More Support From the Ministry!

One of my professors once said that there is very little opportunity for original thought - most likely your good idea or great invention has already been thought of before you. Kind of discouraging huh? Well, in the last few years I have combed through curriculum trying to make connections to the environment to help my fellow teachers educate their students about the environment. THEN the Ministry thinks it's a good idea too and now it is back in the science curriculum. Great! So my TLLP partner and I figure we'll take it one step further and use a cross-curricular approach and put it into other areas of the curriculum as well and tie it to the science curriculum. Well guess what - yep. The Ministry is putting EE into ALL areas of the curriculum! So much for original thought. In the interest of the environment and quality education, however, this is great news! Look for it next year!

Finally! A comment!

This message is my first blog in a looooong time. After so few responses on our polls each week, I have to say I was really discouraged! Then came report cards, then came Christmas holidays, then came a lack of interest in the blog. No one seemed to be reading it anyway - what was the point? But thanks to a few of you, I realize I have been derelict in my duty and I am now back up and ready to refresh this tired page that hasn't been updated since November. Someone posted a comment on the blog reminding me that part of what I am trying to do is promote some of the really useful resources out there on our "website of the week". Earth Rangers is an amazing organization and I cannot say enough good things about it, but I will try to summarize all of their amazing qualities as our first "website of the week" for 2009! I have worked with them for over 2 years now and they deserve some acknowledgement, even if only 4 people read it. Look for it in the next day or two!

What can I do...

We are so very fortunate to have CHOICES about what resources we can conserve. So many countries cannot imagine trying to use less of anything when they have nothing to use in the first place. Water is a seemingly abundant resource here in Ontario (except for farmers during droughts) and we think very little about how much we use. Recent statistics show that Canadians use, on average, 329 litres of water per day. The UN has determined that only 50 litres per day is required for humans to exist and remain healthy - that includes drinking and washing but excludes agriculture. For those of you that are math shy that means we are using more than 5 times what we need. So where does it go? Most of it goes down the drain when we flush, brush and wash - in fact more than 80% of the water Canadians use is simply wasted and not even used for drinking or washing. Meanwhile, in some countries, children cannot attend school because they have to walk so far away to get water that it takes them all day. I guess that is why I am taking to heart the handmade sign that used to hang above the toilet at my cottage, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down". Gross, but it saves a lot of water.

How Do You Get Rid of ALL THAT TRASH?!!

Trash, garbage, waste - it's all just a big messy problem! It costs money to create it, use it and then dispose of it so WHY do we make so much of it? Part of it can't be helped I suppose. I still haven't found a way to buy yoghurt, sour cream, etc. without buying the plastic container it comes in. I try to buy my meat from a butcher that will put it directly into my own container from home or if I forget, butcher paper. I really make a concerted effort to choose products with minimal packaging and not use plastic bags but c'mon! How much can we avoid when we don't have a lot of choice? Here's the even bigger dilemma...how do you convince an entire school to change its habits and bring litterless lunches? Let us know what you have done, tried, given up on, had success with! I've been asked for help so here's OUR chance to help each other. Click on "Comments" below this blog entry and help your fellow colleagues by telling us what you do at your school.

International Walk to School Day Success!

It was a bit of an undertaking - fear of liability and losing students along the way, not wishing to walk in the rain, etc. but we did it! FINALLY after 3 years of trying to organize a safe "walk to school day" we managed to get 63% of our kids to walk to school. I had to corner some of the staff but thankfully they were willing and cheerful participants and helped to walk our kids safely to school today. It still needs a bit of tweaking but we seemed to have found a way to make it happen.
Because so many of our kids are bussed from Daycares we had to find a way to have them participate. The daycares involved were very supportive and one staff member even walked with us! They became the starting points of 3 different routes. For those kids that lived beyond those points we encouraged parents to walk or drive them to meet us and walk the rest of the way as part of our "walking school buses". The routes were designed to create catchment areas where many children that lived between the starting points and the school could join up with the 'bus" en route. We had the support of some of our parents too. A notice was put in the school newsletter and after no response our Parent Council sent out an email which managed to entice a few parents.

FRUSTRATION!

How can I encourage educators to check out our webpage?
What can we do to entice, seduce, bribe? teachers and administrators to vote on our weekly polls and send comments to our blog? Everything is anonymous so you are free to speak your mind and we welcome constructive criticism and helpful suggestions. Do you have any?

The First Weeks of the New School Year

As I get to know my students I am thankful for what seems like a calm class. Do you hear that noise? That's me knocking on wood. I have had 2 years in a row of very challenging students and with this project to do on top of everything else, I am thankful for this group. I think this project will be all the challenge I need this year. Is it just me or does anyone else feel the deadline noose tightening around their necks? I've completed 2 deadlines already and have 2 more looming in the next 3 weeks. And report cards, dare I say it, are already creeping into my deadline consciousness. Yikes! Maybe I will make that a poll question... how many of you feel the strain of teaching when so many deadlines are placed on your shoulders? I guess you'll have to check in regularly enough to see if that poll question pops up.
Hope everyone is blessed with a great bunch of students and I hope every student is blessed with a teacher as good as you!