Day 3 at St. Florence: The Visit

not by the Pope, which would've been a funny experience for me (watch out for Force-lightning), but by the district Superintendent. the reason for this visit was last year's pitiful EQAO scores. apparently there was a 3rd grade teacher in over her head and the scores reflected this. so the Superintendent dropped by and chatted up the principal and the 3rd/6th grade teachers. it was pretty cool seeing the teachers band together in a show of solidarity -- not that our visitor was a bad guy -- in the face of inspection. the principal shadowed him while other teachers would peek out of their rooms once in awhile. some made excuses to be in the hallways at regular intervals and raised signals when the Superintendent was spotted. the school halls were like gopher tunnels.

apart from that, my day was the usual dose of miscellany. i started off the day plainly enough by marking arithmetic (gotta get that mental math back up to speed). then i donned a SARS mask and cleaning gloves to spray acrylic sealer (matte finish) on some molded plaster flowers (soon to be Mother's Day fridge magnets). there was a lot of construction paper cutting as well.

lunch time = listening to conversation time.
today's topics: American Idol, Grey's Anatomy and the story of that time the teacher i'm working with took the grade 1s, 2s and 3s up north for a 2-night camping trip. she shared a tent with someone notoriously high maintenance, and after a day of activity, they unzipped the tent to find swarms of squirrels and chipmunks pouring out of the tent. apparently, HM woman had packed a bag full of chocolate.

Day 2 at St. Florence: Confidences

it's pretty amazing how quickly people open up to near-strangers when you just put in a little bit of time.

walking through the (tiny) halls i bumped into the French teacher and we almost didn't stop to chat. it looked like we were both about 50/50 in terms of wanting to stop to chat or not and looked to the other for body language hints to see which way the other was leaning. it was awkward for all of three seconds before we both decided to turn back to be introduced properly. turns out he used to teach High School Math back in his home country, Haiti, but is now stuck doing French for elementary. he is fairly miserable because most elementary students don't enjoy learning another language on top of struggling through English; he probably feels underpaid and under-appreciated. but it seems most of the kids really like him. he showed up at the door once and three kids leapt out of their seats -- one from the back of the room -- to hug him. it was sweet; they got in (minor) trouble.

i spent a good chunk of the morning coaxing one boy to copy out one sentence. in that time i found out he likes Spider-Man and French, occasionally tries to write with his left hand and returns everything he borrows immediately after he finishes using it. he has a lot of trouble with reading, writing and academics in general. for a grade 1 student, this entails mostly reading, writing and comprehension thereof. motivation is a problem too; he either drifts off into space or is easily distracted by what others say, latching onto that train of thought, forgetting his original focus (copying out that sentence).

the teachers know him very well. most of them lunch in the staff room. much of the conversation centres on the 'problem-child of the day' and carries on from there. i'm not one to gripe about kids -- i'll tell funny stories for sure, but purely for laughs -- but i see how this is a necessary thing for teachers. it allows them to unwind a bit when the infuriation sets in, and discuss with other teachers about possible solutions or tactics that may have worked in the past. parents, in general, figure prominently in these discussions. the teachers have personal relationships with these parents; they are considered extensions of the kids they teach and they make it a point to get to know the parents to get to know the kids better. unfortunately, many of the cases in this school are instances of "children raising children" in incomplete families. i listen in on scraps of conversation (as usual) to find out more about the kids i interact with to try and communicate with them more personally.

when i found out the boy liked French, i suggested that he tell his teacher once in awhile. i hope he remembers to. i'll have to bug him about it.

Day 1 at St. Florence

it's been a long time since i've posted about the cool stuff kids say. now that i've started my placement at St. Florence Catholic elementary, i can do so once more. i'm working primarily with grade 1s, so it is going to be great for quotes.

when asked to suggest ways we can be better "stewards of God's creation" (make Earth greener and cleaner):
"don't light schools on fire."
"no throwing beer bottles, or else the glass might get into your shoe."
"no setting fire to houses."
"no spraypainting walls."
- all from the same kid.
i am really glad he was taught such important family values.

as i was leaving: "Mr. Chan, is your dad's name Jackie?"

--

also worthy of note: every morning, following the national anthem and announcements is an exercise time. a pair of older students (i assume gr.5-6) come into the classroom and lead the kids in a fairly involved dance routine to the music of "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by the Buckwheat Boyz. the kids really love it. i kid you not -- i couldn't make this up even if i tried.

thanks

it is the end of yet another chapter in life, and if my life really were to be a substantial novel, this would be the end of BOOK I: the early years (or something to that effect). the following is a list of the teachers i have had the privilege of learning under, as far as i can remember. i had to hit up ratemyteacher.ca for some of the names that i did forget.

Lynngate Junior Public School:
JK: Ms. Young
SK: Mrs. Lawrence
G1: Miss Anderson
G2: Mrs. Thompson
G3: Mr. MacAfee

Churchill Heights Public School:
G4: Mrs. Reid + Mr. Charles (Music); forgotten: French teacher (Mme. L)
G5: Mr. Billinghurst + Mr. Charles (Music)
G6: Mrs. Steinberg + Mr. Foster (Math), Mr. Charles (Music)
G7: Mrs. Lorimer + Mr. Gibbons (Math), Mr. Gorman (Social Studies), Mr. Titchener (Science), Mme. Moore (French), Mr. Charles (Music)
G8: Mr. Taylor + Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Gorman, Mr. Titchener, Mme. Moore, Mr. Charles, Mrs. Thomas (Vocal Music)

Woburn Collegiate Institute:
G9: Mr. Mohamed (Science), Mr. Thomson (Phys. Ed.), Mrs. Blasko (English), Mr. Grigg (Geography), Mrs. Houghton (Music), Ms. Bellstedt (Math), Mrs. Lloyd (Business Studies), Mr. Kachur (French)
G10: Mr. Windfield (Science), Mr. Shearer (History), Mrs. Houghton (Music), Mr. Scott (Computers), Mrs. Billinghurst (English), Sr. Kosta (Spanish), Mr. Dick (Civics), Mr. Chan (Math); forgotten: Career Studies
G11: Mr. Bell (Physics), Mrs. Houghton (Music), Mrs. Billinghurst (English), Mr. Chan (Math), Mr. Carson (Phys. Ed.), Mr. Balasingam (Computers), Mrs. Russell (Chemistry) [edit] Mr. Rickard/Mr. Man (Biology) [/edit]
G12: Mrs. Houghton (Music), Mr. Bell (Physics), Ms. Mohamed (English), Mr. Acomb (Phys. Ed.), Mr. Man (Biology), Mr. Moliotsias (Calculus), Mrs. Russell (Chemistry), Mr. Wright (Geometry and Discrete Maths)

University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
1st: Prof. Olaf-Buschwietz (MATA30), Prof. Shepherd (ASTA01/2), Prof. Price (EESA01), Prof. Cherydeko (MATA23), Prof. Grinnell (MATA36), Prof. Quick (PHYA10), Prof. Lee/Prof. Tawfiq (PHYA21), Prof. Joordens (PSYA01), Prof. Bassili (PSYA02)
2nd: Prof. Moore (MATB41/2), Prof. James (LINA01), Prof. Shepherd (PSCB75), Prof. Lee (PHYB21), Prof. Tawfiq (PHYB24), Prof. Campbell (HUMB01); forgotten: STAB22, PHYB23
2nd summer: Ms. Ralickas (ENGB01), Ms. Wilder (ENGB04)
3rd: Mr. Adams (ENGB02), Dr. Peat (ENGB03), Prof. Artymowicz (ASTB21/C22), Prof. Quick (PSCB01), Prof. Brown (ENGB42/3), Prof. Gough/Prof. Tawfiq (PSCD02), Prof. Djordjevic (ENGC10), Prof. Patenall (ENGB10)
4th: Dr. Goldman (ENGC02/3), Dr. Rose (ENGC20, ENGB24), Ms. Papoutsis (ENGB75), Prof. Cormack (PSCD02), Dr. Peat (ENGB34), Prof. Boughn (ENGB35), Prof. MacRae (ENGB08)

Not Forgotten: Mr. Seville (-1997) and Mr. Shearer (-2003) who both passed away during my time in CHPS and WCI respectively.

not included in this list by name are the family and friends that have taught me, encouraged me, fought for/with/beside me all these years, whom i've been blessed by God with since before i knew Him.

to you all i give my sincerest thanks.

Question: what kind of bear is best?