Blog Reflection

The most amazing experience I've had in a very long time, not only academically but also personally and spiritually. I had the chance to spend a semester in the resource room at St. Pius X High School with Ms. de Souza and it was really gratifying.
When I first thought about being part of the mentorship program, I wasn't too sure how it would work out and how I was going to fit in, but I can now say that I would do it all over again. I am very grateful to everyone that helped me through this amazing journey which has taught me so many things that will help me through my academic career. I learned a lot of things that can not be taught in a classroom and as a student going through classes it cannot be totally grasped by their perspective either. Sometimes as students, we don't understand what teachers do, and we think that they just want to screw us over, but this semester I learned that most of them look out for us and do what they think will be best for our future.
Being in a classroom from the perspective of a teacher is very different from what I have experience in my regular classes. I learned to be more patient to understand that standing in front of a classroom is not easy no matter how much you know the people that are listening to you or how well you know your subject. I learned to respect the person who is talking in front of a classroom because they really deserve all my respect. I am thankful to Ms. de Souza for teaching me how to be patient, flexible and to let go, she really helped me to be successful in this course, I enjoyed every single minute I spent by her side, because I never stopped learning.
I consider myself very lucky, throughout the semester I got to work one on one with some students that have difficulties in their classes. At the beginning, I wasn't keen about the idea, as I wasn't very patient or good at explaining, but as the weeks rolled by I started to really enjoy working with some of them. It was surprising to me how in just a few weeks I could be so concerned about their lives inside and outside school. The days before I had to leave, many of their classes were doing their CPT's and to be completely honest, the thing that concerned me the most was how they were going without my help and guidance.
The best advice I could give to any high school student is to take this class, you will not regret it! Many people think that it isn't very useful for a University bound student to take mentorship but I totally disagree. Every student should have the social aspect of humanity which you will experience in this class! This class will allow you to do more than just academics. As important as the academic part of school is, I firmly believe that a person can't get anywhere without this interpersonal skills. Being successful in this class takes a lot of effort, it is not a class in which you walk out after the period and can forget about it, you have to leave thinking about the conversations you just had, the problems your pupil just told you about, and how you can ease their way out of it the next day. Patience and perseverance are, in my opinion the most important qualities one has to have or be willing to work on to have an outstanding semester. To anyone taking this class in the future, don't forget to go out of your way to help anyone that needs it and have fun so everyone around you can have fun too.

How Are Teacher Evaluated

In order to ensure the Ontario teaching system prevails at an admirable standard, teachers must be evaluated on their performance in a classroom. The Ontario government came up with a system called the Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA), this provides teachers with meaningful assessment that encourages professional learning and growth. The TPA system has two different components: one for "new teacher" and a one for "experienced" teachers, there is also different templates that the principal can choose from to evaluate the teachers. 

Every teacher in Ontario has to set some goals at the beginning of the year, this is written on their Annual Learning Plan (ALP). The purpose of this plan is to allow teachers to reflect on what they would like to improve on and create a plan for this to happen. This plan becomes the basis of their evaluation. The teachers that are getting evaluated have a pre-observation meeting with either the principal or vice-principal. The discussion is about expectations from both sides. After the observation there is another meeting to discuss if the expectations were met and if not ways the teacher can improve. Constructive criticism is important in any part of an evaluation. The appraisal is very similar like the one that Ms Villa did in our mentorship classes. Although, the evaluation for teachers is a fail or pass. If the teacher was to fail the consequence is not getting fired but rather go on a remediation plan to improve the areas on which the principal saw they had trouble with. 

Teachers like Ms de Souza, the teachers in the resource room, guidance counselors and staff in the white house get evaluated very differently from the " in-class teachers" because they don't necessarily have a class, but rather students that have different needs, they are also involved in various school activities to help students with their work and social skills. Therefore, teachers in the resource room get evaluated on how they meet the needs of the school, the students and other teachers.  

I think it's great that teachers get evaluated but in my experience I don't think the TPA method is completely effective, I have seen it year after year how the teacher changes the way they teach their lessons and how they involve students in the process.  Teachers tend to treat us differently in the hour and fifteen minutes that they have the observation. I think the TPA shouldn't completely change but I believe it should also take into consideration the student's opinion about the teacher, because at the end of the day, we are the ones most affected by their performance. The TPA evaluates teachers every 5 years, which in my opinion it is far too long.  Teachers have different courses every year and they also teach different levels, this might change the teacher's method and the overall performance. The TPA should happen every two years minimum in order to make teachers accountable for their ALP.

Catholic vs. Public School

I had the chance to go to both Public and Catholic high school, there are many differences between each of them, although many people might say one is better than the other, I believe that is all about the student and where they feel more comfortable. I started my High School experience in a public school and for the first two years it worked out perfectly for me but at the beginning of my third year I decided to change to a Catholic school. Here are five things that made the biggest difference between the two schools.

Community involvement is big in Catholic schools, at least in mine it is. This is something I love, giving back to those in need, it is the most gratifying feeling one can have. At St.Pius X there are numerous events which go on throughout the school year in order to give to those who are less fortunate, or to help local charities and programs. For example, St.Pius holds the annual Terry Fox run to raise money for cancer research and to spread awareness about the disease, the canned food drive and Christmas hampers where students bring in canned goods and items for those who are less fortunate in our school community. I believe this to be a positive factor not only for our community but also for the students at Catholic schools.

As high school students we go through ups and downs and a support system can really make a difference in a teenager's life. The Catholic board has an amazing support system for students who need help not only in the academic aspect of school but also in the mental and spiritual one. At St. Pius X, we are very lucky to have Richie to talk to when we need spiritual guidance, he is always ready to listen and pray for us and give us the best advice. Although the public school board also had guidance counselors, in my experience the Catholic board counselors look out for our best interests and advise us in our choices. They get to know us and help us feel comfortable with our choices. In the public board they are more concerned with having enough credits to graduate and get into university.

Catholic Schools are more of a community, school, church and family should come together for the benefit of the student and to have a more rounded and guided education. Throughout the school we have different liturgies that help us come together as a community and help students have stronger bonds, and support one another. In my first two years of high school, when I attended a public school the assemblies all related to school nothing spiritual. This makes students stick to the friends they already have and not get involved and help those who they are not familiar with. At St. Pius X, we always have a Liturgie at the beginning of the school year, this helps students put their school year in God’s hands and to ask for a better understanding and guidance in their classes. Throughout the school year we are lead in prayer every morning and we also finish the day with another one, I believe this helps set a good tone everyday and it reminds us that God is with us at all moment and if we ever need better sight of our day to day we can go to the Chapel, kneel down and communicate with God.   

Values are taught by all the teachers and have a place in every classroom, in Catholic schools values are taught to students as universal ones and every teacher implements them in their classes throughout the school year.  In public schools teachers don't touch on the subject because it may infringe on someone’s rights. They treat values as different for each person. I believe, as a religious person, that teaching students the principal values throughout their high school experience benefits them a lot. It forms their conscious (the voice in the back of their heads) and because of these values students usually to do the right thing or at least know what the right thing is!

As a grade 12, graduation is something that stresses us more and more as we see it right around the corner. The difference between the Catholic and Public on graduate expectations was very clear to me once I changed school because at the Public board the only expectation of a graduate is to successfully finish high school and move on to university, while in the Catholic Board we are expected to do more than that, we are expected to be the best we can, not only in the classroom but everywhere we go.   

As different as the two boards are, I don’t think one can say one is better than the other, I believe that it depends on the student and what they prefer to be part of. For me the Catholic board has worked better, I can see it in my marks and in my involvement on school activities, but for someone else the Public board might be a better fit.

Personality Types

This assignment has made me reflect on myself, and on my personality. After taking the Keirsey Temperament Report I came across a lot of things that really apply to me, but that I had not really thought about and that maybe didn't realize I should work a little bit more on. My personality type is "Guardian (SJ's)" that is describes as: "the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply -- and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses". 

The Keirsey report, pointed out that I was Dependable and trustworthy. I consider myself this was and think this is very accurate, I can see this with my friends as they can come to me with their problems and know that they can be sure that their problems will stay only with me. 

In my mentorship experience I can see the trust from Ms. De Souza and Ms. Valois, sometimes when Ms. De Souza is busy she has the confidence to let me go on my own to classes or stay in the resource room and work with those who need help.

Moreover, a characteristic that I believe it's really a strength and really helps me on a day to day basis, is the fact that I am really Down-to-Earth. I think I gained this from my mom, as a single mom she often had to be at work long hours to be able to be successful so my siblings and I had to take care of each other. I also think it is very helpful in the resource room as it makes me really practical and it benefits my involvement with student. It helps me understand them better and be more relatable. 

I think one of the most important qualities to work in the resource room, in my opinion, is to be able to understand that everyone that comes in has different need, different weaknesses and straights. The Keirsey Report described me as "On the job, you seem to innately understand how to create smooth, working processes in your environment. You can excel at directing others to fulfill their duties", as a mentorship student in the resource room, I often work with students that have special needs. When I first started my placement here I had never have the experience on working with this kind of students, but I understood as soon as I sat down to work with them that the work that they needed to do couldn't be done in a traditional way. Without having to read a book about it or even having to get instructions from my  mentorship teacher I was able to be successful and help them as much as I could, realized, after reading the lesson, that being a feeler plays a big role on how successful I am at my work in my mentorship placement and consider myself really lucky to get the chance to experience this side of myself. I still have a lot to understand and to become better at, but i believe that I am doing a good job and with the help of my mentorship teacher and the student I will be able to do the best possible. 

Change can be a good friend but it can also set you back, although I don’t hate change and sometimes I even look for it I am really cautious about it. I like to look into every single outcome before I am prepare and ready to move on from what I am familiar with. At this point on my life change is inevitable, as much as i want to graduate and start an “adult life” it is still very scary to move on from what is so familiar. Being open to the possibility of maybe moving away is something that frightens and it is why I have decided that the only place I would move is to somewhere I have a already live and know, as it said on the report I am not very comfortable winging it or blazing new trails. 

   

Technology in the Classroom

Technology is such a big part of our society that it would be unwise to not take advantage of it. Technology, when used in the right way, will have a positive impact in classrooms, as it can greatly benefit students' learning. Technology allows students to actively think about more information, make choices, and execute skills that they will be able to use in the workplace. Computer skills will help with learning - researching information, grammar, spelling and organization. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress.

Although technology can help students in their learning process, there is always a risk of students going off task and going on social media or playing on their computers. During my mentorship program I often see students become instantly distracted by electronic devices, such as cell phones, iPads  laptops, etc... and it can become a major issue for many students. However, I have also seen students benefit greatly from it, in the resource room there is a lot of student that have trouble with their grammar and spelling, typing their projects, homework, etc... helps them a lot as it can correct their mistakes. 

There are students in the resource room that have laptops, chromebooks and ipads, they have them because their psych-ed assessment states that they need one to access the curriculum. It allows them to be successful in their subjects. Programs like Dragon or Read and Write can help students that have difficulties typing, this gives students a sense of independence as they can now write their own notes, assignments and test instead of have a person scribe.   

I believe technology should be present in classrooms as it benefits students, but it should be monitored by the teacher to make sure that students are doing their work, and staying on task. Teachers should also walk them through the process of using the programs and navigate through the internet. 

Lesson Plan

World War II- CHC2P
Lesson 3

Expectations

• To understand the significance and impact of this major battle on Canadian History and military (Heritage).
• Analyst the external forces and input of other troops on Canadian performance (Communities, Conflict and Cooperation).
• Asses Canada's participation in the war and contribution (Communities, Conflict and Cooperation).
•  Analyze how this might have influenced Canadian identity and militarism in the present day (Identity and Heritage).

Materials

Fill in the blank sheet

Learning Activities

• Have students brainstorm about the battle of Dieppe, see what they know and why they think it's so important (5-10 minutes).
• Discuss, as a class, why the battle of Dieppe is important in Canadian History (10 minutes).
• Distribute a copy of the lesson sheet, teacher will tell the students what happened on the battle of Dieppe and they will Fill in the blanks as the lesson is taught (25 minutes).
• Talk, as a large group, about the new discoveries about this battle. Discuss what the students think about them, and find out how they think these was found so many years after the battle (15 minutes)
• Make sure that everyone has the fill in the blank sheet full and that all the words are on the right spot, give the students the time to ask questions if they have any and clarify anything that they don't seem to understand (10-15 minutes).

Spencer West Talk

One man can move a mountain. I believe this after hearing Spencer West speak. It is extremely inspiring how one man can accomplish so much, and do so much to help people that truly need it. I am grateful for the unbelievable opportunity to meet Spencer West. He made me realize that I can do anything I want no matter what others say. He is a clear example that the only thing that can stop someone is themselves, not even a disability.

In the last few days, we have all been stressing out about university applications, trying to get into the best one and to eventually get a good paying job. Listening to Spencer saying that he had everything, a nice house, money and basically the "American dream" but he was still not happy made me rethink everything that I had been considering these past few days. A good paying job, having money, a nice car and house is not everything I want for the future, I want to get involved and help people that really need it, nothing is more satisfying than giving someone a reason to smile when their lives are not easy. For years I have always wanted to go on a volunteer trip, but I have never had the courage to go. Or I never got around to raising the money to be able to go because, I ended up spending it on less meaningful things. Listening to Spencer made me realize that volunteering would be an amazing opportunity and that it would be truly life changing.

Spencer West's journey is very inspiring, I consider myself very lucky to have have the chance to meet him and listen to his inspiring story. Through his presentation I was brought to tears when I listen to his stories about his trips and I truly hope that I get the chance to volunteer on this kind of project.