Continuing with the bathtub theme! This time we’re looking at my ideal school setting, how I can work towards creating it and identify concerns that might jeopardize my ideal school setting. I should start by noting that this is a speculative endeavor as I haven’t been in a school for very long, yet the interactions I have had are very informative.
I’d like to have healthy relationships with my colleagues. This involves open conversations about difficult topics, but also depends upon trust, gratitude and respect. Especially as I start out, I aim to absorb as much from my new peers as I can and to adopt their good natures and spirits. Healthy relationships are threatened by gossip, and speculation. It’s better to go straight to avoid punching down lines of humor, bullying or exclusionary behaviors. I know I’ll butt heads, and disagree with my fellow teachers, admin, EAs, and janitorial staff however we’re all in this together and I will continue to start with gratitude and seek out ways for us to be oriented towards the same goals.
I’d like to see students support each other in and around the school. This could be facilitated through class pairings, buddy systems, and general fun experiences. By pairing classes two teachers and two classes will be able to tackle interdisciplinary or inter age challenges. Perhaps it will be beneficial for the grade 12s to partner up with grade 8s to review old math problems. This will serve as a means to remind grade 12s how far they’ve come, and hopefully encourage grade 8s to strive through their mistakes. Absolute isolationism is a poor strategy. larger schools in Prince George already seem to place students in a position to not recognize all of the other students in the grade. Facilitating any friendship will be better than leaving them to absolute solitude.
