EdCamp and Professional Development

I really enjoyed the EdCamp model we explored today. Many educators have success in advocating for their student’s right to choose what they’re learning. Learning in ways and about topics that interest us are bound to increase our engagement. It seems then, that professional development would benefit from this model of choice aswell.

My favourite part of this particular exercise was the interactive nature of our conversations. Rather than have a singular lecturer and acting only as a listener, we were all able to take part in the conversation. I learn best by talking things out. Even if I’m alone, talking out a concept just to myself makes me learn better. In this setting, we were able to learn from each other’s experiences. We were also able to branch out into new topics as they arose. Staying on the topic wasn’t our primary concern; rather, I was just interested in where the conversation led us. The sharing of information was placed at the highest importance.

I also enjoy that in this model you are free to roam to different conversations and you please. Whether you find the topic uninteresting or are simply interested in another conversation, you’re able to move freely and without judgement.

I’d be interested in attending an EdCamp session in the future and seeing if the model works just as well with a group that isn’t already so well acquainted with one another.

https://www.edcamp.org/

 

Tarot: Defined

I suppose it’s strange that over the past couple of months of investigating tarot, I’ve never actually tried to define it. I suppose I’d like to make my own definition but for now, I’ll rely on what others have to say.

Oxford Dictionary gives the following definition.

tAROTD

Wiki gives the following definition.

trr

 

I wanted to look a bit further into the etymology of tarot but unfortunately, much of the origins are unknown. Etymonline states that tarot’s etymology comes from the “1590s, from French tarot (16c.), from Old Italian tarocchi (plural), of unknown origin, perhaps from Arabic taraha “he rejected, put aside. (etymnonline, 2019).”

This Arabic connection is an interesting parallel to Tarots introduction to Egypt. I’m not sure how to connect this rejection. I wonder if this has something to do with the modern game of Tarot. Tarot as a game is trick making, making choices of betting, rejecting etc.

 

Chakra Reading

This weekend I ventured into a more complicated reading. It’s an 18 card reading that relates to the seven chakras: sacrum, genitals, solar-plexus, heart, throat, head (or third-eye), and crown. The first card I drew was the tower. Now I know there is technically no such thing as a bad card, but this one always feels like a rude awakening. The card is a sudden interruption. An upheaval I might not be ready to welcome. I think part of learning Tarot is learning to welcome change in whatever way it presents itself. Though this tower may represent a crisis, this crisis will likely bring necessary change in my life.

Mental Health in the Classroom

The Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry is impressive in many ways: their students are independent learners, they foster an entrepreneurial mindset, and the space they’ve made for exploration in education is truly remarkable. And yet the aspect of the school that I was most impressed with existed in a small, windowless room that is fondly referred to as “The Cave.”

“The Cave” is simple in design: rug, bean bag, lava lamp, fidget toy, a puzzle. They include a salt lamp, a down-blanket, a stack of National Geographics. It’s a small room with a lockable door for those moments where you need to be alone. If you need a quiet fifteen minutes, a place to close your eyes for a while, a good cry that you don’t want anyone to see, you can enter this room without explanation and take that time for yourself.

Though I have heard that mental health is more widely discussed in schools today, I had never seen a physical representation of this growing acceptance before this room. I think about all the times this simply constructed room could have helped my peers and me in our educational experiences. It could have given my friend a space to regroup during her nearly daily panic attacks that would lead to her dropping out of school. It could have given me space to cope with the stress of school. I was aware of the importance of mental health (I spent many days home from school, feigning a 24-hour bug just to take a breath) but I never had the space to talk about it in school. I never had a space to deal with stress in a healthy way without taking an entire day off.

I think the idea of “The Cave” is a simple but important tactic to allow students to take accountability for their mental wellbeing and allowing it to exist in an educational setting.

Major vs. Minor Arcana

I’ve taken this definition of the Major and Minor Arcana in the tarot deck directly from the “Tarot” page of Wikipedia.

Image result for major arcana

  • “The Major Arcana (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits:
    • The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World, and The Fool. Cards from The Magician to The World are numbered in Roman numerals from I to XXI, while The Fool is the only unnumbered card, sometimes placed at the beginning of the deck as 0, or at the end as XXII” (Wikipedia, “Tarot” October 15, 2019).

Image result for minor arcana

  • “The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards eachTen numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Page/Jack, in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are swords, batons, coins and cups; in modern occult tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks” (Wikipedia, “Tarot” October 15, 2019).

These Arcanas make up the Tarot deck and in sequence ” the Tarot trumphs are like a secular Neoplatanic rosary. They tell of a similar heroic journey, through three layers equated to three parts of the soul, but the hero in the Tarot is not Christ. The hero is Everyman or Everywoman” (Place p.129). I think it’s this idea that draws so many to tarot; it’s the power that comes with being the hero in your own story. The focus on self. Still, I don’t believe this desire manifests through narcissism. The desire to seek place and make room for your own journey in an expansive world doesn’t scream self-absorption to me. It just seems human. A human urge that has lasted centuries exists in a deck of cards.

 

Citations

Place, Robert Michael. The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2005.
“Tarot.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot.

 

Online Presence as a Growing Risk

The costs of online presence are really starting to outweigh the benefits for me.

When I think about my past online, I was always under the mindset of not caring; I didn’t care what I posted or who saw it. They were just pictures and recycled “The Office” memes. What harm could they really do? Still, I think I was always subconsciously aware of the potential harm to an educator.

Facebook

Teachers are held to a moral standing that the majority of careers don’t need to take into account (there aren’t many careers where you could be reprimanded for posing with a pint). And though I don’t agree with the degree to which teachers are discouraged from acting, well, human, I do understand why this expected morality is necessary. As teachers, we are responsible for how our students perceive us. When I was a high school student, teachers were mythic figures who although deep-down I knew had social lives, I never cared to think about. Any connection I made to a teacher was in context to my educationWe didn’t share personal details but that didn’t make our interactions inauthentic. Boundaries. I had them instinctively and so did my educators.

I think that boundaries are a large reason I am considering removing my online presence altogether. Though I didn’t ponder my teachers’ social lives, I know I would have gotten a kick out of stumbling upon my English teacher’s Instagram. Whether the quality of my online content is deemed appropriate or not, I wouldn’t want my future students to see my personal content. That’s a boundary I want to keep.

Meet the Libra

Image result for libra

Meet the Libra. Jason has ever so graciously offered to be one of my test subjects as I learn how to properly read tarot. For this reading, I did it pretty intuitively. He had questions about the upcoming school year. This is the final year of his undergraduate degree and he has lots of uncertainties about the future. These uncertainties relate to time, place, success etc. Basically he’s got questions.

As a typical libra, his opinion of tarot is quite… balanced; he’s certainly not a devote follower of the craft but he also wouldn’t define himself as a sceptic. He takes what he thinks relates to him and his life, and he uses it. What he doesn’t relate to, he tends to disregard. This reading will act as a baseline for my Inquiry: a place to grow from.

On to the reading… Gulp.

Now Tarot doesn’t just prophesize the future; it tells a story.

We begin with the three of swords. Now I’m under the belief that no card is a BAD card… but this one certainly doesn’t look too friendly. The card speaks to betrayal, heartbreak, a deep hurt. It’s a card of intense emotion. Still, there is a possibility (and likeliness in regards to the later reading) to move from this betrayal.

The two of wands speaks to future planning. A card of potential. Though Jason still has a lot of questions about his future post-graduation, there are plentiful opportunities for success for him on the horizon. This card speaks to travel, longterm goals, and a decision that must be made. Great success may be in his future if he is able to take a few risks.

The king of cups is balance (hey king libra). He is calm and open to his emotions without being overwhelmed by them. This may speak to three of swords… a point in his journey where he is able to reconcile his emotions.

Finally the queen of swords- facing forwards to the future, to change. She has emotional maturity and mental clarity. This card speaks to the independence Jason is building towards as he finishes his degree both in his personal life and career.

Thus concludes my lower than amateur baseline reading. I had to omit some aspects for the sake of privacy. I’ve found that tarot can surely be intrusive.

 

Long Live the Podcast

Image result for podcast

 

Today in class as we were learning audio editing, I couldn’t help but think about the possibilities this could mean for creating podcasts and bringing them into the classroom. Podcasts are a timeless entertainment. They’ve gained a real resurgence recently that I think you could really tap into in order to get students engaged in a variety of subjects.

The beauty of the podcast is the wide spectrum of topics they cover. Students can explore current events, true crime, movie reviews, reality tv show recaps and endless other subjects all through a very accessible program. The majority of podcasts are free and compatible with any device, whether that be a computer, cellphone, or an ancient iPod.

Image result for podcast     Image result for podcast    Image result for voice memos

If students are already excited about podcasts, the next step in including them in the classroom would logically be creating their own! This is where audio editing comes in handy. Students can use a simple voice recorder on a cellphone and use Audacity, a free program, and create podcasts for class. Podcasts are an amazing tool because they allow people to express an idea or analysis of a topic that they may not have been able to properly convey through the written word. They lend themselves to students are proficient with and passionate about technology, while being simplistic enough for a non-tech-lover to be able to use, create and enjoy.