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October 3rd, 2007 by reimer
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on October 3rd, 2007 at 6:40 am
Steve Reimer
September 12, 2007
Reflections
I am not sure if reflections are going to be an overall for the week but I will add to it if I feel something else arises which seems relevant. As for reflecting on the discussions today I would say some was applicable to me and my particular ‘values’ or ‘beliefs’ as I see them today and some were not. I am quite confident my views will change and grow as I do throughout life and the different paths I will take, such as a career change into education, but the foundations of them will remain the same. My philosophy on life is based on what I saw from parents, peers and society growing up and I cannot say if they are right or wrong or offensive or not as these are my beliefs and mine only. Other people, cultures, religions, etc. all have their set of rules or guidelines to follow or live up to and that is extremely admirable but that is what they believe and that is their particular choice to follow them and I will always respect that. As for how this ties into my future role as a teacher, I think it is important to keep in mind that there are many different views on any subject and it is not my role to say how anyone would or should stand on a topic but cleanly, without bias deliver the topic and all relevant information to allow for an unbiased opinion. Maybe this is one of the beauties of being an educator as no matter what the student may or may not be pre-disposed to think, he or she will always, simply get the facts from the teacher to draw upon their own personal beliefs and come to a conclusion that applies to them. School visits start today and I think the experience will be enlightening and exciting to have a chance to gain some more practical skills and ideas on teaching and dealing with the classroom. I have done several school visits previously at BCIT and had a great experience with them.
September 24, 2007
My first school visit was to KSS on Wednesday September 19 along with seven others from my cohort. We arrived at 8:30 and were greeted by the Physical education teacher for orientation. There was a superintendents meeting that day so the principal and vice principles were away. We did a quick tour of the office and met the support staff there and any other teachers moving about the office. KSS is grades 10-12 and has approx, 1800 students along with 100 staff so there was plenty of action. We began on the lower level classrooms and were able to visit virtually all and everyone was very accommodating in having us look in. I did run into Hazel Forrey, a TOC, who is the wife of my apprentice employer, which I have not seen for 12-15 years. She had great words of support and it was nice to see a familiar face. As we made our way into the shops I was pretty excited to see what was going on but there was no class in the woodshop but we gave ourselves quick tour. In the Auto shop the instructor was Kendal Thomas, who I had done my first year of TTED training with at BCIT and had plenty of questions for him about his experiences since I had last seen him. Kendal had tons of good things to say about him and many others I had lost contact with since 2001. It is a very good feeling to me to see people I know that have already gone through this process and had things work out fine. The next class was Mr. Gruens drafting /design and they were working on Mastercam CNC, which I am familiar with from my BCIT training. It was neat to see how the kids are so proficient with the technology in such a short time. The Metal shop is taught by Fallon, a first year teacher at KSS so the stop was quick but it looked like she had everyone engaged and under control. The tour continued through the school with the Math/science, English and social studies wings. This was wonderful experience and I have every confidence I will enjoy my future teaching.
On Friday, September 21 I did my visit to Mt. Boucherie and again had a very positive experience. I met up with Don Muir, drafting and animation, at 8:45 and he took me around to meet some of the other instructors: Dan Hurd- Metal Art, John Kramer- Metal, Henrik Oloffs- Auto, Trent Pontalti- Power Mechanics and Ian Whitehead- Tech TOC. I know Ian Whitehead from my BCIT training so again it is nice to see a familiar face in this school. I sat in with Don in his animation block and was amazed at the work being done by his students. Don was very supportive and had plenty of good advice for me. Next I sat in on Trent Pontalti and his grade 10 Power Mechanics class. This was very engaging as I was able circulate and get involved with the class. Third block was with Dan Hurd in Art Metal and everyone was in different stages on their ring design and again I was able to get involved with the class.
I was forced to leave after lunch as a good family friend had passed away and we did go back to the Kootenays for a funeral but I very much am looking forward to my next visits to experience more.
Oct 1, 2007
Steve Reimer
Reflections
September is now behind us and we are moving into the heart of the fall season. Time is moving quickly and practicum time is just around the corner. If I ask myself if I feel I am ready for the practical training portion of the program, I would have to say yes and it will be a very good feeling to finally be done all of this schooling. I don’t know for sure how I will feel once I am teaching or what the job prospects are for me but time will tell and I am very confident I will adapt. I was able to track down a couple of other collogues recently, both Tech Ed teachers and both working out in the Kootenays. I think it would be good to go home (Castlegar) as all of the friends and family support, if we are to have another baby that would be surely welcomed. The presentation by Louie Guadet was quite interesting; he is the coordinator for project literacy here in Kelowna. He deals with literacy issues regarding Tradesmen and the general public here in the valley, might be a good one for your course if others do not ask him for next year. There are many applications for my education and experience but again I will have to see transpires come the next year. I had heard some talk that moving the Friday visits around to different schools might be beneficial for exposure? I don’t know what to say about this as I don’t know enough about the different schools, staff and programs to say if one is better than another, I am willing to bet it will be all about what I personally can get and take out of my practicum time regardless of where it is set up. The school visit tomorrow is at Raymer Elementary and I am quite curious to see the difference in the classroom dynamics from the secondary schools and how the teachers deal with the kids. I know that my one son can be a lot of work to deal with but 15-20 will be something special to see, I guess I will have to comment on that one next time.