Better learning experiences, not better lecturing

 Came across this line while viewing a video. It happens to be my current teaching maxim, too, as evidenced by my decreasing PPT time, and increasing use of microlearning units in a class session.

Is true inclusion possible in Hong Kong?

 Two days ago, I posted about the experience of a teacher friend who recently switched from mainstream school teaching to serving in a special school. Two former education students, who are now teachers in Canada, responded with their experience in teaching in Canadian schools. One of them mentioned the inclusion model that Canada adopts, whereby students with special needs go to the same schools as other students. 

I have heard a little about that. And in a way, I'm not taken aback, because in my impression , Canada is an egalitarian society which values social equity. (The only 2 places in Canada I have set foot in are Vancouver and Victoria, as a tourist.) A place's education system is an epitome of its people's ethics and values. Extensive inclusion is difficult to implement in HK because, let's face it, we are a much more competitive, and even elitist to some extent, society. If our own children are academically successful, or if we belong to the middle or upper class, we don't want (our children) to mix with the disadvantaged or the 'losers'. 

Which has started me contemplating: How did this egalitarian culture and tradition begin in Canada?

A wake-up question

 Yesterday, I posted the story of Daisy, who by chance switched from teaching in the mainstream system to teaching in a special school. I then followed up by asking Daisy in what ways her life has changed. This is her reply: 

"I will feel happy more easily compared to the past. The students here always remind me of 知足常樂 as they are true and simple.

And the school environment makes me feel more relaxed."

Of course, this is not to say that teaching at a special school is 'easier', or definitely more satisfying, than teaching at a mainstream school. It has a lot to do with one's values and disposition, especially what one is after in life. 

I remember that after teaching for 5 years at my first teaching school, I began to feel a lack of job satisfaction, as I thought my students were not paying me back with equal effort. Out of impulse, I applied to a special school, and was quickly offered a teaching post. At the very last moment, the principal asked: "Do you think you're really prepared to go into special education?" That was a truly wake-up question. I realised I just wanted a change; I was not prepared for that switch. I turned down the offer, and continued in my original school. I then changed my mindset: Instead of expecting my students to reciprocate with equal effort, I concentrated on what I myself could do to bring out their best. 

And I guess that's why while I revere people who find satisfaction and devotion in special education, I will also avoid romanticising working in the special ed sector to my education students. For me, the first questions to ask are: Who am I? What are my life values? What am I after in life? What kind of person am I? .......

生命教育寶貴的一課

 教師Daisy在因緣際會下,由主流學校轉到一所照顧身體弱能及傷病學童的特殊學校任教，起初還是抱着試試的心情，萬萬想不到這轉變完全改變了她對教育的目的，師生關係，甚至生命價值的看法。

首先，她得以重新拾回教學的樂趣，以前她教的是地區名校，為了催谷學生的成績，她需要給予大量的功課，然後是永遠完不了的批改，覺得自己只是一部改簿機器，但在這所特殊學校，沒有追逐成績的可能，結果反而將目標放在如何盡量發展每一個學生的潛能，再加上每班人數少，需要批改的功課不多，結果Daisy 可以將時間主要放在備課上，現在她課餘時間，不是花在無盡的批改，而是設計教學活動，製作教材，這令她重燃教學的動力，重新享受教學的專業感。

這不是說課室教學容易，相反，由於學生有限的學習能力，Daisy  要不斷嘗試不同的教學策略，要有超级的耐性和堅毅，幸好學校以人為本，沒有預設的學習成績目標，只求引導每一學生發揮其最大潛能。

這以人為本的氛圍，亦展現於每天下午放學後的工作會議，老師、職業治療師、物理治療師、言語治療師坐在一起，討論每一個學生的情況和所需要的支援，最令 Daisy感動的，是這些不是形式化交差式的會議，而是專業和實在的溝通，而且出席的同事，都是本着關懷每一個學生的成長而提出意見和想法。

這個以人為本的氛圍，還體現在學校上下一心對學生的照顧， Daisy 觀察到學校無論是教師、教學助理、各種治療師、校工,和校車司機，都對學生有發自內心的關懷，我問 Daisy 這團隊精神從何而來，Daisy一時間也想不出，還敘述了很多實例，看到老師和教學助理如何為了學生學得更好，做了大量的額外教學準備和活動。

我想在特殊學校任教，會否令教職員傾向沉鬱，相反，Daisy 說同事都是樂觀，活潑，和團結的一羣。

在這所特殊學校任教，還令Daisy學會珍惜生命，和與學生所處的時光。學生中有一些是嚴重身體問題的，如果病發，可以在很短時間內離開這個世界。我自己也有不只一個前學生早逝，當然明白這種哀痛。  現在，Daisy更知道幸福並不必然，更珍惜她的學生。

我問Daisy 會否從此留在特殊教育工作，她說她也不知道，總之這次的因缘際會，令她上了生命教育寶貴的一課。

I experienced Murphy's Law again this morning

This morning, I experienced Murphy’s Law again.

Earlier on, I had invited Miss Angel Yu to join this morning’s Zoom class session to share her experience in flipped learning with the teachers enrolled in my Master’s course. I had sent Angel the Zoom link and password three days before, scheduled her sharing to start at 11:15 this morning, and was assuming that she would be able to join my Zoom session at the specified time smoothly.

At 11:10, I still didn’t notice Angel’s request to join the Zoom session. I checked my Messenger and Whatsapp, and was shocked to see that Angel had just texted me urgently, as the Zoom system rejected her entry, on grounds that she was not a registered member of the CUHK Zoom system.

I was caught totally unprepared for that scenario. I literally freaked out as her sharing should start in a couple of minutes, and I absolutely had no idea how to fix the problem. In my confused mental state, I just sent her the Zoom link again, and of course to no avail. I was just totally stranded and couldn’t figure out what to do next clearly.

Luckily, at this point, one teacher in the class suggested that I ask Angel to create her Zoom session and that we should all join her instead. I followed his suggestion, and Angel’s sharing got off the ground, albeit ten minutes later than scheduled.

I’m aware that technical problems may arise when I use technology in my classes, whether online or face-to-face. So I always turn up in the classroom, or open a Zoom meeting, at least 25 minutes before a class starts, to check the technical set-up. But on this occasion, I was still not careful enough, and didn’t do something to ensure that Angel could get access to my Zoom session smoothly.

Hence, this morning’s scenario is a good reminder to me: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Create safe and distraction-free youtube video links

 Just found a free tool for creating safe (no inappropriate previews of other videos on the right-hand pane), and distraction-free (nothing else but just the video you want to show in class) links to youtube videos to show to students in class. 

https://video.link/

I tried inserting a link created with Video.link into Sutori, and it embeds properly on Sutori!. 

Here's the link I created: 

https://video.link/w/VBePb

I recommend this service to teachers. Furthermore, like some other apps with a similar function, this one is free, and does not impose a limit on the number of links that can be created.