Who / What is an Occasional Teacher?

In an effort to improve my ability to meet the needs of today's students, I am taking a course designed to help people become more effective occasional teachers.  Occasional Teachers (OTs) are fully accredited teachers that are eligible to work for a particular Board but do not have a full-time class of their own.  There are challenges unique to the position that I want to explore.   As one person put it, Every day is like the first day of class.  Being in front of a new class each day can be trying.

The class is broken down into units that build on one another.  The first step to betterment is understanding what it is you want to improve.

The Role of the Occasional Teacher.

Everyone comes into the teaching profession by being a student first.  It is likely that during your years of schooling you had a supply teacher.  So what do you remember that being like?  Do you remember the supply being some kind of monster?  Perhaps you saw them as someone you could take advantage off while your regular teacher was away? Hopefully you saw them as simply another teacher and afforded them the same respect and courtesy you gave your regular teacher.  Sweet dreams, I know!

I don't want to be seen as the creature, I want to be seen as the teacher.

I Am the Teacher

There are several organizations involved in the teaching profession at various levels.  The Elementary Teacher's Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is one organization that has put together some resources to help OTs succeed in the classroom.  While reading this I realized a couple of things: first, being prepared is key.  The suggestion we discussed in class was to have some materials always ready to go.  Perhaps you have a kit in your car with some of your favourite teaching aids, include some lesson plans (tailored to the grade level you are going to be teaching if there is time), or a flash drive with lesson plans on it, and don't take for granted that even the most basic supplies will be readily available to you.  Bring them.

Secondly, make sure you let the teacher you are replacing know how things went while they were gone.  Leave them a note regarding the day and the successes you had.  Make sure you point out any changes you may have made from the plan and why.  If the teacher is comfortable leaving his/her class in your hands, you have a better chance of a return engagement down the road.

Understanding Your Role within the Collective Agreement

Many of the people coming into this profession have little to no experience in unions.  Myself included.  So becoming familiar with the collective agreement (CA) the union has negotiated on your behalf is both crucial and enlightening.  It is important that you understand what is expected of you.  But reading the language in these agreements can be like wading waist deep through mud.  As I was reading through the agreement I wasn't sure if OTs were actually covered by what I was reading.  It turns out that I had the wrong agreement and was pointed toward the CA that would cover me.

It was then pointed out that if an OT does have questions regarding the CA, the ETFO is available to help you interpret things.  That makes me feel a little more at ease.

Rights and Responsibilities

Just as there are several unions representing the interests of the various teacher's groups across the province, there are also several school boards that operate under a provincial mandate but all function fairly independently after that.  So just as it is necessary to understand how the CA impacts you, it is also important to understand how your Board expects you, their students, and the rest of their family to conduct themselves.

Someone once said that "All the worlds a stage...".  The code of conduct outlines the parts that the various stakeholders have to play.  Principals are responsible for developing their own vision of the acceptable behaviours in their own school and making sure that is communicating to everyone involved (teachers, students, parents, et al).  Teachers are responsible for modeling expected behaviour as well as explaining expectations to the students and their families.  Students are expected to come to school each day prepared, have respect for themselves as well as for others, and to take responsibility for their actions.  Parents / guardians are asked to help their children prepare for each day and to keep an open line of communication with the school.

I'll admit, I have come into this class with blinders on.  I was focused on me and doing what I can to get better at teaching.  So far, we haven't looked at teaching methodologies but we have talked a ton about the different facets of the teaching profession that I need to be aware of at all times.  That is my responsibility.

Character Development

We know about the three R's but is that all their is to school?  No and I was surprised to learn that a lot of the curriculum has some expectations around the idea of developing adults that are ready to be contributing members of society, not just life-long learners.  And there are some fantastic things going on out there.

We all agreed that the programs begun by students seemed to have more merit.  I looked at some of the programs Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute has offered its students.

For the past three years Laurier has sent students and teachers from all grades up to a camp in Algonquin Park .  This past year over 100 people attended the weekend long character education camp.  The students were divided into groups representing a character trait and then spent the weekend getting to know all about the trait, and each other.  Groups were then expected to return to the school and educate the rest of the population about what they learned.

There are other programs happening at Laurier that are going to impact the students that are involved in them in a positive way.  The key to each program that is being run is that the students have ownership over what is being done, at least partially.  What a fun place to teach at.  I can envision a much more collegial atmosphere to the school where students feel involved in their education as opposed to spectators.  Character education has been a focus of the province since 2008 and through programs like Laurier is running in Algonquin Park or simply through modeling, the teachers are getting it.

Teaching Defensively

We have also talked about some of the trials and tribulations facing those in the teaching profession.  Some of those challenges are more acute for OTs.  We discussed a situation in which an OT was accused of abusing a student.  Even though all charges were dropped and the student admitted to fabricating the story the damage was done.  The problem was that the OT put himself in a situation where he was alone with the student and it was his word against hers.  Teaching defensively is the concept that teachers, all of us, must consider at all times.  Keep in mind a few simple rules and you should be able to mitigate the risk: try to keep witnesses around, be wary of any amount of physical contact with students as your intentions may not be the same as their perceptions, and document everything.

We started discussing some potential scenarios that could present potentially tricking situations.  It is a slippery slope.  You can have a teacher helping a student learn a particular movement in a gym class and be faced with inappropriate / unwanted touching.  The same could be said for the teacher that hugs a student that is visibly upset over something.  Our desire to help and protect children could be turned against us if we aren't wary.  Fortunately, discussing these things brings them to light.  Sadly, we need to discuss these things as they do happen.

Work / Life Balance

We read a couple of articles that pointed out how important it is for teachers not to throw themselves into their work at the exclusion of everything else.  It isn't healthy and can't be sustained.  So we need to achieve a balance somehow.  For the OT, this may actually be a tougher challenge.  We may not know where we are going or what we will be doing on a day to day basis which can add extra stress into your life.  We all created our own top 10 lists of ways in which we thing we can help ourselves maintain that balance.  Here was mine (let's call it my first draft):

1. Squash on Monday with friends
2. Get the kids to help with meal prep and planning
3. Read - and not just in the bathroom
4. Book stores - make time at least every other month to browse the shelves for leisure titles, professional development books, and what might be the new thing for the age ranges I am teaching
5. Ask for help - I have some excellent resources and I should rely on them to do those things that they are good at and I'm not
6. Talk to other educators - I have friends that teach at different levels.  We play poker together.  What better forum to discuss current classroom situations or ideas that you can adopt for later on.
7. Sleep in Saturdays - turn off the alarm, wake up slowly, read before getting out of bed, make coffee.
8. Garden - we grow a small selection of vegetables.  Get out there and weed.  Very relaxing.
9. Don't over do it - Realize when you are spending too long trying to make things perfect.  Make them work and move on.
10. Remember why you are doing this in the first place - keep a record of all the good things and refer back to this often (a folder of warm fuzzies).

Then I read the lists compiled by my classmates and wanted to adjust mine considerably.  I have a tendency to be self-centered.  I should be thinking about trying to maintain that balance in my life by getting my students to help out more as well.

So far we have discussed the idea of who the OT is.  It is me.  Head swimming with all the things I need to keep track of but excited to start that process.

I'll be posting more in the days to come.  Feel free to follow along and, as always, respond.

Voting, Monday, February 27th

It has been a very busy past month but a very rewarding one as well.

I have had several fliers dropped off over the coarse of this weekend and I'm hoping many of you that received them will come here to find out exactly why you should be electing Sean Graney to the trustee position for Ward 17.  Here is my platform explained:

Safe, Nurturing Schools
Bullying
Almost half of the people I talked to or that completed my survey mentioned tackling bullying as the most significant priority.  Here is how we do it:

1. Tackle ignorance head on in the classroom 
2. Help teachers develop methods for highlighting similarities in a safe, nurturing manner
3. Use peer mediators when bullying is identified
4. Escalate to parental involvement if peer mediators are not successful

Bill 13

Many people are also concerned that Bill 13 is going to force teachers and students alike to deal with subject matter that some feel is not appropriate for the classroom.  As a trustee it is my job to make sure that we deliver the material as effectively as possible.  However, through better teacher education programs we can help them feel more comfortable with the material themselves and enable them to deliver it in an open, honest and non-judgmental way.

Full Day Kindergarten

The Drummond Report has made several suggestions that make some sense.  I would recommend slowing the program down somewhat.  Survey all the parents in the primary grades at the schools that do not yet have FDK.  Those schools were the interest level for before and after care is required should be the schools that get the program first. There are lots of advantages to having care offered from 7:30am to 6:00pm at the school.  Where the ECE staff are concerned you can use the staff to cover breaks and lunches.  I've been the President of a daycare for 7 years.  I know what I'm talking about.

I would also look at class sizes.  The teachers that I have spoken to suggest that 2 or 3 more students in a classroom isn't going to ruin the program.  

Exploring Alternate Ideas to Closing Schools

There are a few ideas we can explore that would enable us to keep our schools and, in fact, take care of that maintenance back log people keep talking about. 

Daycare

There is a huge shortage of daycare spaces across the City.  If we designated some space in an under-enrolled school for daycare (an infant room, a toddler room and a preschooler room) we could accommodate at least 36 more children, we can offer these children a seamless integration from daycare to school, and the after-school program, if needed by the community, would be staffed by people the children are already familiar with.  

Grades 7 and 8

We can extend the elementary schools to grade 7 or 8.  This has already been done at some schools and the feedback I am getting from teachers, students and parents alike is fantastic.  Long term, my vision is that all the middle schools are used for specialty programs and the grades 7 and 8 are moved into the elementary schools or high schools if space permits.  

Specialty programs

The TDSB is introducing their Academy programs this September in 9 schools across the GTA.  If they are well received, why not find out if the parents of a local community would be interested in having one of these programs here.

Making Schools More of a Focus in the Community

People talk about some of the elementary schools being dark and dreary after 4pm in the winter.  It feels abandoned and feels unsafe.  Let's use the schools then.

Building new facilities with an eye to Community Needs

Every new school that is created should have space designated for those activities the community demands.  This can range from a larger art room for art classes to be run for adults and kids alike, a cricket pitch, a regulation soccer field, or a gymnasium complete with a stage that local theatre groups can use for rehearsal.  The more attractive we make the amenities, the more demand there will be for the space (I use the same principles in real estate when trying to sell a home).

Reviewing the Permit Fee Structure

Every person or group that uses a TDSB facility has to apply for a permit.  The permits are not expensive and are particularly cheap if you are serving children or seniors in a not-for-profit capacity.  However, to rent a classroom for a boy scouts troop on a Wednesday night costs the troop $1.07 per hour.  You have the room for two hours, TDSB collects $2.14.  TDSB then pays a caretaker to clean up after you.  And sometimes this is overtime.  We are doing the organization a disservice at this rate. 

I've had a look at all of the rates we charge and there is certainly room for increases.  The increased revenue can help pay for improvements to these facilities which will enable us to rent them out to additional community groups.  We collect more money, we use it to improve our buildings, which allows us to collect more money.  

Marketing

Currently there is no incentive for a school to develop relationships with the community organizations out there and encourage them to use the school for whatever needs they may have.  I'd like to change that.  I think the schools should be receiving a portion of the permit fees as an incentive to market themselves further.  The more a school is used, the more the school receives.  The plan would be to increase permit applications, increase the revenue collected by the TDSB, and then put a portion of this increase back to the school for them to use as they see fit.  

Communication

At the beginning of the election I tried to contact every parent council in every school.  I sent out 35 emails and had 10 responses.  The school don't check their email because it is an onerous process.  It shouldn't be.  I'd like to make communication between parents, and community members and the school much simpler and more efficient.  And it is easy to do.

I'd like each school to use their website (some don't) and allow each classroom to have their own page.  This way, each teacher can publish assignment instructions online.  They can publish marking schemes online.  They can publish a calendar of events online.  We can reduce the number of pages that need to be printed and recycled at the home.  Parents can find out information whenever they want.  Teaching teachers how to do this is easy and won't cost anything.  The TDSB already has the webspace for the schools.  They just aren't using it properly.

These are some of my ideas.  I have lots more.  We can talk about the areas to the budget that I think offer us the ability to save some money.  We can talk about the impact Toronto Community Housing Corporations properties have and will have on local schools.  And the impact on those families.

I will talk to each and every person that asks me to regarding whatever you would like.  I am always available and always interested in talking our children, our schools and our community.  

On February 27th, please, vote for Sean Graney.

All Candidate's Meeting Thursday, February 24th

There will be an All Candidate's Meeting this evening,  running from 5:45pm to 8:00pm (although I will stay as long as there are people with questions).

We will be at the Advent Lutheran Church, 2800 Don Mills Rd which is the south end of the peanut and the entrance is on the east side.

The event is being hosted by SCAN.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.  This looks like it will be the final opportunity to have all the candidates in one place so if you have any questions, please, show up.  If you can't make it, you can always email me or post a response to the blog and I'll be sure to respond as quickly as I can.

Sean

The meeting was not well attended but it gave me a chance to speak personally to those people that did show up.  I want to send a big thank you out to those people that asked if they could hand out fliers for me as a result of our talks.  It is always nice to connect to people in an intimate setting like that and this might have actually worked better than if the setting had been more formal.

Thanks to SCAN for organizing and thank you to the Advent Lutheran Church for allowing is to their space.

Here is what you said...

We recently had a great time with Chinese New Year.  My family and I were at a restaurant in Chinatown and my parents were asking me how the campaigning was going.  I explained that things were going really well:  the candidates had been invited to appear at an All Candidate’s Meeting hosted by the HenryFarm Community Interest Association on February 7^th.  My plan was to get to speak to as many people as possible by that date to better grasp how the community was feeling.

There are over 46,000 electors on the voter’s list, as published by the City.  There is no way one person can get out and talk to all of them during a campaign.  My step-mother, Catherine, pointed out that what I should try to do is have people come to you.

And hence, the survey idea was born.

To date I’ve been really happy with the number of respondents and a little surprised with the findings.  Here is a little break down:

70 % of the people that have responded so far are satisfied with the education system today.  However, 14% are very dissatisfied.  We are doing something right but clearly, we aren’t reaching everyone.

The most important issue for the respondents was split equally between two issues: bullying and Full Day Kindergarten.  I’ve posted my thoughts on the Drummond Report in another blog entry.  As for bullying, the education issue here starts prior to kindergarten but also needs to continue throughout schooling.  I think we can develop different ways of delivering curriculum that result in a more inclusive atmosphere in the classroom and school environment.  Better quality training for our educators will also help.

Nearly 45% of the people responding are not happy with the province’s leadership when it comes to their involvement in the public school system.  Clearly that is going to have to be addressed going forward.

I was a little surprised to find that almost 45% of the respondents felt that our children are not being taught the attitudes and behaviours necessary to be successful outside of school.  Are we raising a generation of academics (graduation rates are increasing as is attendance at some form of post-secondary institution) or are we simply pushing our children through with the hopes that they will learn these skills somewhere else?

Amongst the other concerns that constituents wanted to raise were the Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s sale of homes or redevelopment of existing properties.  In Ward 17 we have a few significant sites that are currently undergoing community consultation to discuss with residents how this process will take place and how they will be impacted.  This will most certainly impact our schools both in the short term (as we lose students) as well as in the longer term (when students return). 

Again, I would like to thank everyone that has completed the survey to date and will leave it open for a while longer.  The role of the trustee is to advocate for Ward 17: our children, our schools and our community.  Knowing what the community thinks can only help me with that.

As for the first All Candidate's Meeting, only 6 candidates showed up.  I'm not sure where the others were but wouldn't you want to vote for someone that is at least going to make themselves available?  

I did get a chance to speak to the group that was present and was really pleased with the breadth of questions we were asked.  I managed to speak to one woman that wanted to know which schools in the area are recognized as being excellent at providing extra support to those students that require it.  Above this is me speaking to a couple of residents that are interested in making sure their grandchildren go through an education system that teaches them the skills they will need in the global market place.  

Full Day Kindergarten

The Drummond Report recommends canceling the implementation of the Full Day Kindergarten program as a means of cutting costs.  With the expected full implementation cost expected to pass the $1.5 Billion mark it is understandable why that recommendation would be made.  Drummond also concedes in the report that the program is unlikely to be scrapped so offers a few different alternatives to save some money.

The program is expected to be fully implemented by 2014 – 2015.  The Drummond Report recommends delaying full implementation to 2017 – 2018.  The report also recommends changing the staffing model extensively as another cost saving measure.  The current kindergarten model involves one teacher and one Early Childhood Educator (ECE) in a classroom of up to 26 students.  Drummond recommends changing this to one teacher to 20 students. 

If this change is brought forward, the essential characteristics of the Full Day Kindergarten program will be lost.  Charles Pascal wrote a report regarding the efficacy of the full day learning model and the benefits have been shown in other studies as well.  Part of that benefit is gained from the pairing of an ECE and a teacher working cooperatively.

We need to keep the program, but we also need to implement some changes.

I would increase the current student / teacher ratio to 28 to 2.  I don’t know how much money this will save the program overall but it might be worth looking at as a possible strategy in some schools where this would allow for one fewer kindergarten classroom. 

The big change I would like to see implemented is, where possible, schools include a child care centre in them.  I would encourage these child care centres to have spaces allocated for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.  This would allow for the seamlessness that many people are talking about as being advantageous to the students. 

Parents that need child care for their children would have only to travel to the local elementary school.  This would allow for a child to remain in one physical location from birth to grade 6.  There would be a significant reduction in anxiety that shows up when moving children from one centre to another.  The other benefit is this would allow for juggling staff between the kindergarten classroom as well as the daycare centre.  The children would be familiar with the staff already as they have spent their preschool years with these staff members.  Again, the seamless integration of a daycare centre in the school setting will benefit the student.

This set up would also allow for before and after care programs to be offered in a seamless fashion.  Parents would not need to worry about transporting children from one location to another or try to arrange for an alternate care system.  It would allow for schools and the daycare centre to maintain child care ratios as well as provided the required breaks for staff throughout the day. 

Given that I am suggesting a couple of changes be investigated and then implemented, I am in favour of the program implementation being slowed. 

I would implement daycare centres in those schools that are currently under enrolled.  Utilize the space for the creation of a daycare centre and then roll out the full day kindergarten the next year.  Your oldest preschoolers would be your first class of full day kindergarten learners and it really would be a seamless program at that point.

The daycare centres themselves would operate on a not-for-profit basis.  The money parents would pay would be going back into the public school system and benefit our children for years to come.  How could that be a bad thing?

Survey

I've met a lot of people in Ward 17 so far during this campaign period and the biggest thing I have learned is that everyone has something unique they want to discuss.  I can not possibly get out to speak everyone.  There just isn't time.  So I have put together a survey that I would like you to take.  This way, while I may not be able to speak to you in person, I'll still get a chance to hear what you have to say.  I'm listening.


Sean
Take the survey here!

Campaigning

I ran into a neighbour of mine on Friday while we were waiting for our children to be dismissed from school.  They knew I was running for School Board Trustee and came over, said hi and asked how things were going so far.  Once the chit chat was over, she mentioned that one of the other candidates had come to her door the previous evening.  She asked me if I was planning on doing the same thing.

I explained that I was not planning on going door to door to introduce myself to people.  I could see the relief on her face as I said this. 

She explained that when the other candidate had shown up, she had just sat down to dinner with her family and for her, Thursdays are always rushed.  She also has two children that both participate in various programs and dinner was rushed as they tried to get ready for the activities of that night.  The candidate introduced himself and my friend explained that this was a bad time for her as they were in a rush.

The candidate then made the dismissive remark that, to paraphrase, “I guess your children’s education isn’t that important to you then”. 

Who does that?

We are talking about a mother that makes sure she is available to pick her son up from school each and every day, volunteers for field trips whenever she can, and understands the value of her children participating in other activities outside of school. 

Don’t poke the bear.

She related this story to me and I explained this was exactly the sort of situation I wanted to avoid.  I understand that if I went door to door the best chance I have of finding people at home is during the dinner hour.  But I also understand that this is family time. 

In our home, dinner is often more about talking about the day than it is about the food.  We have our two children, my wife, my mother, and me all in one room at the same time.  It doesn’t happen often.  Why would I want someone to interrupt that? 

Why would you want me to interrupt you?

I understand that family time is precious.  I’m not going to take it away from you. 

So how am I going to make sure people know who I am, why I am running, and what I stand for?

Well, there is this blog.  I’m going to update this frequently throughout the campaign and hope that people have a chance to read through it and judge for themselves whether the things I state her resonate with them. 

I would like to organize an all candidates on-line session where interested people can submit questions and all the candidates have the opportunity to answer.  One of the biggest challenges I have encountered so far is getting people together to talk about the issues our public school system faces.  This would enable people to participate in a meaningful discussion from the comfort of their homes.

I’m having difficulty getting this organized but will certainly let people know if, and when I can get it done.   

I have tried to contact all of the parent councils operating at the schools in Ward 17.  Not all of this information is readily available so I have encountered some difficulty here.  If you would like me to come to your parent council meeting, please, pass on my contact information to your parent council and have them reach me.  I’ll make myself available.

Finally, I am working on hosting my own meet the candidate night.  Once this has been finalized I will publish the information here and send it to the parent councils.