Back Home and Death of a Blog

After 2.5 days in the car, I am finally back in Toronto. I am now unemployed for a month! But yes, I will be starting a new teaching position with the school board in August.

I will not have time to continue this blog, so I have decided that this blog is now CLOSED. It'll be nice to keep this open though, if you want to browse my old postings.

2013

Yes, it's 2013. You can text your teacher and she will help you with a question the day before the math exam. Until 12 pm, when she needs to go to sleep.

Fighting Until the End

On Tuesday, there was a student, A. C., that got kicked out of the science exam for having an electronic device on her. The teacher that caught her felt that she deserved to be booted - she is very distracted in class and is hard to work with even in a one-to-one setting. Often, she is looking at her phone.

 Today, I messaged her and told her all the requirements for summer school. I told her it would be the best option for her and encouraged her mom to talk to the guidance counselor. I have done this for another student, J.P., who also does not work hard in class. I believe he skipped the exam, not realizing how important it is and is using the excuse of calling in sick. I made sure he knows it's a big deal he missed the exam and that he should try for summer school.

Remember, It's not up to us to bring judgement on these students. Just because they don't act focused doesn't mean they don't deserve to know their options. We do not hold grudges against them. Realize that these students may have personal issues going on at home; their parents may be splitting up, their younger sister may be terminally ill, a family member may have recently passed away, they may be the victim of sexual abuse or assault - and we have no idea. We do not know what goes through their head that causes them to become distracted. And we will never know.

Therefore, we fight for them until the end. Even when the teachers don't want to.

 That's the difference between most of the teachers and what we do.

We go the extra mile.



Addendum: I'd like to add that by this time next year, whoever gets to work with me in Waskaganish has to do this all this "fight the extra mile" stuff because I will be emotionally exhausted and too grumpy to go the extra mile. But I know my company will look out for my future students when I am too tired to.

TED Talk: Rita Pierson

Great speech.

Mock Exam

BWHAHAHAHAHA

Materialism

I miss the rest of my closet!

Ughhh, wish I had more than 5 outfits with me!

Toronto in 8 days.

Animals

I forgot to mention I've adopted a red-eared slider. One of the teachers asked our company to adopt it - we have a small collection of turtles, lizards and snakes at our office - and our executive director agreed.

However, I heard that the turtle pond at work has been getting a bit crowded and a bit of cannibalism had been happening. Two turtle heads were found floating in the pond.Upon hearing that, I decided to keep her with me instead. She doesn't have a name yet, but will be coming to live with me in Waskaganish next year. She will be the class pet!

Maybe J. and I can have a turtle and hare race?

Happy Crew

A photo of my work crew at Friday's feast:

Saturday Baking

This is funny. I saw a box of dates and thought that there actual date squares, not having the read the box at all. When I finally figured that out, I decided I should probably get off my lazy butt and actually learn how to make it.

Here's what I put together - yes, the pan is too big - just about to put them in the oven.

I hope they turn out okay!

Friday Feast

Headed out for a feast for the Nishiyuu walkers. Canada goose will be the main item tonight, so I chowed down some meat-free chili and tosadas first. Sour cream, shredded mozzarella and cilantro on top - that's all I need on a Friday evening to stop me from being 'hangry'.

Honestly, I don't regret not trying it goose, beaver, bear or moose. I know other vegetarians who have happily sampled meat "from the land." If anything, I occasionally start thinking about unhealthy junk food from my non-vegetarian days, like Kentucky Fried Chicken, than care to try to eat an animal I've never eaten. My cravings are, essentially, based off old habits.

Veg Foods

It's a small collection, but I'm happy it's here in Chisasibi, Quebec!

And no, it's not vegan. There's usually milk or egg products in these faux meats, but I prefer supporting these companies so that they continue to be sold up here.

Ode to Toronto

Toronto foodstuff that I want to shovel in my mouth right now:

1. Beef tibs from M&B Yummy
2. Vegan poutine with melted Daiya from Poutini's
3. Tofu club sandwich from Sadie's Diner
4. Pepper-and-salt deep-fried king mushrooms from Simon's Wok
5. Pad see ew from Jean's Vegetarian Kitchen
6. BBQ tofu wings from Hogtown Vegan
7. Vegan chick'n enchilada from Rancho Relaxo
8. Soy latte from Manic Coffee

Fuck, I miss good vegan food.

Breakfast

Fresh fruit is still pretty expensive up here! A box of blueberries and raspberries cost me approximately $11 – but my health is worth it.

UPDATE: The raspberries moulded after 3 days. Dammit.

Nunavut

A shot of the crew and I, including two that came up to Chisasibi from Eastmain. We went hiking by the edge of James Bay, which is actually the Quebec and Nunavut border. It was a beautiful day out - water is still frozen and the temperature is at least 5 degrees lower than farther inland. I made several rock towers around the area, many that were knee high. It felt meditative to do so. Reminds me of the art projects that we did at Norval Outdoor School when I was doing my practicum 3 years ago. Great day.

Teaching Science to ELLs

Cleaning out my computer, I jotted this excerpt down from a book I was flipping through in Waskaganish:

With over 80 percent of my science class English language learners, it is imperative that I allow the students ample time to talk. Oral language helps these students make sense of things and cement these ideas in their brains. The best way for the students to learn a new language is to have many opportunities to use the language they are learning. They need to work through the science and experiment with the language to make sense of their emerging understandings as well as the inquiry process. I had seen too many instances when students were excited to do the hands-on work, but then bound by not being able to record or share their discoveries. The county kits limit them to mere exploration, never really allowing them to make con centre conclusions about those hands-on experiences.

Sports in Toronto

It's been a while since I biked! I am a bit over my healthy weight right now but I pushed myself and did 11 km today, plus rockclimbed at the gym for 2 hours.

Also, I saw on my friend's Facebook photos that beach volleyball is happening again at Ashbridge's Bay. I'm sad that this is the first time in 5 years that I will not be able to join a league!

OAME 2013

Back in Toronto briefly. Went to the OAME conference. I was so excited that I finally got to go this year!

This was one of the four workshops I took. Wendy Hill is amazing.


OAME 2013 - Wendy Hill and The Learning Carpet from Min Min T on Vimeo.

Math Rhymes

What a great rhyme! I'm totally going to use this!

TED Video: Jane McGonigal

What a great idea! Loving all the things I'm learning in my MOOC on gamification




I want to try 'World Without Oil'!

(But have to wait for better internet ... SIGH)

Sunset

I've been on the move and slept in 5 different places over the last two weeks. Although it seemed like I have finally Great Whale, where I am schedule for 3 weeks, the school board flew me to Waskaganish for an interview on Monday. I've already been offered a position and am now waiting for the background check to be completed. 

Now that I am back in Great Whale, I am staying with another teacher. I took this photo around 8:30 pm. My housemate's dog found some caribou antlers left out near a Cree camp. She brought it all the way back to gnaw on and she tried to run away with it when my housemate, S., wanted to grab it from her. Instead, the dog got stuck in the deep snow. Mind you, that's the snow reaching up to a porch.

On a side note, the temperature in New Delhi, I saw on the news, is 37 Celsius today.

Online Shopping: I bought this organic chai on Well.ca and it is my new favourite tea:

Math Fun

Today, I got 8 kids hooked on this game. One of them even wants to buy it. It didn't feel like a work day!

We didn't just play the game of course. I taught them some new words - real estate, RV, moat, etc. - and also alternative math strategies to add up their points if there's no calculator around.

The Grade 2 teacher also came up to me and said, "I don't know what you did yesterday but the kids are begging for you to come back to the class."

Being Silly

Supplied for the Grade 2s this afternoon and read a Robert Munsch book. I love doing funny voices. I miss reading picture books to kids.

Renewal

I’ve completely recovered from my cold, so I decided to make a visit to the gym with A. after work. Honestly, it felt good to be moving again. The past two weeks, I’ve been sitting at home a lot. I decided to take it easy and skipped the boot camp class. Instead, I walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes, complete three sets of back extensions and 45-second planks each, then finished with a few exercises on the Gorilla Workout app.

A light workout that left me feeling refreshed.

Sunset in Eastmain

I only managed to snag one shot, since I left the house with a near-dead battery. Lesson of the day, always check your camera a few hours before you head out.

Cooking on the Weekend

I cooked most of Saturday and watched seasons 2 of "Girls" in between. I made carrot ginger soup. It was alright. Don't think I actually like carrot soup.

I also made potato pancakes. Peppers, quinoa, broccoli, onions, Daiya cheese and some egg to hold it together. They were alright. I would probably do it without vegetables next time.

Rainbow Cupcakes and Math

Today was another PED day. There was no school but we managed to get 5 students out. We made rainbow cupcakes with food colouring and cake mix. Town has been pretty quiet as a lot of kids are out of town in La Sarre for a hockey tournament. La Sarre is about 7 hours away and is a pretty "short drive". Hockey tournaments are a regular occurrence, in one town or another. Don't plan big events during hockey tournaments or you will be disappointed.

Only one week left to go in Eastmain. Apparently, I will be going to Great Whale next; this was a last-minute change on the schedule. A bit frustrating as I was hoping to be in Chisasibi, where I have a life - parties on the weekend, badminton every Tuesday and Friday, bootcamp and my own place. In Great Whale, I have no cell service and will be billeting with the science teacher and her two dogs. It's alright I suppose, since I have friends there. It'll be nice to see the little Inuit kids at the gym again. Plus I'm sure I can wrangle my way into some badminton with the other Inuit people. The Cree are more into hockey and contact sports. As for work, I'm dreading it a little - I just find the students a lot harder to work with and their literacy and numeracy skills are extremely low. Mental math skills are near non-existence and adding single-digit numbers are a struggle. Definitely a big challenge. I'll be there for four weeks until Goose Break. 

In other news, my supervisor gave me permission to take Friday May 3rd off to attend the annual Ontario Association of Math Educators (OAME) annual conference in Toronto. It is going to cost me $235. Ouch. But I've been wanting to go for years! I would like to eventually teach math and am hoping to pick up some new and interesting ideas.

Argh!

I should have checked the price. I paid $4 for an avocado!!!

(At least they take care of them, very evenly riped and not bruised)

Pinterest.com

I finally started a Pinterest.com account when I was looking for ways to track goal-setting. Just look at all the ideas! This is also a great way to find innovative math lessons and manipulatives.

Income vs. Outcome

Sunday

Have been sick since Sunday. J. gave me a sore throat even though he wasn't sick himself. Dammit!

Tonight, we went to hang out with the Sec 1 teacher, D., who works at the gym. It was at K. and B.'s house, which has the same layout as the nice houses in Chisasibi. Of course, you notice how badly these houses are built when the siding is coming off and K. tells you the under the shingles is a piece of tarp.

TARP, AS IN THE BLUE PLASTIC SHEET YOU USE FOR CAMPING. I swear, one day, one of these houses are going to collapse and kill someone. I don't know how the training for carpentry works but it's embarrassingly bad. Even I don't know anything about plumbing and carpentry but all the houses up here are a wreck. They look nice but as you look closer, you can spot the problems easily enough.

K. made some pizza for dinner, which was nice. We also brought over guacamole and played Settlers of Catan. My coworker, A., won after 3 hours, which wasn't bad considering it's her first time. We had lots of fun chatting. The group has a lot in common as everyone has spent time in Asia - D. in Japan for 10, B. for 10 and A. for 4 years in South Korea. We've concluded that traveling is an amazing way to see the world, but once you live in a place, you start seeing the issues and the things that drive you crazy (obviously we began whining about Asian culture).

Left at 10 pm so that everyone can get ready for work tomorrow. Sky is beautifully clear and the stars are out. Snow is squeaky.

Good night.

(Sorry, I know I need to start taking some photos again.)

Saturday Supper

My first attempt at apple crumble from this recipe from Epicurious. Not that healthy, as It’s mostly butter, sugar and apples. A. and I were invited to dinner at a teacher’s house – he is making Indian food – and we offered to bring dessert. Can’t wait for our weekend feast.

Heading out the door soon!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Eastmain

Eastmain has been nice so far.

We live right behind the vice-principal, who hails from St. Catherines, Ontario. There are a lot of older female teachers here, but not stick-in-the-mud types. No, they go out a couple nights a week to go to a bootcamp, run by the Secondary I teachers! We went today, the VP let us hop in her Toyota RAV 4 and it was a fun class.

A group of good, strong women who have balanced work and social lives. I don't have enough of those in my day-to-day life.

Good News

The day I left Waskaganish, I dropped off a finished copy of my application with the principal. She told J. that she’d like to interview me in my early April.

Yay! This means I need to start prepping.

It’s already … the middle of March! Wow!

Motivated in Math

Currently in Waskaganish, covering my coworker's vacation. I'm only here for two weeks and move onto East Main this Sunday. 

I've got to say, it's great to finally be in the same community as J. again, even if the time is brief. The last time we saw each other was the first week of January. I've been staying at his place on occasion. Tonight, I made some pad thai and then came back to my work house. Right now, it's a healthy balance. His place is a bit too small for the both of us. 

After school, two girls came out to library, where we're currently running our classes. We played Equate for a little while, then my math lesson on integers with two Secondary 1* students, D. and A., went very well. I used coloured wooded cubes (positive integers) and uncoloured wooden cubes (negative integers) to demonstrate how to add integers**. I'd only used this method once to teach a very bright Grade 6 student down south, but it was exciting to see these kids clicking; they were intrinsically motivated and started seeing patterns. They were totally in flow, even up until the end of our class, and wanted to continue practicing what they'd just learned. These are the moments I work for! 

More amazingly is the fact that a third girl, T., is only in Grade 5. I'd let her in on the condition that she would do work with us, even though she's not in part of our program. T. was picking up patterns faster than the other two. When we played 'Integer War*'** with a deck of cards, she was answering faster than the others. It's just unfortunate she doesn't get the enrichment they deserve. I was lucky that I was identified in Grade 4 and went through the next 9 years in the gifted program, getting the stimulation that I needed to keep me interested and motivated. There aren't the same opportunities here and smart kids here learn very quickly to suppress their intelligence; being a smarty-pants here is absolutely no advantage. Instead, you can singled out because you are too good for everyone. I look at T. and I see that she is definitely is hungry for knowledge. When I let her out of the school, she shyly asked if she could return again. I told her that I was very proud and I would gladly welcome her as long as I was still in the community.

What a great way to end the work day. I'm still wondering whether I should ask to teach elementary next year up here. While I enjoy working with secondary kids, it is draining when they are not motivated in very much at all. Part of me would prefer to have a regular classroom and be able to get the kids here more interested in numeracy and literacy. Of course, I know wherever I will be, I'll still try my hardest. 

*Grade 9 in Quebec. This is the first year of middle school.

**A coloured cube and a wooden cube add up to zero and 'cancel' each other out.

***Assign red-coloured cards as negative integer and black-coloured cards as positive integers (i.e. eight of  clubs is considered +8). Students flip cards from the top of their decks and add the numbers together. First person to state the correct sum wins the cards.

Hello from India

I used to volunteer for Alliance for International Women's Rights. I worked with two teenagers over Skype and taught them English as a Second Language. One of the girls, A., eventually graduated from high school in Afghanistan and went to India for university. She left a nice message for me when I was on Skype:

hi hi hi hi

how are you ???

hope you remember me:)

sorry for not contacting you for a long time, i really wanted to talked to you after my classes was finished..... and i had to finish them because I got my India scholarship and had to come over her.

The day i got this great new i wanted to tell because you were the one who gave confidence and had faith on me, and told me i will pass it. I really miss my Skype calsses with you, hope I have those classes once again......:)

Take care won't take you much time i am sure you might be busy.

A.

I really love the program. It is such an interesting way to connect with a stranger on the other side of the world!

Overcoming Your Fears

I bought this decorative panel ($22) on my last day in Hawaii. That was five days ago.

I think back to six years ago, when I was backpacking in Vietnam, I turned down the chance to try surfing. And for many years of my life, I said that I didn't like the ocean, that I wasn't a water baby and I wasn't a good swimmer. I made lots of excuses not to have fun. I never thought I'd ever try surfing in my life.

This trip to Hawaii finally gave me the chance to slowly fall in love with everything. Having the chance to attempt something again and again, in a safe environment, with lots of support, until you hit your flow and begin to attain mastery*. After nine days, I had an amazing time and felt comfortable snorkelling, skin diving and surfing. And I wish I could do it some more!**

I couldn't believe how quickly I picked up surfing! It was such a thrilling feeling, just cruising out on the surfboard and having a blast. I was standing by the second try. It helped to have a good instructor, T.; he always got me focused by asking me, "Are you ready?" and waiting for my vehement affirmation before he pushed me forward to catch a wave.

It felt good to overcome my fear and lack of confidence and leave Hawaii with surfboard rash, salt on my skin and a smile on my face. 

 

*An amazing audiobook that I've been listening to. A must-read, whether you work in a school or an office.

**I've avoiding learning how to SCUBA. I can't believe that I passed up so many opportunities considering how many world-class dive sites I've visited throughout southeast Asia.

Journey of Nishiyuu

I didn't realize until yesterday that half a dozen of the students I worked with last year in Whapmagoostui were on this trek!

Cree youth walk for Idle No More gains more participants
Youngest participant is 11-year-old girl, Abby Masty
 CBC News Posted: Feb 4, 2013 12:21 PM CST Last Updated: Feb 4, 2013 1:05 PM CST