Teaching Learning Things

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  Assessing Diversity in my Classroom      I teach in a special classroom for students whose eligibility are identified by the Government of Canada. I am a Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Instructor. This is a federally established English School Program for students who meet the criteria of being a Permanent Resident (PR) or Government Assisted Refugee (GAR) to Canada. On this first premise, my classroom is certainly homogenous as eligibility criteria is immigration status of PR or GAR.      Additionally, Canada’s immigration policies inform who the newcomers to Canada will be in terms of what part of the world they come from, based on four categories of economic, family, protected persons and refugees and humanitarian. Canada specifically codified immigration as a means of meeting cultural, economic and social objectives (Cheatham, 2020) and it is these immigrants who satisfy the criteria for becoming students at my ...

  Philosophy, Sociology and Pedagogy As I reflect on the philosophy, sociology and pedagogy of education I have recently read or watched, I find myself adjusting my teaching practice to incorporate the ideas learned. I subscribe to Dewey (in Mintz, 2018) and Rt. Hon Gibb’s (2016) idea of education being a great equalizer. Furthermore, like Dewey (in Mintz, 2018), I believe that testing in education should not be geared toward test scores but much more toward learning in a self-directed context with opportunities to practice. In my view and Dewey’s, (in Mintz, 2018) success is determined by much more than the achievement of a passing grade. I believe success is comprised of the willingness and ability to learn, grit, curiosity, teamwork, oral communication, ability to listen and creativity.   Teaching adults outside traditional classes allows me more latitude to format my teaching practice in alignment with my philosophy. A phrase I have become known for is “English is not a ...