I have visited the regional high school with more contact cards and brochures and introduced myself to the woman who refers families to tutors in the central office there.
I have made most of the final arrangements to use a space in the village to do tutorial work. There is parking there and a small waiting room for parents. It is a spa, with small rooms for massage and acupuncture treatments. It is run by my friend. (www.sunshinecenter.ca)
My husband, a retired electrician who now does woodworking and cabinet making, will make me a custom sized tutorial table. It will be 30 inches high, which is standard height for desks and tables, 18 inches deep and 40 inches wide. The 40 inches will easily accommodate the child and the child's books, and then me beside the child, always on the right hand side because I am right-handed. e
I have decided that I will teach children to center themselves and check in with their physical body, emotions and mind before starting work on a learning project. For example, before starting to work on her math, a student might check in with her physical body (hungry, tired, achey, thirsty?), her emotions (nervous, anxious, enthusiastic, resentful...) and her mind (distracted, tired...). The idea is to be in alignment with the activity with all parts of the self and to be in integrity, not hiding from ourselves the fact that we are anxious about math, for example. We acknowledge that we are feeling anxious and then make the conscious choice as to whether we will explore that anxiety, its source and its size and feel, etc, or go on doing the math anyway, but consciously. "I'm feeling anxious about math, but I'm choosing to try to do this anyway." The idea is to be in our truth.
Then, always check that you have everything that you need for this work session. And then we begin.
For me, the first lesson or two is about teaching the child a new way of approaching their school work. Generally, school work is done because the teacher says so. I'm proposing that the child take a look at the book, the course in general (at the high school level) and make conscious choices about the learning project. Why am I doing this? What do I hope to gain out of doing this? What is my goal with this project?
The next step is to get to know the tools that are available for learning, and generally, for school children, that means text books. They often have a table of contents, an index, exercises, a glossary, and sometimes selected answers to exercises at the back of the book. These are all excellent tools for teaching one's self.
This is what I propose to begin with when I take my first tutorial session on September 7th. I'm so glad to have a student to work with! The real joy of this project begins in just about 10 days.....
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Asking for Help
I have acquired a certain number of local contacts in the region through my activities in the community. I have organized a drumming circle and a singing group and have made friends here and there as well. I sent out an email yesterday. Here is the text of the email. And the brochure... well, it is comprised of the text that I've already posted here.
And I sent this email out yesterday afternoon and by yesterday evening, I had my first client. This kind of thing works best through word of mouth, so one satisfied client is worth a lot.
I am beginning a new phase of my career as an educator. I do not know how this will unfold, but I feel very enthusiastic and joyful about doing this work now.
And I sent this email out yesterday afternoon and by yesterday evening, I had my first client. This kind of thing works best through word of mouth, so one satisfied client is worth a lot.
Dear friends and family,
I attach a brochure which, in both official languages, explains what I am doing. The website referenced in the brochure goes a lot further, with a youtube video interview explaining in detail what this is all about and a lot of text giving background and current information about the project.
Please help me to get the word out to people with school aged children in their care. I am anticipating working with both elementary and secondary school students, as well as homeschooled children.
I will be working with children one to one at the beginning of this project (for at least the first 6 to 10 months). I will offer individualized tutorials in Sutton village at the Sunshine Center. If there is enough interest and demand, I will find a larger space of my own in the village.
Each of you knows people in the region whom I do not know. Please pass this on to them. For children who 'hate' school, or do poorly in school or are thinking about dropping out of school, or who are so bright that they are bored silly in school, this program, this new way of thinking about learning and teaching themselves, might just change their lives for the better in a pretty dramatic way.
I believe whole-heartedly in this approach. I based my Master's Thesis in Educational Technology on the creation of an alternative way of educating children and I think that this is it. This project brings it from theory into practice. That is why I am so enthusiastic about this.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email, to read the attached brochure, and to forward this email to those who you think might benefit from it.
Sincerely,
Lu
Friday, August 16, 2013
Contacting Schools
I cold called Knowlton Academy as I had not been given the connection to the principal there that I was hoping I would be given, actually that I had been told I would be given. Oh well, she was drinking wine at the time and may have regretted the offer the next morning.
I also cold called Sutton School.
I sent information to the school secretaries of both schools and will pass by next week with contact cards that can be given to parents.
I arranged with my friend Ilia to use her spa as a temporary space to do my tutorials. She has treatment rooms and one of them will serve well enough as a temporary fix. There is parking, a waiting room, a receptionist and a private room. That will do to begin with!
I also arranged with Ilia to be interviewed on her radio show next week. Her show airs on the local radio station CIDI 99.1.
I enjoy talking about this project, but I am also really excited and enthusiastic to begin working with children. Next week, I will contact the regional high school to let them know what I am doing.
Right now, it is all about getting the word out and letting people know, then giving them time to feel into this and find out if it is right for their child. I'm very glad that I began this project in late July. August and September are good times to be getting the word out about alternatives to the same old same old learning experiences for children; this is the time of year when parents are beginning to think about the return to school, and to prepare themselves and their children for all that the beginning of the school year entails.
I also cold called Sutton School.
I sent information to the school secretaries of both schools and will pass by next week with contact cards that can be given to parents.
I arranged with my friend Ilia to use her spa as a temporary space to do my tutorials. She has treatment rooms and one of them will serve well enough as a temporary fix. There is parking, a waiting room, a receptionist and a private room. That will do to begin with!
I also arranged with Ilia to be interviewed on her radio show next week. Her show airs on the local radio station CIDI 99.1.
I enjoy talking about this project, but I am also really excited and enthusiastic to begin working with children. Next week, I will contact the regional high school to let them know what I am doing.
Right now, it is all about getting the word out and letting people know, then giving them time to feel into this and find out if it is right for their child. I'm very glad that I began this project in late July. August and September are good times to be getting the word out about alternatives to the same old same old learning experiences for children; this is the time of year when parents are beginning to think about the return to school, and to prepare themselves and their children for all that the beginning of the school year entails.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Networking
I am in the early stages of this very large project and this is a time to get the word out about this idea. I am putting the word out through announcements on public bulletin boards in Sutton village and Knowlton village. I plan to use the Ressource Familliale here in Sutton (Family Resource Group). They have a newsletter and I hope to be featured in their next newsletter. The town of Sutton also has a newsletter and I will try to get into that as well. There is another community newspaper for which I write a regular column, but it only comes out four times a year. The next one will come out in the winter. The autumn one has already received my submission. When I wrote it, this project did not yet exist!
Word of mouth and networking are strong tools to use for a project like this. I have an advantage in that I worked at the P.E.A.C.E. School (La Petite Ecole Alternative des Cantons de l'Est) in Fulford, which is about 25 minutes drive from Sutton, in 2003 and 2004. People around here remember the P.E.A.C.E. School and how we did our best there to provide an environment for self-directed learning for young children, kindergarten through grade 6 level. That school had a very head-strong founder and director and she took the school in a direction that some parents were not so keen on. That made the long drives on winter roads more trouble than they were worth. The school was also supporting 3 full time teachers when it could really only support 2. We had 24 children as a maximum enrolment. Still, people remember, and when I remind them, or inform them, that I worked there, they get a feel for my commitment to alternative educational environments and my history as an educator in this region.
The fact of the matter is that I do not socialize very much. I am a morning person and do not stay up past 8:00 pm most evenings! Yet over the past few days, I have been in a number of social gatherings and have made the most of them.
On Wednesday, I hosted my singing group and Niki, who produces the radio show that I am featured speaking about this project on, told me that the radio show will be re-recorded due to technical difficulties which I mentioned in a previous post. She also expressed a great deal of enthusiasm for this project and told me that her daughter might be my first client.
On Friday, I had tea with my friend Bobbie. Bobbie gave me some important information about Sutton School. Networking works both ways. We give out information about ourselves and our projects, but we also learn about the context within which our projects will be functioning and hopefully thriving. Bobbie's son's girlfriend is a new teacher at Sutton School. I had thought that Sutton School was very well run and a model of the Quebec educational system's progressive thinking and excellence. Apparently, the Sutton School lost a very capable principal about ten years ago, and since then, has been through four principals. They are with the fourth one now, and she is apparently proving to be strong enough to take on the challenges of the school. These include a rising student population, over-crowding and the usual disempowerment of teachers to the point that they cannot enforce appropriate discipline in their classrooms. They are teaching as many as 30 children in a classroom, using classrooms built to hold about 20 - 22 children. This is not good for concerned parents. I now have information that helps me to talk more knowledgeably to parents in the weeks and months ahead.
Bobbie also suggested to me that I make an appointment with the new principal of Sutton School, meet with her and explain to her what I am doing. I had not thought to do that.
On Saturday, Mary and Norm came over to my house to have supper with me and my husband. After supper, Mary and I were talking about my new project and she mentioned that I should register with the provincial authorities so that my business has a 'tax number.' I had not thought of that either! Here in Quebec, Canada, we are obliged to collect the goods and services taxes, both the federal and the provincial taxes, on all services provided. So, I guess I should look now into registering as a business entity. My friend Ilia recently started a business, so I will ask her how she went about doing that. I don't think it is very difficult or complicated.
Last evening, my husband and I were invited to a wine and cheese social at a neighbour's home. We enjoyed our time there and I spoke of this project to two women, both of whom work in the local school board as support professionals. One is a speech therapist and one is a psychotherapist. My hostess for the evening, Phyllis, is the psychotherapist. She is a very social person. Her husband worked at the local high school for many years as a math teacher, and between the two of them, they know a lot of people! Phyllis urged me to target parents of students at Knowlton Academy, which is the English elementary school in the neighbouring town of Knowlton. She suggested that I speak to the principal there, much as Bobbie had suggested that I speak to the principal of Sutton School. So, I'm getting a lot of urging to involve the local schools. The speech therapist even suggested that I train the local teachers in techniques and strategies to teach children to teach themselves! I'm not quite ready for that yet. But maybe I am getting there. Phyllis is friends with the principal of Knowlton Academy and offered to 'introduce me' to her, through a phone call or email. This is a very helpful connection! I shall follow up with Phyllis this morning on this and hopefully will be able to meet with the principal of Knowlton Academy within the next week or two, before school starts in September.
Word of mouth and networking are strong tools to use for a project like this. I have an advantage in that I worked at the P.E.A.C.E. School (La Petite Ecole Alternative des Cantons de l'Est) in Fulford, which is about 25 minutes drive from Sutton, in 2003 and 2004. People around here remember the P.E.A.C.E. School and how we did our best there to provide an environment for self-directed learning for young children, kindergarten through grade 6 level. That school had a very head-strong founder and director and she took the school in a direction that some parents were not so keen on. That made the long drives on winter roads more trouble than they were worth. The school was also supporting 3 full time teachers when it could really only support 2. We had 24 children as a maximum enrolment. Still, people remember, and when I remind them, or inform them, that I worked there, they get a feel for my commitment to alternative educational environments and my history as an educator in this region.
The fact of the matter is that I do not socialize very much. I am a morning person and do not stay up past 8:00 pm most evenings! Yet over the past few days, I have been in a number of social gatherings and have made the most of them.
On Wednesday, I hosted my singing group and Niki, who produces the radio show that I am featured speaking about this project on, told me that the radio show will be re-recorded due to technical difficulties which I mentioned in a previous post. She also expressed a great deal of enthusiasm for this project and told me that her daughter might be my first client.
On Friday, I had tea with my friend Bobbie. Bobbie gave me some important information about Sutton School. Networking works both ways. We give out information about ourselves and our projects, but we also learn about the context within which our projects will be functioning and hopefully thriving. Bobbie's son's girlfriend is a new teacher at Sutton School. I had thought that Sutton School was very well run and a model of the Quebec educational system's progressive thinking and excellence. Apparently, the Sutton School lost a very capable principal about ten years ago, and since then, has been through four principals. They are with the fourth one now, and she is apparently proving to be strong enough to take on the challenges of the school. These include a rising student population, over-crowding and the usual disempowerment of teachers to the point that they cannot enforce appropriate discipline in their classrooms. They are teaching as many as 30 children in a classroom, using classrooms built to hold about 20 - 22 children. This is not good for concerned parents. I now have information that helps me to talk more knowledgeably to parents in the weeks and months ahead.
Bobbie also suggested to me that I make an appointment with the new principal of Sutton School, meet with her and explain to her what I am doing. I had not thought to do that.
On Saturday, Mary and Norm came over to my house to have supper with me and my husband. After supper, Mary and I were talking about my new project and she mentioned that I should register with the provincial authorities so that my business has a 'tax number.' I had not thought of that either! Here in Quebec, Canada, we are obliged to collect the goods and services taxes, both the federal and the provincial taxes, on all services provided. So, I guess I should look now into registering as a business entity. My friend Ilia recently started a business, so I will ask her how she went about doing that. I don't think it is very difficult or complicated.
Last evening, my husband and I were invited to a wine and cheese social at a neighbour's home. We enjoyed our time there and I spoke of this project to two women, both of whom work in the local school board as support professionals. One is a speech therapist and one is a psychotherapist. My hostess for the evening, Phyllis, is the psychotherapist. She is a very social person. Her husband worked at the local high school for many years as a math teacher, and between the two of them, they know a lot of people! Phyllis urged me to target parents of students at Knowlton Academy, which is the English elementary school in the neighbouring town of Knowlton. She suggested that I speak to the principal there, much as Bobbie had suggested that I speak to the principal of Sutton School. So, I'm getting a lot of urging to involve the local schools. The speech therapist even suggested that I train the local teachers in techniques and strategies to teach children to teach themselves! I'm not quite ready for that yet. But maybe I am getting there. Phyllis is friends with the principal of Knowlton Academy and offered to 'introduce me' to her, through a phone call or email. This is a very helpful connection! I shall follow up with Phyllis this morning on this and hopefully will be able to meet with the principal of Knowlton Academy within the next week or two, before school starts in September.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Speaking Out
I was guest speaker on a radio show on Tuesday evening. The radio show, accessible as a pod cast or audio file online, is Everyday Connection at www.blogtalkradio.com
I spoke at length and passionately about this project, about why I am doing this and what I hope to achieve.
It was a lively discussion.
The sound quality was horrendous. We were using Skype on blogtalkradio and it just didn't work.
So, don't go looking for it yet!
We are apparently going to re-record the conversation and it will be made available on www.everydayconnection.me and through the blogtalkradio portal as well.
I'll let you all know when it becomes available.
I spoke at length and passionately about this project, about why I am doing this and what I hope to achieve.
It was a lively discussion.
The sound quality was horrendous. We were using Skype on blogtalkradio and it just didn't work.
So, don't go looking for it yet!
We are apparently going to re-record the conversation and it will be made available on www.everydayconnection.me and through the blogtalkradio portal as well.
I'll let you all know when it becomes available.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Brief Update
I've been talking about this project with people and responses have been favourable everywhere.
I put my notice up on the bulletin board at the Natural Foods Store in Sutton village on Saturday morning. I will put up the same notice at the Sutton Library and at the Pharmacy in Knowlton village and at the Knowlton Library.
For now, that will be enough to start with.
In the first week of September, I'll put a classified ad in the local newspaper.
I have the thought that I will learn by doing with this project. As I tutor children with the intention and aim of teaching them how to learn on their own, I will increase and improve my own understanding of what this means for children.
The book, 'Free to Learn' by Peter Grey was brought to my attention. There is an unschooling philosophy that goes on the assumption that children will learn without any structure at all.
I love watching children learn as they play. Play is one of the richest sources of learning for children and this includes all kinds of play activity, alone or in a group. However, I believe very strongly that children need some basic skills and some support and encouragement to learn how to read for information, write well and coherently and use the incredible resource of the internet to find information. I intend to create a centre for children where they can learn to read, print and type, and use numbers with confidence and at their own pace and then explore learning for themselves.
I've seen children look lost and I've heard children express the desire for more structure in my time in 'free school' environments or unschooling environments.
My mother tells me that I taught myself to read at age 4, but not all children do this, nor should we expect them to.
So, I'm not going to throw the baby of support and encouragement out with the bathwater of coercion and adult control of the child's learning. There is a big difference between support and control.
So, my assessment of Peter Gray's book is that it is apparently beautifully written and well-researched through his own experiences at Sudbury Valley School. Read this book and learn from it, but use your own discernment to determine what feels right for you and for your child or children.
I put my notice up on the bulletin board at the Natural Foods Store in Sutton village on Saturday morning. I will put up the same notice at the Sutton Library and at the Pharmacy in Knowlton village and at the Knowlton Library.
For now, that will be enough to start with.
In the first week of September, I'll put a classified ad in the local newspaper.
I have the thought that I will learn by doing with this project. As I tutor children with the intention and aim of teaching them how to learn on their own, I will increase and improve my own understanding of what this means for children.
The book, 'Free to Learn' by Peter Grey was brought to my attention. There is an unschooling philosophy that goes on the assumption that children will learn without any structure at all.
I love watching children learn as they play. Play is one of the richest sources of learning for children and this includes all kinds of play activity, alone or in a group. However, I believe very strongly that children need some basic skills and some support and encouragement to learn how to read for information, write well and coherently and use the incredible resource of the internet to find information. I intend to create a centre for children where they can learn to read, print and type, and use numbers with confidence and at their own pace and then explore learning for themselves.
I've seen children look lost and I've heard children express the desire for more structure in my time in 'free school' environments or unschooling environments.
My mother tells me that I taught myself to read at age 4, but not all children do this, nor should we expect them to.
So, I'm not going to throw the baby of support and encouragement out with the bathwater of coercion and adult control of the child's learning. There is a big difference between support and control.
So, my assessment of Peter Gray's book is that it is apparently beautifully written and well-researched through his own experiences at Sudbury Valley School. Read this book and learn from it, but use your own discernment to determine what feels right for you and for your child or children.
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