Bullying

I loved the video we watched in class today about bullying. (sadly, I haven't been able to track it down on youtube, otherwise, I would post the link here.) I think it accurately reflected how alone people can feel when they are bullied. I could not stop myself from crying when the main character sat alone at lunch. For me, the video is a must-see for any class over the age of, say, nine, and not just because it raises awareness about bullying, as we discussed in class. I think that a video like the one we saw is especially powerful in that it is able to show a bully their own behaviour mirrored back at them, helping a bully to understand the consequences of their behaviour and empathize with the person they are hurting.

While it is important to help those who are bullied, we must also remember to deal with bullying at the source by helping bullies to see their behaviour as harmful. I found an alarming statistic on this website: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45838.html. Apparently, 1 in 3 school children have been bullied recently. The problem only seems to get worse, however, 40%, or 2 in 5 adults at work are bullied weekly. This behaviour needs to stop (Canada).

When I worked as a summer camp counsellor, I discovered (to my great horror) that one of my campers was being bullied by everybody else in the cabin. Did anyone realize that camper A was struggling through camp (and probably life in general) because she often felt lonely and unpopular? Well, maybe everyone else did . . . at least enough to exploit Camper A's worst fears and make her alone and unpopular. Demoted to the end of the lunch table to sit with me (I didn't really count as a friend, I suspect. I was a counsellor. Besides, I was largely unpopular myself because of my strict enforcement of two heavily disliked rules, Lights Out and Make Your Bed), she responded sullenly to all my attempts at conversation.

Over the coming weeks, my fellow counsellors and I held talk circles, nail painting circles, friendship bracelet circles, courage circles, and every other sort of circle which could bring the campers together and include everyone. We addressed the issue of bullying with the group sometimes, and other times, we ignored it.

We didn't do what we should have done. I could say that my boss did not tell me the right thing, but the fact of the matter is that I was old enough to know better myself. I had no excuse. Rather than confront the bullies directly and make it clear that their behaviour was unacceptable, we talked to Camper A. In fact, we even tried to change her personality, to try to make her more palatable and friend-able to the other campers. We the counsellors were the worst bullies of all, because we should have known better and we were authority figures.

It took me a while to realize that I was at fault. A while enough that by the time I did realize, summer had been and gone and camper A had sat through it all, sullen and lonely. I had sat through it all, too, never getting to the root of the problem, never truly listening to Camper A's problems or addressing the underlying issues that created bullying in the first place.

I would like to see Camper A again so that I can apologize to her. I hope now I've learned my lesson about supporting people who are bullied and showing bullies that their behaviour is unacceptable and has to stop. It takes a little more courage, and it also takes a little more critical thinking to step back from a situation to determine how best to solve it.

Of all the readings for this week, I was especially interested in this one:
http://educ.queensu.ca/alumni/letter/issues/QueensEducationLetterFallWinter07.pdf, the Education letter from Queen's University for 2007. I always forget about cyber bullying, which didn't really seem to be a problem when I was in high school. (Or perhaps my internet literacy was so poor that I just didn't pick up on it!) Cyber bullying is a distressing development in cycles of bullying, because it is harder to detect that schoolyard face-to-face bullying or even exclusion. The letter raised an important point: it is vital to educate students on what can happen with cyber bullying and how to prevent it (Smith, 10). Students may sometimes not even realize the harm they are perpetrating because cyber bullying removes them from the person they are bullying and may not expose them to the pain they could cause. Students need to be aware that things they say (or do) on the internet do still reach and affect others.

Works Cited:
Canada. "Canadian Bullying Statistics."Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 28 Sep. 2012. Web. 4 March 2013.

Smith, J. David. "School Climate and Bonding: Pathways to Resolving Bullying." Education Letter. Queen's Faculty of Education and the Queen's Education Alumni Committee, Fall/Winter 2007. Web. 4 March 2013.

Religion

Today's lecture raised a lot of important points about teaching religion in schools. One of my classmates made a good point, to which I think there is no easy answer:

"How do we teach students about religious beliefs which clash with Canadian law and school rules? Acknowledging these beliefs (such as perhaps homophobia) might undercut an overall message of universal acceptance."

Personally, I would be tempted to emphasize the major tenets of a particular religion rather than delve into elements which might be problematic. Specific beliefs could be returned to for closer examination in an ethical debate, stressing that people with a particular religious belief may believe something, but that our school rules state that a particular form of discrimination is not allowed.

I particularly liked a few points from today's reading, "Education About Religion in Ontario Public Elementary Schools" (see the citation at the bottom of this entry). I always forget that it is possible to teach about religion without being biased towards one particular religion. I need to aim to teach about various religions without teaching that one is superior, or that various religions "compete" with each other.

Fortunately, I do have a guide for this. In ninth grade, my brilliant history teacher, Ms. M., taught a unit on a few (not all) of the world's major religions. We learnt about Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism. Ms. M. did not privilege any particular religion, and explained the major tenets of each in such a way that we did not need any prior knowledge about any of the religions she taught about in order to understand the subject.

Not only do I now know about these religions, but I was able to think critically about each and form my own opinions. Most of all, Ms. M.'s class helped me to be more respectful about religions that I was not as familiar with.

I had a look at what I might be able to use as a teaching resource for religion, and I found this wonderful link: http://www.mrdonn.org/religions.html. What I love about this website is that it has lesson plans for religions I am less familiar with, such as Taoism and Confucianism. I think it is important to ensure that students learn not just about "major" religions which have millions of followers, but also religions which are less well-known. Part of religious education, I think, may be to help students to understand that religions come in many types and forms, not simply monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Works Cited:
Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Education. "Education About Religion in Ontario Public Elementary Schools." Teachers. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education, 1994. 23 Feb. 2013
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/religion/religioe.html

Poverty

A few years ago, I lived with someone who did not have enough food to eat. When we first started living in the same house, everybody had enough food to eat. Everybody's assigned shelves were filled to bursting with fruits and vegetables, eggs and cheese, jam and butter. We often ate together, each preparing our own food and offering each other tastes of our culinary specialties.

As the school year progressed, schedules became hectic, and our powers of observation diminished. I did not notice the sparse fridge shelf because I was too focused on the contents of my own. I never ate with anyone else because I was too busy scarfing down cold pasta at the library at 9 at night while writing essays at the last minute. I was too centred on my own world to notice that one of my housemates had not gone grocery shopping for weeks. In fact, I never noticed at all.

Only months later, as we were moving out, did my housemate remark that he could finally eat the his container of pasta on top of the fridge.

"Why now?" I asked.
"I didn't want anyone to know that I didn't have enough food, so I thought that if my pasta container was still full, no one would guess. But now that my student loan has finally come in, I can go shopping."

I stared. I had not known. I had come home each night to declare to whoever was in the living room that I was "starving," but at least I said those words with full knowledge that there was, at the very least, a bowl of cereal in the kitchen with my name on it.

What this experience taught me was to be aware that poverty presents itself in many forms, and people may be reluctant to admit that they are lacking basic needs.

In class, we discussed this issue, particularly the problematic issue of having a class potluck, since some classmates may be unable to contribute. Many of us agreed that it would be easier to create a setting where there is no obligation to bring food and no checking on who brought what, so that it is more difficult to see who might not have brought something.

The reading for this week was the 2010 Report on Child and Family Poverty in Canada: 1989-2010.
Here is the formal citation:
"2010 Report on Child and Family Poverty in Canada: 1989-2010." Campaign 2000. Campaign 2000, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

I am concerned by the way some of the information in the report is presented. According to the facts on the first page, "about 1 in 10 children (610,000) and their families lived in poverty (2008 LICO after-tax) even before the recession. That’s more than the population of Victoria and Kelowna combined but does not include 1 in 4 children in First Nations communities growing up in poverty." Why does the report feel the need to discriminate between children in First Nations communities and children in other communities? The report creates a dichotomy between First Nations and non-first nations communities that undercuts its own message, namely that poverty is universal and affects all communities.
If I was teaching a class of older students, I might give them a fact sheet like this to discuss the problematic wording. I really like the idea of integrating a discussion of social problems into other lessons, in order to give seemingly useless lessons a meaning and purpose. For example, we could work as a class to develop a form of the aforementioned report which is more effective at capturing attention and giving inclusive information, then distribute our new report around the school and the community as part of a larger community service project.

I had a look at this website, too:
 http://www.oxfamunwrapped.ca/how-it-works
With an organization like Oxfam, I could work with my class to raise money for a particular gift or item for a community. The class would be able to appreciate the impact of their work and possibly develop a link with the community they helped to increase awareness.

Body Image (also Grief, Suicide, and Depression)

I have worked with campers who have issues with their body image. I have worked for people with body image issues. I was raised by people with body image issues. Most of all, I have my own body image issues.

So many people around me are haunted by a dislike of some aspect of their body image, something they would like to change, something they are ashamed of.

I'm not just talking about weight issues, either, though this is the first thing most people think of when "Body Image" is mentioned. Body Image can range from thinking you have "big shoulders" to claiming you have "chicken legs," to feeling like a "beached whale" in a party dress. I have heard each of these things spoken earnestly and resignedly. In fact, one of these quotes is from me.

We are often our own worst enemies, seeking out what we think are enormous flaws and agonizing over them. Most people do not recognize these things nearly as much as we do.

The statistics are staggering. (We discussed them in class, but here is a link that I had a look at: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-body-image)

"About 7% of 12th grade males have used steroids in order to become more muscular"

1. "One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder."
2. "53% of thirteen-year-old American girls are unhappy with their bodies. This number grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen."
3. "One-third of all girls have a distorted idea about their weight."
4. Of all the insecurities that plague us on a day to day basis, body image issues must surely be one of the most prevalent.
5. Of all the issues I must discuss with my students, of all the issues I must tackle, body image is the one I dread the most. In comparison, teaching math or history or even physical education is easy. I can learn these things, and then I can teach them. It is much harder to teach something you have not mastered. 

I was thinking about this all through class, and then I realized that, depending on the age group and situation, there may be some value to admitting to my students that I'm not perfect either. I can tell them that I am working towards a goal of liking what I look like, by eating properly, exercising, focusing on what I do like, and having a support network to make me feel better.

I also had a look at this set of lesson plans, which could be helpful for the higher grades (perhaps with a few adaptations): 

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/CFS/CFS-737-W.pdf

I especially like page 7's lesson called "Mixed Messages: Living in a Supersized World." In stead of telling students what to think, this activity lets students research the media's depiction of body image and allows them to think critically about these issues.
A useful addition to this activity could be to encourage students to look not just for body image portrayal in terms of sizing, but in terms of other body characteristics.

English Language Learners

English is my mother tongue. My family all speaks English as a first language, and I was lucky enough to be immersed in the language from the word go. Virtually every book at home (and there are over a thousand--I counted) is in English; we listened to music; and I even went to a preschool where English was spoken.

I have never experienced the difficulties of ELL (English Language Learning) or ELD (English Language Development). (ELL used to be called ESL).

I do know about learning French as a second language. When I was five, I was enrolled at the Ecole Francaise in Sri Lanka. None of my classmates spoke a word of English, and I did not speak a word of French.

It was a quiet year for me. At home and at preschool I was talkative and peppy, but in a kindergarten where I did not speak the language, I barely spoke a word. I was like a spaceman on a different planet, watching and learning, sitting still and trying to figure out where I fit in.

In the end, I figured it out. I must have been like a sponge, sucking all the information and words up. By grade 1, I was functionally fluent in French.

In class today, as we discussed English Language Learners, the difficulties they face, and ways we can help as teachers.

I loved learning about ways to accommodate students who are just learning English, particularly in celebrating the languages and skills they already have. It is so important to give new students a chance to flourish in the classroom in order to make them feel confident and motivated, but it can be hard to do if the students have a limited understanding of the language of instruction. Letting students do some of their work in another language (particularly paired with a buddy) is a great way to make sure that students are not totally impeded by language in their work, while at the same time acknowledging and recognizing that student's language as an important part of who they are and how they function.

The reading for class, Many Roots, Many Voices (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/manyroots.pdf) discussed helping and including not just students, but parents and guardians. I think that parents and guardians are an important and often ignored component of education. Parents and guardians often form a large part of a student's support network. We need to make sure that parents and guardians are also supported, since chances are good that if their child is an English Language Learner, their parent may be, too.

It is so easy for a parent who does not speak the language of the school to be excluded from school social events and be scared of communication with the school.

I did a little research into what I could give to a parent of a student in ELL or EDL and I found this resource: http://www.bctf.ca/parents.aspx?id=3666
Admittedly, it is still uses the old terminology of ESL rather than ELL. However, the brochure is offered in several languages which could be printed off for a parent. I imagine this could be especially helpful for parents looking to understand the Canadian school system.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

To prepare for learning about autism spectrum disorders in class, I read this article http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page?currentPage=all

as well as the videos we needed to watch for class. 

The article was an interesting read because the author described living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and particularly how he managed to survive and benefit from ASD.

Admittedly, Tim Page (who wrote the article) has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is an ASD (ASD, as the name suggests, is a spectrum, meaning that some people can have quite severe symptoms, and others relatively minor ones). However, some of the things he describes do ring a bell with a camper I had during my one summer as a summer camp counselor.

I started worrying about Camper B before I had ever met her, because one of my superiors (let’s call her Superior) briefed me and my fellow counselors on Camper B.

“She just doesn’t seem to have any friends. We’ve tried and tried, but frankly, she isn’t even really interested,” said Superior. She paused, “And Camper B’s not so great at showering, either.”

When I finally met Camper B, she was polite and observant. Other campers were nice to her, but when they had long talks all crammed on top of a bunk, Camper B elected to read a book rather than join them. In fact, reading was virtually all Camper B did. I often wondered where all the books came from. They seemed to spout from her shelves like a bibliophilic edition of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Despite attending the same number of activities as everyone else, Camper B averaged a decent-sized novel every two days.

Books were her obsession, and, I suspect, a travel guide for the world of people around her. As in the article above, Camper B used books to tell her what emotions people would feel and when.

Camper B was able to use her prodigious memory when working to achieve an activity award at camp. I wish I could claim responsibility for guiding her towards the award, but it was someone else’s brilliant idea. She studied hard for an award that required her to research numerous facts in books and memorize them all. Naturally, Camper B got the award. This is exactly what the article above mentions: someone had found an “outlet for [her] ever-welling monomania” (Page) –books.

As in the videos I watched for class about ASD, students thrived when teachers were able to find a way to capitalize on the students’ skills. After IEPs and IPRCs for special needs students who have ASD, I want to remember that many students with ASD, particularly those with Asperger’s syndrome, may have gifts that can provide a lifetime of joy if they are given an outlet.

IEPs and IPRCs

Identifying the need for accommodation or special needs is just the first step in instituting those changes. Today in class, we discussed Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Identification, Placement, and Review Committees (IPRCs).

A quick summary:
IEPs are "roadmap" for special education for a student. They outline ways in which instruction and assessment will be modified or adapted for a student with special needs. (Bennett, Dworet, and Weber 58)

IPRCs are typically in-school teams which must include the principal or a designate. Typically, the team also consists of special education teachers, educational assistants, teachers, the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the student in question, and the student themselves, if they are over 16. IPRCs are meetings which ensure that the student is in the most appropriate placement and at which the IEPs are implemented. (Bennett, Dworet, and Weber 71-72)

I watched these two youtube videos to give me a different perspective on IEPs and IPRCs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYeMBtmA5oc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lorImN93foM&feature=endscreen
These are videos from Autism Speaks, which is an American organization. I suspect that Gary Mayerson is referring to an IPRC meeting when he talks about an "IEP" meeting.

These videos provide answers to questions parents may have about IEPs, which reminded me that parents also play a key role in IEPs and IPRCs. Parents can agree or disagree with recommendations. They have the power to change their child's attitudes towards school, teachers, and special education. Parents are often already special educators. They may not be trained, but they are responsible for their child's education during non-school hours. It is likely that the parent of a child with special needs already has strategies in place to accommodate the child's needs.

However, that the above videos were created suggests that parents are anxious about IEPs and IPRCs. They may not feel that their voices have been heard, and I suspect that many parents might feel intimidated by a large group of educational professionals with lots of opinions.

Here are two questions I think I should remember to ask a parent or guardian at an IPRC:
"What works for you and your child at home? What strategies have you developed?"
These questions create the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the child's life and make the parent feel that they are a valued part of the team.

I am also aware that sometimes, parents are not willing to recognize that their child may need a little extra help.

During one of my teaching placements, I got to see this behaviour first hand.
Student A's mother had come to pick her up from school, but my host teacher took her aside for a minute.
"I'm concerned about Student A," said my host teacher. "She is gets very frustrated whenever she cannot complete something 'right.'"
"There's nothing wrong," said the mother. "Student A just wants to do her best."
"She stomps around and kicks her chair and cries when she gets out of sync at jump rope. Student A had a tantrum today when she couldn't fit all the red legos onto her lego castle-"
"Thank you for telling me," said the mother. She took Student A by the hand and led her out of the schoolyard.
My host teacher turned to me and sighed. "This one will be an uphill battle."
Even though the parent was not willing to hear concerns about her daughter, my host teacher made sure that the parent was kept informed of developments in the classroom.

No matter how frustrated I become as a teacher, I must remember to be respectful with parents, making sure that they are aware of their child's progress and inviting them to participate in their child's education.

Works Cited:
Bennett, Sheila, Don Dworet, and Ken Weber. Special Education in Ontario Schools. St. Davids: Highland, 2008. Print.