MM unic AT i O n MMunicATiOn - Ontario Modern Language Teachers

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SUCCESS STORY The “First Year Teaching Roller Coaster” by: Karen Wakelam Core French, Grades 4-8, The Prince Charles School Limestone District School Board Now that it is May and I have 8 months of teaching under my belt I can finally see the end of the roller coaster ride that I have been on. My head is no longer spinning, my stomach no longer in knots. I am now taking the time to reflect on a busy, exhausting, and stressful first year of teaching with a sense of appreciation. It was the first day of school, September 4th, 2007. The bell rang and my heart almost leapt out of my chest. I was now beginning the first day of my career as a teacher and I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. “Aren’t teachers supposed to know everything?” I kept repeating to myself. However, I had so many unanswered questions: What do I say to the students when I first meet them? How do I introduce myself? How do I establish classroom rules? I so desperately wished that I knew the answers to these questions; however, now that I reflect back on that very first day of school, I realize that you can only truly know the answers once you have lived through this scary, unknown situation. As I like to remind myself each and every day: teachers only gain wisdom through experience. And maybe that’s the important lesson for me and others too. Knowledge is one thing, but experience and practice turns that knowledge into wisdom. Phewff! The first day was done; however, September and October were just ahead and full of loops and spins. These two months were full of students challenging my authority. In the back of my mind, I wanted to say “Go and see your teacher!” knowing that last year my associate would usually step in and resolve the problem; however, I was now on my own. Eeeepp! How was I to deal with this? Well I took a deep breath and forged ahead. Here too I had the knowledge; I had even taken an elective on classroom management for special needs children, but now I had to test the theories just as the children tested me! Maybe I did not always handle the situation the best way but what got me through these first two months was taking the time each night to reflect on my choices and decisions and to learn from those that had worked as well as those that had not. November rolled around and our first term report cards were due. Ummm, excuse me? How do you write a report card? Perhaps many of you were or are in the same boat, but I had little to no training on writing report cards in Teacher’s College; however, rest assured that you will make it through. Teaching is a profession with a strong sense of community. I had amazing and much appreciated support from colleagues and the administration. People took me under their wing in order to ensure that I was successful and you will also find those special people to help you during your first year as well. In a sense I was picking up the experience and the knowledge at the same time. I came to appreciate that not all knowledge comes from a formal course – my peers were and are like a living encyclopedia. By the time Christmas hit, I looked like a wreck – tears streaming down my face and my hair out of place from the crazy roller coaster ride. I physically could not push myself anymore. I was ready for a break and was seriously wondering how I was going to make it through the next 8 months. Don’t worry: this is a normal feeling and you will find the motivation and energy to make it through each and every day! The last 6 months, believe it or not, have flown by and I am happy that my first year of teaching is almost done but, believe it or not too, I am sad as well. This year has been one of the most trying years of my life but I have grown as a person and as an educator. I now know that the ups and downs that I will encounter throughout my career will only help to make me a better teacher. I hope that the remainder of my career is spent on the yes, busy, exhausting, and stressful roller coaster of teaching, but I know that this roller coaster has and will help me grow! 4
Success at Nipissing University: Increasing the number of French teachers in our Education program The following success story is an interview between Faten Hanna, Editor of Communications, and Dr. Cher Harvey of Nipissing University. Faten: Cher, at the OMLTA conference we were talking about the shortage of French teachers and you mentioned that enrollment of FSL students has increased at Nipissing. Why is this happening? Cher: It’s hard to determine exactly. Our consecutive B. Ed students come from all over Ontario. We know they are interested in our Laptop program, our International Practice Teaching program and, hopefully, have heard good things about our FSL programs. But a few years ago, I wondered if I could be more pro-active in my own university to promote careers in teaching French. I brainstormed, then implemented the following ideas: 1. First, I obtained a bulletin board dedicated for FSL programs to provide information, to inspire students to become French teachers, and to share pride in being bilingual. 2. I change the bulletin board regularly with displays such as: A) Beautifully illustrated, computer generated posters by Senior French Elective students that share their pride in being bilingual. For example: • Learning another language allows you to communicate with more people in your country and in your travels around the world - Mary Bugay, Guelph • Being bilingual expands your knowledge and doubles the things you can learn. I’ve learned so much about people, places and things! -Novella Piovesan, Niagara Falls • Learning French as a second language allows me to recognize new possibilities and interpret life from a whole new perspective. - Bruce Forsythe, Ottawa B) Posters and pamphlets about federally funded opportunities to learn French such as the Explore and Odyssey programs C) Information on study abroad programs in Francophone countries D) Displays of articles from Professionally Speaking and CPF that outline the need for more French teachers in FSL and French first language schools Faten: So you are trying to reach the students when they begin their B.A. degree? Cher: Yes, because it takes many years to develop skills in language. I want to encourage students in the Faculty of Arts and in our Concurrent Education Program to consider being French teachers when they first arrive at Nipissing, so they have the time to prepare themselves linguistically, choosing French courses to develop their skills in French throughout their years of learning at Nipissing. I create posters entitled “Be a spark! Be a French Teacher!” and outline advantages of having two teachables. As well, brief five minute presentations to students in the first year concurrent programs allow me to tell them about the job opportunities, invite them into our FSL programs, provide information, and answer questions. Faten: And are these students able to pass Nipissing’s French Test for entry into the Education programs? Cher: Well, a lot of students pass, but certainly not all of them. In the past few years I think I have done a better job of informing students about the test so they are better prepared. We want them to succeed! Our French Language Proficiency Test includes both an oral and written component that students must pass. If they fail the test, we provide feedback to indicate what to study for the next test. All candidates have the opportunity to write the test a second time. To provide information about the test, I post envelopes with handouts entitled: Preparing for the French Language Proficiency Test; Facts about FSL Qualifications; and, Teaching French in the Francophone School System. These handouts disappear by the hundreds! Faten: And are the enrollment numbers up? Cher: Yes. Although we have not conducted a formal study, we have noticed a steady increase in the number of students writing the entrance test. Enrollment in our Senior Elective has remained high for the last three years, double what it was about five years ago. In 2007-2008, we had an increase in numbers in the Intermediate French Elective, necessitating two sections of students. And, we continue to offer FSL 1 courses in North Bay, Timmins, Sudbury, Newmarket and Brantford in the summer. I like to think that, in some small way, perhaps I am making a difference. Faten: Thanks, Cher. Perhaps other FSL professors will be interested in trying some of the same ideas to increase enrollment in their programs. Cher: You’re very welcome, Faten. I think that all stakeholders in FSL education need to look at a variety of ways to attract young people into our profession to maintain quality FSL education in Ontario and in all of Canada. If each of us asks “What can I do?” perhaps we will make a difference! 5
Page 1 and 2: C L’association ontarienne des pr
Page 3: LIFESAVER HERO: BEN CARSON by Dr. R
Page 7 and 8: Faten Hanna Editor - Communication
Page 9 and 10: A warm thank you to all the delegat
Page 11 and 12: Life is not a destination. Life is
Page 13 and 14: BRANCHEZ-VOUS! Par: Helen Griffin S
Page 15 and 16: • Entre le tiers et la moitié du

MM unic AT i O n MMunicATiOn - Ontario Modern Language Teachers

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?