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About Me

Welcome to my "Assess Success" blog, where I attempt to delve into the depths of assessment in mathematics, focusing on bettering my own practice, and present the many wonderings to which I have no answers! I am a fifth-year teacher in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and am a privileged to work, play, learn, and live on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sto:lo People.  While my teaching assignment has changed regularly over the past 5 years, I am currently the Mathematics teacher for Grade 8, Pre-Calculus 11, Pre-Calculus 12, and Calculus 12. I wear numerous hats in the small Christian school I teach in, but engaging in daily math discussions with my students is by far one of my favourite things to do! My classroom embodies the practices developed by Dr. Peter Liljedahl in his "Thinking Classroom" model, meaning my students use curiosity, enthusiasm, 'stuck-ness', collaboration, and critical thinking to unpack and discover the concepts c...
Recent posts

On Reconciliation & Relationship - John Johnstone

Reconciliation and the Church "Welcome to the Table of Uncomfortableness" https://multiply.net/global-worker/john-johnstone https://vimeo.com/1007787975?fl=pl&fe=sh If your neighbour is right beside you and you don't know them, how are you supposed to love them? God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are in relationship and NEED to be in relationship in order for salvation to be possible. God needs to exist in order for Jesus to go to the cross in obedience to cancel out the disobedience of Adam and Eve That relationship is what birthed our ability to spend eternity with the Father. If this is what is modelled through the Trinity, then relationship must be critical. If you don't love what is being sacrificed, is it even really a sacrifice at all? As we take bricks out of the wall, those bricks need to be used to build a bridge. "Go and share the Good News" doesn't mean move to a different seat in the same church/building to share with the same pe...

First Peoples' Principles of Learning - Marenda Desjarlais

 Walking in Wisdom: FPPL and Christian Education One perspective: FPPL of learning are a pedagogy, a way of teaching and learning, not something to be learned explicitly by the students. Created with input from Elders and Indigenous Peoples across BC What are the FPPL?  Nine guiding principles from Indigenous peoples of BC about how  learning happens.  They are holistic, experiential, and relational.  Relational Learning Circle discussions Restorative conversations Service projects Place-Based Learning Learning from local land and community Jesus often taught outdoors Observing creation as scripture-in-motion Cautions and Commitments Avoid tokenism and "checking a box" Building relationships with local nations Be humble learners Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, family, community, land, spirits, and ancestors.

Indigenous Worldview - Marenda Desjarlais (Langley Christian Indigenous Education Coordinator)

 Walking Together: Indigenous Worldview and the Christian School Context What is worldview? Core elements of Indigenous Worldview Tensions and harmony w/ Christian faith Practical ways to integrate relational and land-based perspectives What shapes our Worldview Faith, family, community, culture, land What has shaped your worldview the most? Has it remained the same since childhood or has it changed as you've grown? Defining Indigenous Worldview All life is sacred and interconnected Knowledge comes from experience, story, and the land If you saw the land as a teacher, what might it change about your approach to education? Balance, respect, and reciprocity sustain relationships Christian Worldview Overview God as Creator Humany is image-bearers Stewardship and love of creation Relationship and redemption through Christ Where it's complex Spiritual interpretations of creation The role of Creator and creation Reconciling Indigenous spirituality with Christ-centred theology Two-Eye...

Our Source for Strange Hospitality - Rev. Dr. Matthew Kaemingk

 Our Source for Strange Hospitality How do we lead amidst deep difference? How might our school embody both truth and grace: Counter-cultural commitments? Counter-cultural hospitality? Practicing Strange Hospitality The first time you try hospitality, you will be bad at it.  There is a big difference between a Christian school that is centred around Christ and a Christian school that is focused on its boundaries and rules. Clarity is charity Table Politics for Our Schools High Walls Open Doors Christ-Centred Tables In what ways was God here before ***? The image of God is too rich to be confined to the individual or even to the human family. Exercise: Provide some concrete examples of what it would look like for your school to be a place of both firm conviction and generous hospitality. What might that look like? Use your imagination. How might Christ be calling you to abide in him and grow in him through the challenges of deep difference in this community? 

A Stranger Hospitality - 2: Rev. Dr. Matthew Kaemingk

 A Strange Hospitality What examples can you think of where Jesus interacts with "different"?  Jesus didn't act the same way every time; at some times he was tender, others harsh The first word when we think of how to describe Jesus is not  "nice" Jesus is a complex figure with a lot of things to say, that aren't always predictable Table Politics "Christ is King, and that means Christians are not." Temporal: Christ is King over history. Jesus alone controls the future of this country. Spatial: Christ is King over Chilliwack , etc (diverse communities) If Christ is King and truly sovereign, that impacts how we engage others as Christians The King (Kingship looks different for Jesus; he executes his kingship differently) Healing King - Even amidst the chaos ( Mount of Olives ), he demonstrates peace and healing (heals the soldier on 'the other team') Naked King - Naked, up on the cross, the soldiers laughed at him and imagined that they had ...

A Strange Hospitality - 1: Rev. Dr. Matthew Kaemingk

A Strange Hospitality "We teach who we are." - Parker Palmer Difference We regularly encounter difference that is deep, fast, close. These differences come in a wide variety: cultural, racial, political, economic, moral, theological, religious... How do we lead amidst deep difference? How might our schools embody both: Counter-cultural commitments Counter-cultural hospitality Example: Muslim Immigration in Europe "Guest workers" -- set up "Muslim hamlets" outside the cities (Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam), belief was that these people would eventually "go back home" Reality: People started to bring spouses, children, family; never really integrated into European society European reactions: A problem to be solved... Paternalistic attitude -- we'll provide all of these "things" (healthcare, mosques, social workers, etc) to take care of them and eventually these Muslims will see how great our way of life is and they will assimilate  Two voi...

Liz Ullrich: Learning Readiness - A Whole School Approach to Reducing Behaviours of Concern and Increasing Skills incl. Low Arousal and Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training Approaches

 We have to unwire the brain to rewire it.  Seek 1% change in behaviour each day - we can't expect big change, but small change becomes big change over time.  Our brains are wired first for safety, then for relationship.  The Law:  Duty of Care and Wellbeing: must do everything reasonable within our power to keep others and ourselves safe from harm Duty of Candor: have to be open and honest about our mistakes and the quality of our practice Acting in Good Faith: should always do our utmost to follow policies and plans, even when we may disagree with aspects of them The three C's: For our C onvenience For C ompliance For ur personal C omfort The first time is a surprise: the correct response is to create a plan! Know our behaviour tolerance: what is a behaviour that you find particularly challenging, that gets under your skin?  How can we pause and take a break so that we don't react?  The emotional brain is our smoke detector 5 Domains of Stress Backpa...