The Winner Takes It All

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but...

Remember during the election when Dalton McGuinty praised the Ontario School System, saying something along the lines of:

"I love Ontario Schools because they're ours; They're a place where Ontarians can be educated, free of religious beliefs; free of persecution, yadda,yadda,yadda", and it won him the election?

Well...

The Ministry of Education was recently given the Falconer Report (named for Julian Falconer) on the safety of Ontario's Schools. Our Schools of Ontario were described as breeding a "Culture of Fear, Frustration, and Violence".

Way to go Ontario!

If it's true that Schools are microcosms of the larger society -- therefore, the problems in the schools reflect the problems that face society -- what does that really mean for Ontario?

Should we hire a social worker for every classroom? Or, put more police at the entrances?

Is the same true of our Christian Schools? Or are we actually managing to be the Salt/light of Ontario?

It's January....

I don't really think I like the month of January....It's gloomy, cold, and it means going back to work after a couple of much too busy weeks off. Despite all of this, we're finally getting back into the routine of things here (not that we want to be!). School's back in full swing for both of us, with Dave trying to stay caught up on readings and me trying to control my hooligans so that I don't go as crazy as before Christmas break! We're also both looking for jobs for next year, so if anyone hears of any openings, be sure to let us know.
One good thing that's happened is that we went to Mamma Mia yesterday at Hamilton Place. For those of you who missed it, Dave bought me tickets for Christmas and was rubbing in my face for like three months before Christmas! Anyways, yesterday was the big day, and it was really cool! We were a little disappointed by the simplicity of the set, but the story line and music were great! We both enjoyed it, although Dave always leaves those places feeling really stiff....he's too tall for seats with very little leg room. But it was fun to go out on a "date" and just to do something different!

Lovin' the Library...

Every month, Steph takes out approximately 100 children's books from the public library. She divides the books up into 5 baskets, and each student in her class is assigned to a basket. The kids get the opportunity to read different books every month.
What's the biggest fine you've ever heard of at a public library?
I'll tell you!
$150~! For those of you who don't read numerical digits -- ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS!!!!
Steph almost fell off the couch when she heard that number.

Today, I'm thankful for the Librarians. Those stewards of the books and knowledge. The shelvers of books. The Maidens who waved our fine.

Teaching Resources

Just thought I'd share a few online Teaching resources:

http://www.schoolhousetech.com/Products/Default.aspx has a couple of programs for math, and literacy. I saw what the Math program offered and can say that it is a GREAT resource. You can download trial versions and print off as many pages as you want. (they recommend that you do!).

www.math.com is also a phenomenal site if you've forgotten how to do math. Once you've learned your way around the site, you'll be able to look up "how to's" for almost anything math related!

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx has a program for making Graphs (math class!). It seems to be fairly kid-friendly.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html is an Excellent source of online Math Manipulatives (so you don't have to buy them all!). Potential saver of money.

I'll add more online resources as I think of them! If you know of any, let us know!

F.Y.I.: Parents

Alright all you parents: I'm sure that you've sent your kids to school telling them NOT to talk about something specific that may go on at your house. You're trying to instill in them a sense of personal/family privacy.

Well as a Grade 3 teacher, I'm here to inform you that they don't get it! They really do go to school and talk about things that they probably shouldn't! Let me tell you, being the teacher at times such as those isn't the greatest either! I know things about some households that I KNOW I shouldn't know!

I started a unit today on Drugs and Medicines. We started by discussing prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Well, my class likes to share, they like to make real-life connections to concepts and share them with all of us. Most of the time I encourage that...today however.....not so much! I got a lot of "My dad takes medicine for this....," "My mom has this problem and takes medicine at breakfast and dinner for this," "My Grandma takes like 10 pills a day" (which I'm sure is an exaggeration!). Anyways, the unnecessary comments just kept coming! No matter how many times I said, "I don't want to know what medications your parents are taking and for what" that sense of personal privacy was not getting through to them.

So now that I have a much more in-depth knowledge of the parents in my class, I'm begging you: Please don't tell your children things you don't want them to repeat, because you can bet they'll repeat it!

C'est la Vie

I'm reading "Why I Hate Canadians" by Will Ferguson right now. So far its alright. A little slow at the start. But it really gets funny in a chapter about the Cold War - referencing the Hockey Wars (Summit Series, and the Canada Cup).
I'm a little disappointed that all my supposedly original thoughts about Canada have already been taken by someone else... And made into a book.
I hate Canadians for doing that.

The Dog Won't Make Eye Contact

We were visiting Steph's parents last night. So, this morning I woke up early. Really early. So I got out of bed, went upstairs, sat on the couch, and started reading my book. The dog, in need of human companionship, chose to lie down in front of the couch I was sitting on.

I usually like dogs. Their company is comforting, and they are usually quite content to simply lie at your feet.
The dog farted.
Yep.
No apology either.

In fact, as the rank odour filled the living room, she made no movement. (Kind of like the guy who thinks 'maybe my silent fart won't be noticed by anyone' and then blames someone else when it actually does stink...). Yeah. Well, I noticed.

"Awww, Ros............," I said.

She didn't look up. She didn't want to look me in the eyes. She knew what she did.

She just lay there. Pretending it wasn't her.

But we both knew who did it. And it wasn't me.

It was awful. So, I had to leave the room.