Canada Day 7/1

I'm in Ottawa today, I'm so impressed now that all the people are going with Canadian colour clothing and accessories to celebrate the birthday of their country. Yes, it has been counting 151 times since in 1867 the French and the British got united as one nation in this land.

Well, I'm witnessing such a impressive and special moment that people of every generation are walking through altogether as they are pleasured to celebrate today. This is very awesome. All the people do the same thing and share their heart of celebration as if they remind themselves again that they live peacefully in this nation altogether no matter where they came from originally. This is the biggest and most important day in the calender of Canada rather beyond just an annual event. Wow I cannot hold this feeling inside, because I've never seen such a day of celebration before in Japan.

読書の大切さ

先日、Voting dayというイベントが学校の図書館で行われた。The Ontario Library Associationにより開催される、子供たちの読書を促進させる一環のイベント。Grade1~8を４カテゴリーに別け、それぞれを対象に候補の本を提示する。もちろんその本の著者はカナダ出身限定。子供たちは本のまえがきを聞き、どの本を一番に読みたいか投票する。本の種類は、有名な小説のシリーズものからノンフィクションまで様々。内容は文化系･歴史系･自然系･サイエンス系など幅広い。自分も普通に読んでみたい本ばかり。

読書の意義ってとてつもない。という事に気付かされる。

読書の時間は、読み聞かせ（share reading）、個人読書（independent reading）の2種類が行われる。それとは別に授業中にも、本の題材を用いた授業が行われる。パブリックの図書館では、小学生向けの読み聞かせイベントが行われる。

あまり読書をしない自分は、読書ってめちゃくちゃ大事なんじゃないの？という事に気付かされる。

読書そのものの良さもあるし、教育上のツールとして生かされる読書の良さもある。

本そのものの良さって何だろう。（紙媒体か電子媒体かは別にして）

ただの文字情報の羅列ではない。そこには誰かが伝えたい知識と知恵が物語とともに詰まっている。人は文字を起こして、何かに書き留めて、言語の新たな伝達手段として本を造り出した。紙とペンを使って本を作ることで、自分の言いたいことを人にシェアしやすくなった。本て人の知恵なんだ。著者から学べる事がそこには詰まっているんだ。

読書で向上する能力って何だろう。

・集中力

本の内容に夢中になることは、確実に人の集中力を向上させる。

・理解力・説明力

「本を読み終わったときにどれくらい簡潔に内容を要約できるか。」これが理解力と説明力を測る方法ではないか。ただの暗記とはまっったく別物。内容を頭の中でストーリー化させ、自分なりにかみ砕き、物事を「理解する」。

・物語力

記憶を頼りにするのではなく、学んだことをアウトプットをする。その際に自分の知識と組み合わせて自分の意見として主張する。これが物語力なのかなと。

授業における読み聞かせの良さって何だろう。

 本の内容を、目からではなく耳から取り入れる。読み上げる人のニュアンスがそこに含まれ、一つのストーリーを全員でシェアする。

・注意力・傾聴力

集中力よりも、傾聴力のほうがしっくりくる。人の話を聞くし、相手を理解しようとすることが求められる。

・想像力

一回限りしか入ってこない情報を、いかに整理して頭の中でストーリーにしていけるか。

・授業で取り入れたいトピックのシェア＋理解度の深さ

 授業的な観点から言えば、扱いたいトピックを全員でシェアできるだけでなく、自分で理解することが求められる分、生徒の理解度アップが期待できる。

4/30 The Track and Field day

Today, we had a Track and Field, which I initially thought it would be a similar event to the Japanese athletic festivals. But unpredicatably it wasn't like that in fact.

Because it felt like a day of summer, some of us could get a sunburn seriously there.

The place was a school yard of a high school who graduated from this elementary school are going, so some teachers coincidentally had met the alumni then had a fun talk about their memories. Those scenes were very heart warming I felt. 

 

 

Anyway what I want to write down is different from what I 'im imagined and what I' d experienced. Here are the three main points of the remarkable differences I found out there.

1 They are free to join the laces!

 There was a hill beside the track where students are sitting on to cheer others on the laces. 

2 Qualifing to the competition of the entire city

somes students who made a good result on the laces are going to join the bigger Truck and Field competetion held among regional areas, and more, the city of Toronto. They are enthusiastic to perform their best on the laces in order to pass and qualify to the upper stage, which is so exciting to see.

3 Competing is an individual work of students in a competion.

This is the most remarkable difference I think. In Japan, we compete and perform not only individually but also as one group and class. Here is the contrast that makes me think of the differences of educational concept towards this kind of competetive festival.

The Japan's one is like all students should participate in school events, which comes from the concept of equality and the concept of tunability of ours.

The Canada one is like if they dont want to do, that is who they are, which comes from on the concept of diversity and understanding differences.

 

Graduation Day

Today was so much fun, today was the day I realized there is a big difference of academic concept involved in the national culture. 

At a graduation ceremony in a catholic school,

the best moment I got moved at is when at the end, all the students start giving one rose as a gift of appreciation to their families. That was so emotional and impressive to me. I don't know if it is as common in Japan, though I was so dry instead, and still now I don't usually express my heart of appreciation towards my parent.

Graduation party by students and teachers altogether.

After the cermony in the school, they moved to a fancy restaurant to take place a graduation party altogether, which I was surprisingly invited to by teachers. I was initially feeling like I should not go, the party is not for me, but for them. But respectfully, teachers all welcome and see me as one of the teachers for the students. I can't thank them enough for it.

Great meals, nice musics and heartwarming letters from students, the party was more than perfect. 

The following is in terms of the cultural differences.

Here are some of the questinos I got when I see cultural differences between countries like giving a flower to families in a graduation ceremony and holding a party with teachers after a graduation ceremony.

Why don't we in daily show our heart of appreciation as well as love? We do sometimes, but not so much. Dows it look like our heart is not so open to others but dry? But from the point of kind of customs in school, I can say that some cultural differences of people's behavior are made up in school as a result of education. People are taught and learn how they "should" do, how they "should not" do, which after all creates and becomes part of the culture of people's behavior that shows up as part of their unshiftable tradition. 

If you want to change the culture of people's behavior that holds us back in unchangable tradition or custom, you had better take your eyes on what people are taught and learn in school for real. You might find some key factors on it, chances are that would make the change happen with your future.

小学校のクラス運営

空間の使い方

小学校における教室内の空間の使い方は、生徒を取り巻く環境づくりとして、考慮すべき事項。整理整頓が、生徒の教室内のアイテム（本、勉強道具、サイエンスの実験体など）へのアクセスを簡単にしている。

机の配置

クラスによってさまざま。4人で固めるクラスもあれば、全員の顔が見れるようにするクラスも。

えんぴつの管理

基本生徒は筆箱を持たない。毎度、教科書とともに、先生が管理する。勉強道具は学校側がすべて提供するスタンス。

掲示物

授業で作成した作品、時間割、生徒たちの心がける言葉

多種多目的な合図･掛け声

 生徒と先生のやり取りのなかで、生徒の注意を引くときに、先生が仕掛ける合図。面白いのは、生徒が必ずと言っていいほど反応すること。生徒の注意を先生のコントロール下に置きたいときに用いる。