Week one: Truth and Reconciliation
This week when I attended Brunskill School the first thing I noticed was all the diverse cultural groups attending the school. To me this immediately showed how welcoming this school enviornment is to their surrounding community. After the second morning bell went and all students were in their classes the first thing the school does is play the Metis Nation Anthem "I am proud to be Metis". I then got a tour of the school and had the opportunity of meeting many teachers. When entering into other classrooms I noticed almost every class had an Indigenous Medicine Wheel. Some classes had the Indigenous defintions/examples of each aspect of the wheel, while other classes had their own defintions and ideas. When walking through the hallways I walked past an orange shirt hanging on the wall. This was a way Brunskill School represents the importance of Orange Shirt Day within their community. The last thing I was able to see about spreading Truth and Reconciliation in their school enviornment was a grade seven class doing a lesson on Indigenous Studies and the importance of Indigenous languages within the Indigenous culture. This grade seven class was learning how to speak Michif and why different langauges in a community are so important. By having the opportunity of seeing these examples of the Indigenous culture around Brunskill School it was a way they are showing different ways of spreading Truth and Reconciliation with the students and staff in their enviornment. This is important because students show be educated on the history of Indigenous peoples and the life long affects this cultures holds with them that eventually get past down through generations.
Week two: Invitation and Hospitality
For my second week at Brunskill school I was placed in the same grade 5 class as last week. This week I noticed students starting get more comfortable around me and they began to tell me many stories, ask me questions about myself, and ask me if I could assist them with their work. This grade 5 teacher is very good with her students and acts as one of their friends. I noticed one thing the teacher did in the morning was stand outside the classroom and greet all the students that walk into her room. She told me she does this because its a way to see how each students is feeling when they get to school and if she needs to keep an eye on a certain student if they aren't acting how they usually do. The students start off the morning with writing a journal prompt. The classroom teacher told me this is a way all students can give their own opinions and perspectives on a topic and not feel like their answer are wrong. This teacher is also very good with keeping her students engaged in their learning. She makes sure to use positive reinforcement and in the mornings if the students are acting in a respectful and attentive manner she allows them to place a puzzle piece on the white board. Once the whole puzzle is completed the class gets a reward for their behaviour. This class learns the importance of acceptance through working in groups or with another peer. I noticed that these students never once questioned their groups or partner and instead everyone accepted their groups and was very respectful towards one another. In the back of the class there is a sticky note wall. These students write any questions or comments on a sticky note that the classroom teacher than gets to at the end of the day. Some of these were questions about topics they were learning in school and other were comments such as "Keep it up" "You got this" or "You're doing a great job". The teacher also has posters up on her walls with meaningful comments to keep the students motivated. There are many other posters up in the class educating students on different cultures and history in our world. The last thing I noticed was the teacher includes everyone in activities. For example; one student in the class needs body breaks in order for him to focus for longer periods of time. Instead of this students being called out for it the classroom teacher involves the whole class in the body breaks. This teacher truly shows the importance of invitation and hospitality in her classroom and creates an enviornment welcoming to everybody.
Week three: Places, Spaces and Boundaries
This week I was put into the same grade 5 class at Brunskill school. For the first hour of class I sat with the classroom teacher and got to see what a prep time looked like. This teacher had a list of six students that needed some extra support in the classroom for a couple subjects where they weren’t fully at grade level yet. I got to see different ways she made accommodations to assignments for these students and ways simplified questions to support her students needs. In the next period she handed out assignments for the math lesson but never once called out the students that had a different assignment with accommodations. When she gave examples on the board she including examples from both assignments she handed out.
I noticed this teacher tries to encourage her students about respecting others and patience while in the class. If a student is asking a question or joining into a class discussion the teacher makes sure the other students have their full attention towards who’s talking. She has four different groups in the class and each student is assigned to one of those groups. She told me she does this because its a great way to teach students patience and trying to show them a lesson that you have to wait for things in life.
The teacher does a great job in making her classroom environment welcoming to everyone. She makes sure everyone is doing good throughout the day and encourages her students to try different questions in their lessons to test themselves. She also does this thing where students hand in an assignment and on each question they either put an arrow up or a down arrow. When this gets handed in the teacher knows what questions the class needs to work on more and what questions the class feels comfortable with. I noticed in the class the teacher also does a lot of positive reinforcement towards her students. She told me she does this because it keeps students engaged throughout the day and said its important that students are reinforcement for their positive attitudes.
The last thing I was able to observe was the quiet room. Teachers have the opportunity to use the quiet room when students need to be alone or may feel overstimulated in the class environment. The quiet room has the main lights turned off with colourful lights around them. There is different chairs students can sit in and different books they can read while in there. When I asked about the full purpose of this room it was so students can have a break from their main classroom and to recharge so their classroom teachers can have their full attention when they decide they are ready to come back to class.
Overall, this week was very good and I’m excited for next week!
Week four: Diversity
For my final day at Brunskill school I was able to observe multiple ways diversity is spread throughout the school. I was placed in the same grade 5 class as the previous weeks and was able to discuss with the teacher about the topic question for this week. When it comes to spreading diversity in this school enviornment is goes way beyond just the different cultural backgrounds of students. I was able to see diversity through accommodations for students whether they had an intellectual or physical disability and students learning modifications when they are at a lower grade level than what they are placed in.
I noticed that the teacher was able to include all students no matter what. When it came to assignments if a student was at a lower grade level this student was given different questions to do yet never called out for it. This teacher also makes sure all students are engaged and can speak on their opinions without being judged. I noticed the teacher saying to her class that "you learn more from your peers perspectives than your own." I think that is very important for students at a younger age to understand because as you get older your own perspectives change gradually based on what your peers educate you on. Another thing I noticed the teacher doing for accommodations was allowing students to work in other areas of the school where they can focus better and for longer periods of time. As well as one student is new to Canada was used a translate scanner on his assignments where he could translate the English assignment into his language.
When it comes to physical disabilties this teacher had many different seating options in order for students to focus better. This included seat cushions, rocking chairs, pedals to go under their desks and chairs with wheels. She told me that she noticed students that use these different seatings that have a physical disability end up engaging more in the outcomes. I also was able to observe the standing desk options where students in wheelchairs can use those desk because they are higher up which allows their wheelchair to comfortably fit under. Whether it was seen in the grade 5 class or kindergarden class every teacher has different accommodations for students with physical disabilities in order for them to feel included in the classroom enviornment.
They have a quiet room where students who have intellectual disabilities such as down syndrome or FASD can go and use things in the quiet room like yoga balls, mini trampolines, turn the main lights off and have the coloured lights on, books and iPads for teaching purposes. This quiet room allows these students to challenge their bodies and minds with different learning objectives. This room also lets students who need time away from the classroom to go and collect their emotions before returning to their main classroom.
Overall my final day at Brunskill school was good and I am very happy with the learning opportunities and experiences I gained from this field placement.