ObservationsReflections
They are learning how to write memoirs. Today they were given an old indigenous memoir and asked, “What’s different about this than the last story I showed you?”

He told me he likes including stories from various cultures so students get a broader understanding of the world. He acknowledged that their school is in an area with white people, so they have to be intentional about including other cultures as well as indigenous cultures.		I can see he values incorporating indigenous ways of being and their stories. In EDUC 496, I learned about the importance of story to Indigenous people. Because of this, I think sharing part of their history with his class through story is an excellent way to have inclusion and Indigenous education.
He connects Indigenous stories to students’ listening to stories of their own grandparents and elders.This uses FPPOL holistically by connecting student learning to their lives. Children can see that the author’s experiences are similar to theirs and relate to what it feels like to hear from an elder. This connects to the generational roles element of the principles.
My mentor teacher talked about emotional memories and how they were portrayed in the story. The final line of the memoir was “I don’t want to tell a story anymore.”
He often uses hooks to engage curiosity. He told them the name of the next story we would read together, but then had a separate activity in between to draw suspense. During that time, he got them to do a fist of five informal assessment.I see this as so valuable as it piques interest. It brings a curiosity which get students listening to the rest of the lesson to see if they can find the answer. I remember taking a reading course to get more speed and depth out of my reading (not through TWU). There I was challenged to ask 5-9 questions before reading a chapter. The theory was that this subconsciously directs your thoughts to be curious and want to pay attention. Your mind searches for answers to the questions even if you are not thinking about the questions at the front of your mind. Something about a question mark makes one want to continue reading. This connects to education because asking questions and saying pieces of information without concluding them makes the mind want to search for the missing details. What’s the answer? Hooks are great for grabbing attention.
I notice he chooses to say “yes” easily when they have random ideas–like decorating a wall where their window used to be.I like this because it emboldens students to express ideas without the fear of being rejected. Saying yes when possible makes students more excited to engage in class content and trust the teacher with their ideas more. Seeing the way he carries himself and is okay with hiccups and unexpected directions student curiosity might bring the content seemed relieving to me. He didn’t seem to have to focus much on classroom management so intensely, but he was relaxed. In some of my classroom experiences with younger students, I noticed myself saying “no” so often it became tiring. I think it can be tiring for both me and the students. I want to think about the amount I will say “yes” and “no,” and what other classroom management strategies I could use to form the class dynamic without focusing on what students are doing wrong.
In his Composition 12 class, students have “writer’s notebooks.” They use these to freely write without it being graded or edited. They do practice writing exercises to develop skills before doing larger more daunting written work that will be turned in. I talked to my mentor teacher about this, and he explained that writing a full story can be intimidating to know where to begin. He likes to build students up with these exercises (like practising imagery, setting, character, and conflict) so they feel ready to write larger pieces. They will write their own memoirs soon after reading, reflecting on, and practising aspects of other authors’ memoirs.I like how this takes the pressure off of writing and gets students into the practice of creativity. Their writer’s journal is a safe space to explore and experiment with what they can do in the landscape of composition.

The title “writer’s journal” is also an identity builder. I have been learning about identity through James Clear’s Atomic Habits. He argues that by creating an identity out of a habit, like “I am a writer,” the habit becomes much stronger. When a student believes they are a writer, they are much more likely to write.
I asked him about how he gives students a sense of meaning and purpose for their writing. What is the “why” for them taking this class? How can they use their written work in the world outside of school? I was also wondering what I could do with my own writing. He said he has students enter at least one piece of work into a writing contest. He told me about some online options where I could submit my own pieces. I already feel inspired by this teacher, so I can imagine how great it must be to be his student. I feel inspired to be a writer and be creative again. I am good at writing stories, but I have not been using this skill lately. The mentor teacher lent me a book about the basics of creative writing and how to get started, and I have been reading it eagerly. There are many ideas in it I didn’t learn in school. I have been using them and actually writing stories! I want to be a teacher who inspires my students and challenges their limiting identity beliefs. I want my students to believe they can be writers–not just that they can write. I believe the teacher’s excitement about literature and his belief in me and his students is what makes him inspirational. This change I felt in myself reminds me of my learning in EDUC 401 when we talked about disposition learning targets. A teacher can communicate targets that shape a student’s understanding and skills, but shaping a student’s disposition makes real change. Dispositional targets give students excitement about their learning and work to change who they believe they are and can be.