Summer 2006 - The member magazine of the Elementary Teachers

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Peel workshopstackle culturalbarriersby Vitusha OberoiClassroom noise, chit chat with superiors,students working in groups – these areamong the challenges that teachers fromother countries face when they step into aNorth American school.“It basically boils down to the cultural differencesbetween where our internationally trained memberstaught originally and the transition to teachinghere,” says Shelly Jan, president of the PeelElementary Occasional Teacher Local (PEOT).The academic credentials of the teachers aregood: they have their certification from the OntarioCollege of Teachers, but they have been trainedfor the classrooms of their countries of origin andnot Ontario. “That’s where the breakdown is,” Jansays. “They are capable of doing the job academicallybut certain things need to be adjusted.”To help bridge this gap the PEOT Local haslaunched a pilot project to help its internationallytrained teacher members to adapt to Ontarioclassrooms.The local is conducting workshops for teacherswho are looking for guidance as they transfertheir skills from their country of origin to Canada.Members hold monthly meetings, and in thepresence of an experienced facilitator discuss theproblems they face. They keep journals and sharetheir experiences as they strive to come to gripswith the cultural differences that challenge themin their profession here.Jan decided to focus on the special needs ofthese teachers after she realized that their teachingcredentials were being questioned becauseVitusha Oberoi is a former ETFO staff member and is a freelance writer.of cultural issues. “I would get calls from principals about the classroommanagement abilities or communication skills of the teachers. I felt it wasnot fair to our members because what we needed to do was deal with thesecultural issues.“The board is not cutting enough slack for their adjustment and theteachers themselves don’t know what to expect when they come into theclassrooms in Canada,” Jan says.Veena Navgiri, a half-time ESL teacher, says that a crucial issue faced by internationallytrained teachers in the initial stages relates to the amount of freedomenjoyed by students in the class. Navgiri is from Gujarat, India and was a universityprofessor before migrating to Canada. Her class of 80 students used tobe focused, would never challenge her, and above all, was mostly quiet.“In India, we always want our students to keep quiet while we do theteaching. I never had to think about discipline or classroom management.When I started teaching here, I would get anxious if the noise levels in myclass rose,” she says.Navgiri says with experience and discussing the problem with her colleagues,she has learned to adjust to her new classrooms. “These workshops have helpedme realize that I am not alone and other teachers also face a similar problem.”“The concept of group work in the classroom was new to me,” saysCharulata Joshi, originally from Mumbai. “How do I know any learningis going on? How do you monitor that the children are on task? The issueof who controls the classroom also baffled her. “In India, the classes areteacher-oriented. Here, the classes are more interactive.”While the English language in itself was not a problem, nuances andphrases peculiar to Canada definitely were. “I usually come across a numberof Indian children in my classroom. I find that they do not always pronouncetheir names the Indian way and correct me on this,” Joshi said.The informality of North America is another stumbling block for theteachers, who have a culture of treating their superiors as authority figures– distant and aloof. They hesitate to be on first-name terms with theirprincipal, won’t approach her on discipline issues until and unless theyare pushed to the wall, and won’t exchange small talk. “I see other teachersdiscussing the weather with the principal. I want to do the same but I don’tknow how,” says one of the workshop members.The problems are many but Jan and facilitator Prem Pillay, a retired teacherwho taught in South Africa before moving to Canada, make sure that they donot overwhelm. They offer advice and encouragement. “It takes you wantingto learn and not isolate yourselves in your own little groups,” says Jan.10 etfo voice SUMMER 2006
Mentoring: an insidelook at Federation workThe ETFO protective services mentorship program has provided me with anincredible insight into the broader scope of the work of the Federation beyondthe activities in individual locals.by Karen ChowKaren Chow is the chiefnegotiator for the Hasting-PrinceEdwards Occasional TeacherLocal.The program began as a pilot three years agoand has been offered each year since. It givesindividual members, including those in underrepresentedgroups, an opportunity to work withprovincial staff to improve their understandingof the federation and the work that it does, toacquire skills, and to experience first hand whatit’s like to be a staff officer. ETFO protectiveservices executive staff volunteer their time tomentor the participants.I am an occasional teacher local chief negotiator,one of six participants in the program thisyear. Some participants were released officers intheir local, while others were classroom teachers.All have been involved to some extent in theirETFO local.At the beginning mentors met with us (we wereoften referred to as mentees) to brainstorm someof the possible outcomes we’d like to achieve.Each participant chose three personal learninggoals. For one participant, it meant experiencinga day in the life of a professional relationsservices staff officer as they counselled members.Another participant, a local released officer, wasable to increase her knowledge of health andsafety. I wanted exposure to equity issues in the…this is a perfect opportunity to fill in thegaps in your own learning and experiencesin the local so that you can better serve yourmembers…Federation, and an increased knowledge of howdifferent workshops and conferences are organizedand facilitated.Participants work with provincial staff in atleast seven situations related to their goals. As aparticipant, some of my experiences included:• Working with a provincial staff officer whocoordinated a workshop for a northernlocal that involved co-operation betweenthe local, provincial staff and the localschool board. I shadowed her as she facilitatedthe workshop, and spoke with herabout the preparation for the event.• Participating in a meeting of the humanrights provincial standing committee. Thisexperience encouraged me to apply for aposition on other provincial standing committeesnext year.• Shadowing a protective services staff officerat a collective bargaining regional conference.This experience showed me how flexiblestaff officers must be, as one presenterwas unable to attend and the staff officerhad to step in.In retrospect, this program increased my leadershipskills and knowledge on a provincial levelregarding the work of the Federation. This willprove invaluable in my future activities in theETFO. As one of my colleagues in the programnoted, this is a perfect opportunity to fill in thegaps in your own learning and experiences sothat you can better serve your members in whichever role you choose to play, whether at the localor provincial level.etfo voice SUMMER 2006 11
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2006Vol. 8 • No. 4X, Y, Bo
Page 4 and 5: 2 etfo voice SUMMER 2006
Page 6 and 7: FROM THE PRESIDENTCollege governanc
Page 8 and 9: YOUR FEDERATIONA ROUNDUP OF FEDERAT
Page 10 and 11: YOUR FEDERATIONA ROUNDUP OF FEDERAT
Page 14 and 15: y Sam HammondI have always believed
Page 16 and 17: X, Y, BOOM!Generations at work14 et
Page 18 and 19: Boomers grew up in a society that w
Page 20 and 21: LEARN ON-LINE OR IN CLASS.THE CHOIC
Page 22 and 23: There are not a lot of children com
Page 24 and 25: Every Ontario elementary teacher an
Page 26 and 27: Keep it CleanDivision: PrimarySpace
Page 28 and 29: The process for resolving supervisi
Page 30 and 31: EQUITY & WOMEN’S SERVICESETFO Adv
Page 32 and 33: Les devoirs dansla classe de franç
Page 34 and 35: Sharing Personal Information Wit- W
Page 36 and 37: Phones startingfrom $0 *LG 6200 Sam
Page 38 and 39: OTF R EPORTReforming the College of
Page 40 and 41: Final article in a 3-part series.Ou
Page 42 and 43: Jivin’ Johnny’s Let’s Talk!Mi
Page 44 and 45: calendarclassifiedsJune 25 - 27, Va
Page 46 and 47: Now only $25See etfo.ca for details
Page 48: Secure, no hassleHome and Auto insu

Summer 2006 - The member magazine of the Elementary Teachers

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?