For my sixth week at St. Michael Community School, I focused on curriculum and instruction, and how teachers and students interact through it. One of the first things I did this week was to ask my teacher if/how she incorporates the curriculum into her lessons in any unique ways. Unsurprisingly, she said that curriculum to her is more of a baseline rather than a true procedure. Her lessons are focused around the kids rather than relaying information. She also stressed how background information is extremely important, especially in a school such as St. Michaels. This is because since lots of the students come from homes where family life can be unsatisfactory, or nutrition and self-care are overlooked, my teacher can see if a student isn’t feeling like themselves. In this case she will talk to the students on a more personal level. For example, she said there is a student who if she making mistakes repeatedly, will get really upset. She feels mistakes are not allowed, as that is what she learns at home. In response, my cooperating teacher will encourage that mistakes happen to everyone, but when this student goes home, mistakes are something that should never happen. I personally feel like knowledge of issues and circumstances such as this will come in time as an educator, but should be a priority. I really respect and understand the reasoning behind my coop teachers practices regarding curriculum, because after spending time with the students and learning about them and their behaviors, I can see just how important this personal connection is to them and their ability to learn.  She also really emphasised how important being flexible for students is, even in well-off communities, as it is significant to both the student and the teacher to maintain balance in personal and educational life.

My coop teacher also does a good job in representing the curriculum in her lessons too. During my field day, the students were reviewing the concept of more/less in math. To do this, the first thing my teacher did was work with a number line to refresh the student’s memory. Next, she played a Kermit the frog video to engage them in the topic further. After, she would have a discussion with the class and ask what the relationship is between two numbers (i.e. what is four less than 7). I noticed that whenever she talks about numbers, she tends to use money as the main counter (where applicable). I brought it up in our meeting at the end of the day, where she said that since many students come from poor families, stressing money and the concept to them is important for their life outside of school. I really liked how she did this, as she implicitly teaches them other skills while not reaching outside of the curriculum. Another implicit way she teaches students is that, even though students are only grade one and two, she encourages self-direction. In her lesson today, she did this through a worksheet in which the students had to work through using a number line, but could not ask for help, only to see if they were right or not. I feel like teaching self-direction through solving like this is a way to develop independent learning at a young age.

Students in the classroom also seem to be aware of what they are learning. On the wall by the teacher’s desk, they have a bulletin board, which has “I can” statements that the students create alongside the teacher. They act as outcomes that the students are learning from their lessons, and through this, can summarize their learning.