An Air of Entitlement

Kids these days come to school with an a rather putrid air of entitlement...
Entitlement
def.[noun]
the fact of having a right to something...

I believe firmly in a child’s right to education however, there are too many instances where children feel that their actions have no consequences when in fact, their actions can off-sprout so many other things. Accounting for one's actions is at an all time stand still (and when I get involved in asking culprits questions the first thing that they normally say is, "He..she...". Assuming ownership for one's choices & actions is next to non-existent. And, get this, some kids have the audacity to front a broken face when being spoken to about what they did!?!

Many students these days come to expect many things to be done for them and so they have this ingrained laziness demeanour. It’s almost as though they have lack of motivation, poor-like-the pits attitude & learned helplessness. There’s a lot of hand holding such as parents holding their kid’s backpack. Are you kidding me??? . Pick-up your own bag son/daughter! I suppose this is the dilemma and the crossroads that we need to face as we work collectively with the parents to reconcile habits that are instilled at home and than what goes on at school. This is generally a good point of contention during Parent/Teacher interviews!

A case in point
All extra-curricular activities including sports and clubs are strictly voluntary for teachers. Any planned field trips are a privilege for children & not a right...In this day and age, where teachers are stretched to the limit, maybe they don’t want to go the extra mile to call around organizing trips, transportation, collecting money and fill out crazy permission forms. This would especially true if kids weren’t safe and especially if they didn’t deserve it. So, I believe that other types of consequences need to be explored before telling a child that he/she will miss an extra-curriculuar activity due to misbehaviour(s). Being a child who lived, dreamt & ate extra-curricular house league sports, I thrived at school primarily for those opportunities. I was smart though. I kept myself out of trouble & got my homework done because I knew that the consequences that I would suffer would include having those privileges taken away because I knew that I was NOT entitled to those opportunities that teachers provided in their spare time.

Many young people often walk around feeling like the world owes them a big deal when they have yet to contribute anything meaningful to society. They walk around behaving without scruples and in many cases, without any moral values or respect for others. You may be saying, that’s very unfair to say Sophia!. However, I would argue that I’m generalizing in the sense that I speak from my experience and of what I see around me, on public transportation, bus stations, out in public space and in the schools.

There seems to be a lack of responsibility for one’s actions and a confusion about the consequences & ramifications if one chooses certain negative behaviours and paths...So, this is where I'm drawn back to...a student or child's sense of entitlement...they are entitled to a right to education, to be safe, to feel validated as a learner, etc. however, they need to earn and deserve privileges such as extra-curricular clubs, activities & trips. I believe that as you show that you can handle and be trusted with the choices you have been given, then more doors of opportunity, freedom & choice will be rewarded to you.

Jack-of-Trades
Here's a little flavour of what I mean...
Teacher's don't only teach...[rolling my eyes & giggling]...that's WHAT we're supposed to do & with all those ministry curriculum learning expectations to cover! Teachers need to be a:

•Psychologist (b/c we can't prescribe drugs!)
[calm the deeply emotional individuals & walk/talk them through problem solving situations and working out their feelings ~ yeah, we talk about feelings...all that good stuff ] AND we don't have a sofa + pillow. It's called, "Sit down on the carpet!"

• Referee
[break-up fights (whether verbal, physical or both)]

• Councillor
[address & deal w/ issues of bullying]

• Doctor
[when a child gets a boo boo, they require ice, a band-aid; Btw, I don't do lice, I leave that up to the "office experts" (ha ha)

• Coach
[Encourage students to achieve their great potential]

• Clown
[What's teaching without comic relief?]

• Storyteller
[Share my own life experiences w/ my students]

• Accountant
[Count trip money, deal w/ school invoices, purchases, etc.]

• Educator
[Includes all the above while helping students discover their natural abilities/talents while challenging them to greatness!]

Why did I just insert a "Jack-of-all-trades" flavour above? It's because we've just completed 4 months of school and I'm still working on behaviour while dealing w/ many of the above issues...oh yeah, throw in the fact that I also teach curriculum material such as the Government of Canada in gr. 5 Social Studies!
Inherent in my philosophy of education as a teacher is establishing good & sound behaviour management along with developing a solid rapport with the students in my classroom. If I don't have this firmly established, I believe I cannot successfully teach. That is why although it has been already 4 tough & challenging months, I'm still hammering routines & expectations and reminding (ad nauseam & painstakingly) the children about making positive choices and the expectations that I have of them WHILE demanding nothing but their best in ALL in all that they do.

To be continued..

A Teacher's All-time Favourite Classics...hA! hA!

...A Teacher’s Not-so-Favourite Moments...

In no particular order

Untied shoelaces

Hanging boogers

Snotty noses

Tattle Talers

When children activate their non-listening skills

When students have to be told a gazillion times one simple instruction

Repeat lesson instructions you just specifically spent time to explain it (go figure!)

The Torch Passes Thru ~ Part of the Olympic Experience...

On the morning of Friday, December 18, 2009, our students and many in the community witnessed an amazing moment in seeing the Olympic torch relay pass through. Although the convoy was long and the runner with the torch passed by in mere moments, the memory is forever emblazoned in my mind...
RA-RA-RAH-RAH-RAH!


Oh Canada! With Olympic torch used during the relay...

Slideshow courtesy of C. McAuley

Obedience to Christ

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Obedience to Christ is not subject or under the restraint of intellect & cannot be peered through the gaze of reasoning. For a follower of Christ, the path that we journey on should be to obey Jesus...

When we try to reason through spiritual matters, we wander into a multiplicity of thoughts which can lead to great confusion. However, by submitting in obedience, our cares, burdens & worries to the Lordship of Christ, we can seek wisdom & discernment.

~My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Forgiveness

Having looked the beast in the eye, having given and received forgiveness, let us shut the door on the past, not to forget it, but to allow it not to imprison us.
-Desmond Tutu
Truth & Reconciliaton Commission, Aparteid in South Africa

The Week that Was....

This week was a fantastic week at school. After a challenging 1st term, report card period, and interviews, my grade 5 students are showing me that not only do they have the ability to make consistently positive choices BUT that they can change & be better, not settling for anything less than their best!

This year's group of 24-25 students has been shall I say an interesting and challenging bunch. Although I only spend 1/2 the day with them, they require an influx of energy that ends up being very taxing on me. They are a group of unique, funny, & enjoyable children however the challenges are very evident. Academic performance & capabilities, attitude towards hard work and challenges, as well as being responsible for their own learning...these have all been things that we've taken a close microscopic look at this year so far...although at times, it looked like I was going to raise up the white flag of surrender however, what I preach to the kids, I must do myself...Don't give up!. I may be insane or maybe teaching is just my thing but although my students drive me up the wall & drive me crazy at the worst of times, I still find myself very devoted and caring towards each one of them. My passion in life is my work with children and all the students who I have the privilege of interacting with. So even when I feel like I'm down & out, I can still rise above because this calling has been given to me as a gift in life.

This week was a stellar week and each of my students showed glowingly how they can improve in their own way: Less interruptions, quicker transition time, less calling out, less put downs, being responsible to seek extra help when required, listening attentively, encouraging one another, trying more harder to break their negative habits (e.g., shouting out or talking so loudly), being more organized, etc... The season is still quite young however the urgency is very visibly here & as we continue to "prepare" the kids for an important transition year heading into middle school, we can't rest on our laurels, & trudge to a stagnating beat at our current plateau, but we must progress forwards, carefully, diligently, and ever aware that we have to work hard to constantly improve and to reach for all that potential that's within.

Here's hoping to bigger & better things to come....

Food Inc. Documentary

This thought-provoking documentary left me with some concluding thoughts...

The food industry - whether it be engineering foods, meat inspection, farming, political games, lobbyists, scrutinizing & being critical of the industry, food contamination in the food chain, etc...

Some points of interest:
• Corn is heavily subsidized by the U.S. government

• snack food calories (cheap)

• bigger predictor of obesity is income level (e.g., $1 burger VS. $1.29 brocoli)

• high fructose corn & refined carbohydrates leads to spike to insulin -> wearing down the system of how are body metabolizes sugar....

• Commodity crops (e.g., corn is the heavy hitter) - soybean, wheat
• Hamburger meat filler that’s been cleansed with ammonia to kill E. Coli...
high fructose corn found in coke!

• We're hard wired for 3 tastes: salt, fat, & sugar

• Engineered foods presses our evolutionary buttons

• Food industry has protections that other industries don’t which makes it difficult for consumers such as you & I to openly criticize

• The meat industry sued Oprah for saying something on her show. Texas cattlemen sued Oprah for disparaging a food product and for loss of profit (she mentioned something about never eating another hamburger)...

takepart.com/foodinc

The author, journalist & activist, Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma) is one of the authorities on the food industry that was featured in the documentary.

Also, read his book, In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto
http://www.michaelpollan.com/indefense.php

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Adapted for Gr.1/2

This Wed., the teacher of my gr. 1/2 gym class whispered to me that her class has been having problems with telling the truth...so I decided to dedicate 4.2 mins. of the class to telling them a story...

Putting on my serious face & my storyteller hat...I began with...

There once was a boy who loved playing. One day, he was playing with a ball in the backyard when he tried to catch it & happened to trip into a small hole and twist his ankle. Although he was completely okay, he screamed like no tomorrow because he felt like it. His father heard his cries for help and quickly arrived on the scene. As he was tending to his son, the boy pretended to cry his sobs so convincingly before he screamed like no tomorrow and said, "Ha ha father, I was only kidding. Upon hearing this, his father was rather disappointed and with a heavily concerned look about him, he warned his son that due to his scream, he thought his son was in trouble and feeling as such, he ran frantically to his aid. Be a good boy he said and left.

The next day, the boy played in front of the house. He was pretending to fly like an airplane when he tripped over a mid-size rock and fell to the soft dirty and wet ground. Because of his dirty and uncomfortable state, he screamed like no tomorrow. His father heard his cries for help and quickly arrived on the scene. "My sweet boy, my sweet boy, are you okay?" As the father knelt down beside his son, the boy quickly lifted his hands from his face and yelled out, "ha ha, I tricked you...nothing's the matter..." Upon hearing this, his father was rather disappointed and with a heavily concerned look about him, he warned his son that due to his scream, he thought his son was in trouble and feeling as such, he ran frantically to his aid. Be a good boy he said and left.

The following week, the boy went to explore the deep forest. He ventured for twenty or so minutes before he settled on a log to rest his feet. As he was sitting there, he suddenly heard some footsteps echoing off the leaves on the ground. He didn't hear the shuffling of one set of feet BUT of many. As he turned his head towards the footsteps, he saw not one BUT 4 wolves! Upon seeing this, he got up & began to sweat profusely with his chest beating a mile a minute. He retreated towards the tree behind him and quickly followed that with his biggest scream for help His father was in the backyard chopping firewood when he heard his son's cries for help however, he remembered very vividly how he had been tricked and lied to before. So he just decided to ignore the scream as he thought his son was playing with him again.

At this point, I take my fists & pound them softly on the ground to mimic the wolves feet creeping up...

Children, do you know what happened to the boy?

With mouths open & big eyeballs listening attentively..., the kids gulped a big glup and leaned slowly forward yearning for me to continue...
He got chomped up! Done...DEAD!

Why did this happen? Because each of the two previous times, the boy tricked his father into believing that he needed help when he didn't and as such, he had lied ...

If you lie and lie, and get into this awful habit, the ONE TIME you do decide to tell the truth, no one, absolutely no one will believe you.

THE END

Let's hope that the children learn to be honest & to speak the truth...