ACEs: How Do You React to Them in Your Learning Environment?

Those extenuating circumstances that impact a learner's potential in the world.

Sign Language Week!

This week is NZSL Week!

We have a special guest in class on Tuesday morning, first thing.
Our sign language guru!

I have sprung it on the class rather suddenly, even though I have organised this a long time ago.
I did tell them on Friday, but they sometimes need a few tellings!

I put up a display over the weekend and prompted them to learn to finger spell their names.
One of them found my NZSL book which is old now (! from when I did the course at university!) and has blackened white photos (LOTS) which show a large number and variety of signs.

I have told them she is likely profoundly deaf.
D and Q think they know who it will be - someone they saw at Birchwood. They mentioned high heels and seemed less than positive - but mostly that is just their protective reaction to anything new.

I am looking forward to being a confident role model in this new and unknown (to them) situation!

The Treaty

Underlying our work this term on developing our learning environment and expectations is the concept of a classroom treaty.
I have attempted to educate about our NZ Treaty in subtle ways as well as direct teaching.

We have the treaty up on the wall (a facsimile) and our classroom treaty relates to this and will be compared to it.

On the list of activities are a few readings and a station activity.

EDIT: We had an excellent impromptu discussion about Wairau that led into discussion about The Treaty and language interpretation and unfairness.

Getting some SOLE into my Teaching

SOLE toolkit

Welcome to the Self-Organized Learning Environment (SOLE) Toolkit, an online resource designed to help educators and parents support kids (8-12 years old) as they tap into their innate sense of wonder and engage in child-driven learning.

I have already included this in my Welcome to Nile Room pre-Term1 newsletter. I am super excited.
Sugata is one of my educational heroes and I am absolutely itching to put his research into practise in my learning environment.

Looking forward to inspiring and developing our student's self monitoring, motivation and curiosity - as well as giving them the tools to feel empowered with their learning and giving them input into the direction it takes.

Education's Death Valley....

I especially like the point about the contradiction involving diversity...
Conformity vs diversity - our system is still geared towards - intact this still deeply ingrained ideal - conforming - as much as we hold high an ideal of celebrating diversity. How many more generations of public school children in New Zealand will be eaten by the conformity machine before we actually actively take our own steps towards ensuring we are nurturing, rewarding and realising individual diversity. I wan tot be a teacher that helps students seek out success through happiness - not through conforming and surviving in a dull job they felt forced into through a lack of options and the insipidness of conforming to the norm.