical statement for a variety of instances in life.
I noticed that some students didn’t try in some classes, or at some things. That their roles were defined in comparison to others. Reminiscent of the “fixed mindset” idea we’ve been talking about in PED 3121.
The final two working periods of the day were allocated to L.A. A composite class that combines, English, Geography, History, Drama, and Art. The students were asked to complete a preliminary storyboard of a tableau they would put together to present a fairytale. They were required to write a script, demonstrate their knowledge of the elements of a storyline, and begin working on the tableau’s they would use when performing. I admired the multidisciplinary approach. However it seemed as though a good portion of the class did not want to be bothered with putting effort towards the project, especially the boys. One group chose to do the fairytale of “The 3 Little Pigs”.. un-edited. A choice for a group of grade 8 boys that screamed, “lets just get this thing over with”.
After class I spoke with my homeroom teacher, about an idea I had for an art project, and she greeted it nicely and some what hesitantly.. I couldn’t tell whether she just wasn’t too hot on the idea or couldn’t quite picture it. As I left I thought that a multidisciplinary project would probably be a better sell to teacher and students. I’d like to present the class with a startup project. Where students would group themselves in companies, develop business plans, logos, branding and marketing campaigns, determine the demographics of the market they would be providing their service or selling their goods to, make skits acting as commercials and presentations to “investors”. I hope to really engage the students with this project, motivate them, and show them the applications of the disciplines they are learning about.
All in all, my homeroom teacher was very welcoming, along with the rest of the staff at Hawthorne; and provided me with the space necessary to meet the class on their level as well as increasing responsibility through out the day. I very much appreciated it.