Interesting Resources
Gallery Walk #1: Reynolds
Wednesday, November 22nd was the gallery walk at Reynolds secondary for our inquiry project. I was highly anticipating the day, excited to have opportunities to discuss my topic with faculty, students, and my fellow UVIC colleagues. Throughout the day, I had so many interesting conversations and was almost relieved that others found my inquiry as important as I did. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned this day. Since I had dedicated hours of research from a wide variety of sources, I thought I would have a particular expertise on my topic. However, I learned much more this day than I had on all my inquiry work. This divides into two categories: first, what I learned by talking to other people about my topic. There were so many perspectives brought to my attention that day, that my understanding of my inquiry deepened much more than I anticipated. Second, was the learning from my colleagues on their topics. How amazing is it that individually we created our own inquiry questions and studied these ideas, and then we are brought together in a passionate affinity space of sorts where we can share our knowledge and learn even more? This type of activity resonated with me as the first First People's Principles of Learning, which is that learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors. By exploring our own individual interests, and then given the space to share our learning in a meaningful way with our peers and school community, we were able to facilitate this type of learning. The experience was very powerful and meaningful, and I am grateful we were able to incorporate this type of event into our schooling.
Food Services Makeover?
Teacher Education Competencies
Throughout my inquiry project, I have been able to develop my own skill set in regards to the teacher education competencies. The competencies I have specifically addressed through this project are:
- develop an awareness of the worldview you hold that shapes your experience and how this relates to others’ worldviews
- develop a growth mindset demonstrated in collaboration with others
- cultivate a culture of professionalism by maintaining professional standards/expectations
- practise effective communication appropriate to the context and audience, enabling responsiveness to diversities of learners
- practise working collaboratively and collegially as well as independently
- develop positive and supportive connections with students and colleagues
- engage critically and creatively with ideas to be a change agent in society
By engaging in all the steps of this inquiry project, I was able to address almost all of the teacher education competencies, and at least one competency in each of the 3 categories. This project enabled me to explore what I think is important, which gave me a great deal of agency in where I wanted to go with it. Furthermore, I was able to explore my own connection to the topic and how it will inform my teaching practice in the future.
Food For Thought
1 in 6 children in Canada live in a food insecure household.
1 in 3 eat recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.
1 in 3 of elementary and 2 in 3 of secondary students across the country are not eating nutritious breakfast before school.
…Breakfast programs across the country are only reaching 1 million (of 5 million).
In 2016, the Canadian government spent $228 billion on health care.
That's 11.1% of Canada's entire GDP and approximately $6,299 for every Canadian resident.
Diet related diseases are the #1 healthcare cost in Canada.
Isn’t it easier to instill healthy habits than change them?
School food provision is left up to individual provinces and territories in Canada, meaning there are no federally mandated standards for food served or sold in schools.
This leads to inequitable access to healthy foods for students across the country.
Canada is the only G8 country that does not have a national school food program.
Historically, students used to go home for lunch but societal shifts have led to students staying at school during lunch.
Students often resort to eating in gyms and hallways, often without tables or chairs.
Lunch time is often overcrowded, unsupervised, and can be incredibly stressful.
This lunchtime situation is one that is common but not being addressed appropriately.
Gallery Walk #2: UVIC
On November 29th, the three PDP cohorts and BEd cohort gathered in the Maclaurin building for our final gallery walk. We presented in two different segments, which allowed for everyone to have the opportunity to speak about their project, and explore the plethora of other ideas circulating around our heads. This afternoon was filled with richness, and it was great to see what my colleagues are thinking about in regards to education. There were plenty of interesting ideas and it really expanded my own thinking about this journey we are embarking on in education.
The main takeaway for me this day was the value in collaboration and using your colleagues as resources. There was so much brought to my attention, so many ideas, and so many ways of expressing those ideas, that it really opened up my mind to possibilities I would never come across on my own. By collaborating with others and sharing ideas, we are each able to better inform our own practice and become better educators.