Where’s Hugh?

Why don’t we hire new Teacher grads and use debt forgiveness instead of pay? Why don’t we use community centres and libraries to supplement much needed classroom space?  Why not use nursing students to take temperatures in schools? Why not reopen all of the schools the board has closed in past 10 years like Greenwood CI and Scarlett Heights?  Why not have board office employees work from home and use board admin buildings as extra classroom space?

How should we approach the opening of school in Sept?  Schools of the future need to be rethought.  When I started teaching I wrote a letter from the future to each of my students asking them to attend their 30 year high school reunion. ( I was younger then so I figured 30 years out I would still be able to attend. ) The idea was to get students to picture themselves as adults and to imagine a future they have helped shape. I received wonderful letters from future dentists, artists and millionaires. The return address to the invitation was “School name, Community Learning Support Centre”. In the future of education that I pictured schools would be community spaces that would double as senior learning centres as well as community resource places.  I thought of that this week as I read a proposal in a NYTimes OpEd by Dr. S Jogee, an Astronomy professor and parent, suggesting we make kids stay home this fall if they can access online learning and leave schools open to only t...

Here’s the best line that I’ve read in a while:   “Restaurants get eulogies. Airlines get bailouts. Shakespeare gets kicked when he’s down.” It’s sooo true. Sure says a lot about what we value as a society. I walk a lot with a friend- we start each day off with a 1 hour walk in Earl Bales Park. It’s gorgeous and energizing and I cannot do without it. One morning my walking partner asked me “Is Covid-19 is God’s response to human kind’s hubris?” This is a deeper topic than we typically cover in our morning walks. We usually discuss distance learning/teaching challenges, why dogs should be on leashes, and how gorgeous the forest looks today... But hubris? God? Wait up! It’s too early for this... But as you can tell, the question has stayed with me, because I think it is true: not the God part- but the hubris part. I’m partial to Greek philosophy and the concept of our creating our own circumstances, and I often teach the nature of humankind as seen through literature. So I was d...

The world feels new today; young, and hopeful. It is a gorgeous May Day - but it should have happened earlier- it is a perfect Spring Day and we wonder at it like villagers emerging from our hovels after hiding from marauding armies - we wonder that the earth remembers how to heal and grow.  I went to the Island today, and the wildlife there looks at us visitors as interlopers of their land. That we are. It seems like the winter kept its nails dug in for much longer than normal, but nothing about 2020 is normal. Winter lingered- thankfully so - because it gave us a chance to flatten the curve and the dreary days did not inspire social behaviour distanced or otherwise.  But today! Oh what a day! Today is pathetic fallacy reflecting our hopes,  and we bask in it - afraid we will have to go back inside. Let me stay out just a little longer please... I’m relieved winter is done. I turn, like a sunflower, to warmth to heal me and help me grow.  The final stanza of my son’...

It's been over a month since my last post. We've been living Groundhog Day since then. Nothing new to report. We are surviving - not thriving... Or are we? I teach senior English and I am taking my students through a journey of sorts while reading Shakespeare's Hamlet . It is not an easy piece for students, especially in a distanced learning environment where discussion is challenging, and motivation is in short supply. So, it was with great trepidation that I approached the teaching of Act 3.1 and perhaps the most famous speech ever written. It starts like this "To be or not to be, that is the question:" Maybe you've heard of it (hahaha). We read through it, and then I explained that this speech was beyond a simple consideration of suicide. It is about the point/pointlessness of life. Hamlet is questioning the very value of humanity. He is asking Why live, if living is meaningless? if it lacks purpose? grace? authentic being? Kinda deep. And I was nervous to ...

The Toronto Public Library is now offering Digital Library Cards to anyone who is without a card. Here's the link: TPL Digital Cards Why get a card? Because the TPL has TONS of audiobook, ebooks, films, Magazines, etc. you can borrow for FREE and it is TOUCHLESS!!!! You can also try the SimplyE APP . Borrow from a vast catalogue of Fiction, non-fiction, and Literary books or short pieces of fiction for every taste. You can Download for free at Apple Story or Google Play. It is an Open Source Library Platform that will satisfy every reader without costing a cent!  For Teens there is Tumblebooks.org - free for rest of school year! Great collection of classics as well as Audiobooks! Well Curated for all tastes/levels. Here are some recommendations: If you have wanderlust:  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert An Embarrassment of Mangos  by Ann Vanderhoof If you need inspiration: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Christina Lamb...

This furniture painting hobby is a blast! I received a new colour I order from Amazon: Laurentian. I wasn't sure when I opened it up. It looked really hospital Green. Fusion Chalk Paint: colour Laurentian The pieces I painted are both Aberfoyle Antique Market Finds I picked up in the Fall. The market is famous and a short drive from Toronto. It been running for almost 60 years and has over 100 vendors making it a great spot for finding pieces to paint. The table with the magazine racks was in need of a good cleaning and one of the racks was missing a bottom which was easily fixed using a few tack nails and a discarded piece of trellis I had in the garden shed.  Tables pre-paint                                                                             ...

Many people have taken on projects at home that were previously put off and so have I.  I have started painting furniture. I really like working with Fusion Chalk Paint. It doesn’t require a base coat and covers well. It is not water proof however. To address this you can get a Fusion sealer if you want a less mat look and a protective coat on your piece.  This is a pic of the chair I took on as my first project: I began with two of them in fact which I brought back from England where I bought them at a thrift shop. I love the shape of the legs, and the back, but hated the colour and the seat material. All was easily fixed, however, as the seat nicely lifted off and I could simply staple a new material over the old- done! Here’s the result: The material is from Ikea - bought sometime ago. The paint colour is fusion: Coal Black.   It’s a new hobby that is extremely satisfying. I’ll show you more finish pieces tomorrow once they dry... A Attachment

Today I taught my courses online for the first time. The learning curve is steep for teachers and students.  Kids, though always on tech, are not used to taking 4 to 6 courses online,. with spotty wifi, on a smartphone. I am amazed and impressed by these young people. They show up and are counted. They miss each other, miss school, and miss the ROUTINE. Today wasn't about teaching and learning content - it was about reaching out and reconnecting with kids who are isolated and confused and scared.  We laughed together through Video Conference: they laughed at me a bit as I stumbled through the presentation view of my screens... and it felt SO GOOD to be back in their company. I managed to get back to my classroom to collect my computer and some resources and I took photos of the room which I shared with my class. And they responded via chat with "Ah - good times" and #nostalgia. Nostalgic indeed.  So I told them that every generation had its challenge: WWI, WWII, the Great...

     Every morning as I pour myself a coffee I ask my husband “ this is so bizarre isn’t it?” His usual reply is “Yes; strange times...” but this morning his asked me, “What’s so bizarre?” thinking I was referring to some new tidbit of sensational news, and a chill ran through me.       You see, I ask the same question each morning to make sure that our new reality of living in a society in quarantine does not become normal. I count on the discomfort of living in this way to remind me of better days, and better days to come. But this morning the answer to “Isn’t this bizarre?” was not as clear cut as that.       We have fallen into a new reality of work/school from home with no traffic, no commuting, and no socializing face to face. Millions are without income: professionals and laymen alike. Hair is going uncut, nails unpolished, bras unworn... now some of this is welcomed for sure! I hate bras - but much of it is borne in a silen...

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These are strange times indeed. Working from home or not working at all... eating in all of the time. Fighting off boredom, panic, fear... As an extrovert social distancing is terrifying! So what can we do? Well strange times require strange measures so here's the plan! Make a daily schedule. Here's what mine looks like: 8:30am Socially distanced walk through ravine with neighbour/friends. We chat, watch squirrels chase each other, try not to face-plant in the mud on the embankment and make our way around the hood all the while maintaining our distance from each other. 9:30 am Breakfast and phone calls. I have elderly parents who require checking up on. So I call George and Effie and find out what's on tap for dinner and find out how my aunts/uncles are doing and then I'm told off for not feeding my son properly... the usual. 10:00 am I trek upstairs to the "office" which I share with my husband who is stressed to the gills and I remind him to use h...

Hugh's Daily Recommendations for a Monday... Book: Saturday Night Ghost Club , Craig Davidson Playlist: Have a Great Day! SPOTIFY Movie: Shaun of the Dead , Simon Pegg Activity: Walk! 

I’ve been chatting with people here and in Europe and as the intensity of this virus steamrolls across the planet there is an increasing need to connect and share our stories. I’m hearing about long lost friends reconnecting via Skype, and I am connecting with cousins I haven’t chatted this much with EVER and others I lost track of. We have reestablished a lifeline online. Through jokes and memes and insta etc we are recreating community and sharing the burden of these trying days. Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangout, etc. are making it possible to keep connected and to challenge isolation. I’ve had group wine parties, and Zoom dance parties, as well as a FaceTime purging if my closet... I have daily phone calls, weekly calls, weekly walks online with friends, as well as online group yoga classes, etc. We watch Netflix together and share the latest news and stories, good and bad.  So if you’ve been thinking about checking up on someone just do it! It mig...

FITNESS APPS & RESOURCES  YOU CAN USE AT HOME 1. Nike Training Club *  2. Bodyweight * 3. Mossa Move ** 4. 7 Minute Workout ** 5. Down Dog | H.I.I.T. ** 6. Down Dog | Barre ** 7. Headspace (meditation) ** 8. Tone it up ** 9. Yoga with Adriene (YouTube) * 10. Insight Timer (meditation) * 11. Fitnessblender (website) *  12. Breathe App* *Completely free ** Offers free trial

I have been cleaning out my old emails etc and came across a site I used many moon ago: The Paperless Teacher Blog! I thought this was a funny topic so I took a look and I found a great entry entitled 21 things that will become obsolete in 2020! Take a look at what was spot on and what we are still (sadly) doing in our schools: 1. Desks The 21st century does not fit neatly into rows. Neither should your students. Allow the network-based concepts of flow, collaboration, and dynamism help you rearrange your room for authentic 21st century learning. 2. Language Labs Foreign language acquisition is only a smartphone away. Get rid of those clunky desktops and monitors and do something fun with that room. 3. Computers Ok, so this is a trick answer. More precisely this one should read: 'Our concept of what a computer is'. Because computing is going mobile and over the next decade we're going to see the full fury of individualized computing via handhelds come ...

I have found myself structuring my days around walks and bike rides (socially distanced of course!) With the threat of being on lockdown I am taking great pleasure in my ability to be outdoors and with that is an increased desire to get my steps in, to sweat a little, become a little breathless and to enjoy the onset of Spring. Perhaps it's also about getting healthier to become less of a target for this horrible virus, and it is a lot about clearing my head, and doing something I have CONTROL OVER. Apparently many others feel the same as our neighbourhood is full of walkers and runners and cyclists (all staying well away from each other). When the day comes and we are stuck in doors we have other resources at our disposal to Keep fit while Keeping to ourselves. Here are some suggestions from Travelocity.ca: Whether you're a regular gym bunny, or simply at risk of going stir crazy if you don't channel some energy into exercise, now may be the time to take an online...

March 23 blog This is what I’m reading: Son of a Trickster, Eden Robinson Native writer known for her dark humour    doesn’t disappoint in this story of Jared a teen who has an addict mom and substance abuse issues himself. He just wants to finish grade nine and move in with his grandma(nit the one who hates him). This book was addictive but so sad for me to read. The end made it worth it though I’m not sure I will be reading the sequel.  :  https://books.google.ca/books/about/Son_of_a_Trickster.html?id=S_AqDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y The City and the City, China Melville I started reading this steam punk writer because he looks badass - and I fell in love with his wickedly smart writing. Not for fluff readers- the work is worth it. In this one there has been a murder and the body ended up in the wrong City. There is no freedom of movement between the two cities - kinda like us right now. Melv...

Adults need learning too y’know!  It’s not just kids who need to keep their minds sharp during this bizarre time: we do too! So here are some of the best free online courses for you!   JSTOR, an online academic resource, made more than 6,000 ebooks and 150 journals accessible< http://www.universitytimes.ie/2020/03/jstor-makes-database-accessible-to-the-public/ > without a university login. Cousera - great free courses for adults- MIT also offers free courses of interest:

The Minister of Education announced today that in lieu of classes, student have access to an online elearning resource (link below). The content offered is NOT CREDIT BEARING. The TDSB has a communication scheduled for Sunday to its teachers. Stay posted. https://lah.elearningontario.ca/

UPDATED DAILY! Distance Learning for the days and weeks to come Here are some great sights for parents to use with their kids during social distancing. Many of these I have used in my own classrooms with my students with reading abilities from grades 1-12.  Wideopenschool.org is a great site to help parents who are home-schooling. They have a great weekly parent info booklet too, with goal setting, etc. Teaching kids news is a great site for non fiction for kids. Current events and kid-level explanations of current events are made readily available on this free site for parents and educators.  If you want to reduce your screen time, audio-book service Audible has lots of free stories available, which can all be streamed from a laptop or smartphone while you're doing other bits and bobs. They're also giving away hundreds of kids' books while schools are closed, and you don't even need an account to listen to them.  Google Arts & Culture is an app ...