Mr. G's Podcast

As it was for many people, 2020 was a challenging year for me. The year put into focus many aspects of my life that I hadn’t previously paid much attention to. I was so used to the routine of my days that I neglected to consider the value of what was in my life until 2020 brought them into view. It was a year of losses and gains, some more significant than others.

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This week, I'm going unscripted. I've written down four questions that I'll ask myself and then answer. 2020 is a year that shan't soon be forgotten and I think that the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to learn from our experiences over this past year.

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If there was ever a year that I questioned my decision to become a teacher, this is the one. Within the first two months of this school year, I was thinking about an exit plan. I’ve been dreaming about a life that doesn’t involve waking up in the morning and going to work with a bunch of students. What would my life be like if I could make enough money some other way? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a less stressful job that didn’t require asking preteens to sit down and be quiet? Wouldn’t it be amazing to show up for a nine o’clock start, get two coffee breaks, an hour-long lunch, and then just leave at five o’clock? Oh, and if I needed to pee at any point during the day, I could.

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It seems to me that my students talk a lot. I don’t understand why. What have they got going on in their lives that is so interesting? How much can be happening in their lives that they need all of the time that they can get to discuss it? With all of the talking, when do they actually do anything worth talking about?

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This episode will consider the practice of teaching. That is, teaching is something that someone needs to continually repeat and analyze in an effort to improve. Teaching is not something that you can just show up for, you have to have prepared yourself. 

This week, I want to explore our personalities as teachers. I think that we are different people when we're standing in front of a class. We're different people in different situations. But, when you're trying to help students figure out who they are, is it okay to be who you are as a teacher?

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This week, I want to explore some of my thoughts on being creative in your teaching practice. It's important to try new things and step out of your comfort zone, but how far should you go and are there limits on the things you should try? Who benefits from you being creative?

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While driving to work the other morning, I started thinking about who is in control of a student's education. I figured it has to be either the students, teachers, or parents. When I posed the question to my class, they had something to say on the topic and their responses got me thinking. In the end, I think that I may have asked the wrong question.

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A lot of teaching comes down to managing expectations - your own, your administration, your students', and the parents of your students. It's not about knowing what you're doing, but about being confident in your ability to do what you need to. The biggest struggle I'm facing right now is figuring out who I am in this new context.

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As we start the new school year with so many things still unresolved, we have to become the spirit of freedom for our students by embracing this uncertainty. We have to focus our energies on the process. We need to do our work diligently.

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Our relationships with our students are the most powerful teaching tool that we have available to us. Like any tool, it's effectiveness is a result of how well we know how to use and maintain it. Beyond establishing a relationship with students, which is easy enough to do, you must continue to invest in your students. The trouble with these relationships is that they are long-term – you can't expect quick returns, outside of being able to work well with them. The benefits of having a positive relationship with your students are that you get access to the most authentic version of them that they are willing to share with you. This year, things are going to look a lot different and we need to be prepared to redevelop our relationships with our students and, perhaps, our relationships with our teacher-selves.

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Using technology in your teaching practice is inevitable. In this episode, I share some thoughts on why we do and don't use technology in our classrooms. It's important that we explore technology with our teaching so that students can see its value.

This week's question: When you're asking questions, are you asking for answers or to inspire inquiry?

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In the first episode of season two, I'm proposing changes to how we approach scheduling for teaching and learning. Currently, the system is too complex and impedes our ability to make good decisions. What we need to do is strip things down to the simplest model possible and I think that means we all follow a similar schedule. Once we have established a solid foundation, we can rebuild.

This week's question: Is professional development necessary because you are willing or unwilling to learn?

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The school year is almost here and that means there is going to be another season of this podcast. 

Today's questions: What is your definition of community within an educational context?

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The best advice my dad ever gave me about my teaching career was to do my job honestly. It's important to teach what matters most to you because there isn't enough time to focus on anything else. The best thing you can do for yourself and your students is to be honest about who you are and what you stand for.

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Throughout this podcast run, I've written down ideas and I didn't get to some of them. Today, I want to present those unexplored ideas to you. These ideas aren't fleshed out but I still think they are worth sharing. Hopefully, these quick snippets will inspire something in you.

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The introduction of a new math curriculum in Ontario has sparked an interesting debate. Professional development is something that I meant to talk about back in April and I'm finally getting around to it because it's an area that I need to improve in. Teaching should be mostly learning. Our approach to professional development needs to be meaningful, applicable, and consistent.

Today's question: What aspects of student development are you willing to take responsibility for?

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My students sent me a very heartwarming e-card today and it got me thinking about the impact that we have as teachers; we have more of an impact than we realize. For me, this is a lot of responsibility and one that I need to acknowledge and accept. How students see you and what you see in yourself might not always align so it's important to as for feedback from them.

Today's question: If you could provide feedback to any one teacher you know, who would it be and what would you say? If you were to give yourself honest, third-party feedback, what would you say?

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This is the last week of school and it's not about learning. This week is about solidifying our relationships with our students. I'm having a hard time staying focussed so I can only imagine how students are feeling. The uncertainty that is coming with the end of this school year is only making this a stranger end to a strange year.

Today's question: Who do you respect as an educator? Why?

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The gifts I ordered for my students arrived this morning and I took the afternoon to deliver them. I saw a few of my students today and it was a trip. I'm curious to know what it's going to be like to see them in September.

Today's question: During remote learning, are you getting dressed to go to work?

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I've been working on building a marble run for over a week. I've been trying different materials and learning about how they work. In this process, I'm using a lot of the skills that I teach. It's important for us, as teachers, to pursue our own interests and take an interest in different things because our students are all interested in different things.

Today's question: What cultures have we unconsciously adopted and coopted in our classrooms?

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Today I was thinking about the importance of names and what they mean to us and our students. Names carry meaning and they establish a presence. It's important to call our students by the names they choose for themselves and pronounce them correctly, too. Students, too, should be calling us by names that we choose to use.

Today's question: How many opportunities have your students had to ask you questions? How many times did you respond honestly?

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I got tired of seeing students' avatars on the screen so I started creating imaginative stories about each other. It turned into an entire narrative that all of the students present enjoyed. I think that students should be given the opportunity to identify and explore their own stories. Students should develop their individual narratives as they're writing them.

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With only two weeks left in the school year, I think it's important that we turn our focus to the relationships that exist in the classroom: student-student and student-teacher. With engagement and motivation waning, it's important that we present students with interesting challenges to keep them thinking. I want them to go into the summer nicely.

Today's question: What's the biggest lesson that you're taking away from remote teaching?

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Today, after finishing report cards, I started reflecting on my teaching practice for Big Idea Friday. The perspective that you take on your teaching practice will impact how you reflect on it. Coming at it with the lens of a colander – focusing on the holes – or a fishing net – focusing on the ropes – changes how you perceive yourself and your practice. This then leads to figuring out how you can grow and develop in the future.

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I went outside to do some work today and it was great. I felt a lot more refreshed after being outside, and the work I was doing seemed easier. It was a nice change from the regular routine and something that I would like to make a habit. When we get back into the classroom, I'm definitely going to be taking my class outside.

Today's question: How are our personalities coming through during remote learning? Are our personalities, teaching personas, different online than they are in the classroom? What effect does this have on our understanding of who we are as teachers and how effectively we can teach?

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I'm running out of steam. This isn't a normal June and it doesn't feel right. After ordering some gifts for my students, I started thinking about how the pleasure of giving it to them is taking a backseat to the administration involved with delivering them. I think I'm just settling into the fatigue.

Today's question: I'm trying to get back into photography, what hobbies have you let slide that you could get back into?

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I haven't checked my email since one o'clock this afternoon and it's been fantastic. I feel more relaxed and less rushed than I normally would in the evening. While I didn't get much done, it was good to just stare at a blank screen for a while. If you can, I would definitely suggest scheduling some time in for yourself to be away from your email.

Today's question: What do you do to keep yourself grounded?

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I sat down to start my report cards today. I didn't get very far. Writing report cards is always tricky but it feels even more so this year. It's been nearly four months since I last saw my students so I don't know how accurately I'll be able to report on student achievement this time around. To be fair, I question how accurate report cards reflect student learning and achievement every time I write them. How fair this is, I don't know.

Today's question: What changes need to be made to how we assess student achievement?

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This is a conversation that I'm uncomfortable with because I don't know what my position within it is. I know that this is an important conversation to have and it's important for me to listen. I don't know how my students have been affected by the anti-Black movement and I don't know what their experience with racism is. The consciousness of diversity can't exist in a homogenous environment; what environment are our students learning in and what does this mean for our teaching?

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Online learning is creating an ever-growing separation between the students themselves and the students and teachers. Without the classroom to provide a context for learning, I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to remain connected with our students. We – students and teachers – need to be able to articulate how we're feeling in order for everyone to be able to understand each other.

Today's question: How has remote learning changed your perspective on 21st Century learning?

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I was asked to help a committee plan a virtual talent showcase. I agreed but it reminded me of when I was in a talent show. What we often don't realize is how much work goes on behind the scenes and how valuable this work is in helping provide students with an opportunity to present a different, unique side of themselves.

Today's question: How much does social media influence our teaching decisions? Do we unknowingly adopt ideas and present them to our students?

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Coming into this June, I feel more tired than I remember ever having been. I feel very confused, uncertain, and disconnected. I've been questioning my teaching practice and its effectiveness. I just don't feel ready, yet.

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In today's episode, I share a bit of my story and how being labelled "smart" had an impact on my life. Being smart isn't a bad thing but it shouldn't be the primary aspect of one's identity. As teachers, we need to be careful about how we congratulate students on a job well done.

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I've been thinking about what it means when students say, "But, you didn't teach this." There are so many ways to interpret this simple statement, but it always means that the student doesn't know how to do what you've asked them to. What causes students to feel this way and what can be changed to support them so that they don't say this again?

Today's question: Should we be thinking about our days as if they are normal school days? Teaching between the bells, planning and marking before or after them.

If you'd like to contribute an episode to the podcast, please get in contact with me.

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After some conversations about student placement, I started thinking about how we have an impact on students' learning environments and the people they interact with. Grouping students together, or determining their cohort, should be done with the best of intentions and done truthfully. 

Today's question: I have a fancy for fountain pens. Now that students are submitting all of their work online, how is this changing the thinking time that is available to students?

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In today's episode, Diana Guerriero shares her experience with using choice boards to empower students. She shares a number of ideas for activities that can be easily implemented. She then shares how she collects student feedback to help her assess the effectiveness of the work students get to choose from. 

Today's question: Should students be playing outside right now or focusing on school work?

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Today I've been thinking about marking and what are some of the best ways for me to approach it. I've never liked marking, as such, even though I understand how valuable it is. There are a few things that I've done to help make it more manageable for myself, but there is room for improvement.

Today's question: Do students need something to care for before they can care about something?

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Today, I try to make the case that teaching is not an academic exercise. It's too practical to be. In education, we are outcome-driven and that is reflected in how we engage and teach students. I don't know that we teach students things that are interesting, simply because they are interesting. I don't know that we should be, either.

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Today I've been thinking about how to increase opportunities for students to speak up, and about what we're missing when students don't say anything. I'm thinking about how the online environment is and isn't conducive to real conversations and how synchronous learning might help mitigate some of the difficulties I'm facing. I believe that all students have something to say but I'm not sure that they all have the opportunity to say what the want to.

Today's question: Where’s your favourite place to work? If you can’t go there now, how can you replicate it at home?

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I took some time to reassess the teaching I've been doing, based on the feedback that I've received in the last week. I came to realize that I probably haven't been capitalizing on the assets that my students have. I also needed to give students the option of a greater structure, by providing them with a detailed schedule. This wasn't easy for me, not only because it took some work.

Today's question: Boredom can be a good thing. It gives us time to think and to search for meaningful activities. When you’re bored, only something that truly interests you will snap you out of it. How can we use this effectively through remote learning?

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We have a special, contributors episode today. Melanie Madray, a grade three teacher in Scarborough, shares her thoughts on teaching equitably during remote learning. She shares some of the things that she's doing with her class to address her students' needs. She also reflects on how she creates engaging material and communicates effectively with students and their parents.

She leaves us with the question: How have you been able to co-create learning opportunities for your kids that are equitable in nature?

For today's Big Idea Fridays, I'm talking about providing students with structure and helping them develop executive function skills. Students need these skills in order to be successful, but how do we teach them? Each student's needs are different, meaning that we have to be very intentional and specific about how we choose to help students develop these skills.

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Tonight I was thinking about connecting with colleagues and how I don't know about what's going on with them. I have maintained connections with my professional learning community but not with the people I work most closely with. I think it's important to reach out to them so that they know you're available to support them.

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Experiments are an effective way to teach, but doing experiments remotely is hard work. It takes a long time. It's annoying to have to do. I spent a good five hours today putting together a video of me rolling a marble down a tube. I suggest that you get students to do experiments at home but you should also be doing them yourself. Videos aren't a replacement for students getting hands-on, but they are a bad alternative.

Today’s question: What’s one book that you think every educator should read? Or, what’s one book that changed your perspective on education? Let me know by tagging me on Twitter.

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I had interesting conversations with my students today. I asked them three questions:

1. What is meaningful work?
2. How meaningful has the work that we've done so far been?
3. Why am I asking these questions now?

The conversations left me with the sense that I should scrap my entire program. I left the students with the task of thinking up a meaningful project.

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My students are working on a photography unit that a parent has volunteered to teach. I think it's especially important that students connect with arts now so that they can express themselves through an emotive medium. Not only is this an interesting art unit, I think photography has become a constant in our lives so it's important for students to know how to do it well.

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