by Mr. Bryan Jackson
Wise Words
Comment 1
I am now following Mr. Bryan Jackson. He is a Gifted Program teacher for ninth and tenth grade at high old high school in Port Moody, British Columbia. Mr. Jackson began his post with a quote:
Comment 1
I am now following Mr. Bryan Jackson. He is a Gifted Program teacher for ninth and tenth grade at high old high school in Port Moody, British Columbia. Mr. Jackson began his post with a quote:
“Do you believe in something beautiful? Then get up and be it.”
By Ted Leo
His post on Wise Words led me to another post which I believe was written by one of his students. He took a quote from her post and commented about it on his. Her comment was:
A character, even if it is based off of oneself, is not real. His or her experiences don’t have to follow the way of the rules of the world. The character is given a blank page every five hundred or so words, a new chance to create his or herself, a new chance at being somebody, a new chance at redemption, a new chance at life. So embrace your inner character. After all, everyday is a new page that we should not be afraid to write.
These links gave me a lot to think about. First of all, in my research I found that the link to this song was about bulimia and anorexia. Secondly, I think that his goal was to make readers look deeper into these meanings. I really enjoyed reading over many of his blog posts.
I responded by asking him a few questions about the gifted program he teaches and asked him if he had any advice, because that is what I would love to get my master’s degree in. I also commented on the two links that he had left. I look forward to learning more about his teaching methods and reading more posts by him and his students.
Saskatchewan Street Poetry
Comment 2
Mr. Jackson made an earlier post about a poem that his sister shared with him from a wall in Saskatoon. He said that he carried it around for several months before he turned it into this song. These words have such a profound meaning behind them. The overall message of the poem is to let go and forget on what they already have and who they already are instead of wasting their lives away chasing something that they will never reach. My absolute favorite line in this poem is:
This poem/song was motivational to me. At the beginning of this semester I was eager to get things up and going. After a while, I started to become discouraged. I then began to doubt my abilities and continued to push myself until I could not possibly do any better. I became burnt out and wanted to give up. Thank goodness I am surrounded by great friends and family who continue to make me self-reflect throughout the rest of the semester. I am now more aware of my abilities and continue to grow stronger as a person.
Saskatchewan Street Poetry
Comment 2
Mr. Jackson made an earlier post about a poem that his sister shared with him from a wall in Saskatoon. He said that he carried it around for several months before he turned it into this song. These words have such a profound meaning behind them. The overall message of the poem is to let go and forget on what they already have and who they already are instead of wasting their lives away chasing something that they will never reach. My absolute favorite line in this poem is:
What you can't haveyou've already got itAnother person had previously commented on this blog post, but I think that she captured the poem entirely when she said:
I think most people do not realize that we have to find things for ourselves within ourselves. Others can help us find it but we have to have it for them to find.I respodend to this post by adding on to the first comment. She was right that we have to look within ourselves for others to see what we have as well. I also think that his song made this poem easier to understand and relate to. The poem is telling us to look deeper into ourselves for what we want because we may already have it.
This poem/song was motivational to me. At the beginning of this semester I was eager to get things up and going. After a while, I started to become discouraged. I then began to doubt my abilities and continued to push myself until I could not possibly do any better. I became burnt out and wanted to give up. Thank goodness I am surrounded by great friends and family who continue to make me self-reflect throughout the rest of the semester. I am now more aware of my abilities and continue to grow stronger as a person.
Hi Jessica!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the comment and interest in my blog and our program. Hopefully some of our resources and experiences provide you with some valuable connections and learning in the next little while. You may want to add my teaching partner, Quirien Mulder ten Kate to your RSS feeds as well (http://www.qmtk.edublogs.org) as well, as she is the Gifted Students case manager at our school, and was instrumental in reviving our school & district’s gifted program.
To answer your question about identification, our school district identifies students for student-services (on either the gifted, or learning-assistance ends of the spectrum) in a “psycho-ed” test of cognitive skills in grade two (or when requested by parents or teachers in later grades). These students are funded through our ministry of education to receive support in their learning of various subjects & areas throughout their schooling years. In grade nine and ten, students identified as gifted are able to apply for our TALONS program, about which you can read more on our school’s website:
http://www.sd43.bc.ca/secondary/gleneagle/ProgramsServices/ProgramsChoice/talons/Pages/default.aspx
As for teaching in a gifted setting, I firmly believe (as did George Betts, who wrote the template for gifted learning that our program is based upon) that the strategies we employ can be and are successful across the spectrum of student ability; but they are particularly interesting to see in action with gifted learners, as it is often not their academic or intellectual selves requiring as much stimulation as their social or emotional needs may require.
More about the Betts Autonomous Learner Model: http://www.muw.edu/ccl/presentations/TheAutonomousLearnerModelforGifted_files/frame.htm
Hopefully that gives you a good start! We would love to see some of your questions make their way into a blog post of your own that we (students and teachers alike) might be able to lend some input to!
Cheers,
Bryan