Well, the days and weeks have come that I was dreading all summer: the arrival of yet another school year. Not only was I completely hating life the few weeks before September 1st, but I seriously considered not going at all. How has everything worked itself out? Amazingly.
I figured that I would spend ridiculous hours a day sitting and listening to 100-year-old veteran teachers tell us how to teach our soon-to-be students, the do's and don'ts, and how to pick the curriculum apart thread by thread. Okay, so I'll admit: some classes ARE like that, and are really tedious. Apparently common sense isn't so common as once thought? So, what do our "teachers" do to us in the mystery of teacher's college that has completely made my outlook do a complete 180? Most of them are incredibly down-to-earth, believe it or not! Sure, quirky, but definitely in a fun way. Of my 8 teachers, 5 of them bring in coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to class for students to devour. I think they're being paid by Tim Horton's, Maxwell House, and the like to get us hooked at an early age to secure the businesses future...
The one class that blew my mind is my focus: environmental education. When I first read the course description I thought, "hm, may be cool...it kind of fits in with my undergrad...". I didn't know that the course would turn more into a hobby than a class. This past weekend we went on an overnight field trip to the Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS) where we completed a Project Wild! course by playing numerous games and running around like grade 3's acting like deer, muskox, wolves, etc. Remember: growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional! Aside from unleashing the inner child, I went canoeing for the FIRST TIME EVER and didn't even tip the boat! I was quite proud, especially now that I can say that I am truly a Canadian. During the evening we went owl calling. Apparently a large bard owl flew overhead. It was only natural that I was looking the other way in the sky. Everyone says it was cool, though. After that, we learned some basic astrology. Heck, we even saw an entire other universe! It kind of looks like a smudge in the sky if you look close enough, where the light that we saw was over 2 million years old. Call me crazy, but that's my kind of course!
What else? Well, we went butterfly catching today. Now, let me paint you a picture.
Imagine 34 kids, each armed with their own sturdy bamboo and silkscreen net.
Imagine a teacher unleashing those kid upon the wilderness of a trail, on private property.
It screams excitement, don't you think?
Now, I'm going to get you to make some changes:
Make those 34 kids be between the ages of 21 and 30.
Also, in that picture, did you actually see butterflies? You might want to erase them, because we didn't see any...apparently it was too cold and windy. Safe travels down to Mexico, Monarchs! May your journey be free of hijackers.
But really, that truly was the only difference between a class of grade three students and us. Some people came back to the meeting place covered in burrs. Actually, maybe the grade 3s actually would have found a butterfly?
What's next on this courses agenda? We will be visiting the Queen's astrology observatory in two weeks, where we will again look at the marvelous burning balls of gas and rock that are further away than you or I can fathom. It has been proposed to go out for dinner beforehand, and to go for some drinks afterhard. Seriously, is it starting to sound more like an outdoors group than a classroom?
Next, we will be making our own canoe paddles from a plank of wood! Again, crazy awesome!
In two weekends from now I will be heading to a weekend-long outdoor/environmental conference with teachers and teacher candidates alike. Apparently Saturday night is a wicked party. Guess it'll be a sweet introduction to weekends away as a teacher...*cough*
Anyways, this B.Ed student should probably get some shut eye, playing with math manipulatives in the morning may be draining!
-a teacher in waiting,
Heidi
sounds like a good time dwight
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