Why We Need to Craft, Not Just Code: Rethinking Tech in the Classroom
During my elective this past semester (a technology course held in our uOttawa’s Education makerspace), I had access to all sorts of incredible tools, from programmable LEGO kits to laser cutters. But I noticed a striking pattern in the lab: while my classmates consistently lined up to use the 3D printers, the sewing machines often…
Visiting a Thai School and Considering Voluntourism
This summer, I travelled to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand with my sister. It was a dream trip! Seven weeks of markets, temples, street food, and stunning nature. But the experience I want to explore here is one that had me putting on my teacher hat. In Bangkok, we stayed at a small hostel run by…
What Ottawa Teachers need to know about Children’s Aid
Before this year, if you’d asked me about Children’s Aid Societies all I would have said is that, as a teacher, I have a duty to report. Like most educators, that was pretty much the extent of my understanding: if something seems wrong, report it. “As a professional educator working directly with students and supporting…
I did my Practicum with Children’s Aid… and you should too
This year my practicum didn’t involve a classroom. No desks, no morning bell, no daily attendance. Instead, I spent my practicum tutoring students in foster care through the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO). The program is called Pod, and it’s completely virtual. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect: Would it feel disconnected?…
Teaching Highschoolers to Read
One of my students is a clever, articulate high schooler who struggles with reading at a sixth-grade level. While their oral vocabulary is impressive—using words like “neurobiology” and “isopod” effortlessly in conversation—he finds decoding written words difficult. Once they sounds out the word their comprehension is strong, but they relies heavily on context clues and…
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Katelyn Day 