Soccer,Culture, Growth and Memories: Panorama Ridge in La Trinity

A year of meetings, planning, and fundraising led to one culminating moment, the sense of euphoria, pride, accomplishment at the end of a successful experience travelling with my Senior Girls Soccer team from Surrey, British Columbia to the Twin Island Nation of Trinidad and Tobago.  Though we began our journey with a somewhat rocky start, having to spend over 18 hours in Philadelphia after the  plane was diverted for a medical emergency. The students and their resilience made the trip one of the most memorable life experiences I have had to date as an educator.

Highlights

1. The tireless work and support for an amazing soccer experience for all parties by Former Whitecaps Keeper and Mountain FC Coach Richard Goddard.  Richard set up the whole Tobago Tour leg including scrimmages, tours of Tobago (Bucco Reef, Nylon Pool and Bishops High School).  Richard is doing amazing things and trying to bring experiences for the youth of the Island of Tobago to open their eyes to the plethora of opportunities the world will provide with the right support.
2. Meeting members through the Division of Youth and Sport in Tobago who were wholly supportive of our tour and want to develop a relationship with our school to continue these types of tours for both parties involved.
3. Playing a Scrimmage with U17 National Team of Trinidad and Tobago at the historic Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima.
4. The Tours and Cultural Experiences the girls and chaperones participated in: (Bucco Reef, Nylon Pool, Bishop's High School, Tobago Sunday School, Trinidad and Tobago Fire Hall (Chaguanas), How to make a steeldrum with Historic Steelpan Innovator- Jimi Philip- Visiting the Panyard of Supernova's Steel Orchestra with the prolific arranger-Amrit Samaroo, Maracas Beach, Trincity Mall, Tours of Port of Spain, Tunapuna and St.Joseph.

With this all taken into consideration, the biggest highlight for me was to see the country of Trinidad and Tobago and its wonder through the eyes of the students.  They were so intrigued and willing to try new food, cultural activities, and experiences.  They knew this was a one in a lifetime experience and they wanted to take part in everything.  Watching them interact at Bishop's High School with the other students and realizing that they are all going through similar shared experiences allowed the girls a different perspective on life.  And though we went to play soccer, the girls came back with more:

1. Memories they will cherish with their friends and team-mates for the rest of their life.
2. A respect and understanding of how big and small the world is.  Though we all come from different, unique and beautiful spaces, many life experiences are relate-able- leading to a somewhat shared consciousness.
3. A respect and understanding for the socio-economic and cultural uniqueness of Trinidad and Tobago and how it affects the lives of the peoples of Trinidad and Tobago.
4. How diverse the islands are based on the historical battles of colonialism and how the affects of slavery and indentured servitude helped build the demography of the country. 
5. The social nuances and cultural nuances of each country and how to interact within these nuances.
6. But most important, how lucky and privileged they are to live the lives they do and how much of that is a direct correlation to their parents hardwork, love and support.  Many of the girls came back with more empathy and love for each other and everyone they socially interact with.

I hear the girls humming Calypso and Soca Music in the hallways.  I hear them talking about the beauty of the island, the innovation of its people, the understanding of the steelpan instrument and how exotic and delicious the local food was.  This is what learning is, it is knowledge, application, experience and synthesis.  The girls have become honorary Trini's and will be so for the rest of their lives.

The Complexity of Fostering Resiliency in Teacher Education

During a Master's presentation, a colleague (Nathanael Powell) pointed out that many students continue to not want to "struggle" or "learn through being uncomfortable" anymore.  The moment students are faced with tensions in their learning, they  no longer wantt to inquire or use problem solving skills to address the situation., hey just want the answer given to them. Some theorists have speculated that technology and its ability to provide instant gratification has encourage this process. While other theorists point at helicopter parenting-(in which parents hover and stop kids from experiencing and learning from failure) has also led to the inability of societal members and primarily our "Students" from learning to be resilient.

Resilience is one of those educational "buzz" words that describes a characteristic in which students when presented with failure can 'bounce back', learn and push forward in their goals.  Too be honest, I think there are many students that are resilient, maybe not in all aspects of the 7 C's (confidence, character,competence, contribution, coping, connection, control)  but are on their way to reaching a level which allows them to adapt to stress and adversity effectively.  What concerns me with the discussion of resiliency is that many teachers, parents, and other educational stakeholders do not have it themselves or those who do, do not model it.

In its professionalism, teaching is seen as an occupation that requires teachers to be perfect, smart and to never make mistakes. Teachers use to rarely admit that they were wrong, and many still don't. Vulnerabilities were never shown and many continue not to share personal triumphs and examples adversity and resilience. 
What becomes even more glaring is that Teacher education candidates are affected by resiliency in different ways:

a)  Because of the aforementioned ideas of why young societal members lack resiliency, many Teacher education candidates do not have skills in resiliency to be successful.  Some expect their mentor teachers to do everything for them, others become defensive when taking feedback, and some don't have the basic skills to survive the demands of a teaching day, far less a career.

b).  These teacher candidates perception of teaching being  squeaky clean, safe, and easy comes from the observation of Master educators who have had their fair share of adversity, but now are well oiled machines.  The vicious cycle of perpetuation leads to an unattainable idea of what perfection looks like.

c).  The third idea of resilience is the most alarming.  Many teachers remember their teaching experience and all the work, hardship and adversity they went through and expect their teacher candidates to be just as resilient as they were.  Though we do not state to our teacher candidates they have to be perfect and even though we know that they are a work in progress, we expect them to reach a level of perfection before we open the gate into the profession.  Those expectations at time can be so severe that some teacher-candidates quit, and we allude to their lack of resiliency as their failure.

d).  As a mentor teacher- finding that fine line or feeling that my student teacher is going through and finding that appropriate time to allow them to falter or that moment when stepping in would be more beneficial.  I know many will point out that being a good mentor is realizing these moments are difficult to define.

In the end, resiliency is an important characteristic that helps all individuals deal with those "That's Life" moments.  We as educators must not focus on resiliency and fostering it squarely within our students. We also have to look at growing and fostering resiliency in ourselves, future educators and adult societal members who have lost opportunities to experience these situations as children.  Our children are our future, but their role models are present, and if we presently do not model this integral characteristic, how do we expect them to learn, analyze, apply and synthesize this in their lives.  Modelling perfection and ease is not the purpose.  Share your trials and tribulations, success and failures, the messy, the complex and the misfortunes. In these vulnerable moments, our students will not just learn, but grow.

Student Reductionism: Mental Illness in the Classroom

I have done it! Completely guilty! I remember early in my teaching practice dealing with a particular student and reducing the issue I was having in class to a pre-conceived notion of who, what, where and why I thought my student was based on very simplistic interactions.  Student Reductionism is something that plagues the educational system on an everyday basis.  We have these prescribed notions about our students and sometimes we make rash irrational decisions or actions when dealing with those students.  During the past school year we had a Professional Development Presentation that focused on dealing with students struggling with exceptionalities such as mental illness or students that are learning disabled.  What was really profound in the presentation is some of the assumptions we as teachers make about students and their lives (family, economic, social) before we realize that  there may be more complexities that are affecting the student.  Thus we reduce the student not realizing that the exceptionalities are a huge reason for why the student is the way he or she is.  For example, we may say things such as:
              
a) He doesn't care about school or learning
b) I believe his issues at home are affecting what he does at school.
c) They need to try more, and spend more time working on their assignments.
d) She is insecure and is just trying to fit in with her friends, that is why she acts like that.

What we may be missing is that

a) He suffers from anxiety and mental illness and has not be tested yet. 
b) The student needs pyschological testing but has nothad any done as of yet because of the rigidness of our educational system.
c) Maybe their learning disabilities make it hard for them to do the work.  Giving them more and forcing them to spend more time may make them worst.
d) Maybe there are deeper inclinations than just wanting to fit in Maybe a student is fighting depression or bouts with suicidal thoughts.

These are just examples, but students lives are even more complex than this with multiple intricacies weaving through these young peoples minds and bodies  We need to be aware this and challenge our assumptions or the different forms of reductionism we apply to our students without knowing the big picture.  We need to refrain from essentializing our students based on limited information:

- Cultural/Racial, Religious- reducing our students issues to their race, cultural, religious values, beliefs or systems
- Economic- reducing or making assumptions about students economic backgrounds as a reason for why students are the way they are.
- Social- reducing our students to their social behaviors and not realizing there may be many other factors in play.

That is not to say that these characteristics do not affect our students lives, but when looking at our students in our classroom we have to be sensitive and cognitive to the fact that some of our students are fighting complex issues that are chemically and biologically apart of who they are.  School based teams, counselors, administrators, and teachers need to work with community groups, medical institutions and parents to find the best possible avenues for our students to succeed.  We need create an awareness campaign for mental illness and realize that it is more than just a lapse, a weakness, or a perversion of normalcy, but that it is a part of our human fabric that needs to be address to make life better for all students and societal members in the world.

Humanity and Engaging in Positive Democratic Discourse

Over the last month it has been quite interesting to watch the dismantling of respectful public discourse not only between the government and the BC Teachers Federation but more alarming with societal members on opposite sides of the spectrum sharing their opinions and emotional tirades while pointing fingers at who is doing what or the lack of progress and movement during negotiations.  Now being a teacher, I understand the frustration many of my fellow colleagues are feeling as we are being bombarded with hate and persecuted heavily by a lot of people who believe themselves to be informed about all the issues connected to bargaining and our current educational system.  But as a parent, I am also ashamed of the brutal cyber bullying, hateful name-calling, and contentious attitudes being presented online and in public.  Humanity seems to be all but lost in this discussion. As Canadians we usually pride ourselves on being nice, approachable and friendly but the comments and societal interactions I have witnessed really questions this notion.

As an educator, the most important thing I can teach my students is to be empathetic. To walk in someone else's shoes and experience what they are going through.  Teacher's want the general public to not only see, but feel the helplessness, the frustration, the sadness, and loss of faith they have endured in a crumbling education system.  Parent's want both parties to feel the exact same feelings they are enduring in missing sport days, having to find alternative childcare,to have to learn about their child's progress through basic report cards and most importantly the loss of instructional time for their children to learn.  The BCPSEA and Government obviously have their concerns as well, which may lead to the same types of feelings.  We are all fully affected by this job action and the emotional roller coaster sometimes leads to irrational judgments, actions and behaviors.

My only piece of advice, lets try to keep it as professional and respectful as possible.  Everyone is entitled to an opinion and sometimes that opinion may be presented in negative ways, but we as adults, as teachers of humanity need to remember that our future leaders in the world have more access to technology than in previous years.  What that means is that many young individuals are being bombarded with images,comments, articles, blog-posts and other social media tools that were never there before.  They have more access to information and material and they are seeing what we are modelling right now.

The government has presented Anti-bullying campaigns all throughout the province over the last couple of years.  Schools have taken on zero tolerance policies on bullying and name calling, and using social media to damage another's reputation.  Teachers' have taught students to play fair and play nice, and at times to ignore negative rhetoric of others' and to try and be the bigger person ( and for the most part continue to do so). Parents, we try to teach our children not to hurt people's feelings because we would not want that to happen to them.  But here as educated adults, we all continue to lambaste and purposely try to hurt each the other in a dispute that really should be about better learning environments for students.

I am not here to discuss my views on class size or composition, nor am I here to discuss benefits package and salary increases.  I am here just to point out that we as a society are not truly modelling what the democratic discourse should look like in a professional manner.  Hearing stories of people driving by and degrading other human beings is just disgusting.  Even worse, doing so when their children are with them is shocking!  Not too long ago whether in the United States, or even here in Canada people were treated poorly for other reasons.  Let's not re-enact the social ills of history, let just go through this difficult time with some class. 

#humanitymatters

Kenneth Headley (Parent, Teacher and Tax-Payer) 

An Inclusive Graduation

I am lucky enough to teach in the same School District I grew up in, and even more lucky to work with former teachers, educators, and administrators from my high-school.  Seeing them at staff meetings, pro-d, and other district related events allows me to reminisce and reflect about my life as a student.  It seems as though I seem to have a harsher view of myself as a teenager than my former teachers, but it really makes me question my ideas on things like student engagement and social and emotional growth. Now its been a few years since I graduated from high-school but as I watch my students going through the emotions of a very important week in their lives, I cannot help but think about what I would have done differently during this important milestone is our lives.

The biggest, and most humbling regret is that I did not know everyone in my graduating class.  I felt as though I was extremely social, but only with the people I considered to be my friends.  There were so many classmates that were going through so many different things, and I truly wish I had taken the time to get to know everyone and their life story.  Sitting in the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and having my Grad Dinner and Dance was amazing, but knowing what I know now, I would tell my students to take time to talk to everyone and "STOP" and truly cherish the moment.  Months from now things will be different and they will never be the same.  Talk to people you have never talked to before, be vulnerable and take chances to share in the moments with new people.  Make fond memories.  For many students, high-school may be the toughest time in their lives and we make it harder by being judgmental, petty, and segregational.  Allow whatever issues, quarrels and arguments be pushed aside for the greater good of happiness.  Warm smiles, compliments and friendly interactions will make for a better and more memorable night.  It is a special night for you, but it is also a special night, a rite of passage some say, for everyone else.

Secondly, be humble at your commencement.  I remember taking the stage with my classmates at the Queen Elizabeth Theater and joking around with my friends while hundreds of proud family members looked on. When my name was called, I proceeded to "Crip Walk" across the stage to receive my diploma.  I wish I hadn't!  My parents had to wait another 4 years to see me walk across the stage as a professional when I graduated from Simon Fraser University.  This is an important moment in your parents life, so make sure you play the part and make them proud.  Try not to do anything that you will regret later in life.

Thirdly, this is more for the parents than the kids.  On commencement night you get to see all the students walk across the stage and parent elitism is at its best.  Graduation is a celebration of all students including your special little one.  I wish more families would cheer and celebrate the same amount for each child that walks across the stage.  I mean everyone wants to scream for their little Johnny or Jessica, but can we not cheer for the next child all the same.  That child may have lost a parent to something horrible and it may have been quite a feat for them to graduate and we just clap non-nonchalantly for that child.  Lets cheer "Loud" for all students to make them all feel special, they deserve it! 

Fourthly, I remember sitting there and watching all my other classmates receive scholarship and award after each other.  I remember thinking, man I wish I had tried harder.  Don't dwell on the past, now start thinking about the future.  Use these moments as motivators for when you are feeling stagnant in your University studies or in life. Remember this feeling and keep pushing forward.  I do, and it makes be want to be a better person each day.

Finally, it has been 13 years of formal education.  You may not want to admit it, but there have been a lot of people who have helped you along the way: Parents, siblings, family members, coaches, teachers, and friends just to name a few.  Make sure you take time to let them know how much you love and cherish all the support they have given you over the years. Just say "THANK YOU"! They may not be looking for it, but it will be well received as they have all helped shaped the wonderful person you have become.

As you stand on that stage and you are ready to cross, remember, each step is a new step in a new direction and you are in control of where those steps take you.  Be humble, Be proud, STOP and Cherish it, cry and smile.  You have done it, you are now a GRADUATE and everyone person in that room is proud of you!

Social Promotion, and Student Growth

As the end of the year rolls in, and students start looking at what they may, or may not, have to do during the Summer, Social Promotion is something that is debated quite a bit in the school system.  The idea has been around since the 1930's and picked up steam in the 1970's.  It looks at promoting kids to the next grade level, whether or not they have met the current learning objectives. I recently sat in a Professional Day conference that discussed early interventions in reading, and was shocked by an example of a student who went from Kindergarten to grade 9 without any reading skills.  It was not until Grade 9 that someone realized the student was struggling and then decided to take action.  The young student in question was reading at a Grade 3 level.  Now there was no background information, we did not know his / her socio-economic status, nor did they give us any history of any learning exceptionalities that this student may have had.  We do not know if the student came from a very difficult home life or had family members battling substance abuse or addictions and there was no discussion of whether he/she was  Early Language Learner whose family only spoke their mother language at home.  All we knew was that this young student was pushed through from Grade K to Grade 9 before some action had taken place.

Now, more and more, especially in high school, I hear teachers, especially English teachers, complain of student's inabilities to "hear the voice" when they are reading, students being unable to comprehend what is happening in the literature, students who have slow reading speeds, and students who do not know how to read, far less write age appropriately.  Math teachers are complaining that students are coming into Math classes less prepared and less-rooted in the basics than previously before.  Physical education teachers are startled by the lack of physical literacy skills that students are coming into high-school with.  Universities lamenting that students are less prepared  academically, socially, and emotionally, to the rigors of higher education than past undergraduates.   Accountability for these issues gets shuffled around to different "stakeholders" depending on the situation. Universities will blame secondary teachers, who then point their fingers at the elementary teachers, who may then point their fingers at the parents.  Parents will then point fingers at individual teachers, and sometimes schools.  Universities always argue about having to lower standards to meet the clientele, but Universities in BC will rarely discuss that most of the time, lowering admission standards is more about competition between universities for student clientele than it is because of students not meeting the grade.

Now, is Social Promotion really helping our students and or is this even a huge problem in our system?  I don't believe that the majority of our students are getting pushed through, but as educators are we accountable for the students that slip through the cracks of the system?  We are all cognizant and sometimes critical of "helicopter" parents, but are we becoming those same "helicopter" or "bubble-wrap" teachers? Has the educational system become so fragile that parents have control, administrators just want to please, and teachers just follow the rules coming down the pipeline?  Is this what is best for our students?  Failure may not be an option, but all stakeholders have to be aware that authentic learning, authentic assessment, and authentic mastery must take place.  I became a father at the young age of 22 and I remember holding my son and my parents/in-laws both said the same thing to me "the role of a parent is to teach and show your children how to survive without you".  It was shocking to hear this, especially it being only a couple of hours since I had held Nathanial, but that phrase is something that has shaped my teaching philosophy, because as a teacher I feel the need to do the same thing.  I just wonder if Social Promotion will remove our children's ability to live and function without us.  Student growth and learning is the most important part of education, we  must not forget that.

A Love for Teaching

A passion to teach is something that I have always struggled with.  It was an overarching theme that consistently came up during my teacher education program and the phrase at times scared me as I saw it as a fiery, hot, a creative but restrictive and sometimes blinding paradox.  Don't get me wrong, I understand that for many the "passion" can mean a lot of things, but I, for one, think it is ill defined at best.  I hear a lot of educators, especially newly certified teachers, proclaiming their "passion" to teach, and then within discussions, we find out, that they may have a passion for a subject area, or a passion for children.  Nonetheless, there are times where this so-called passion can be so blinding that it removes the general curiosity or inquisitiveness of our students.  The example I am going to use, is one that is personal and one that is vulnerable as it shares a side of my parenting in which I did wrong.

Soccer or "Football", as it is called almost everywhere else around the world, including the home of my cultural heritage Trinidad and Tobago, has been an important part of my life.  I played soccer since the age of nine and somewhat excelled at it.  As a kid, sports were a huge part of my life. Soccer, Track and Field, and Basketball were sports that I excelled at, and I was always outside practicing any of the sports to get better and to try to be the best.  I was extremely motivated.  So when my oldest son, Nathanial, was about 2, I put him in his first soccer camp at Simon Fraser University. We were outside everyday kicking a ball, and we bonded a lot because of it.  As he got older, I put him in club soccer and he somewhat liked it, but never enjoyed it as I did.  As his father, teacher and coach, I was always talking to him about the positive things he did on the field, and always trying to teach him more and more about the game.  In this excitement and passion, I missed that my son, though he liked the sport, did not love it as I did.  Both sides of my family, and my wife saw it, but I did not.  Whenever they said, I don't know if soccer is the sport for Nathanial, I completely brushed it off, and replied with "No, he is just learning the game" or "If we work on this, and it becomes easier, he will be fine on the field".  At the end of this season (and it was a hard season), Nathanial and I were driving in the car and he turned to me and said "Dad, I don't think I want to play soccer next year".  I did not ask him why, I just said "ok" and kept driving.  He then continued "Dad I like soccer, but it is not fun and do I love it like you do".  I then asked him "So why did you not say anything before"?  His reply broke my heart: "I love spending time with you and you loved soccer so I loved being with you"!  Blinded by my own passion, my son had somewhat sacrificed his happiness because of his love for me.  What an amazing boy, and what a selfish father.  We decided to look into sports he wanted to do, and he chose swimming (something I cannot do) and basketball.  He is so much more happier in the pool, and when he is laughing and making friends and taking chances, it truly is amazing to watch.

I think at times, teacher passion can lead to students disengagement in the classroom.  A teacher that is too passionate about history, may push their students away.  A teacher who is to concerned about their students may protect them by giving them answers, rather than guiding them to through the process and letting them fall. Those ups and downs that students go through are learning experiences within themselves and we as parents and teachers cannot remove those valuable experiences.  I do believe passion has its place in education.  We as teachers have to show our students our passion of learning.  If we model our passion of learning then our students can learn to "love learning".  Consequently, I believe that if anything, I "LOVE" to teach.  I Love being in the classroom and around my students.  Though there is passion, it is more tender and relaxed.  I am compassionate, honest, trusting and understanding.  The classroom brings a warmth, and my interactions show that I am caring, sympathetic and empathetic.  I think that when our passion wavers in the classroom or in the process of education, it is our "LOVE" that brings us back.