The Homework Board
Season 2 Episode 20 (Episode 50): Take this opportunity after listening to Linda Watson talk retirement to start a retirement plan, no matter where you are at in your career.
Season 2 Episode 16 (Episode 46): You are done! You are exhausted! You have made it! Take this time to look after yourself so you end up at home happy and healthy for the holidays. No homework this week!
Season 2 Episode 15 (Episode 45): Share your favourite field trips. Reveal your challenges and barriers to taking a class on a field trip.
Season 2 Episode 14 (Episode 44): Think back to when you were in elementary school and share the items you would sneak to school and hide in your desk. What was your favourite weapon of mass distraction?
Season 2 Episode 13 (Episode 43): Review Ev’s weight training guide and see if you can incorporate some of these into your busy day.
Season 2 Episode 12 (Episode 42): Create a ready to go day plan that you can pull out at any time you are too sick to teach the next day. Do it! Do it now!
Season 2 Episode 11 (Episode 41): What are you being asked to teach that feels more and more like society’s failings rather than the curriculum? Are you feeling overwhelmed with the expectations of a teacher in 2025? Share your thoughts here.
Season 2 Episode 10 (Episode 40): Why does class size matter? Share your thoughts here. And keep fighting for improvements. “That’s how the light gets in.”
Season 2 Episode 7 (Episode 37): Let us know your thoughts on Extra Curricular Activities. Are they truly an extra or should they be seen as something everyone participates in?
Season 2 Episode 6 (Episode 36): The Stunt Brothers go on a Field Trip and meet with Scott Orth, a life coach and founder of Mindful Wisdom
Season 2 Episode 5 (Episode 35): In our Episode on Desk Tetris, we encourage listeners to sit in every area of the class to determine what it’s actually like for the students. Here is some further reading.
Season 2 Episode 4 (Episode 34): Check out the Resources Page for some background readings on what some call The Imposter Syndrome.
Season 2 Episode 3 (Episode 33): The Stunt Brothers go on a camping field trip to Manning Park, a little beyond hope.
Season 2 Episode 2 (Episode 32): The year has started and the future looks bright. Write down all the things you are happy with during this first week back. Maybe it’s the way you organized the room. Maybe you have a fun new colleague working next to you. Maybe you’re close to the bathroom!
Episode 31 (Season 2 Begins!): We go on a field trip to New Brighton Park, in the shadow of the Pacific National Exhibition, and sit down for a great chat with Vancouver teacher and author, Nick Marino, diving deep into the stories from his fabulous book about the PNE, Eastside Story. Share your favourite memories about the PNE in the comment box above.
Episode 21: Here are some of our favourite movies and shows about schools and teaching. What are yours?
Breakfast Club
Dead Poet’s Society
School of Rock
Mr. D
October Sky
Kindergarten Cop
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Good Will Hunting
Welcome Back Kotter
Degrassi
Episode 20: A Fieldtrip to visit with outdoor educator extraordinaire Victor Elderton.
Episode 19: Tell us your views on the two articles we shared for today’s episode.
Article 1: Raising A Child Is Mission Impossible
Article 2: Teaching Is Becoming Mission Impossible
Episode 18: Share your top ten list of the best goodbye songs.
Episode 17: A Fieldtrip to visit with Clint Johnston, President of the BCTF.
Episode 16: Here is our Top Ten List Of The Signs That The School Year Is Coming To An End
Number 10: You are on your third freezie sale.
Number 9: A teacher, with a measuring tape, comes to see if all their stuff will fit in your room because they will be taking your classroom over next year.
Number 8: Half your class has already left for an early vacation.
Number 7: The photocopier has only coloured paper because they won’t buy white until September.
Number 6: Your class asks to go outside but complains that it’s too hot and wants to come back in.
Number 5: All the computers are booked until the last day of school.
Number 4: An EA you work with and who you call Susan tells you her name is actually Jill.
Number 3: Retiring teachers are just too darn happy.
Number 2: The class has no more pencils.
And the number one sign that the school year is coming to an end: You love the smell of sunscreen in the morning.
Now share your ideas for a top ten list and tell us about some of your carrots you dangle in front of the class to help you survive the last weeks of the school year. Comment above in the Comment Box and leave your first name if you want to be entered in out contest.
Episode 15: Share what you do at the beginning of each school year to build a positive and nurturing class culture.
For More information on The Seven Dimensions of Classroom Climate, go to The Backgrounder.
Episode 14: After listening to our discussion with Dr. Brad Baker, share some thoughts and ideas on indigenous education.
Episode 13: The world of teaching is filled with acronyms and buzz words. Were you able to guess what the acronyms were? Our pop quiz is now closed.
Now tell us when you have faced change and how you navigated through it. Post your comments above in the comment box.
Episode 12: Our visit with Trustee Cyndi Gerlach and our discussion on diversity and inclusion in the classroom. Is diversity and inclusion working? What is your experience? How can we make it better?
Episode 11: Make and keep track of a goal that helps you find pseudo severance, that sweet balance between home and work. Share your ideas with us.
Episode 10 A and 10 B: Is incivility on the rise in the classroom? Share your thoughts.
Episode 9: Three For Me! Share three examples of the amazing things you do for your students. Let’s celebrate!
Episode 8: A Field Trip with Katrina Russell and Robin Deleurme (See Podcast Guests page for more information.)
Episode 7: Share with us one thing you have changed in your ways that was successful for you or a time when you tried something new and said, “No, that’s not for me.”
Episode 6: Have a “Purge Party” with your colleagues to filter out materials you no longer need and gain new materials that your colleagues may no longer need but are of value to you.
Episode 5: A Field Trip with Dr. Pius Ryan (See Podcast Guests page for more information.)
Episode 4: A Field Trip with Kulvir Mann (See Podcast Guests page for more information.)
Episode 3: A Field Trip with Andrea Brennan (See Podcast Guests page for more information.) Share in the comment section things you do every day to stay healthy and fit in the classroom.
Episode 2: Share ways you make connections with your students.
Make a comment and share ways you connect with your students.
(Please include your first name after the comment.)
Episode 1: Teaching is….
Make a comment includes your metaphor or simile for what teaching is.
(Please include your first name after the comment.)
10 responses to “The Homework Board”
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Thanks for another great episode! I agree, that this is a special ramp-up time of year in many ways (esp. for Grade 7 teachers! – I’m not one this year – phew!) and that it’s a good oppotunity to create some fun memories with your class and let go of the curriculum obsession lol (btw – we just finished math for the year and I’m not planning to do any “filler” review – there’s more to life than crunching numbers! 🙂
Here are some of my “Year-end Carrots”:
– My own class fun day, called the “The Golden Bob Classic” which has a golden Spongebob trophy for the winning team
– A square-dancing based movie that everyone has fun dressing up and being silly in called, “So You Think You Can Squard Dance?”
– A “just for fun” Science Fair that is explicity not for marks, but simply for the joy of experimenting and learning – other classes come to visit which helps to keep the pressure on to put together a decent presentation
– a combo field trip to the Aquarium (am) and Second Beach Pool (pm)
– Grouse Mountain hike along the Powerline trail
– combined afternoon PE activities like ultimate with other classes
– the usual Grade 7 field trips to Playland, Cultus Lake, Watermania / Spaghetti Factory / Zone Bowling (Richmond Entertainment Complex)
– Survivor games, BBQ and river rafting along the Cheakamus River – quite a few years ago – not sure if it is still offered, but it was super fun 🙂
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I love this topic – I try to do this as much as I can! I do stretches, home exercises, and cycle to school every morning. Each week with the students, I jog 5 – 10 laps around the field and do 10 minutes of circuit training with the students. On colder / rainier days we’ll switch the jog for Kidsbop dancing in the class. Yoga, tennis, ultimate and similar workshops are easy ones to join in as well. As the organiser of the Jump Rope for Heart, I’ll skip with the students regularly for the month of May. Finally, whenever there are school fun runs, such as the Terry Fox Run, I’ll jog with the students as well knowing it’s all just as good for me as it is for them.
Mark 🙂
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Good job on Episode 2! I’ve found one of the best ways to connect with kids is through student clubs! For me, these have included sports clubs such as volleyball and track and field, green team/environment/nature clubs, and creative clubs including Lego, art, and creative writing clubs. By working with a variety of clubs throughout the year, I’ve been able to make connections with a broad spectrum of students. One thing I’ve really appreciated about working with students in such clubs has been getting to know younger students before they get to your class. I’ve found making these pre-connections goes a long way to having a positive start to the school year.
- Mark 🙂
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Congratulations and great job on your first episode! Looking forward to the next one!
For me, teaching is like the TV show, Survivor! – never-ending unexpected challenges, allies and rivals, various administrative hosts, an audience of parents ready to critique your every word and decision, and plenty of creative strategies to make it through – If only there was a million dollars at the end! 🙂
- Mark (Brooksbank)
A Stunt Brothers Production 
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