A Teacher's Ruminations

I've been thinking about the term accountability. According to Wikipedia, accountability is defined as: I n the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences . These thoughts, some of them may appear random, came to me as I was reading the January 1994 issue of Language Arts. (Yes, I save my professional journals until I've read them cover to cover.). Accountability, at least the way it is sometimes used in educational circles, amounts to responsibility, or a duty, obligation or liability for which someone is held accountable. Why didn't you clean the house? That was your responsibility! (Wikipedia). So, when you are accountable, you are responsible because others are counting on you to complete a task or explain y...

Unbelievable, but true! The last time I wrote an entry in this blog, that nobody even knows about yet, was almost a year ago. So, my New Year's resolution for this year is to write an entry once a week and to let others know about this blog, especially parents. In less than two months time I will embark on an exciting adventure as I start a Doctoral Program in Education. It has been something I've been trying to do for at least five years but finding a reputable online program has been difficult. Nevertheless, I've found one at the University of South Australia in Adelaide that seems to be just right. It took almost 3 months for my application to be processed and approved. Now that it's a reality I am looking forward to this challenge. At the same time, I am committed to maintaining quality time with my family and to maintaining my level of commitment to teaching and learning. A tall order, I know, but this is a challenge that I am ready to take on. I know I...

Since we're just a few days away from 2008 I feel compelled to write this post before the year ends. This is has been an incredible beginning to the school year for me as a teacher. I ask myself what it is that has worked so well this year that didn't work well last year. Is it because I have a different group of kids, maybe with fewer behavior issues? Or is it because I have more supportive parents this year? Or is it because now I have doors in my classroom rather than an open pod? Maybe it's all of these things put together that have made the difference but over which I have no control. However, I also want to think that I had a little hand in our coming together as a classroom so far this year. So, what am I doing differently this year? First of all, I have implemented a morning meeting that is sacrosanct. The kids expect it and when we miss a part of it they notice. I am taking baby steps when teaching procedures and demonstrations before expecting the kids ...

This post was supposed to have begun thus: The first day of school is officially over. Then, the first day of school was over and I hadn't gotten around to blogging or journaling anything. The same thing happened every day after that. Before I knew it, the first day and week of school were over and I hadn't captured their essence as I had intended. These are important days when the character of the class is beginning to gel and I am getting to know my students. Today is the 7th day of school and I spent it at home with my son who is sick. So, it's today that I can carve out a few minutes to write in my journal - my first entry for this year - and then to expand on my thoughts in this blog. As I pause to reflect on the first few days of school I am once again reminded how important it is to take some time to think about my teaching. It is this process that gets me energized to go back into the classroom and try again. It is what helps me stay the course when I feel ...

This summer has been a whirwind of professional reading for me. I have been focusing primarily on classroom management and reading comprehension strategies. I'm reading several books simultaneously right now and am excited about the changes I am planning to make in my classroom this year. I hope to change the look and the feel of the classroom. I want to spend the first six weeks on establishing procedures and routines even as we delve into content. I am planning to slow down so that we can take advantage of the year in grade two. One of the additions I will be making to my classroom is the Family Message Journal or Home School Journal. Once a week, probably on Fridays, I will have the kids write to their families about what they are learning in the classroom and any other topic they want to broach with their families. I will start this around the end of October after the kids have had a chance to get into the routines of being back at school. What will I cut out? I will ...

Today is my first full day off from school. Although we were officially done on Friday, I went back Tuesday and part of Wednesday to finish cleaning my classroom and to organize my materials. I can't believe it has been almost a year since my family arrived in Calgary from Ecuador. What a whirlwind year it has been for us! One of the highlights, by far, has been my experience at Dalhousie School. The administration and teachers welcomed me with open arms and supported the work I was doing with students. Without that support it would have been a much more difficult year. I also had a great group of parents that worked with me and put in many volunteer hours throughout the year. That was wonderful and a first of a kind experience for me. I am looking forward to next school year when I will be teaching grade 2. I am excited to be taking some of my grade 1 students with me and am looking forward to creating a wonderful classroom community with the other grade 2 students. Now...