French Teacher?

I have been hanging out in French class a lot because it is awesome. I was in French Immersion for all of elementary school and I have realized that I miss speaking French. The French teacher at the school is trying to convert me from teaching Social to teaching French and I will probably bite. She told me that UVic has a con ed program for teachers called "French for Middle School Teachers" or something like that. The Victoria School Board set it up so that they can get French teachers in the system easier.
I think I am interested in taking after I'm done my B.Ed so that I can teach FSL along with Social Studies. It will also allow me to get my French up to par again as it is currently terrible. My writing and grammar is shot but I can still read in French alright. Speaking will take practice as well cause I need to switch my brain over from English to French. It's like the words are locked in a vault and I can't get them out. I know I can do it because I used to be completely fluent. French is important to me as I am half French Canadian and there is great potential that will be lost since very few people in my family actually speak French. Another point is that I will be able to get a job way easier...

First Day of Observation

Today was the first day of my observation period. It is different sitting on the other side of high school in that I'm not the student any more. Well I am the student as we learn all the time but it's still different.
I sat in on an ESL class which was awesome. They went over common phrases which could be confusing for non-English speaking people such as "paying through the nose" and "pulling your leg". Then they did presentations about Canadian music so that the students can know more about Canadian culture. The presentations were a good idea cause it made them talk in English.

Next I went to History 12 which made me happy. We talked about theWeimar Republic and the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. I was given a bunch of resources that I now want for Christmas such as Love, Hate and Propaganda by the CBC. It's a documentary about the role of propaganda in World War II with George Stroumboulopoulos. So all of that spells win.

I then went to a grade 9 Social Studies class. The kids were hilarious. It's such a big difference between grade 9 and grade 12. It's incredible.

I am now sleepy and going to bed.  

The Tea Party and the Political Spectrum

My current rant has been about the Tea Party. Since people are probably sick of me talking about it I figured I would write about it.

The Tea Party in the United States emerged last year as a grassroots movement in response to the bailouts and the economic crisis. People who had never participated in political movements got involved to voice their concerns to the Obama Administration. It is phenomenal that people are getting involved and that a grassroots movement has gotten as large as it has especially when they originally had legitimate concerns.

However, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck from Fox News along with Christine O'Donnell have become a face for the party. Glenn Beck goes on his show calling everyone in the Obama Administration Communists and Nazis. Bill O'Reilly talks about how Obama is a Marxist and Muslim. Christine O'Donnell, who is trying to get into the senate, is going on the news saying that everyone should be celibate and that masturbation is wrong. I will now tell you why this is crazy.

First of all it is impossible to be a communist and a Nazi at the same time. Here is a chart of the political spectrum:

Communists are on the extreme left and relatively high on the authoritarian scale depending on the regime. Generally when we think of communism we think of Lenin, Stalin and Mao who were totalitarian leaders. However, communism in it's true form is fairly libertarian with a classless society and  communal ownership of the means of production. There would be no wages or private property. Everything would be shared. Yet, none of the leaders who have attempted communism have let it go to it's true state and they have made changes to the communist theory as it suits them.

In comparison Nazis or fascists are on the extreme right and high on the authoritarian scale. Fascists believe in a strong leader who can unite the people into a singular identity so that they will be ready to fight. Individualism is rejected for united nationalism. Furthermore, they believe that the elite need to rule the masses as the masses do not know what they are doing. Political leaders who have followed this are Hitler and Mussolini.

As you can see the two methods of governing are very different. During World War II when Hitler and Stalin formed an alliance people were confused because they had nothing in common besides the fact that they were ruthless dictators.

Secondly, Obama is not a Marxist or a Muslim. He has been trying to implement health care and raise taxes so that the United States can pay off their massive debt therefore according to some out there who have clearly never taken any social studies whatsoever he is a Marxist. Obama is also not a Muslim. I don't know why it matters if he is a Muslim because it shouldn't.

Thirdly, Christine O'Donnell and her celibacy. I hope she realizes that people don't work that way. It is important to promote safe sex as well as celibacy because the kids are having sex. They need to have the information so at least if they choose to have sex they won't get STDs. I saw a t-shirt that said "Abstinence is for Virgins". I feel that it fits in this situation as she is preaching that everyone remain celibate.

Ok this is long yet cathartic. The solution to the misinformation out there is for Fox News to stop hiring crazy people which will never happen because yelling nonsense gets ratings apparently.  

Photo Editing

In my inbox this morning I found this picture of my dogs Sammy and Mitey:

I decided to use it for my technology course to demonstrate photo editing.

Here is the same photo except edited in piknik:

There will be another picture loaded soon

Getting Students to Vote

An issue I have been thinking about lately is how as teachers we can engage high school kids in the electoral process. High school students are the next generation of voters and it is essential that when they are 18 they actually go vote. The question at hand is how to get these kids interested in Canadian government? The political leaders often seem unrelateable as do the political parties and the issues that are being discussed. Especially given the current political climate of the Conservatives and Liberals in a continual power grab. To me it is like watching a bunch of old, white, alpha males bicker over who is in charge. I can't really relate and I love politics. I can't imagine how most high school  kids can relate.

During elections you will find some candidates on Much Music and MTV Canada in an attempt to gain votes from the younger demographics but this is clearly not enough considering voter turn out in the 2008 federal election was 58.8% according to Stats Canada. This was the lowest voter turn out in years. I think that more often than not young voters are alienated from the electoral process due to the lack of education or interest on current events in Canada. There is a sense that their vote does not matter as the older generation is not listening to the issues that are important to them.

It is critical that as social studies teachers we inform students of the issues and allow for them to make informed decisions on how they would vote so that they can become active citizens and so they can engage in debate over critical issues. It is important that they question everything and challenge assumptions.

So the question of the day is how do we get students to vote and be involved in the political process?

Introductions

Hello whom ever might be reading this. I am originally from Fort McMurray, Alberta and I love Alberta though the past few years I have been in B.C. I have a B.A. in political science and history from UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. I am currently in the process of obtaining my B.Ed degree at UVic. This blog will be a place where I can post my observations on becoming a high school social studies teacher.

I am also doing a two year coaching course for Shotokan karate as well as competing in tournaments and testing for my second degree black belt so I will include some karate observations and experiences. I have never made a blog before so this will be a work in progress as I figure out how this whole thing works.