Just a quick post to say that I had a checkup today at Princess Margaret Hospital and all is well. My "cancer crew" was thrilled to hear of my upcoming graduation, and I let them know it's in no small part thanks to their efforts. Without the RNs and MDs at PMH there'd be no me to get an M.A.
I then walked along College Street to the headquarters of Toronto Police Services for a check of a different kind: a request for the criminal records check required by the Ontario College of Teachers. Rest assured, dear reader, that this too will come back all clear.
While I was at Toronto's police HQ, I checked out their free Museum and Discovery Centre. I've long been curious about it, but because it is only open on weekdays, I've never before had the opportunity. It's very well done and outlines the history of Toronto's police force from the first ragtag bunch of conscripted locals in the early 19th century to the world-class organization of today. It even explains the choice of yellow for those taxi-like squad cards from the seventies! I recommend having a look if you're in the neighbourhood (and you make bail).
The ICS 2010 M.A. Grads
(Who is that handsome centrefold?)
Teacher! Teacher!
Yes it’s true: after two years of course work and more than 650 hours of practicum experience, I am now slated to graduate with my master’s degree and a certification from the Ontario College of Teachers to teach Kindergarten through to Grade 6. It has been a record-breaking four months since my last blog post and my teacher training has been the reason for my absence. Indeed, since January, my heart, soul, and energy have been devoted to my student teaching internship at the Institute for Child Study’s lab school. The 14 weeks I worked there as an intern in one of the Grade 5/6 classrooms proved to be the most challenging, and ultimately the most rewarding, of my time in a program that is full of challenging and rewarding moments. I have emerged from this internship feeling like a teacher.
That result may seem a given, especially after experiencing no less than 360 hours of practicum in the program’s first year. However, compared to those first-year placements, the second-year internship came with a considerably greater level of responsibility. The expectation was for an intern to run the whole classroom for a full week before the end of the internship. Although I began the internship supported by my first-year studies and experiences, I came to realize that running the big show is a whole different ball game. For all the theory of education I’d studied, the careful lesson planning I’d learned, the creative teaching approaches I’d been shown, there was no substitute for the experience of being the teacher in charge. The best-laid plans quickly go astray if you lack classroom management experience.
“Astray” is putting in mildly. The early weeks of those experiences weren’t pretty and my looks-good-on-paper management strategies resulted in more embarrassing blunders than I’d care to admit. Despite the encouraging support of my mentor teacher and the ICS staff, and even though I kept telling myself that student-teaching was the best time to make and learn from such mistakes, by March Break I was thoroughly doubting my skills as a teacher. Even after having two weeks off to recharge my batteries, I was feeling anxious about my post-break week in charge. That anxiety spiked when, on the last day of the break, I learned that my mentor teacher had fallen sick and would likely be away for the week.
For the first two days, I was the only teacher in the classroom. Thereafter, ICS staff came in to support me when they could. During that time, something amazing happened: I discovered my teacher self. The immediacy of running the day took me out of my head and put me into the classroom. When a management strategy didn’t work, I fine-tuned it on the fly or switched to another. Very quickly, the part of my brain devoted to classroom management was able to run in the background, allowing me to concentrate on teaching and pay attention to how the students were learning. Interestingly, these feel like exactly the same cognitive skills I used back in my improv comedy days.
As it turns out, my mentor teacher was away for two weeks, and I managed just fine. My confidence grew and my own teaching style emerged. Other ICS teachers came by at the end of the day to chat. Parents popped in to ask questions about homework. There were even a few student behavior issues that had to involve the vice-principal. I managed to deal with it all thanks, in no small part, to my accumulated experiences in this two-year program. Indeed, as if by clockwork, the entire M.A. program culminated for me in these final weeks when, for the first time, I felt like a qualified teacher.
To be clear: I have enough teacher friends and family to know that when I am eventually hired, my first years of teaching will feel, at times, overwhelming. Self-doubt and second guessing will come with the job. But at least I head into it knowing that I can do it. I can rise to the challenge and even thrive despite, or perhaps even because of, my worrywart nature. Thank you, ICS, for delivering an education as advertised.
Author! Author!
On a side note, one of the things that kept me sane throughout the tremendous workload of the M.A. program was working for Annick Press. This idea may seem insane unto itself—taking a break from work to do more work?!—but there is something to be said for balancing academic writing with creative writing. In late 2008 I was fortunate enough to be paired with Toronto pediatrician Dr. Michael Evans to write a children’s book explaining common kid illnesses and injuries. I had a ball running with Dr. Mike’s analogies and fitting them to various movie genres, but the Oscar has to go to fellow movie buff and illustrator extraordinaire Gareth Williams. The project is now in its final phases and is scheduled to hit bookstores at the end of the summer. In a shameless act of self-promotion, here is the catalogue page for The Adventures of Medical Man:
