Sharing Good News

 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; (Luke 2:8-10)

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate. My plans for Christmas Eve Mass with my mother and mother-in-law were thwarted by the weather, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Technology allowed for a Sunday video call between my parents, my sister in Calgary, and our home, for which I am grateful.

Other than the good news related to the Christian holiday, this past week, there were two big examples of happy announcements.

At our brief lunch staff meeting on Tuesday December 20, my principal called me up, along with two of my colleagues - Stephen Tong and Jenny Chiu. The reason: to present to us our 25th Year commemorative pins and congratulatory letters for teaching with the Toronto District School Board. (Thanks to Maha Ngo for taking this photo.)

The funny thing is this is actually my 26th year of teaching, and Chiu and Tong have been at it longer. My principal made inquiries on our behalf after I saw my friend Zelia Tavares share, via social media, her pin reception ceremony at the same time as her Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM. Thanks to my administrator for making the right calls to the right people so we could receive this memento.

The second piece of good news relates to the Grade 8 class at my school. Their hard-working teacher, Farah Wadia, spent at least six weeks focusing on essay writing skills to prepare them to enter the Raptors MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment) Huddle Up Essay Contest on the importance of famous Canadian, Lincoln Alexander. On Thursday, December 22, a camera crew and some high-ranking members of the Raptors organization and MLSE snuck into the school to deliver some exciting news - the essay written by one of Agnes Macphail's Grade 8 students (Arianne) won the grand prize!

(I'm allowed to share this photo because Ms. Wadia, in her ultra-prepared way, arranged in advance for Media Release Forms to be signed.)

Congratulations to the gr. 8 class @AgnesMacphailPS on winning the Raptors MLSE Huddle Up Essay Contest on Lincoln Alexander! I had so much fun surprising my class with this news!! pic.twitter.com/xIcgBLovbS

— Farah Wadia (@mswadia) December 23, 2022

What an exciting visit from @the_raptor, John Wiggins, @ArgoJC from Huddle Up & Dwayne & Dave from Sportsnet. We were thrilled to learn that my student’s essay about #LincolnAlexander won the grand prize! Congrats, A! I am so proud of you! @AgnesMacphailPS @LC3_TDSB @tdsb pic.twitter.com/aU2PekFYOV

— Farah Wadia (@mswadia) December 23, 2022

I had the privilege of helping to spring the news on the class by coordinating the visitors behind the scenes and taking some school photos and videos. The entire class, with some parent chaperones, will attend a Raptors game on Lincoln Alexander Day as special guests with incredible perks. Congratulations again to Ms. Wadia and all of her students for their efforts. 

These are "big good news" items. There were several "quiet good news" events this past week as well - the successful Toy Drive coordinated by the Student Council, the continued learning even in the last week of school, and the prioritizing of safety by cancelling school on Friday, December 23 (even though the news was met with disappointment for many of our students, which goes to show how much they love our school community).  

This is the last Monday Molly Musing post for 2022. (The next one appears Monday, January 2, 2023.) Thanks to everyone who continues to read these posts. My 2022 word was "Watch". It'll be interesting to see what 2023 will be like. Love and well wishes to all!

See How We Grow, See Where We Go

 On Friday, I had the great pleasure of watching a former student perform in a musical. It was an incredible performance. The singing and orchestral music were top-notch. The costumes and make-up were professional-level. The sets were astounding and all the performers (to mix metaphors) gave A+ effort and scored big. Nine of his former elementary school teachers gathered to enjoy the show, and enjoy it we did. (Thank you Ms. Wadia for coordinating this venture!) We couldn't take any photos or videos of the action - I turned off my phone completely as requested by the directors - but take my word for it, it was a great performance by all, but especially by Tyler.

Tyler has always been an incredible actor. Drama has been his "thing" ever since he was in grade school. I got permission from him and from his wonderful mom to share this photo of him when he was in our elementary school musical, "Musicians of the Sun", in 2018, when he was in Grade 6. (He played the Raven.)

I love watching Tyler on stage. 

Tyler has demonstrated talent for the performing arts for years, but that doesn't mean a) that he hasn't had to work hard or b) that he hasn't improved since the early days. On the contrary to both counts. The teen actor that my fellow educators and I saw on stage on Friday night has developed so many skills and abilities. In the show, he WAS his character, through and through. It took a lot of time, energy, and effort to learn the choreography, memorize the lines, rehearse the songs, all while still attending to his other subjects. 

I grabbed Tyler's autograph after the show, because I see this amazing individual going places and I want to be able to say "I knew Tyler when just a youngster ...". 

It is often said that "teachers plant seeds that grow forever" and that teachers might not always get to see the end results, but sometimes we are witness to progress. It's not without great effort, but when it happens, it's wonderful. 

These second and third examples may not be as visual or powerful as watching a gifted, hard-working singer/actor/dancer on stage, but the results can be just as rewarding ... regardless of age.

I finished marking the Inquiry Learning Projects by the Part 1, Part 2, and Specialist Candidates for the Teacher-Librarianship AQ courses with York University. I've also been working on an inquiry project with Connie Chan's Grade 6 students for Social Studies (on Canadian Identity). Doug Peterson mentioned in on This Week In Ontario Edublogs post and the TWIOE podcast. Let me tell you that the process is remarkably similar. Connie and I keep track of our consultation conversations with the students and I compared them to the notes I kept for my last in-person blended-model AQ, and they are strikingly similar. (I do keep notes on the online ILPs, but they are spread over several spreadsheets depending on the Learning Block.) 

The Grade 6s and the AQ candidates both spend a lot of time working on the question. It doesn't always come easy. Both groups wonder if they are on the right track. They worry about finding those "just right resources" that will help them answer their questions.

Francis Ngo (who co-taught the Part 1 group with me) and I spent a solid few days immersing ourselves in the final projects. Some projects were satisfactory. Some projects showed great growth in the individuals and their understanding of school librarianship. Some projects absolutely blew us away as instructors. I don't want to break any instructor-student confidentiality by sharing some of the topics, but I hope those individuals that might perchance happen to read this post reflect on some of the comments and feedback we gave and can nod knowingly, realizing that they really dug deep and made it more than "just a project for marks". It's always a delight to see former AQ candidates at the GTA Resource Fair as teacher-librarians at other schools, doing their best to serve their students, staff and community, and knowing that you played a tiny role in their learning and growth is a true gift. 

Ambitious Drama Plans

 I'm writing today's blog post with less than three hours left in my Monday. I've been busy with household Christmas preparation and wrapping up my various AQ teaching commitments. I thought I'd just document my current plans for my latest drama classes.

I teach drama and dance to two classes - a Grade 1 group and a Grade 1-2 group. I like teaching drama. I have my Intermediate qualifications with Drama as a teachable and it's an enjoyable subject to teach. 

A resource on the TDSB Virtual Library inspired this recent focus. The TDSB Library and Learning Resources Department curated a list of resources to use with different subjects and I found a great little video in the Arts section on shadow puppets. We did some experimenting with shadows and the students were quite enthusiastic. They were quite delighted with discovering, from the video and their own investigations, how the shadows could grow and shrink depending on where you stood in relation to the light source. I wanted to ensure that the third strand of the drama curriculum, the one focused on "Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts", was addressed more explicitly than I had been. I wrote a letter to the parents asking them for ideas for cultural stories related to the moon (an object that grows and shrinks and changes form) or about stories that involved growing and shrinking. 

Two parents wrote me back and shared with me the Chinese legend of Chung-E and the Moon Festival. One even sent a video explanation. 

(ETA Blogger didn't save my work past this point so I'm retyping this.)

We watched the video and then brainstormed a list of the important characters and objects from the story. Then, the students built prototype shadow puppets. We tried them out and gave each other feedback on how recognizable the puppets were to the objects and people they were supposed to represent.

I searched the school library collection for other print stories related to the moon and found an Anansi story. This was useful because we have a student originally from Ghana, where Anansi stories first appeared. I myself remember my Dad, who is culturally from the Caribbean, telling "Burra-Nancy" stories (also known as Bru-Nancy, according to Wikipedia) to my siblings and to me when we were children. 

Instead of trying the shadow puppet route again, we read the story and stopped at a pivotal moment - when Anansi is trying to decide which of his six sons he should give the prize to for rescuing him. (I loved that one of the students asked, "Didn't he have any daughters?". I said we could pretend that the sons were sons or daughters.) The students chose to pretend to be one of the sons and persuade me, as Anansi, to give him/her/them the prize. To help students determine when I was "in role" and when I was "the teacher", I held a toy spider as a visual cue.

My next steps are to locate more stories about the moon from different cultures and traditions. I hope to find some Tamil/Hindu and Islamic tales. (I would love to include moon stories from different Indigenous traditions, but I've learned that oftentimes, certain stories can only be told at certain times of year and by certain individuals. I need to look into this and be culturally sensitive.) Then, after hearing the various stories, the students can vote on which moon story we will focus on and formalize for a more polished presentation for our upcoming school concert, with shadow puppets, dialogue, and songs.

The expectations that I am covering with this latest unit include:

• B1.1 = engage in dramatic play and role play, with a focus on exploring a variety of sources from diverse communities, times, and places
• B1.3 = plan and shape dramatic play by building on the ideas of others, both in and out of role
• B1.4 = communicate feelings and ideas to a familiar audience using a few simple visual or technological aids to support and enhance their drama work
• B2.3 = identify and give examples of their strengths, interests, and areas for improvement as drama participants and audience members
• B3.2 = demonstrate an awareness of a variety of roles, themes, and subjects in dramas and stories from different communities around the world

At a later time, I'll describe the students' obsession with another drama game we play, "Toy Store".

I Miss Microblogging

 Twitter is a dumpster fire.

Are you serious?! pic.twitter.com/7QPkHXhT4E

— Eli Erlick (@EliErlick) November 30, 2022

For those of you who are non-users or only casual users, Twitter is under new "leadership". Doug Peterson talked about it on his blog in October but it's gotten worse since that post. In the name of "free speech", certain individuals have had their Twitter accounts reinstated while others, like the above example, have had accounts suspended for insignificant reasons. Twitter was never a completely "safe" space, but it's noticeably declined. People I respect online and especially on Twitter provided these suggestions to prepare for the potential destruction and mass exodus:

• request an archive of your tweets
• lock your account
• change your password
• bookmark your archives
• delete your DMs

I've done almost all of these steps. (It's hard for me to delete the DMs because it can't be done in a batch and I like holding onto things.)

I haven't figured out a replacement yet. Doug Peterson shared his experience introducing himself to Mastodon. Hive also looks promising. There are several articles championing various alternatives, like this one from MakeUseOf or PC Magazine, or Paste. I already have Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal, and Discord. Thing is, none of them are quite like Twitter. 

I joined Twitter in 2009 and first blogged about it soon after. I took a brief hiatus in 2019 but returned with enthusiasm. I've given workshops at ECCO and for AQs about using Twitter as an educator. I've grown my account to over 3000 followers. (That doesn't sound huge compared to people with 10K+ but that's big for me.) 

I miss the community that was built over time on there. I miss the ability to share small snippets of my day in digestible bites that both friends and acquaintances could access. Here are a few moments that I would have tweeted this past couple of weeks.

My Loose Parts Update

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about trying to incorporate the use of loose parts in my school library learning commons. Aviva Dunsiger commented and I wanted to tell her about the changes.

I left the single, more impactful loose parts provocation and a few of the Grade 7s did some very cool things with the set-up.

As they explained to me, "we decided to create a mouth, because language is such an important part of culture". 

A friend of theirs ago made this. I didn't get a chance to chat with him about what it represented, other than the most literal interpretation. 

No one used the picture book as inspiration, so I think I'll have to actually teach how to interact with a loose parts provocation more explicitly, as Aviva suggested. 

My next question for myself is, "How do I differentiate between the Makerspace materials and the Loose Parts equipment? Should I?" I think I will need to, because I don't want to keep buying new items that are meant for reuse. However, then I see a creation like this, made by a Grade 6 student who used a mix of loose parts and Makerspace resources to design a yo-yo.

STEAM Challenges for Intermediate Library Users

Another moment that would have been "Twitter share perfect" involved the Grade 6-8 classes. They have twenty-minute sessions once a week in the library as a whole class. The classroom teachers accompany them. The Grade 7 teacher noted that many of the students did not know how to use the unstructured time productively or appropriately. (Throwing puppets was a popular pastime for some individuals.) This gifted educator (Lisa Daley) gave me some ideas about how to maintain the welcoming, flexible environment while providing some constructive options and I ran with them.  I created three STEM / STEAM challenges. I took two minutes to quickly explain them to classes and then gave them the rest of their half-period to do what they chose. Many of the students gravitated to the STEM challenges and really enjoyed them. Here are descriptions of the three and then some observations. Every activity had an element of student agency and science/engineering/math components.

Cup Pong with ping pong balls is a classic university/college party game that involves lots of predictions and attempts.

Buildzi is a game produced by the makers of Tenzi. As a fan of Tetris, I was drawn to the different shapes / solids (and this game is much cheaper than this wooden Tetris game I was eyeing online). 

This is a modified version of the game Tenzi. As described on the website ilovetenzi.com, 

"Everyone gets ten dice. Someone says, “Go.” Then everyone rolls and rolls as fast as they can until someone gets all their dice on the same number and shouts “TENZI.” Lots of different ways to play."

Once again, the students absolutely loved these games / centres. I love how they altered the rules and invented new ways of playing. 

Sharing these via Twitter would have been more immediate and quicker than waiting for my weekly blog post.

Appreciation and Commiseration Posts

Tagging someone to thank them or share something wonderful they've done is part of what I like to do on Twitter. I have so many people I am thankful for. For instance, I am appreciative of our DECEs Jennifer Cadavez and Thess Isidro (plus volunteer Mayoori) for helping to facilitate the painting activity in the library. (I'll probably write more about it later, but take a quick peek at some of these photos.)

The same concept works with commiseration. I don't even have to go into detail. Just saying "Thanks Maha and Renee for Friday" or "Neil and Michelle, I'm glad I have you around" is sufficient. (It may be that months or years later, I won't have a clue what I was referencing. That's the case with looking at the yearbook comments from my then-best friend all written in shorthand. It's indecipherable to me now.)

ETT / ETFO Federation Day

Friday, December 2 was Federation Day, a professional learning day organized by our union. As much as I dislike learning exclusively in online spaces, sometimes it has its benefits. I attended the morning plenary sessions virtually and the experience was excellent. The lineup of speakers / presenters was just WOW - The Honourable Murray Sinclair, author Catherine Hernandez, Ricardo Tranjan ("numbers guy"), poet Shane Koyczan, politician Marit Stiles, Red Sky dancers and singer Shakura S'Aida. I took photos of some of my favourites. Shane made me weep with his powerful words. Catherine's connections had me smiling and several of my colleagues were asking to read my copy of her book. 

Memes

Twitter used to be a great source of memes. Now, I have to rely on the family Discord server. This is, to use my son's words, a "home cooked meme" he created after helping his father. 

It'll be interesting to see if I find my way to another social media site to scratch the itch that  minimizing Twitter will invoke. I love Michelle's words to me in a conversation we had, that joining a new-to-me social media platform in 2022 will be different than the way I joined Twitter in 2009 because of the honed media lenses I wear based on past experience. Wait and see!