Monday, September 5, 2016

Good Teachers

It often comes up with my adult students who are studying to be counsellors, healers, spiritual leaders, or teachers.

What makes a GOOD teacher?

Know your stuff
This seems to always be first on the list. The teacher must know the material they are teaching, must be able to understand it and apply it. They must have experience in it. They should be able to answer questions in it. Granted, they may not have all the answers, but knowing their stuff means that they will know where to look for the answers they cannot provide.

Be prepared
Teachers should come prepared with their materials for the class. They should have their assigned readings done in advance (not assign things they have never read). If they are supposed to provide supplies to students, then they should definitely have those supplies prepared in advance. As a safety measure, they should also have a few extras of the expected supplies in case students come without.

Be organized
Teachers who are disorganized and scattered have a hard time organizing their thoughts and a difficult time passing that knowledge on to their students. Organization gains one respect and makes things simply easier to do.

Communicate in a timely fashion
Students (and parents) need feedback in a reasonable amount of time. This usually means in a few days to a max of 2 weeks. On average, people expect some kind of feedback within a week, or at least a note with an exact time they can expect feedback. Feedback that comes late might interfere with future plans for the student and damage the student's ability to move forward with confidence (or at all). It shows you respect the students (and parents) and that you are bot responsible and accountable.

Be on time
If a teacher is late they will not be able to be organized. They will not appear prepared. The stress and rush may cause some disarray in the class and put off many students. It will make both teaching and learning difficult for all. It disrespects everyone who was on time.

Be compassionate
Know that life sometimes happens and you have to be a little bit forgiving when a mishap does occur. Be ready to explain yourself and communicate clearly and openly. Be compassionate with students. Life happens to them too. They may be having a very hard time learning, or lack the tools they need for the class. Sometimes they are struggling with a learning disability. Sometimes their home life is full of strive and stress, not conducive to preparing for class at him or doing homework. Sometimes they are just too poor for basic things: food, a shower, clean clothes, school supplies. Come prepared to listen, to understand, to help. Help can be just knowing resources they can turn to. Help might mean having extra supplies on hand and extra copies of things to loan, or make arrangements with the library to have these items reserved to ensure the students have access. And sometimes, it means having some extra bottles for water, some fruit, or other healthy snacks available. Food is fuel for the brain, and the brain needs fuel to have the energy learn. Sometimes this compassion means you understand that a student simply learns in a different way and you try to accommodate that different style so they can still learn and keep up with the class. If the home is not conducive for doing homework or assignments, maybe make sure you have office time where students can come to either just talk or make use of a quiet space to work in.

Be flexible
A teacher who is rigid in their styles may lose students. Be flexible. Be ready to adapt if the students are not "getting it" via the first way you present it. Sometimes learning happens better with visuals, sometimes with hand-on show and tell, sometimes with writing and listening, sometimes with reading in advance and discussing after. Be flexible to the needs of the students so you can bet reach them and help them learn. Much of flexibility goes back to being compassionate. Life happens, not just to you, but to your students. Flexibility is part of being compassionate.

In all things, stay grounded and calm... and just be kind (in word and deed).

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Etudiants Savoir Faire OPEN HOUSE

LES ETUDIANTS SAVOIR FAIRE OPEN HOUSE
12-5pm FREE to attend

1:00pm - Coping with High School Exam Stress for PARENTS
2:00pm - Introduction to the Young Writers Program (for children & adults)
3:00pm - Introduction to the workshops & services


http://etudiants-savoirfaire.blogspot.ca/

Young Writers Anthologies will be available for sale.
$15 each for 2 for $25.

Registration

Evaluation - $150 - Exam practice + evaluation + one tutoring session
Improvement - $40/session - Tutoring in English, Math, French

Workshops: $75 each (Open to children, teens, and adults)
  • Coping with Stress
  • Mastering Reading Comprehension
  • Advancing Your Study Skills
  • Note-taking made simple
  • Organizational Skills
  • How to do better Research
  • Superior Projects
  • Writing Essays & Papers
  • Successful Presentations
  • Leadership Life Skills
Services: (prices vary)
tutoring, editing, homework assistance, confidence coaching

Young Writers Program
- 25 sessions
(starting October 2nd and running through to June's Book Launch)
Cost: $1000 ($900 if paid in full in advance), $150/month, or $45/day
Cost includes publishing and 2 copies of an anthology, a workbook, notebook and binder

Adults: 50% off to attend and practice, though focus will be on the children, cost includes publishing and 2 copies of the Adult Anthology

Monday, June 6, 2016

Book Launch for Young Writers 2016


This year, we had three boys between 11 and 15 years old in the Montreal Young Writers Program. This is their dark and apocalyptic anthology.

I am so proud of each year's group of young authors.

The Book launch this year is held in the large classroom on the 3rd floor

DATE: Saturday June 25th
TIME: 11am
LOCATION: 43 Westminster North, Montreal-West, QC, H4X 1Y8

Books will be available for both purchase and signing.

  • Young Writers Anthology 2016
  • Young Writers Anthology 2015
  • Works by the teacher: T. Scarlet Jory
    • Magical Blend Book of Secrets: Volume 1 (English & French)
    • Magical Blend Book of Secrets: Volume 2


Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Projects List May 2016

BABY... yes, she takes up the majority of my time.

But that has not stopped me from thinking about writing...

Here is a list of the current writing projects:
  • Young Writers Anthology volume 2
  • Secular Ethics & Paganism Research Paper
  • Esoteric Buddhism & Paganism: Rites of Initiation Comparison Paper
  • Try again to format French MMBOS v2
  • Zen of Tea book with a section on Meditation with Tea
  • Fair Fundraiser Anthology: Words from the Community
  • Consider a third MMBOS volume: Wisdom from the Staff
  • Work on Chakra book
  • review fanfiction stories that are all pending new installments
  • Crash Course English Tutoring for Grades 5/6 in Preparation for High School Entrance Exams
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Spelling & Vocabulary
    • Grammar / Writing Conventions
    • Paragraph & Essay Writing
My current focus are the first three on the list.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Academia . edu

I now have a profile on Academia.edu where scholars and authors and teachers post their research, their papers, and their publications. I put up three of my papers. I will put up more, but I am too busy working on a new one right now.

New paper: "Masculinity in Contemporary Paganism"

Here is the link to my profile for those interested: https://concordia.academia.edu/ScarletJory