The web sites listed below are definitely  an eclectic collection.  While some are absolutely  gorgeous and some are informative, a few are just plain fun and frivolous:

These are some of my favourite authors and I'll tell you why:

Here I intend to list what I consider great reads.  This list will evolve as I discover new bests and recall old favourites.

Reflections on a year of Junior High Language Arts instruction

The cut backs in Education hit early in Calgary Catholic.  In April of 2002 the district reduced the number of teachers and support staff in anticipation of budget shortfalls.  These cutbacks hit several departments especially hard and my team was one of the casualties.  However, unlike most people who are downsized, all of us (as experienced teachers) were redeployed into the classroom.  This threw my plans for developing new projects into a tale spin and at the time was a bitter disappointment. 

However, as so often happens, this seeming disaster opened the door for one more challenge in my teaching career: the Junior High Language Arts classroom.  Did I dare go where no sane person would set foot?  Of course I would.  It was time to put my theories into practice and face the savage beast (so to speak - they aren't beasts, just holy terrors some days)!

To be continued....

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Memories of a Teaching Career

I started my teaching career in 1969 at North park School in Saskatoon. Not quite 21 years old I had three years of University training, a husband still working on his degree and a baby daughter. At that time you did not need a degree to teach, so I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to finish off my degree while I taught. I convocated in 1970, a bit more worldly wise and a lot more weary than most of my fellow graduates.

I still remember walking into my first classroom and inhaling the unique scent of an old school: a blend of linoleum, dusty old books and gestetner fluid. It was at this point that I realized that I really was the teacher. I also remember many late nights as I tried to keep up with mountains of marking (those were the days of workbooks after all) and the planning necessary to stay one step ahead of my students. All of us who taught in that era can probably recall that we had no preps, few specialists and an antiquated dress code. Female teachers were not allowed to wear pants, but we could wear mini-skirts!  This made supervision in 40 below Saskatchewan winters a chilling experience.  To top it off, I had long straight hair and played the guitar. Therefore, I was considered the hippy teacher....

.....In 1980 I started subbing for Calgary Catholic. This gave me the freedom to be available for my kid’s activities and the opportunity to collect a wealth of teaching ideas.

....In 1986 I returned to full-time employment. ... This was during Calgary Catholic’s PD heyday. I was able to participate in the Literacy and Changing Practice projects and became more and more involved in Language Arts PD. This led to a six-year stint as a member of the District Language Arts Team.

One of my roles in the L A Department was to provide technology support to the team and develop Internet projects. When an opportunity to join the Technology Integration Team came up I leapt at the opportunity to explore the exciting possibilities of the new ICT (Information Communication Technology) curriculum. I did this for two years before cutbacks resulted in the dissolving of the team. I have spent my last year of teaching at St. Joseph, trying to convince Junior High students that the written word still exists and books are just as entertaining as X-Box.

.....I never planned on having a career, but when I returned to teaching in the 80s I found that one opportunity just led to another. I have been blessed with a variety exciting and challenging roles as a  consultant and teacher. As well, I have been privileged to work with some of the brightest and best in education. ...

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