I (Yiola) cannot help but sing Kool and the Gang’s popular 80s song Celebrate these days. There is just so much to celebrate. A warm and special congratulations to Professor Clare Kosnik for her appointment as Director at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS).

JICS is a remarkable place. It is a place where exemplary Teacher Education (The Child Study and Education Program) meets exemplary teaching (The University of Toronto Laboratory School) meets world class research and faculty (The Laidlaw Research Centre).  This tripartite forms a powerful relationship for developing all that is exceptional in teaching and learning.

Clare Kosnik is a remarkable academic. She brings considerable experience in academic leadership to this important role. She was Director of the Elementary Preservice Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2003, Head of the Centre for Teacher Development from 2007 to 2009, and Director of the Master of Teaching Program in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from 2009 to 2011. Her colleagues, students and online followers know of her international contributions to scholarship on teacher education, action research and teacher inquiry, and literacy education which are made possible through large research funds, including support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Carnegie Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, to mention just a few.  But, so much more than this, Clare Kosnik is a remarkable person. Like past Directors at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, Clare brings compassion, care, and deep commitment to student learning and teacher development through teacher education and research.

Welcome to the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, Clare.  I look forward to working with you!

Everyone around the world, come on!  Yahoo!  It’s a celebration.

Tomorrow Canada turns 148 years old! We are a relatively young country but have plenty to be proud of. Below are some super interesting facts about Canada (as of 2013). Wishing all my fellow Canadians a relaxing, FUN, and warm Canada Day!

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/08/13/insane-facts-canada-infographic_n_3748965.html

And so, this week marks the last week of school for my Sylvia Clare. For those who have read my (Yiola) FDK blog posts you may recall that this year my daughter, Sylvia Clare, attended school for the very first time. As a four year I could only imagine what thoughts and ideas ran through her mind as she entered the big institution of schooling.

Here is an image of Sylvia Clare on her very first day:

This little human being, with only four years experience in the world, ventured alone into an unfamiliar place with strangers for full day school. How grand is that expectation? I imagine in the mind of my Sylvia Clare it was a significant challenge. And yet, from the first day there was calm and there was success. What is success you ask? From my (a parent’s) perspective it is this: a child who is confident and competent in her environment;  a child who is provided opportunities to play, explore, inquire and make decisions about their own learning; and success is when a child is able to manage her day in ways that are comfortable, productive, and enjoyable. This is what full day learning in Junior Kindergarten (JK) means to me. Through this, I have witnessed Sylvia Clare develop skills: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and of course literacy skills.

When Sylvia Clare began JK she could not spell her name, she was just learning her ABCs and 123s, and there was no experience with print. Reading was one dimensional, where mommy or daddy read to her. Somehow, by the end of JK, things now are quite different.

The following example sums up just how much Sylvia Clare has changed. The other other day she stumbled across some of my old school supplies from back when I was a teacher. She helped herself to a journal book and immersed herself in activity.  Independently, this is what she produced:

While I was thrilled to see that YES Sylvia Clare understands the beginnings of language, how to write, how to spell, how to produce a sentence, how to tell a story!!!  This experience told me so much more about my daughter as a learner: the initiative, confidence, risk, and desire “to do” were even more thrilling for me to witness.

From this simple experience I see the work that has gone into bringing Sylvia Clare to this point. I wish to tell her teachers this:

Thank you for fostering a learning environment that is safe, secure and open for exploration.

Thank you for encouraging Sylvia Clare to speak and to be heard.

Thank you for fostering friendships and encouraging inclusive play in the classroom and the playground.

Thank you for modelling respect and kindness and expecting that from all children in your school.

Thank you for teaching phonemic awareness and for providing direct instruction.

Thank you for listening to Sylvia Clare’s stories about “Old Man’s Lake” and asking her questions.

Thank you for encouraging her sense of invention and creation (I have more cereal boxes than I know what to do with!)

Thank you for using your smart board in ways that enhance students’ awareness of technology and literacy.

Thank you for developing fun games that helped her develop her literacy and numeracy awareness.

Thank you for encouraging Sylvia Clare to sound out words and to try reading books on her own.

Thank you for instilling a love of reading.

Thank you for teaching in ways that are so transparent that Sylvia Clare is able to come home and tell me exactly what she did in school. In fact, she clearly instructs me on what I need to do to have her prepared for the next day!

Thank you for fostering a love and care for the environment. We will be sure to visit “Woody” (the tree) in our local forest.

Thank you for the consistent routines and systematic communication with parents.

Thank you for celebrating my child and every child in the class.

Thank you for caring so deeply about my Sylvia Clare.  Your care is evident in her development.

Thank you for working with me to ensure Sylvia Clare is happy, secure, confident, and learning.

You see, teaching literacy is not only about teaching phonics or repetitive worksheets as the proven way to acquire language… or whether direct instruction is proven to increase awareness… without the thoughtful consideration and doing of all of the above, that is the “teaching of children”, something is missing in learning development.

And so here we are, the final week of JK.  It has been a remarkable year for Sylvia Clare.

Here is Sylvia Clare during her last week of school with her teachers:

In the image immediately above, I see comfort and trust. I see calm and happiness. I see a readiness to enjoy a day filled with learning. In my teacher education classes I work hard to share with student teachers the nuances of teachers’ work in order to understand that these elements of school are not innate or simply exist. These elements are crafted with thoughtful consideration on the part of teachers. Our research on literacy teacher educators and on  classroom teachers over the years demonstrates these nuances well.

This post present one story, of one child, in her early years schooling experience. It is not the experience of every child. It is, in my opinion, an exemplary experience because of the teachers. We know from research that teachers’ work is the leading factor of student achievement: what teachers plan, do, say, and develop within a classroom often dictates how children experience school and learn.  Sylvia Clare’s teachers are an incredible team — and we also know from the research on early years classrooms that the relationship between the teams of teachers is paramount to the success of the program.  Teachers, partnerships, pedagogy, and content all come together to form a young child’s experience.

In my final FDK blog post, I want to say, Thank You teachers for bringing all of the above together, for making Sylvia Clare’s (and my) first year of schooling such a wonderful experience. Wishing all teachers and parents and children a wonderful and safe summer holiday.

We are now well into the month June and our Masters students have recently graduated from their teacher education program. Another year passes with new teachers eager to journey into their own classrooms.
The hustle and bustle of the year: the class discussions, the stressful assignments, the dreaded group work, the interesting one on one meetings, the challenging practicum placements, and the joys of watching students learn … is distant now as the halls and student lounge are empty and there is a quiet calm at the faculty.  At our graduation celebration last week I felt the relief, rejoice, and excitement of the graduates. I also sensed the uncertainty, concern and frustration.

Right now, in Ontario, there are significant challenges in teaching: jobs are still sparse, the unions are in tension with the Ministry and teachers are on “work to rule”, curriculum is being protested, and positions that are in most need continue to be cut.  It is hard teaching these realities of teaching to new teachers who only want to celebrate the learning of children in their classrooms. Can you ever prepare new teachers for the realities of the classroom?

It seems we do a fine job of curriculum preparation but because teaching is a relational act, so much of the learning remains to be had. I (Yiola) believe our graduates are very well prepared for the classroom. They have learned and experienced enough and more to be able to enter a classroom and teach with confidence and competence. There will be set backs and disappointments, there will be hurdles and successes.  Teaching is dynamic, unpredictable, and spontaneous.  Our graduates have the tools they need but they will need perseverance and strong hearts along the way. I wish our graduates all the best as they enter the profession.