- Question 1: During the first face-to-face we used the language of Urgent vs Important to help frame our thinking around our use of TIME. Reflect on why you joined Cohort 21 and your professional goals for this year. Now that the year has begun and you have met your students what IMPORTANT goal might you like to address and leverage this community to get support with?
The first Face to Face session of Cohort21 was such a valuable connection to the community of CIS. In the last 2 years, there have been several opportunities to network with colleagues virtually, however, there is something to be said for connecting in person and getting to know colleagues beyond the screen.
I chose to join Cohort21 this year as I have been searching for a spark to expand my professional practice and discover what my next steps could be. As someone who has a non-traditional teaching role, it is always great to connect with colleagues who are both in and out of the classroom.
The Urgent vs. Important exercise was extremely valuable in determining what I want to address this school year. September was spent working towards normalcy within the school, preparing students for outdoor education experiences, and returning back to the fervent pace that we became accustomed to pre-pandemic.
In our group discussion during our face-to-face, I started to reflect and identified that the mental health of students and recovery post-pandemic with a large focus on DEI is the area that I am planning on focusing on for my work with Cohort21.
Question 2: Which of the Season 11 Strands resonates with you and why? Share what you feel is both urgent and important about it for you and your school at the moment and some of the questions you have about moving forward.
Coming into Cohort21, I reviewed the Season 11 Strands, and Diversity, Equity Inclusion, and Justice resonated with me the most. The question of “How might we further ensure that our schools are responsive to DEIJ challenges and opportunities” is a question I am looking forward to deepening my knowledge and understanding in. I have a particular focus on amplifying Indigenous voices and ensuring we have a strategic plan for this area moving forward.
I am heading out on a 10-day international experience with students prior to our next face-to-face. I am looking forward to reconnecting with the group after some time away from school and focusing on my action plan for the year ahead.
So glad you joined Cohort 21! Looking forward to your posts.
@cpickering When thinking about our use of time as educators, I really agree that spending time with CIS peers in person is such an important part of making connections. I would argue that substantive relationships hinge on in-person interactions, because we can look at someone and read their tone, body language and energy differently than we when we are on a screen. It reminds me of an exhibit I visited at the WNDER Museum in Chicago, where it reflected on how disconnected and detached people feel when engaged in video conference calls, (Here’s the description: https://wndrmuseum.com/chicago/antibodies/) The exhibit made me think about how in person interactions are largely focused on the other person, whereas video dialogue can sometimes be focused on ourselves and how we perceive our own interaction with the other person, as we stare at our image; maybe it’s the focus on ourselves that detracts from our connection with others.
I would be curious to know about how indigenous ways of knowing might support this realization, and how your exploration of mental health and amplification of Indigenous voices could capture this.
Looking forward to discussing your ideas more after your learning from your 10-day international experience. Thanks for sharing out!
hi @cpickering!
Thanks for a great first blog post!
I think you and @smartini from our group should connect about this amazing resource she is bringing to our school: https://cangeoeducation.ca/en/maps/indigenous-peoples-atlas-of-canada/
It is set to arrive this week and her and I will be working together to explore this map with our elementary students. Can’t wait to share how it goes with the group!