The Education Interview

Interviewing for any job can be very stressful. Personally I have only ever had one interview. I was applying for a lifeguard position at Northern Lights Palace Pool in Melfort, Saskatchewan and since I knew they needed lifeguards and I had all of my qualifications I was not very nervous about the whole interview process. Applying for a job in education however I think will be a little tougher than that. I may believe that I am a shoe in for the position but the interviewing party will not know that yet and it will be during the interview process that I will show them and try to convince them that I am the person for this job. At the same time it's important to keep in mind during the interview process that although that interview panel is there to interview you, I believe you are somewhat there to interview them as well. It is important to get a feel for the people you will be working with and for, get to know each other and ask any questions that you may have.

Once you have applied for a job and have been called for an interview it's important to do a couple of things to prepare yourself for the interview. One would be to try and find out what the employer is looking for. You may not always have an inside edge on this but if you know one of the members on the interview panel or you know someone who has worked in that school or school division ask them what might give you an advantage with the employer. Another highly important suggestion I would have is to anticipate some important points and find ways to focus on them. Before the job interview take some time to ponder and prepare answers to common interview questions which can readily and easily be found online. Some of the very common ones are:

• What is your personal educational philosophy?
• If you could design the ideal classroom for the elementary grades what would it look like?
• Which subject area do you believe is your strength, which is your weakest? What steps will you take to improve in this area?
• What methods do you use for classroom management? Describe one difficult incident with a student, and how you handled it. 
•  What methods have you used or would you use to assess student learning? 
•  Give me an example of a rule or procedure in your classroom? 
• What are the most important or worthwhile qualifications of a good teacher?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?
• Describe your student teaching successes and failures?
• Describe a good lesson, explain why it was good.
• How would you go about planning a lesson?

You can even write out your answers and study them, so that the language and explanations come naturally to you during your time under the interview spotlight.They won`t know that you have done this beforehand but it will make you look really good when put on the spot.It's also a good idea to brainstorm possible questions related to your specific situation. Think of everything now, so that your brain can be on automatic pilot in the interview.

Preparing yourself by completing this exercise and familiarizing yourself with common questions and expectations will help you to feel confident and as relaxed as possible when looking for your first teaching job.Also it's important to keep in mind during your first interview that sometimes in life you find yourself in a place that you thought you would never be but that place could very well be exactly where you are supposed to be. I mean look at me, who ever thought that little Raisa Rybinski from Kinistino, Saskatchewan would end up playing CIS basketball in Brandon, Manitoba. I certainly never would have thought, but am quite glad that this is where life has taken me!

Educational Leadership

In history, when teachers ran their own one-room schools, structured all their own curricula, and recognized their ability to impact the learning of every student, teacher leadership was mandatory, not an option. As one-room schoolhouses became multi-room buildings and then multi-building school systems, however, the status of the teacher moved from expert to employee. The increasing size of schools and their complexities also led to administrative hierarchies and power structures that placed teachers at the lower end of the order and physically removed them from the administration of the organization, which was moved to a "central office." As growing educational systems became more centralized and the administrative “step removed” became a “step up,” even the professional development of teachers was removed from their control. With such a background, it should not be surprising that some teachers do not think of themselves as leaders or may be hesitant to embrace a role they believe may remove them from their classrooms or separate them from their peers.

This “culture formation” of teacher leadership may appear as daunting to teachers as it does to principals. After all, both administrators and teachers are victims of the same archaic structure. Both teachers and principals must pull away from the inertia which insists that public education needs only hierarchical and positional leadership. Both teachers and administrators must assume and embrace the responsibility for student achievement as well as for building the capacity which would foster genuine ownership of that responsibility.

Teacher-leaders need to place their students’ learning as their primary goal and work within their own classrooms to improve student achievement. This is and should be one of the most important practices of teacher leadership. Additionally, teacher-leaders collaborate with other educators to extend their own learning, advance successful school improvement efforts through professional development, and support shared vision and values.These four roles of teacher-leaders—improving student achievement, extending their own learning, collaborating for school improvement, and supporting shared vision and values—evolve from knowledge, dedication, and experience. But teacher leadership need not be restricted to “years in service”; it can be developed and nurtured in all teachers.

Examples of teacher leadership are already evident, albeit not yet widespread. A revolution of rising expectations has inspired teachers to aspire to more – for themselves and for their students.There is no single path to enlightened teacher leadership, but there probably has never been a better time to examine ways to make it a positive fact of life. We find ourselves in a day and age where millions teachers are slated to leave the field in the next ten years. It is a time and place where school can become a different, and better place in the second decade of the 21st century. There is no shortage of models of teacher leadership; the job now is to choose what might suit a particular teacher, principal, school and/or district and set about making it happen.

Finance

Once again, Finance in Education is a topic that I struggled with in Professional Teacher this semester because as of right now the concepts are above and beyond my head. Finance is not something I have dealt with at least not on that level. I have done some budgeting obviously to be able to go to school, pay the bills and play on the basketball team. Sometimes it's meant working a part time job while going to school and playing basketball, but compared to trying to budget for an entire school or school division my budgeting seems quite small on the grand scale of things.

When asked to write a post about Finance I had to start doing some research.  What I understood from class was that education in Manitoba is financed in a few ways. A large percentage of the revenue comes from the provincial government (nearly two-thirds), another very large sum comes from the municipal government (almost a third), and a very small portion, roughly 6% from "other revenues" such as private organizations, first nations, and/or other school divisions. I also understand that this budget granted to Manitoba schools is distributed in a variety of ways. For starters regular instruction costs contribute for over half of the Manitoba Education expenses. That is simply paying the teachers and aides that provide instruction accounts for over half the budget granted to a school by the Finance Minister . Roughly three percent goes to administration, four percent to transportation of students, another four percent to support services for students, over ten percent operations and management and nearly twenty percent on exceptional. All I really took from that was that considering teachers don't exactly earn the highest wage of all professionals out there, they sure do suck up a lot of the Education Budget.

So I did some searching and I found an article from the Manitoba Teaching Society outlining The Provincial  FRAME Reporting System. What is says is that since 1983, the Government of Manitoba has introduced a province-wide, uniform reporting structure for the education programs and related service of Manitoba public schools known as FRAME, which stands for Financial Reporting and Accounting in Manitoba Education. What it does is it sets out a comprehensive reporting structure for the operating information of a school division and school district. It also provides a budgeting and auditing system. The FRAME budget identifies the amount of funds voted and allocated by the school board to each education program and service in the operating budget authorized for the upcoming fiscal year as well as the student population and teach population of each program. 

The FRAME reporting structure consists of nine main education programs and related service functions pertaining to public schooling each pertaining their own identification number: 100 Regular Instruction; 200 Student Support Services (formally the Exceptional Program); 300 Technology Education (Vocation Instruction); 400 Community Education and Services; 500 Central Divisional/District Administration; 600 Instructional and Other Support Services; 700 Student Transportation; 800 Operations and Maintenance; and 900 Fiscal Services. Beyond that there are a number of sub-functions in which these main functions are divided into.

I still do no entirely understand why so much of the budget comes from the provincial government while this much comes from municipal, but I'm not convinced that anyone completely understands why. What I do like about using the FRAME structure in reporting Education Expenditure across Manitoba is that it is consistent across all school boards and districts across Manitoba and that it provides a uniform definition of educational programs and related services. It easily paints a picture of where the money provided in the budget goes to which is the question every one wants to know right? Where does the money go?

Governance

Education is a provincial government responsibility in Canada. In Manitoba, education is governed principally by The Public Schools Act and The Education Administration Act as well as regulations made under both Acts. Rights and responsibilities of the Minister of Education and the rights and responsibilities of school boards, principals, teachers, parents and students are set out in the legislation.

I found governance a particularly difficult topic to write a blog about. I went over the notes and the slides time and time again but still could not really come to terms with what it all meant. I decided that until I have some experience as one of the actors involved in governance, that is either as a parent, a teacher or principal, a superintendent or school board member, or as part of the provincial government, I probably would not understand everything that there is to know about governance. Since I am no where close to being a parent of a school-aged child, and am not interested in being on Provincial Government, I thought what I would do for my blog is examine the duties of the role I will more than likely fill first in terms of governance in education, and that is the role of the teacher. 

The current version of The Public Schools Act in Manitoba, outlines the duties of the teacher in part VII, section 96 of the document. The Duties of a teacher are as follows:

96(1) Every teacher shall

(a) teach diligently and faithfully according to the terms of his agreement with the school board and according to this Act and the regulations;

(b) keep a record of attendance in the manner and in such form as required by the school board;

(c) maintain order and discipline in the school;

(d) furnish to the minister, or to a field representative, any information that it may be in his power to give respecting anything connected with the operations of the school or in any way affecting its interests;

(e) notify the principal who shall notify the appropriate local health authority of the area in which the school is situated or where there is no local health authority the school board that he has reason to believe that a pupil attending the school has been exposed to or is suffering from a communicable disease as defined in The Public Health Act and regulations made thereunder;

(f) seize or cause to be seized and take possession of any offensive or dangerous weapon that is brought to school by a pupil and hand over any such weapon to the principal who shall notify the parent or guardian warning him that the pupil may be suspended or expelled from the school;

(g) deliver or cause to be delivered or provide the parent or guardian of each pupil taught by him reports of the pupil at the times and in the manner determined by the school board;

(h) admit to his classroom student teachers enrolled in a teacher education institution approved by the minister, for the purpose of practice teaching and of observing instruction. 

To put it in plain English for myself and others to understand I would describe these principles as teaching professionally, that is faithfully, diligently, and responsibly; take attendance; protect the interests of the school, for example health concerns, safety concerns, financial concerns, etc.; provide parent/guardians of students with progress reports and lastly once permitted accept student teachers and prepare them for their future in teaching. 

I think in the duration of my education preparing me to become a teacher, I will learn many things that will help me to become an effective teacher. Until I actually have my degree, and get myself a job though, there are some things that I will not fully understand, governance being one of those things. Knowing my responsibilities as a teacher under the Public Schools Act, I think is a very good place to start. The rest will come in the future with gained experience and knowledge.

History of Education

The Constitution Act, 1867

(THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1867)

WHEREAS the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom:
And whereas such a Union would conduce to the Welfare of the Provinces and promote the Interests of the British Empire:
And whereas on the Establishment of the Union by the Authority of Parliament it is expedient, not only that the Constitution of the Legislative Authority in the Dominion be provided for, but also that the Nature of the Executive Government therein be declared:
And whereas it is expedient that Provision be made for the eventual Admission into the Union of other Parts of British North America:
This Act may be cited as the Constitution Act, 1867

But what does this all mean for Education? How does all this British North American Mumbo Jumbo relate to the history of education? I'll tell you how.

The BNA Act was the legal instrument that established the responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments of the provinces. Education was established as a provincial responsibility. Therefore, the regional systems that had been developed would be preserved. The BNA Act of 1867 however, granted responsibility for the education of First Nations children to the federal government. Since the federal government was not really interested they downloaded the responsibility to the churches. In response, the churches established residential schools that have left long-lasting, dramatic, and negative effects on First Nation children's education today.

The goal of the early attempts of religious based education by Catholics and then Protestants, was to assimilate First Nations people into a European based society. The settlers considered their culture, values and education systems to be superior to those of the First Nations. Therefore what the First Nation people taught their children, what they needed to live in their society: unity of life, honourable conduct, family responsibility, individual responsibility, the importance of sharing, self-reliance, and survival skills, and how these lessons were passed on through stories, myths and legends, was deemed as inappropriate, incorrect, and had to be stopped.

Today, many years later, we are now trying to undo those actions. We want to bring First Nation values and beliefs back into the classroom; integrate their culture into the curriculum to improve their learning and the learning of ALL students AND teachers alike.

We got into a discussion in Professional Teacher today, which made a lot of people uncomfortable on both sides of the table. I myself don't have an issue with First Nation students, learning about their values and beliefs, their similarities and differences, and integrating their culture into my future classroom. In my education from Kindergarten to Grade 12 the population of First Nation students in my classroom increased from 10% to 50%. I did not see them as any different from myself or any of the other caucasian students. They had a longer bus ride than any of the other kids I knew, but they were there to learn just like I was, they had families and homes of their own and they were roughly my same age. They packed their lunches, they liked to play outside at recess and some played on the sports teams, in the school band or were in drama, just like me.

I think that is why when it comes to my personal teaching career and my thoughts about integrating First Nation education into my classroom I see it as a challenge I am willing to accept. I've seen some teachers that treat First Nation students like they are different, like they are a problem, that they don't want to learn. I myself will do my very best to treat all children equally, present them with opportunities to help them grow as individuals and make certain that my whole class no matter what skin color, religion, age, or gender, all learn to expand their minds, to open their hearts, and to share their lives with one another.

Teachers teach Children. Period.

Code of Professional Practice

What does it mean to be a professional?
Is it that you are very smart, very talented, the absolute best at what you do?
Does it mean that you take your career very seriously and there is no time for any nonsense? Do you wear sophisticated clothes? Use all of the latest and greatest technologies? Speak eloquently and demand respect the minute you walk into a room?

That was me simply stereotyping "the professional", however defining what a professional is, is no simple task. The dictionary itself provides not one absolute definition of what a professional is, but ten or more definitions of what a professional can be.

So here is the question, what does it mean to someone like me, just starting their teaching career, when someone hands you a Code of Professional Practice from the Manitoba Teacher Society? What are these thirteen statements summarized nicely on a single page document really about? How are they going to affect myself as an individual? My students, coworkers, administration, and parents? The people in my community and all others in my life? There's only one way to find out and that is to try. But let's talk about this before the day ever comes. It's always a good idea to have some idea of what you are doing before you get started.

You wouldn't just dive into the deep end without knowing how to swim, so before you start teaching, let's learn how to do it professionally.

The very first statement in the Code of Professional Practice states: A teacher's first professional responsibility is to her or his students. I truly believe that teacher's job is to provide the student with an learning opportunity. That means being responsible to and for the students, providing a safe and welcoming environment for one and all, and respecting ourselves and each other. Other statements that I find would influence the direct behavior, the actions, the personel of the teacher include number two, a teacher acts with integrity and diligence in carrying out professional responsibilities; Four, a teacher speaks and acts with respect and dignity, and deals judiciously with others, always mindful of their rights; And number six, a   teacher's conduct toward colleagues is characterized by consideration and good faith. The rest of the statements I believe would not affect myself as an individual so much as they are guidelines for how to go about problems and situations and how to represent myself as a member of the MTS.

I find the second statement to be a little vague in it's description. "A teacher acts with integrity and diligence in carrying out professional responsibilities." No where is it defined what professional responsibilities are. So, how does one ensure consistency across all teachers in the profession without a proper knowledge of what the professional responsibilities are? In the first statement we are told the first professional responsibility is to the student but what are the rest of the professional responsibilities that teachers must carry out?

I do believe that having such a guideline is very important and all teacher's should be well aware that they are being held up against a certain standard and provided with that standard for their own reference. I myself will do everything in my power to adhere to the criteria included in the code of professional practice, starting beginning, middle, and even after the end of my teaching career. I believe once a teacher always a teacher. There's no such thing as taking the teacher hat off so inside, outside, inside-out of the classroom, be professional, follow the code, and you will be a successful professional :)

Who Inspired You To Teach?

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Raisa who took a trip out of the small town she called home to the big city of Edmonton, Alberta. There she visited an enormous mall with hundreds of stores, an indoor water park, skating rink, mini golf course, amusement park, and her personal favourite, a marine life display where a beautiful dolphin swam, dove deep into the depths of the tank and jumped high out of the water. Never had she seen anything like it. From that moment on she was determined that someday she would be the trainer in the tank with the dolphin swimming about and teaching it cool tricks.....

However that dream was short lived and here I am today, four years into my combined Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Education Degree. It was not a tough decision for me. Growing up it became very evident that as cool as it would be to swim with dolphins, I greatly enjoyed working with children of all ages as well. I had many great opportunities to work with kids as a life guard, a skating instructor, a basketball coach, and as a volunteer with big brothers big sisters. On top of all that I was stuck in the middle, fourth in the line of eight children, so there were always kids left, right and centre. Through my experiences it became obvious that someday, I would teach.

Aside from personal experience there were a few key characters in my decision to teach. For starters there was my Dad. He is not an educator by trade, he is actually in the field of social work. Seeing my Dad help the hundreds of children that he did inspired me to someday find a way to help hundreds of children as well. Then there was my Mom of course. Growing up I hated hearing "oh Raisa you are so much like your mother," but as I got older I realised that it wasn't so bad. My Mom is an extremely kind and compassionate person, always willing to help, making the most out of any opportunity and not limited by what people tell her. If she thinks she can, she probably will. The woman is the most determined person I know. These qualities were instilled in me as well and will greatly help me to teach someday.

In terms of my school experience and particular teachers that inspired me there is really only one that stands out. Mr. Frankl my Grade 10, 11, 12 shop instructor. Don't get me wrong I had a pretty great school experience, had some very fun teachers, made a lot of friends, was always at the top of my class. But when it came to inspiring me to teach most of the time I thought...

if I ever become a teacher I will do things differently than my teachers have; I will try to make things more interesting so school is not such a drag; I will try to challenge my students and cater to their learning; I will make sure kids go to school for the learning and not just to play sports; make them want to come to school everyday not think well why go it's totally unnecessary since I know everything there is to know already or I can teach myself this stuff at home.

But Mr. Frankl WAS different. He was fun, and energetic, with a great sense of humour. He was kind and compassionate, knowledgeable and totally flexible. He was there to help me learn whatever it was that I wanted to learn. He did not hold any stereotypes against me because I was one of three girls in the Industrial Arts class and in fact encouraged me to try as many things as I wanted, offering assistance when needed but only enough to help me learn. Never would he just do it for me.

That 45 minutes two or three times a week were some of my greatest memories in high school and I learnt things that were completely practical and that I will be able to use everyday for the rest of my life. I learnt how to jack up my car and change a tire, check the fluids and change the oil during an automotive unit. I learnt how to build speaker boxes and cut out a variety of shapes and puzzles, carve designs, even build and shingle a shed in a carpentry unit. I also took a unit on electrical work building a miniature wall and wiring electricity to lights from switches and from switches to outlets, both at the same time or perhaps a switch to control each. He even took us out to a job site and allowed us to apply some of our skills, building cabinets and installing them in a kitchen and bathroom.

His teaching went beyond anything required in the curriculum, went beyond the classroom, went beyond my school experience. I may not remember which wire goes where and how to work every saw, sander, router, tool in the box. But I did learn some very valuable life lessons that I will cherish close to my heart for the rest of my days. I can only hope to be half the teacher, the mentor, the friend, that Mr. Frankl was for me.

Thank you Frankl for your inspiration. You've truly made a difference in my life :)