Humph. I'm in the middle of the November blahs - I know it's the 27th as I post this, but this part of the school year is always the toughest. Oh, that and June.
In any case, I'm looking ahead at my teaching schedule and I see some dull dry monotony. Let me explain.
I don't work in a regular school. I don't get semesters from September to January, like regular schools do. I get Modules. Six of them in a year. 30 day adrenaline rushed juggernauts that push people to get their credits, support their families and move forward with their lives.
In any case, let me sum it up like this; my school runs like summer school all year long.
And what I have coming up is three sections of Grade Twelve College level English. I start the first week of December and don't finish the third section until the end of May. That's a lot of the same stuff, over and over and over again.
So, I was thinking, rather than three separate courses, why not link them together somehow? Yes, I understand that for Ministry purposes, I need to input grades by the end of each course. But, for purely educational purposes, for a sense of working on something larger than oneself, couldn't I do something together with all three classes?
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| Helpful Suggestions only, please. |
Slightly related to this project would be one that took a look at the list of Canadian Poets at the University of Toronto and begin to delve into some that were, perhaps, left off. And why they were left off of that list. That, I think, might be a bit out of our league, though.
I thought about asking them about a handbook for students attending the school - there is a real sense of "Meta-learning" that goes on here. There is learning going on in the classes, but much more important learning - that learning how to learn - is also present. Included in this second type of learning is that learning and education is important to their lives. Literally, this type of learning goes on twenty four hours a day, if the student has the intention of getting a diploma as quickly as possible. That also might be a bit beyond 4C English, but there's something there.
In speaking to a colleague, they suggested a timeline project of modern times that would look into what's happening in various part of Canada and somehow report back. Our students are of voting age and this research might prove helpful in putting together their own ideas of how the world works and has worked. Heck, it might even provide the motivation to vote.
I dunno, I'm open to suggestion. Comment below, or get at me on Twitter @Chesmandu
