Hi Michael,
I just read this article you wrote about Richmond school district being forced to cut school supply budgets due to downloaded costs from government, and I want to say a HUGE thank you for responsibly reporting the facts; in particular the following quote:
It’s no secret all school districts in the province are very unhappy with the level
of (senior) government support, specifically the government funding.
- Richmond Trustee Norm Goldstein
We've seen some journalists demonstrate less than ethical reporting and it is absolutely wonderful to see true professionals such as yourself rise to the occasion and get to the bottom of the real issues from an objective perspective. For example, I think if a radio station is going to play a rant from an anti-bctf, anti-teacher perspective they should also invite the teachers, the parents, the union, etc. to participate and have a chance for rebuttal before allowing listeners to call in. Then at least the public hears both sides. One cannot truly decide if not truly informed. But, disappointingly, this isn't what I hear when I switch on the radio to certain stations. In school we teach our students to explore both sides of an issue before choosing sides. If only the public held mainstream media to a higher standard it might start doing the same. Alas, it is a vicious circle that is tough to break.
If you're curious at all who I am, I have a website I use when I have my own classes to keep them 'au courant' and give them extra opportunities for practice if they want to stretch their learning beyond the time we have together in class. Googling me only gives you my 'activist' side, which is green and inexperienced. Where I have formal training and expertise is in my profession. I only update the curricular content on the website when I have my own classes, and I'm currently TOC'ing so I don't use the site much other than to share info about programs like Explore! Quebec which is a free federal program for 16+ students to learn French for 5 weeks in the summer, or websites like UTexas French that are the absolute best homework helpers for my subject area, no matter what level grade 8-12. These are the opportunities and resources I encourage my students to take advantage of, and I love being able to reach hundreds of new students every week as a TTOC. I love my career, and today I couldn't stop grinning because the students I was working with were taking risks, making mistakes, trying again then BAM! they were mastering skills left right and centre. They're my colleague's students, and she's someone I respect tremendously for her dedication to organizing professional development workshops and conferences to mentor other teachers & share effective practices. Today's students made huge strides in terms of ability for the amount of time I spent with them, and I'm so excited for the kids to show their regular teacher tomorrow what they learned to do with me today with a new kind of French speaking 'game' I made up with vocabulary drawn from the teachers' lesson plan focus, my brain, markers, and paper 10 minutes before class to test out. I used it as our warm-up, and it was awesome.
I teach French, but in reality I teach, period. Reading strategies, trust, organization, self-regulation, linguistics, mneumonics, colloquialism, connotation, communication... I nourish enthusiasm, restore confidence... I'm listing these things just thinking about today, about what went on in the portable between the students and each other and me, for the grade 8's, 9's, 12's I taught. When our students say "Thank You" you can see written all over their face and hear engrained in their voice that their thanks are spontaneous and sincere. I got a LOT of thank you's today. I'm not saying it to be conceited, I'm saying it because it's life-affirming. Those "Thank You's" are gifts from my students that say "what you do, Mme, it's working... it's helping me learn and grow and try harder and achieve further... Thank you." Despite it being difficult at times - especially in the context of bullshit from the government that should know better than to cut education spending (I'll save you the rant about long-term economic ramifications of not investing in education) - I know Teaching is my calling, and I'm glad for myself and for my students that I chose this path.
Hope to see you and your colleagues out in action at tomorrow's event :)
Friday, May 23rd, 4:00, Education Rally in Coquitlam (Leigh Square)
Thanks again,
Nicole Jarvis
I just read this article you wrote about Richmond school district being forced to cut school supply budgets due to downloaded costs from government, and I want to say a HUGE thank you for responsibly reporting the facts; in particular the following quote:
It’s no secret all school districts in the province are very unhappy with the level
of (senior) government support, specifically the government funding.
- Richmond Trustee Norm Goldstein
We've seen some journalists demonstrate less than ethical reporting and it is absolutely wonderful to see true professionals such as yourself rise to the occasion and get to the bottom of the real issues from an objective perspective. For example, I think if a radio station is going to play a rant from an anti-bctf, anti-teacher perspective they should also invite the teachers, the parents, the union, etc. to participate and have a chance for rebuttal before allowing listeners to call in. Then at least the public hears both sides. One cannot truly decide if not truly informed. But, disappointingly, this isn't what I hear when I switch on the radio to certain stations. In school we teach our students to explore both sides of an issue before choosing sides. If only the public held mainstream media to a higher standard it might start doing the same. Alas, it is a vicious circle that is tough to break.
If you're curious at all who I am, I have a website I use when I have my own classes to keep them 'au courant' and give them extra opportunities for practice if they want to stretch their learning beyond the time we have together in class. Googling me only gives you my 'activist' side, which is green and inexperienced. Where I have formal training and expertise is in my profession. I only update the curricular content on the website when I have my own classes, and I'm currently TOC'ing so I don't use the site much other than to share info about programs like Explore! Quebec which is a free federal program for 16+ students to learn French for 5 weeks in the summer, or websites like UTexas French that are the absolute best homework helpers for my subject area, no matter what level grade 8-12. These are the opportunities and resources I encourage my students to take advantage of, and I love being able to reach hundreds of new students every week as a TTOC. I love my career, and today I couldn't stop grinning because the students I was working with were taking risks, making mistakes, trying again then BAM! they were mastering skills left right and centre. They're my colleague's students, and she's someone I respect tremendously for her dedication to organizing professional development workshops and conferences to mentor other teachers & share effective practices. Today's students made huge strides in terms of ability for the amount of time I spent with them, and I'm so excited for the kids to show their regular teacher tomorrow what they learned to do with me today with a new kind of French speaking 'game' I made up with vocabulary drawn from the teachers' lesson plan focus, my brain, markers, and paper 10 minutes before class to test out. I used it as our warm-up, and it was awesome.
I teach French, but in reality I teach, period. Reading strategies, trust, organization, self-regulation, linguistics, mneumonics, colloquialism, connotation, communication... I nourish enthusiasm, restore confidence... I'm listing these things just thinking about today, about what went on in the portable between the students and each other and me, for the grade 8's, 9's, 12's I taught. When our students say "Thank You" you can see written all over their face and hear engrained in their voice that their thanks are spontaneous and sincere. I got a LOT of thank you's today. I'm not saying it to be conceited, I'm saying it because it's life-affirming. Those "Thank You's" are gifts from my students that say "what you do, Mme, it's working... it's helping me learn and grow and try harder and achieve further... Thank you." Despite it being difficult at times - especially in the context of bullshit from the government that should know better than to cut education spending (I'll save you the rant about long-term economic ramifications of not investing in education) - I know Teaching is my calling, and I'm glad for myself and for my students that I chose this path.
Hope to see you and your colleagues out in action at tomorrow's event :)
Friday, May 23rd, 4:00, Education Rally in Coquitlam (Leigh Square)
Thanks again,
Nicole Jarvis