Genworth Canada and Habitat For Humanity Canada (HFHC) have just released a book that is sure to capture the hearts of readers of all ages. It is filled with heartwarming stories written by children from every part of Canada, on what “home” means to them. Genworth Canada’s Meaning of Home Contest was launched in 2007 to help promote children’s literacy and support HFHC. To date the Contest has received more than 10,000 entries and has generated $450,000 in grants to more than 30 Habitat affiliates across the country. The Meaning of Home book is a compilation of all the winning entries and finalists of the last five years, and all net proceeds will go directly to HFHC.

“At the end of the day I would use the [river] water to make dinner. My Birth Mom told me she was sending me to a place where they would take better care of me…Now I am in a perfect school with friends…Water comes from a tap and I know it is clean…home is different to me than to a lot of other kids …Sometimes things in life can be hard but having a good home can make a difference.”

To read more inspirational stories and help provide affordable housing to more Canadians, order your copy now at www.meaningofhome.ca.

For additional information, please contact Anita DiPaolo Booth at Anita.DiPaoloBooth@genworth.com.

Get your groove on with Fit2Dance workshops for elementary and secondary school teachers in Ontario. Teachers can learn new choreography, new ways to look at dance with The Groove Method and teacher-friendly approaches of fostering student creativity to get every body moving. Hands-on or curriculum-based instruction lasts from 1.5 to 8 hours.

Fit2Dance also offers grade-appropriate workshops designed to make social studies lessons come to life with movement. Some dance programs can be integrated into your Health and Physical Education curriculum.

With some of the hottest dance styles—hip hop, jazz, bollywood, latin, african, contemporary, house, swing, disco—encourage students to stay physically active, to improve their self-esteem, to be unafraid of taking risks and to build a stronger sense of community.

And if you can’t come to Fit2Dance, it can come to you.

Drawing upon this knowledge, we have created Disney English; an innovative and award-winning English language learning program that inspires children throughout our centers in China. Our immersive, Disney inspired program leverages state of the art technology and Disney’s beloved characters and stories, to provide learners with a highly engaging and effective premium learning experience for children ages 2-12.

Now you may have the opportunity to bring your unique personality, talent, humor and passion to a career with Disney English, China!

Working together with this shared purpose creates a culture that’s collaborative and fun – where creating joy and inspiring children are only the beginning. You’ll gain valuable professional experience and obtain a truly unique perspective living in China – which has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

We invite you to explore this unique, life-changing experience and learn why the role of a Foreign Trainer with Disney English could be your experience of a lifetime.

No one speaks the language of children better than Disney. To learn more and apply online, visit: www.disneyenglish.disneycareers.com

With this game, students can learn that they have something in common with a classmate, or they can learn something interesting about someone that might otherwise have taken all year to discover.

1. Distribute index cards to each student.
2. Each student independently writes one little-known fact about himself/herself on the card. It should be something that people could not know just by looking at them. Students’ names should NOT appear on the cards.
3. Collect and shuffle the cards. As you read each card out loud in turn, invite the class to guess who the fact describes.
4. The activity could be repeated on another day with students listing new facts or with two facts per card.

The preceding was adapted from Drama Schemes, Themes & Dreams by Larry Swartz and Debbie Nyman, published by Pembroke Publishers

Microsoft Canada is challenging Canadian high school and post-secondary students to imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems during the Imagine Cup Canada 2012. This global competition requires students to creatively use technology to solve real-world problems.

Students can register for Imagine Cup Canada 2012 at www.microsoft.ca/imaginecup to compete in one of two Canadian platform categories: Windows Phone 7 Game Design, registration closes February 14; and Software Design, registration closes March 13. Microsoft will fly the top three teams from each category to Toronto for the Canadian Finals. The winning Software Design team in Canada and the top 10 international finalists in the Game Design category will then be flown to compete in the Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia this July.

By participating in the Imagine Cup 2012, students have the chance to learn new technological skills and win cash, grants, and prizes. They also have the opportunity to network with peers, pursue career opportunities, and test themselves against the brightest students from around the world.

For inspiration, students can review some of the world’s most challenging social issues as identified within the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. From enabling access to quality education for all children to creating mobile games that teach youth disease prevention or environmental sustainability, young social innovators are using technology to make a difference in the life of people around the world and in their own communities. Canadian students can also enter to compete globally in additional categories as identified on the global Imagine Cup website.

Every student team has the opportunity to engage a mentor—someone to inspire them, answer their questions, and guide them through the competition. Mentors can be faculty members from the students’ schools or industry experts who wish to support the next generation of student developers. More details on mentorship can be found on the Canadian Imagine Cup website.

A simple way to start creating a sense of community among students is through icebreakers, such as variations of the ‘name game.’

Greetings

Have your students move about the room greeting each other, at first by extending a handshake. On a signal, each player greets in a new way: e.g., elbow to elbow, finger to finger, toe-to-toe, etc.

The Game

1. With the class sitting in a circle, each student calls out his/her name accompanied by a gesture. The group echoes the name and the gesture.
2. The activity is repeated, each person using a different gesture (one that has not been used).
3. A further challenge is to call out the name in a different way; i.e., loud, whisper, singing, etc.
4. As a final activity, each person performs the gesture used to accompany his/her name, but does not say the name out loud.

The preceding was adapted from Drama Schemes, Themes & Dreams by Larry Swartz and Debbie Nyman, published by Pembroke Publishers

Any student can disengage from the school experience. Some students see school as the place that identifies them as being not quite “as good as” their classmates. For other students, their academic success and resulting acknowledgements are not enough to maintain a sense of engagement. And some students fly under the radar, while waiting for the school year to be over: they are present, assignments are completed and they pass the grade. Here are three ways to re-engage students.

Link a student’s interest to the curriculum

If the student is interested in a wide range of sports, connect sports with different school subjects. With a junior high student, integrate performance statistics and probability when teaching math. For history, look at sports in early civilizations or their development over the years. For art, consider portraying physical movement through the arts. And for media, critically analyze the coverage of doping scandals.

Integrate movement into lesson plans

The classroom routine of sitting for long periods of time is often a source of disengagement. Opportunities to move provide chances for student’s to use their pent-up energy in ways that renew involvement in thinking and learning. The purpose of physical education is exactly the same as the purpose of any subject, which is to develop the ability to access and use knowledge to think and problem-solve.

If you are concerned that increased movement might lead to chaos, make note of which movement activities most engage students and search for ways to connect them to lessons. Involve students in the planning process to give them a vested interest in creating a successful and non-chaotic solution. Once students become used to the possibilities for movement and feel the success associated with learning something new, they will see it as routine and not as an opportunity to misbehave.

Encourage students to think with technology

Use technology to encourage the full process of thinking and not simply for endless searching. Engagement often begins with an opportunity to listen and observe. Allow student to do this by visiting “thinking sites” in your lessons. The TED website provides students with access to the thinkers of our times. A visit to TED, the Creators Project and varied student podcast sites encourage students to value how different our interests and thought processes are. And with each opportunity for students to listen and observe, you can make note of the types of topics that hold their interest.

The preceding was adapted from Engaging the Disengaged by Beth Critchley Charlton, published by Pembroke Publishers

For most, the mere nine months of a typical teaching program seems to fly by. At the end of it, you wonder how all that learning took place in such a short period of time. Yet the ride was exhilarating and you are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead. For me, obtaining my Bachelor of Education degree was a time for reflection and growth. After switching careers (like several other students in my program), it was nice to be able to start fresh in something that I believe is my true calling.

Your time at school will be essential to your teaching life. From my personal experience, I believe the most important part of your teaching program is to do well in your practicum placement. Of course the readings, essays, and assignments will help build the foundation for your learning as a teacher; however, the real life interactions with students is what will transform you into an informed and reflective practitioner. This will be the time to prove your talents, let your creativity shine, and allow you to demonstrate your capabilities as a teaching professional. Keep in mind, at any time, a principal or administrator could observe you teaching a class and if you do a good job at proving yourself a capable teacher, you may be able to find a job much easier once you graduate. Even if a principal does not get to see you teach, a great reference letter from your Mentor/Associate Teacher will also serve you well.

Doing well in your placement may not necessarily be a one-man (or woman) show. As mentioned in my first blog post for TEACH, part of being a teacher requires many hours spent planning, and preparing for units and lessons everyday. As a teacher, especially a new one, you probably want to come up with the most creative and unique lessons ever taught and sometimes get so caught up in perfecting every part of that one lesson that you end up scrambling to finish everything in time for class. As much as you probably want to be the all-star teacher, sometimes you need to consider the resources already out there for you and learn to collaborate with your colleagues. Working with people you already know (from your program, for example) is a great start since you probably are comfortable with them already. Conveniently, the Internet is our most precious resource these days. But don’t forget about the library or other teachers within the school community. Many times, they’ve probably already facilitated the same unit as you so all you need to do is tweak it to fit your classroom students’ needs. People you collaborate with may also bring new insights to the things you are working on. Plus, sharing the workload may leave you some time for that much needed work-life balance.

Reaching out to and collaborating with others brings along another advantage. It allows you to begin networking within the industry and your school community. When studying in a teaching program, you will be kept up to date regarding the latest conferences, seminars and workshops. Attend them if you can! You may not realize this, but the schools boards are actually not that ‘big’. You may be surprised at how many people actually know one another. When you build positive relationships with the people around you, you will be remembered and recognized when a job opportunity comes up. So, always have a smiling face, love teaching students, and genuinely care about improving your own learning to help further support the children we teach. The key is to get your name out there and let others know that you can do a good job and will work hard. Be creative and don’t just think about networking inside one school. Get involved with the board(s) you want to work at or schools you hope to teach at. You never know what opportunities may arise!

What are some of the lessons you learned while in Teacher’s College?

Evelyn Chiu is a Canadian teacher, entrepreneur and explorer. Although new to the profession, she has always had her heart set on helping people, especially young children. She recently taught in South Korea and is now employed by a local Toronto school board.

Teaching is a very rewarding profession. Those who are committed and passionate about the role they play in the minds of learners will no doubt help to build a better future. If you are someone who is considering a transition or a start into the teaching profession, there are a few things that you probably should consider. First, try to figure out the type of school where you want to teach. You don’t necessarily need a Bachelor of Education if you are hoping to land a job at your local private school. Although it would be nice to have the degree under your belt, some private schools have their own ‘course’ that interested individuals can pursue in order to become eligible to teach there. Alternatively, if you are considering a teaching job overseas, not all organizations/schools require candidates to have a Bachelor of Education background. You can simply obtain a TESOL certificate and teach at their schools.

Second, engage in relevant experiences. Whether it’s to get into a good Bachelor of Education program or to enhance your resume, it is important that you have a variety of experiences that are related to the age group that you are hoping to teach. I spent a year’s time volunteering at several different schools across the region, at a children’s hospital, at art classes and teaching at a private tutoring organization prior to applying to a teaching program. Remember to obtain references too, as they will be important towards landing you a job later on. Take a look at your background experiences and figure out where the gaps or your interests are; find opportunities that will set yourself apart from the crowd.

Third, know that if you decide to pursue your Bachelor of Education, you will likely be MIA (missing in action) from the social world for that one-year’s time. There is a lot of work that goes on during the mere 9 months of the program. I’m not sure about students of other universities, but at least as a York University Bachelor of Education graduate, the work never seemed to stop. Between classes and our practicums, there was always learning happening and work to be done. Be ready for this change and try to embrace it. In the end, you want to make sure you get the most out of the networking, and learning that takes place during these 9 months. It will pay off!

Finally, understand the market conditions and try to have a positive outlook. Only people who persevere will land that job. Work hard to stay positive and do your best. Don’t let articles like this, scare you into believing nothing will work out. The market for teachers is supposed to get better in a few years time. There are other options too if you are in a hurry and really want to start doing what you love—like teaching overseas or at private institutions, or even in other sectors. If you are patient, you will get there. Be creative and think about how to utilize your time if you are still waiting for that job to come through. Any experience is good experience. It’s tough living in uncertainty, but don’t give up on what you really want.

Evelyn Chiu is a Canadian teacher, entrepreneur and explorer. Although new to the profession, she has always had her heart set on helping people, especially young children. She recently taught in South Korea and is now employed by a local Toronto school board.

As part of TEACH Magazine’s new Digital Literacy Initiative, we want to know, What Does Digital Literacy mean to you? We are looking for submissions of no more than 500 words explaining how being digitally literate impacts you as an educator, librarian, administrator, or principal, etc. The best entries will be published in an upcoming issue of TEACH! For a chance to be published, please submit your essay by February 29, 2012.

Submit your entry to submissions@teachmag.com

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