Making connections...

Good Morning! I chanced upon the new hardcover novel called Prisoner in the promised Land The Ukrainian Internment Diary of Anya Soloniuk at the last school book fair - and of course! I could not resist buying a copy for my shelf. I am not that far into the story yet. However, it is the connections that I am making to my own heritage that I find amazing.

This story is set in 1914, which is about 6 years later than when my own paternal grandmother came to Canada from the Ukraine with her family. No one knows exactly what year it was, but they did settle initially on the prairies in a sod home. My grandmother would be the first white woman into a fairly remote area of Northern Ontario about 1918, when she was about eighteen years old. She married a man who worked on the railway, and she would birth seven children. My father was the fifth child born in 1927.

My grandmother would earn a reputation with other immigrants and the native people alike; she never turned anyone away from her door who need food or help. She was also the local midwife. Until her death in 1982, local native people would bring her fish weekly, as a tribute to her contribution.

This novel addresses some of the issues around the Ukrianian culture, and settling into the new land of Canada. Ukrainian immigrants were often called The Men in the Sheepskin Coats because they brought these with them from their homeland. They were hard working farmers in their homeland, and they brought this work ethic and knowledge to Canada. The novel also refers to Canadian people calling the Ukrainian immigrants "dirty" and "bohunks." I can remember the first time my father shared this part of history with me many years ago.

We teach children to make connections as they read. I am making connections too, to events from nearly 100 years ago.

I miss my BLOG

...as the days of the week go flying by. I love to reflect anyway, and find myself Blogging in my head at times. I have been trying the term out with other teachers and (normal?!!) people, but so far, I am getting very little reaction. Blogging is certainly an unknown entity yet at my school. I wonder when I will begin to hear references to it as a tool to encourage student reflection, analysis and personal expression.
Cyberbullying is a huge focus for middle school students. How does one align Blogging and personal expression with Cyberbullying? It is an entirely new concept to many youth that one cannot simply express "whatever" because it is in cyber space! Express away, but it cannot specifically target another individual - be it teacher, Admin or another student.

So Dear Blog, this was a tough week. PD, and Super meeting, and Staff meeting, and School Success training whole-day, and finally a visit to a local high school.

Bullying in Middle School

This continues to be such an issue in middle school. It actually continues to be an issue at many levels - and with adults at work as well. Educators must continue to take it seriously. Even as we continue to confront it (c'mon now! you know is happens ...) within the adult population.

Australia frequently seems to take the lead on some tough issues. From Serial bully - a nasty piece of work (Pollard, R. September 8th, 2004 - smh.com.au)

Accidental bullies do it when they're under stress. Destructive bullies do it when they're challenged. Serial bullies - the most dangerous of all - do it because they can. They carefully select one or more colleagues and set about deliberately undermining them.

"This person sets out deliberately ... to undermine and disable certain people whilst they support others, gradually growing more powerful. One set of people see (them) as a manipulator and a snake, others will see (them) as a genius."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/07/1094530612810.html

Power in the Point!

Yes. Years after the rest of the world has excelled at the Power in the PowerPoint: I have arrived. I actually learned "how to" this summer when taking the YORK Junior AQ course on-line. PowerPoint was one of the options to explore the Teacher Inquiry research and I found it very effective - 72 slides later! In the past three days, I have done one PowerPoint from scratch and finetuned one other. Something about the Visual support of the oral message has such power.

Taking that power one step further with middle school students, one realizes yet again, that they are very used to VISUALS for information aquistition.

There is something fun and challenging in using concise language and internet images to bring Power to the message.