CSL Practicum:
A Reflection on September - November 2019
November 29, 2019
GLASHAN PUBLIC SCHOOL
Walking into Glashan Public School for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d done my research on the school name, location, and motto, but there’s only so much that can a google search can do. My first day at the school of course brought nerves—and getting there 15 minutes earlier than my associate teacher said to did little to alleviate the butterflies as I waited at her classroom door, feeling not unlike a student on their first day of school. Meeting Ms. Barbara Brockmann brought a sense of relief and excitement at the school I’d been placed at, as we found commonalities in both being from the prairies, started talking about our personal teaching beliefs, and how we saw the role of teachers in the classroom. We were on the same page in the sense that we both believed that we were teaching students not curriculum.
CSL CLASSROOM
It was established very early-on in my CSL that in December I would teach class 7-2 while the second-year teacher candidate Mr. B would take over for 7-4 (the gifted class), a decision that suited both my and Mr. B’s teachables. The difference in class size was immediately intimidating, especially when I was still working to learn everybody’s name in the 32-student 7-2 class, but I think the division of responsibility has been very helpful in streamlining my focus. I’ve been less overwhelmed by having one main class to focus on, though I still love participating and facilitating discussions with the smaller 9-student 7-4 class, all the while being challenged by the specialized giftedness in that classroom. Mr. B has created a unit for 7-4 in which they explore philosophical discourses, using Sophie’s Choice for context and as a novel study. From Mr. B’s explanation of the unit, and my brief look at his overall curriculum map, I’m very excited to get a chance to watch, learn, and take part in his lessons.
Ms. Brockmann has been very open with me and Mr. B with what she expects in her classroom. We’ve all been on the same team in terms of our positioning in the classroom while one of us is teaching, how we help the students, and what Ms. B’s expectations of the students are. It’s easy to be a part of this classroom as more than just an observer when the students actively engage in conversation with me to tell me about themselves, and in fact missed Mr. B and I during our week off for reading week. It was nice to see that we’d become part of their Wednesday routine, just as they became part of ours.
"It was nice to see that we'd become part of their Wednesday routine, just as they became part of ours."
INTEGRATED STUDIES
Integrated Studies is a combination class of History, Geography, Language, and Drama, all taught by the same teacher over 10 periods a week. There’s not a set curriculum for Integrated Studies, which for me has been the hardest part of my CSL placement, especially when trying to familiarize myself with the curriculums to create a unit plan for PED 3141. I’m still working through understanding where exactly curriculums intersect, especially in looking at the specific and overall expectations, but I believe a more thorough understanding will come with more time spent in the classroom. It’s hard to get a complete understanding of what the students are learning, how they’re learning, and what and why they’re being taught, when you’re only there once a week and don’t always get to see the finished result of a lesson.
Being in an Integrated Studies classroom continues to be an adventure, as I’ve been consistently pushed outside of the comfort zone of my teachable. While I have a background in EFL teaching and am comfortable with teaching Language Arts in certain contexts, I have been challenged to work closely with students to develop their descriptive language writing skills, while I also needing to brush up on geography skills that I haven’t used in a while. The language and history aspects of Integrated Studies always seem to work together, which in turn has reminded me of the importance of an intersectionality in all contexts in the classroom, especially when Ms. Brockmann’s initial planned lessons in the class have done such an amazing job of tying all four subjects together.
The drama aspect of Integrated Studies still makes me nervous as I thought I had finished my short-lived relationship with drama class in grade 10, but I’ve been the stand-in body for many groups when they need an extra person for their scenes. While I could happily never participate in a drama class in my life, it’s been nice getting to help the students out and see them utilize their creativity through different mediums and I look forward to realizing where I can use an integrated curriculum approach in my own future classroom.
RAINBOW ALLIANCE CLUB
I heard about the Rainbow Alliance Club at Glashan during the morning announcements of my first day there and was very intrigued as both a member of the Glashan community and of the LGBTQA+ community. The first meeting, and every subsequent meeting, has started in a circle where everyone introduces themselves with their name, pronouns, and if they so wish, an identity. The safe space in this classroom has been incredible to be a part of, and it’s been wonderful to see how the students support each other and their ever-evolving identities, and how they present themselves and the safe space of the Rainbow Alliance Club to the greater school community through initiatives such as: Queers, Cookies, and Karaoke (a fundraiser to raise awareness of the club), Inviting Mayor Jim Watson to speak to the club (a chance for students to ask an adult what it’s like to come out and be out living as their best authentic self), and a Trans Day of Remembrance assembly (to share with the school an incredibly important day in the LGBTQA+ community). Being a part of the Rainbow Alliance Club means that I have also been able to bring to the students and staff my experiences as a member of the LGBTQA+ community, and perhaps give some insight to issues that might otherwise be overlooked by the well-intentioned allies who don’t have the same experiences or knowledge. This is something that’s incredibly important to me as a person and I’ve been very happy with how it’s been able to translate over to my CSL teaching experience.
