Personal Awareness and Responsibility

Context

In a conversation with his teacher, a student demonstrates that he values his education and that he makes positive choices regarding making time for homework, hobbies, and family responsibilities.

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Student Interview

Teacher Reflection

The student prioritizes his homework and his extracurricular pursuit of cup stacking. Without being asked to schedule homework completion or cup stacking practice after school, he set aside time and completed both. He demonstrated awareness of his educational and extracurricular responsibilities, thus taking responsibility for his learning. He recognized his actions affect whether he would reach the goals he set which were to do well in both school and cup stacking. As he said, “If you practice you get better.”

While many students are driven to school, this student decided to begin walking to school, without a parent. He explained his goals for walking were to walk with his sister, who was in Kindergarten, and to arrive at school on time. He takes responsibility for his travel to and from school and follows through on his commitments.

Context

After studying Paul Fleischman’s novel “Whirligig” and viewing “Pay it Forward”, students were asked to make their own personal whirligigs, mobiles, or ya-ya boxes that demonstrated their personal journeys.

The teacher provided the following instructions:

Create your own version of a whirligig that represents who you are and what you want to be known for. A mobile would have items hanging from it that represent your likes, dislikes, accomplishments (what helped you achieve them), and future goals (what you need to achieve them). A ya-ya box would have images or things that represent who you are on the outside, or how people see you, and what/who helped shape you; and then, the inside of the box would represent what people don’t know about you and/or your future aspirations, and what/who will help you achieve them.

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Student Work Sample

• Transcript of Copy of My personal whirligig (PDF)

Teacher Reflection

This student’s work illustrates self-determination, and to an extent, self-regulation. He shows self-awareness and understanding of how people saw him versus how he saw himself. He included what he liked and didn’t like and demonstrated acceptance of the path he experienced.

Context

This student participated in a district workshop with professional poets and learned how to use poetry as a medium to discover personal awareness. In her poem, she discusses her lifelong challenge of being naturally thin and the trauma she has suffered to her self-image and in her relationships.

In her poem presentation, she takes her audience through her personal journey and by the end of the poem, expresses how she now feels and the acute personal awareness she has gained through her experiences. Her presentation provides an opportunity for others to learn from her experience.

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Activity Video

Context

Students had been working on a writing portfolio throughout the year. After reviewing their portfolios and reflecting on the writing they had done thus far, students set goals and created a plan for how these goals might be achieved.

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Student Work Sample

Teacher Reflection

This student was able to identify an area of his writing that he was proud of and explain why it was a strength. He also identified an area needing improvement and identified actions he could take meet his writing goals. He was able to specify how his teacher could help him meet these goals.

He demonstrated personal awareness and responsibility by:

• Recognizing his strengths
• Valuing his work and abilities
• Identifying what he needed need to achieve his goals
• Asking for help
• Planning for success

 

Context

In this class, student math work is largely self-paced, and students take responsibility for their learning. A change in math programs had caused the student some worry about her pace of work. This student approached the teacher to discuss some ideas she thought would help her with her work. She did not seek her parents' help to do this, although she had talked to them at home about good solutions before coming to the teacher. The teacher was satisfied with the student's progress, so this was not a teacher concern.

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Activity Video

Context

Students were learning about emotions and the importance of well-being in both their heart and mind. During free time, a student decided to make a heart for the “Kindness Jar” to make everyone feel good inside. She was very focused and chose not to participate in the other centres even when other students asked her to play. She was very proud of her work and she wanted to show everyone that she knew that hearts represented love.

When she was finished, she said, “Look! Take a picture of me!”

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Activity Photos

 

 

Context

A teacher takes her students outside for daily walks. At the beginning, this student found it a challenge to keep up with his classmates. However, after three weeks of daily walks, his stamina increased, and he became aware of his need to be active and healthy. He now understands how running helps him be stronger.

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Activity Video

Context

A Teacher’s Voice

R entered kindergarten in September nervously, crying and holding her mom’s hand.  She was terrified to try new things and didn’t know anyone as they had just moved into the community. She cried every morning at drop off and cried every time she had to enter a new space (e.g. library, gym, music room). She was particularly scared of the playground.

When the class went outside, R would stand next to the teacher for the entire recess time. Friends would ask her to come play, but she politely said “no” to every request.  If the teacher moved around the playground, R would follow. After several months, R started moving slowly away from the teacher. She would place one foot on the woodchips and then take a few steps until eventually she walked all the way across the playground.

In November, the teacher was no longer outside with the class at recess and R was beginning to make some meaningful friendships with her classmates.  In class, they were talking about being brave and trying new things. They were also discussing supporting each other when things are hard or when someone needs help, or a hand, or just a friend to be with them. R was lucky enough to have made a lovely friendship with E who took these lessons to heart.

E continued to support R and build her confidence by repeating, “You can do this. I will help you. I will play with you and walk with you on the playground.” E never gave up on R.

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Teacher Reflection

Today, R runs on the playground every day and isn’t afraid to try new things because she knows it will be okay. Her friends will help her, support her, and be there for her. She is now confident and brave enough to support others and often offers to help her classmates when they need a brave friend.

R is very reflective and has grown to be very self-aware. She demonstrates pride and a growing sense of self-confidence that she didn’t have at the beginning of the year.  She has made one very meaningful friendship and, while she used to struggle when that one friend would play with others, she is now learning that it is okay for her friend to play with others. She is also okay playing with others or even on her own.  Yesterday she said to me, “C asked if he could play with me and I said that I want to play on my own right now, but can we play later?” Her face beamed when she told me this and her voice indicated that she was feeling proud and confident.

Student Interview with R

Tell me about the playground when you started kindergarten?

R: I felt nervous because there were a bunch of different kids that I didn’t know.  That made me nervous because I had no friends.  I had no friends because I didn’t know anybody.  I just moved here.

Why were you nervous to go on the playground?

R: I was too scared to climb things.  In the beginning of kindergarten, I felt like I could go on it but I was too scared to. I felt like I should play on the playground but I couldn’t.

How do you feel about the playground now?

R: Now I don’t feel nervous anymore because I play on it every day.

What made you go on the playground?

R: When I growed up I went on the playground.  I persevered like a salmon and then I felt proud of myself.  When I went home I told mommy and daddy that I went on the playground and they said, “I am proud of you.”

How do you feel about yourself?

R: I feel good about myself and I feel brave.  Now that I am brave I tried to go to the gravel field with E.  I felt proud.  It was not scary.  E supported me because she holded my hand and she helped me go down the stairs to the gravel field.  Then we started playing tag together.  Now I have lots of friends.

How did you make friends?

R: I talked to people.  When I talked to people for the first time I felt really nervous but now I feel excited to talk to people because now I have a lot of friends and I can talk to other people. 

 

Student Interview with E

Tell me about your friendship with R

E: We met when I was doing stuff that was funny, she asked me, “Can I be your friend?” and I said, “Yes”. The next day after that happened, we ate lunch together and then we had a playdate and then we had another playdate and then it keeped on going along and now we are friends.

What makes your friendship special and meaningful?

E: What makes it special is, like, we are together and if I am scared, R will help me and she is scared then I will help her.  Just like on Piggie and Elephant when Elephant is too scared to do things so Piggie helps him.  Like when we did our Piggie and Elephant play and R was too scared to talk so I decided we could call the play, “Elephant Lost his Voice” so R didn’t have to talk.

How does your friendship make you feel?

E: It makes me feel good and happy because I also thought on the first day of school that I wouldn’t have a friend but then I met somebody super good for me because it was a good fit because she really loved me and I felt that I didn’t have a friend but then I met her and she was the nicest girl.

How does your friendship make you a better person?

E: Well, I don’t exactly know that one but I will tell you what I do know.  Our friendship makes me a better person because we always play together and if we weren’t friends that I wouldn’t play with anybody.

How does your friendship make R a better person?

E: Because she is super emotional when she doesn’t have a friend by her side and if she didn’t have anybody then she would just be kinda sad but she has me so she is happy.

Tell me how you supported R on the playground this year.

E: Um, on the up top playground she was super scared so she only wanted to go to the down playground so we just walked down there together.  I went on the playground first and then I just said, “R, why don’t you come play with me here?” and she did.

 

Student Work Sample

Context

A student spends his free time cleaning up the leaves in the line up area in front of the classroom.

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Teacher Reflection

The line up area in front of our class is covered and adjacent to school landscaping and many large trees. Leaves pile up in one of the sheltered corners, along with cobwebs and dust. While walking outside with a SEA on a cool-down break after a violent episode, R decided he would clean up the leaves. I saw him using his hands to pick up the leaves through the window.

I have dustpans and brooms in the classroom and offered a set to R so he could clean up, along with a bin for the leaves. I watched him from inside the classroom as he worked very hard and methodically to clean up the area. It was a large amount of leaves. He seemed the most relaxed and happy that I had seen him all day. I kept the door to the classroom open and kept a close eye on him.

I suggested that he use the broom to sweep up the cobwebs as well. He cleaned up the area beautifully. It took around 20 minutes, and he finished just in time to get ready for pick up. I joined him before the parents arrived to admire his work and talk to him about the wonderful job he did. I could see the sense of pride on his face. He said: “Now this area can be nice for the other kids and there is now room in the line in case we get someone new in our class.”

I was so impressed with his thoughtfulness and told him so. We also shared the beautiful work that he did with his classmates, the administrator and his mother. It was lovely to see R relaxed and calm while he did this beautification work. It was also lovely to share with his mom and the wider school community a positive thing that he had done!

Family Member Reflection

He gets very excited to pick up his sister from his old daycare, all the kids give him big hugs and when he sees his sister he prepares for her hug by putting out his arms and saying "who missed their big brother"

He is very proud of himself when he handles his own responsibilities without being asked, such as getting ready in the morning, and when he figures out a new way of building something with Legos. He also feels very proud of himself when others show him that they are proud of him. He loves to feel like he’s doing what people would expect of him.

R helps at home by keeping our kitty calm when we give her insulin. He feeds her and brushes her. He helps his sister clean her room, he helps with dishes and never forgets to put his away. He offers to make me toast in the morning when I’m in a rush. He really notices that I try to keep things clean around the house and he tries his best to be sure he does his part.