Another school year’s
panic and desperation
as exams approach…
latin joint April 24, 2012
You know, Latin fascinates me. I remember a verse in an autograph book I once had, “Latin is a dead language it’s plain enough to see. It killed off all the Romans, and now it’s killing me.” I never had the opportunity to study Latin, but I have studied French, Spanish and Italian at various degrees of seriousness, and so I make a lot of connections between Latin root words in those Roman languages, and of course in English as well.
Take the word “iugo” for example. It doesn’t have just a couple meanings, as would be likely if it was an English word. Iugo covers a concept rather thoroughly. Consider that it means,
JOIN
JOINT
JOIN TOGETHER
BIND TOGETHER
LINK
BAND
CONNECT
INTERLACE
INOSCULATE
INTERLOCK
MATE
YOKE
COMMINGLE
WED
UNITE
PAIR
COMPOUND
MARRY
CLASP
AGGREGATE
HARNESS
CONFLATE
BRIDGE
FUN
COUPLE
PAN
COMPACT
AGGLUTINATE
LARK
RALLY
COMPLECT
AMALGAMATE
CONJOIN
LEASH
kind of profound isn’t it? Someday maybe I’ll really study Latin, but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the Google translator and make the best of it.
Oh, if you’re trying figure how this connects to Grace Awakening, Iugo is the surname of Concordia in the books. Concordia is the Roman goddess of marital harmony. (I’ve told you before all the names in your books are chosen for a reason…)
the 180 day birthday party March 1, 2012
Well. Teachers in BC are apparently going out on strike Monday.
Why? It is all about Bill 22 that strips the rights of teachers to negotiate contracts that protect learning conditions. Check out the bill- the provincial government will appoint a mediator who will only look at things the gov’t approves, and the gov’t doesn’t have to follow the mediator’s recommendations (just in case s/he doesn’t tow the party line and actually uses common sense). Does the gov’t not know what a mediator does? It’s a neutral third party, acceptable to both sides, who looks at ALL the issues, and finds an equitable situation for both sides of the dispute. What they are imposing is a mediator in name only. It’s a de facto puppet.
Do you want an American style, prescriptive system where teachers are not allowed to personalize their class room to the best needs of the students in the class? Are you okay with your child in a room with 39 other kids, half of whom have learning issues, (behavioural, medical, genetic, etc) without adequate support workers? How would you feel if someone could show up at your place of work, decide you’re not suitable, and fire you on the spot, without giving you an explanation of what ‘suitable’ means, or allowing recourse to appeal? Yes, I know that happens sometimes in private business. Minimum wage places do it all the time. Is it right? Do you like it? Is it fair? Is it professional? Is it what you think public education should be like?
Here is a brilliant blog post from Cheryl, a teacher in Port Coquitlam, explaining the things that have been happening in schools and what we’re fighting for.
I love my job, but it’s getting harder and harder to do it well because of the supports that are disappearing. One of my colleagues was frustrated enough to leave last year. She has taught in elementary and high school. She is doing an MBA program. After semester of study, she was accepted into an internship, and as an intern she is making more than she made as a teacher at the top of her pay scale. i.e. with a degree and a decade of experience. I repeat: as an intern! We don’t do this job for the money, we do it because we love being with kids, and helping them learn. It’s not an easy job. Like Cheryl quotes in her blog, it’s like planning a birthday party for 30 (or in my case 100) kids every day. The gov’t needs to value our professionalism and our skill. They need to work with us to maintain one of the best educational systems in the world, not continuing to undermine it.
It’s scary in our profession right now,, and what the gov’t is trying to do is going to make it a whole lot scarier. We’re under attack. How much do your kids matter to you?
standing up to bullies February 28, 2012
All around my school are posters advertising February 29th as the day students are to wear Pink Shirts as a way to take a stand against bullying.
We teach our kids that they need to stand up for themselves and for their friends when they are under attack. We teach our kids that it is wrong to try to force ideas and opinions without reasoned discourse. We teach our kids to show respect to those who are different from themselves, whether they agree with them or not. We teach our kids how to negotiate a fair solution when they have a disagreement with their peers.
In light of this week’s anti-bullying message, watching the BC Provinicial government’s bullying tactics toward teachers is rather ironic. This week they are trying to force teachers to accept an imposed contract, refusing to either negotiate or to have neutral mediator negotiate on their behalf.
It’s a lesson in irony.
Teachers believe in equity. We stand up to bullies. We have to, in order to be role models for our students. When we stand with our friends against bullying behavior, bullies back down. Right?
My pink shirt this Wednesday, February 29th is going to have several layers of meaning, as I do what I can to stand up for those who are bullying me and my colleagues.
helpless kids? February 26, 2012
Mickey Goodman has written a blog to argue Tim Elmore’s point that kids born 1984 to 2002 are helpless because they have unreasonable expectations of personal reward to their effort. They think they’re special, whether they do anything worthy or not.
Check out “Are we raising a generation of helpless kids?” What do you think of the issues raised in this article? If you were born between 1984 and 2002, what do you expect from life? What are you doing to achieve your goals?
sharing the love February 20, 2012
We teach what we like to learn and the reason many people go into teaching is vicariously to re-experience the primary joy experienced the first time they learned something they loved.
Stephen Brookfield
I suppose this is true. I love reading and writing. I love thinking about books. I love discussing writing and reading. The PE teachers love being in the gym and running about fields throwing little balls at each other. The math teachers get euphoric about manipulating numbers and finding the patterns of the universe.
High school is a place of passions, and students gravitate to the teachers whose love for their subjects is a beacon. I have more and more former students lately who are planning to become English teachers. It’s a rather dramatic compliment. It makes me feel like a proud mama.
Here’s to passions for our subject areas, and to spreading those passions like a virus! 😀 What passion do YOU spread?
finnish lessons December 16, 2011
As you’ll know if you’re a long time reader of this blog, I was an exchange student in Finland. As a result, I speak passable Finnish (even now) and I have a house full of Finnish decor items. These become particularly noticeable at Christmas, as my host families have tended to send special ornaments over the years.
A few years ago, I was at a teachers’ workshop and the speaker showed a graph of the national ratings of educational systems. He was pointing to Canada’s number three placement when he asked, “Why do we tend to look at the US for innovative educational ideas, when they’re 23 places below us in these rankings? Why aren’t we looking to the countries above us?” That made sense to all of us in the room. When I looked at the ratings and saw that Finland was number one, I thought perhaps that was an area of potential master’s studies.
One of my Finnish friends drew my attention to the book Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg today, and I have just ordered it. Stay tuned for a review.
Shawn L. Bird 
etymology June 28, 2012
Tags: etymology, words, xkcd
Now, it might just be because I’m a nerdy English teacher, but I LOVE word etymology. I find it quite fascinating to explore the history of word origins. Imagine my delight to find a comic that shares some of this fascination! Check out a chapter in the life of Etymology Man from xkcd.com!
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