Vera C. Teschow

I agreed this morning to coach and video tape Trevor as he rehearsed his “dialogues” for phase two of the VP process.  It was an interesting experience, providing objective feedback to someone I know so well, and the process was not without its hiccups.

One issue involved coaching the candidate on where to direct his eyes as he recited his dialogues and responded to various follow up questions.  The challenge was that although he knew there were to be multiple people on his interview team, he was currently speaking only to me.

We quickly solved this problem by enlisting the help of Claws and Totoro, who reside on my 7-year-old’s bed, but who were happy to be of assistance when I explained to them the importance of the task.

The three of us took turns making thoughtful, serious and silly faces while he talked, and in no time, Trevor was speaking to all of us as he continued to practise his dialogues in a nice, calm yet confident voice with friendly manner!

I knew it had to be done eventually, this classroom reorganization… despite the long weeks I had spent in the summer setting up my classroom in my new school, things were just not working!

Specifically, since returning to classroom life after spending a year teaching pre-service teacher ed in a well-equipped (technologically speaking) small university setting, I wanted to bring my new-found tech “experience” into the classroom.  (I say “experience”, because I am still largely a luddite by comparison to some of my more tech-savvy colleagues in the Board, however, I was now regularly using a document camera, and increasingly experimenting with ppt in the classroom.)

But –although my Grade 3 classroom set-up  in an older school was safe and inviting in the aesthetic sense-- it simply did not allow for easy access to technology, both in terms of computer use as a teaching and learning tool, and in terms of classroom flow.

For example, if students wanted to see the screen from their desks, many of them had to turn their chairs 180 degrees, which then did not allow them to write as they watched or responded to something overhead.  And if I wanted to wheel the Smartboard into the classroom, program had to be shut down for a half hour so we could move all kinds of stuff out of the way to clear a path for the beast from the lab!

(Click on the first image below to see larger versions of the BEFORE photos...)

Enter Jim Cash, our enthusiastic and creative Instructional Technology Resource Teacher:  Despite the fact that he is responsible for 23 thousand schools (okay, that might be a teeny exaggeration, but he does have a lot of schools on his roster, certainly more than the 7 I could barely manage as a Program RT some years ago!), Jim happily came in after school one day to have a look and offer some suggestions on how things might be rearranged to accommodate technology more effectively.

I was extremely concerned with maintaining my cosy reading corner and easy student access to bins of math manipulatives.  Also, because I run a very differentiated program, I need lots of little spaces for small groups to work independently or under the guidance of a teacher, student teacher, ERF or parent volunteer.

I was honestly quite worried about the prospect of rearranging everything mid-year, and disrupting the learning environment I had so purposely created.  My head hurt when I thought of apparently menial but nevertheless necessary details like moving all our co-created “Daily Five” chart papers from one blackboard to another… and all that stuff AFTER hard physical labour at the end of an already long day of teaching??? 

I couldn’t do it. 

Could I?

Happily, Jim is not one to advise and depart.  He immediately ensured that I booked a follow up date to actually implement the brilliant plan we had discussed, and communicate same to the custodial staff to get help with big items. 

So – as I am currently lucky enough to have an incredibly competent and committed student teacher from Tyndale in my classroom – I booked Jim to return on a date when she was here.

And…  WE DID IT!

My desk was moved from one corner of the room to the opposite corner, and the carpet was dragged, along with several large pieces of furniture, to the original location of my teacher desk. The computer and accompanying tech stuff was moved onto one large table, leaving the other free.  Other adults in the room, who hitherto had to stuff their personal items and teaching materials into various crevices in different parts of the classroom, now have a dedicated table/desk in the room.

Perhaps my favourite part of the new set-up is an larger second reading "corner", defined on two sides by walls with book cases along them, and on a third side by an old, comfy couch backed against the math manip bins storage unit (the latter faces the large teaching carpet for easy access by students and teachers).  The small mass of children who immediately adopted that space as their own, and began (and continue) to read, write, solve math problems, work through Science challenges and Art projects there was captured repeatedly on my iPhone camera the first week after the change, but unfortunately, there are too many identifiable close ups for me to risk posting that beautiful visual testament on my blog.  (We’re not really supposed to post pics of kids online, for obvious reasons.)

I’ve used the doc camera almost daily since the shift, and students use the computer more frequently, too.  A path exists from the door to the carpet/teaching space, and the mulltiple cozy teaching spaces for small groups and conferencing with individual students have been preserved and – I would argue – enhanced in some cases.

To those teachers considering a mid-year classroom revision, I say GO FOR IT!  Don’t be afraid.  Tell the students in advance that a change is coming, and involve them directly in the design and change management processes, where feasible.  Then, enlist the help of willing colleagues and friends (including someone to bring you dinner if possible – I was there until 9:30 p.m. the night of the move!), communicate your plan to the appropriate custodial staff and other people who many need to know, and proceed with confidence!

A mid-year room revamp is a MAJOR undertaking, but well worth it if it results in an improved teaching and learning space.

Keeping my promise to ride through the winter this year (my first year of biking to work twice a week) hasn’t been hard.  Of course, the impressiveness of this all-season feat is considerably diminished by the fact that we’ve had very little snow in Toronto this winter.  Beating the cold is not a challenge; surviving snow covered roads, on the other hand, can be.

But tonight I finally I finally got to try out the treachery of winter riding.

Luckily, I had my cycling expert girlfriend with me; she had ridden through ice and snow to bring me dinner at school, where I was staying late to rearrange my classroom – long story, separate blog post once time permits – and accompany me home.

After a briefing ("go slow, don’t lean into turns, get off saddle and put one foot near ground in case of instability, ride straight, no braking…."), we set out.  Rather than my usual fast fare, I opted for Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni in my headphones to guide my slower pace and carry me through the slushy ride home.

It was definitely slower, but not as treacherous as I had anticipated. 

I heeded my girlfriend’s wise advice, and made all the right accommodations, resulting in only one near slip, and no falls at all!  Yay!

Soon, we were turning into a familiar driveway and stopping for a quick photo in the parking lot out back of our building.

My first ride in the snow.

The guest pastor at church this morning spoke about needs vs. call.  The needs, he noted, are great, and many very legitimate and even urgent. But that doesn't mean we are being called.  "You can't be passionate about the whole world", he suggested coyly, encouraging us instead to be selective and focussed in our giving and in our prayer.

It kind of reminded of me Nancy, a principal I heard speak at a leadership development event when I was a new teacher... she likened many of us then young, eager teacher leaders to shirts on a laundry line, flapping in the breeze, unfocussed and all over the place, wherever the wind blew us.  She encouraged us to search out and follow our passion, find our niche, and really focus our energy on becoming strong, skilled leaders in one area, to make a powerful impact in that area.

Focus has never been my forte.  It all seems so interesting, so important... saliency is something that eludes me, apparently.  In choosing one path, I grieve the many I did not select.  (The good thing about teaching is that the paths are many and a great number of them intersecting, so there is plenty of opportunity to stumble upon the important stuff repeatedly in case one misses it the first time!)

But back to the good pastor's message this morning... it reaches beyond the realm of my chosen career in public education of course, where there is much need.  Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the quantity and intensity of the need in my classroom and in my community and beyond... but as my dear partner and I often remind each other, "one step at a time".  Now I am also reminded that as we take those single small but oh-so-important steps, we need to heed the call.  The needs may abundant, but each of us is not called to solve all of them; listening carefully and acting with discernment can help us to use our individual and collective talents to impact positive change in the most effective manner possible.

My goal this week is to listen (BIG goal, for those of you who know me!!!!  If you are one who prays, please do so in abundance for me this week, I urge you!), so that I can discern the needs I am called to help with and learn about during my short sojourn on this planet.

I was directed by my student teacher to a blog about a family who is cycling with their children for the year.   Pedal Powered Family hopes to travel 20 000 km across Canada and the US this year, starting and ending in Hamilton, Ontario!

A recent entry talks about the questions of strangers the family meets on the road, strangers who are particularly interested in how the two kids (both under 5 years of age) are adapting to life on the road.

"We want their comfort zone to be wide, and include the world and every culture and person in it",

                                                     writes one parent in the Jan 23 blog entry.