Final Blog Post

Well, the end of the semester is here. Hard to believe it. I have gone through several changes this last semester and have made some positive life changes and I would like to believe that edpy has encouraged me to think about things about how I want to continue with my education degree. Going back to school as a mature adult has been challenging. Planning a wedding and going to school has been challenging as well. Since the GPA is so high to get into the middle years program, I have decided to do my second year over two years, head back to work so the financial responsibility isn't all on my hubby-to-be and focus on completing 3 classes a semester with hopefully high grades. I have learned different aspects of what it truly means to be a teacher. The theorists would have to be my favorite part of the whole semester. Each one is so different but in the end each of them are linked to each other.

Anyways, I will end this blog post with some good news. My boarding school in Saskatchewan has possibly been sold! Please keep your fingers crossed because in this day and age who ever wants to see a school shut down let alone torn down? Especially that one, with all the history (and ghosts!) in the building.

Thank you for providing a positive and encouraging learning environment in every class we have. It was a pleasure to learn from you.

Karissa

Andi Bell's card technique

This technique is actually quite fascinating. At first you think it would not work but as the video shows it does and it works quite well. The trick for memory is that the information needs to make it into your long term memory or you probably  won't remember it. The card technique works well, but it would be quite time consuming to do this for all of your memory work and how could you manage this with university courses?

Myself, it helps me to rewrite my notes every day I have class. I first write my notes on canary paper and  then when I get home I rewrite these notes onto white paper or into a coiled notebook. I just started this technique this semester and I believe it is helping getting the information from my short term into my long term memory. When I study, I rewrite notes and make lists. These 2 techniques have proven to be successful for this class. I have found that studying for exams for EDPY the list technique seems to work out the best. Make a list and rewrite rewrite rewrite.

I googled to see what else is out there for memory techniques. What I have come across does not surprise me one bit. The first tip I have found useful is do not skimp on exercise or sleep. When you exercise the body, you exercise the brain. When I am tired, my brain shuts kinda shuts off. I don't retain anything in class, so I agree with this tip. The second tip I found was summed up as let yourself have some fun and don't sweat the small stuff. If you don't have any fun social activities in your life and just concentrate on school and the stresses of it you are going to go completely crazy.

So looking at these tips I have found, I have done everything I possible can to improve my memory. I'm sure that my techniques will change and improve over the next 3 years as I continue my degree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-xl7_hdWZo

Positive Reinforcement

The Sisters believed in positive reinforcement at SAA. We used a "X" system and the worst possible thing that could happen to you as a student is that you could receive an X. The reward for not having an X's at the end of the month was that we got to wear normal clothes on the day that we went home instead of our usual school uniforms. You could receive an X for many different reasons. Being out of your room past lights out, not cleaning your room on a daily basis, not completing housework chores, etc. Mostly the X system was used on the outside classroom side of things. We received dt's if we did something wrong during class time and you had to go down to the creepy school library which was in the basement of the old part of the school, which was haunted (you may be laughing at this but it is true I've seen one!!) and usually it was just you and cranky Sr. Helen (who was kinda creepy in her own way lol). I think that if we didn't have the X system, none of us really would of taking the responsibility of cleaning our rooms and going to bed on time. It taught us housework and essentially discipline. 

Study Hall procedures

So at SAA we had 2 hours of study every night. There was 3 places where we were able to study. If you were in Grade 10, you either could study in the study hall or the library. Grade 11 - 12 you were either to study in the study hall or if you were an honors student you were able to study in your room (which was the biggest achievement for myself). The bonus side to studying in your room is that you could essentially do anything you wanted to. I was only able to study in my room for my Grade 12 year but that for me was the biggest achievement ever. When I entered SAA in Grade 10 I started school with an average of 58%. When I graduated I left with honors.

So now back as an university student I see the benefits of having study period every night. I  myself have to have a very strict set of "rules" when I study. My friends think I'm crazy to always be doing homework but that is a life of a student. I have to work 10 times harder than the average student because it takes me longer to process and retain the information

There has been a lot of things that I have benefited from the Academy still to this day. Not one day goes by where I don't think SAA was the best thing for me as a person. The person that I have become today is because of SAA. Without it, I'm not sure I would be able to sit in this university class because if I went to a regular school I don't think I would of made it through high school.

2 HOURS OF STUDY EVERY DAY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Those were the first words out of my mouth when I realized that is how I would be spending my evenings at St. Angela's Academy. At first, it was hard to get used to it. We were shoved into this room in the basement of the school (which was a slightly creepy part of the school) and we were to do homework from 7:15-9:20 every single night. Well, now when I think about it, it was and is a great study tool to learn. Back then I thought it was absolute torture. The funny thing about the whole study time is, is that 10 years later, I'm back to being a student, and still following study times. It is funny how things from the Academy are going to haunt me for the rest of my life!

Is inclusive education really going to benefit anyone in the long run?

One on hand I say yes and the other hand says no. I think it would completely depend on the range of disabilities in the classroom. I asked a close friend of mine her opinion on this situation as she is a teacher at an all girls school (ironically enough we attended St. Angela's Academy together). She said that she has had a classroom with Tourette's and Down Syndrome. Yes it was disruptive to the entire class but it did work. Are classrooms going to stay inclusive from now on? She says probably not and I would have to agree with her. This is a controversial topic that has some parents up in arms about it. The parents of "normal" kids are questioning whether it is taking away from their own child's education by having them in the class. The parents of the disabled child are questioning if their child is getting enough funding. The funding in Alberta works by a coded system. The more kids that are coded in the school the more money they get from the Alberta Government. So if they want to move about from this coding system, how are they going to distribute the money accordingly? That would be the question that will be answered in a few years. So for now, teachers need to make the best situation of their jumbled together classroom and teach to the best of their abilities ALL the students in that classroom. Just one more thing that makes teaching a job of passion. If you don't have passion for educating then you are in the wrong career path.

K