Poetic Reflection: Who is the Learner Here?

I began my teaching career 1991 in a remote school accessible only by air. I was full of optimism and a belief in the transformative power of education. Believing that I was the agent of change and that the world was just waiting for me, I set out to bring hope and a brighter future [...]

Posted by milesmac on April 30th, 2012 | 1 Comment Posted in Pedagogy

Monarchs of all we survey

Still from "Cast Away" In 1990 my octogenarian philosophy of education professor, Sister M. with great grandiosity and a dramatic flourish informed the class that we will eventually "get our own classrooms, shut the door, and be Monarchs of all we survey, for that is the nature of Teaching." To us, at the time, it [...]

Posted by milesmac on April 26th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Alfie Kohn Themed Proposal

Back in 2002, I was chairperson of our association's professional development committee and had the opportunity to thank Mr. Kohn for his keynote for our divisional PD conference. I fear I was too nervous at the time to properly thank him, as I was too focused on the question I was going to ask to [...]

Posted by milesmac on April 13th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Physical Space Influences Teaching and Learning

If you're really committed to eliminating the sage on the stage, give up the stage. Stick some student desks right up front against the whiteboard, see what happens. I did, it is quite interesting. This past September I viewed the following video. It made me think about how this rectangular space of ours could work [...]

Posted by milesmac on April 12th, 2012 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy