The Classroom

Sorry it’s been a while – I’ve been busy! So many things happening at home and school, I’ve hardly had time to sleep – let alone blog – but I’m here now, and as always, there’s something on my mind….

I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately about my teaching philosophy and how I try to reach my students. Basically the same stuff I ramble on and on about here. Add that to the fact that I’m in the middle of PAT’s (Provincial Achievement Testing – Alberta’s standardized tests performed in grade 3, 6, and 9) and I always end up on the same thought. Why do we keep putting our kids through this? Read the rest of this entry »

Hot on the heels of last weeks post, I have a poser for you.  Should teachers (especially in the public systems) be involved in the formal teaching of Character and/or Moral education?  Where does the duty of the teacher end and the parent begin?

To start off, I do know that Character and Moral education are two different topics.  But I’ve heard arguments saying that we should (or shouldn’t) be teaching one or the other or both.  Character Education tends to deal with personal traits (sometimes called pillars) that we as a society find desirable in people: Trustworthiness, Honesty, Perseverance, Respect, Fairness, Citizenship, etc.  Moral education is when we add value judgments to the equation, this is right or wrong.  In some cases this isn’t seen as a problem (don’t hit Billy, that’s wrong, or Apartheid was a horrible thing).  In others, like the topics of homosexualism or abortion, this can become a huge issue.  But when/where do we draw the line? Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been playing around with the blog – trying to make it easier to navigate, and to make sure all the important things get updated in my RSS feeds and tag cloud properly.  So you may (or may not) notice that reviews are no longer found in the top bar, but are now in the category section.  I’ll also be adding a new category soon call the “Professional Library” where we can review and discuss all the latest books and journal entries on educational topics.  Remember – I’m always on the look out for people willing to help me keep this site going.  If you have something you want to say – a resource to review, or a book you’d like to talk about – just e-mail it to me and I’ll post it!  And please feel free to leave a comment on any topic that captures your attention!