As Kristian mentioned this week is a testing week for all of the schools. These Standards Based Assessments (or SBAs) are affecting the schedules that the schools have. In second grade, the students do not have to take the tests, but my cooperating teacher was pulled from the classroom today and for the rest of the week to administer tests to other grade levels. Because of this I was pushed into teaching a little sooner than would be ideal. But teaching is all about adapting to different situations and rolling with the punches, so I thought why not jump right in! I knew that these tests were a huge deal for teachers and administrators, but it is really interesting to see them in action, and all of the stress that is on the schools to perform well.
One really interesting thing about the Fred Ipalook (Ip-all-uk) Elementary School, the school that Kristian, Cassie and I are at, is that it has an indoor playground. It is really something to see a full size playground indoors at a school... but if you think about it it is necessary. I was talking to one of the cooks at the school and she was saying how we were lucky to have come during the warm season. The temperature today was -10 degrees.
Another interesting thing that I noticed and asked my cooperating teacher about was the fact that the students take their winter jackets wherever they go in the school, even though the temperature in the school is normal room temperature. The reasoning behind this was if there was a fire or other emergency where the students needed to be evacuated they can just put on their jackets and be prepared for the cold weather outside. This has definitely been a different experience than Minnesota so far, and I'm looking forward to learning more about the lifestyle and culture here as well as getting some more teaching experiences!
Stay warm,
Trevor
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