Treaty Education Resources
Documentary
- The documentary Muffins for Granny is about the residential schools in Canada and the enormous impact that they had and still have today.
Truth and Reconciliation Resources
Treaty Ed + Truth and Reconcilition
Author: empatchin8
Gender + Sexual Diversity
Inclusive Classroom Library
Resources for Teachers
LGBTQ+ Youth at School/Misconceptions
Gender Friendly Classroom
ECS 100 – Stories from the Field
My First Field Experience
My first field experience was during the winter semester of 2020. It began in the beginning of February and consisted of a half-day in a school each week, for seven weeks. Unfortunately, my field placement was cut short due to school closures across Saskatchewan due to the COVID-19 virus. I was still able to attend the first five days of my placement and here are some small pieces of how my days went!
Day 1
“As we went around the school we got talking about class sizes and relating them to my hometown school because in their K-8 school they have about 150 kids and in the K-12 school that I graduated from had about 250, so it will definitely be a nice sized school that won’t be hard to feel like home to me. I also noticed that many of their classrooms have some very cool features. I think that it was their Grade 7 and Grade 8 room that are connected by sliding doors with another room in the middle. The principal explained to me that they find it very useful if a student ever wants to work alone or even if they just need extra classroom space while doing group work then they have it. The next room was a specified art room, it was put together extremely well and I mentioned that my school had never had a room just for art. He said that they never did either but recently changed it because they think it is important. It was filled with drums, buckets, and many other small instruments. “
Day 2
“When I got there she told me that we were going to have a busy afternoon, which excited me because I like when there is always something to do with the kids. Since *schools name* is a pretty small school, it is easy for all the teachers to become familiar with each other and for them to get familiar with all of the students as well. It feels just like home where everyone knows everyone’s name. “
Day 3
“As soon as I got to the school the students were finishing lunch and getting ready to go outside for recess, so of course I got ready and went outside with them. While I was outside I spent my time near the swings talking with one of the grade 1/2 girls. She told me how over the break she had her birthday and got to watch a new movie that she was really excited about. I’ve been trying to slowly get to know this student more and more since my first week and it seems like she is a more reserved student who keeps quiet and her feelings get hurt easily. I hope that through spending time with her, she will understand that she is amazing and she will always be able to find friends because of her kind personality. “
Day 4
“We had a burrowing owl from the Moose Jaw Sanctuary brought into the school for the kids to see. They were all so excited about it. Then we were back in the classroom and they were working on their owl booklets that they’ve been filling with different information and fun facts about owls. The teacher also went on to teach the class what the Cree word for owl is. Now I’m sure I won’t get the spelling right but it is pronounced “Oo Hoo”. The teacher explained to the class about why it is important to learn the Cree word for owl and they all agreed and wrote it in their booklets. This is one way I noticed inclusive education being brought into this classroom.”
Day 5
“This week was very exciting for me because it was my first time really spending time in a kindergarten room! It is definitely much closer to my experience working in a daycare rather than the grades I’m interested in teaching which is 3/4. However, it was a great experience to have and I am very grateful for it. “
Professional Quotes
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”
Mark Van Doren
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”
Benjamin Franklin
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think”
Margaret Mead
“The expert in anything was once a beginner”
Unknown
“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you”
B.B. King
I Believe…
~all students should have access to the proper resources to have the best chance at succeeding (tutors, libraries, counsellors)
~all students have the right to learn in a safe, caring environment
~all students have the right to equal learning opportunities
~that regardless of age, no one is ever done learning
~all students should have the opportunity to be in a classroom
~all teachers are allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, and use that life experience to better yourself
~all teachers should treat their students fairly
~all teachers should try their best to work one-on-one with any student who is struggling
Community Service
Starting in grade 8, I helped my mom, who is a third-grade teacher in the school that I graduated from, form an After-school Club for kids in grades 1-6. We decided that gearing this club towards kids who weren’t necessarily into sports would be important so that all students would feel like they are involved in school activities and feel a sense of belonging. I would plan an activity and a snack for each different age group (we separated them into three age groups, who each met once a week) and we would do activities with each group for 2 1/2 hours after the school day.
Awards + Achievements
~ Maintained high honours through grades 10-12.
~Spirit of Youth Award in grades 10 and 11
~ PPCS Staff Award
~ Entrance Scholarship from U of R for graduating with an average between 93.00%- 94.99%.
Education
MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER
I graduated from Porcupine Plain Comprehensive School in June 2019. I graduated with high honours which means I had an average above 90%. I was never into sports since I was never the best at them, although I was heavily involved in our school’s Student Representative Council. A small group of students and I organized school events such as gym blasts, spirit weeks, and wake-a-thons to raise money for tele-miracle.
Land Acknowledgment
Something that I’ve come to recognize is how land acknowledgments can, unfortunately, become very repetitive. I have learned that land acknowledgements don’t always have to be so broad because that is when they tend to get impersonal. Being specific allows you to add in your feelings within the land acknowledgment, and why it truly is important to you. It can be ever-changing.
Helpful Resources
Pre-Internship Lesson Series
My pre-internship placement is in a third-grade classroom and I chose to teach a four-part lesson on “Inner Self” in Health. The inner self outcome in the Grade 3 curriculum has always interested me so I was really excited to finally put some of my ideas to use. What I never took into account, however, is just how complex of a topic inner self is, especially when talking to young students. The students definitely struggled with being able to define inner self so as we went through the lessons, I adapted by finding new ways of describing the concept of the inner self.
Name Poems
An activity that I had the students do on this topic was Name Poems. I made an example for them so that they had an idea of what I was expecting from them. I set out clear, step-by-step instructions for the class on the board in case anyone forgot the steps.
- Write name vertically on paper
- Fill in lines about yourself
- Raise your hand to get your work checked
- Trace with black marker/pen
- Draw pictures/decorate
- Hand in
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