Ho Hum

I stayed up late until 1:30 a.m. to finish my novel and rose at 8:00 a.m. Read the paper, cleaned the house and read some more. I drove Lindz to work and stayed at the Ale House where the rest of the gang met for lunch. It was great to see the gals and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. After lunch it was time for errands, groceries , banking etc. cooking supper etc. etc. Not very exciting! Matt survived his surgery and is eating ice cream and mashed potatoes.

What's Happening with the Weather?

Rain again today! I think I'll have to go to the tanning salon to get a tan this summer! Today was another day of not getting too much done other than my hair appointment and catching up on my sleep. I am well rested and enjoyed my hill training workout this evening. I'm looking forward to having lunch with our gang of teachers tomorrow. Matt will be having his oral surgery in the morning (implants and wisdom teeth extraction). Poor kid!!

Summer Days

Today I did not manage to get my research started. It ended up being a day of many interruptions so I gave up. All of the interruptions were necessary as I spent time visiting with T. and her new foster baby who is three weeks old and quite adorable. It was magical to hold an infant so tiny and delicate. It's been awhile!! I also had to drive Matt to his job, get groceries, do my running work out and step workout and answer several phone calls. By the end of the day I was exhausted. Tomorrow is another day. I imagine that I'll have more time to do my research when I head up to the quiet of northern Ontario though internet access could be a problem. I might also be able to get first hand information from some of the people at Wikwemikong which would be ideal.

Reading in the Sun

This morning I headed to Smiths Falls with Lindz so she could take her final "G" driving test. I was surprised to see Jane G. there trying for her bus driver's licence. She will make a great bus driver though. Lindz is now a fully qualified driver.
Today the sun was shining for most of the day so I took advantage of the great weather to do some "fluff" reading in the lounge chair in the backyard. It was a great feeling to soak up the vitamin D since we haven't seen much of the sun so far this summer. Sure enough by the end of the day we were into rain showers again. Tomorrow I need to rise with the birds and get started on my research about aboriginal sacred objects. Overall it was an enjoyable lazy day.
Around town I have seen signs of the preparations for the Riverside Jam this coming weekend. The fifth annual "Jam" (country music festival) will find thousands of visitors arriving in Carleton Place. I might get to take in the "Jam" Friday evening if I have everything in order for my road trip to northern Ontario on Saturday.

The End of Week Two and the End of the M.Ed. Program

Two years later and I am at the end of the life-changing M. Ed. program at Mount St. Vincent University. I am happy to have completed the program but sad that the journey with other students has come to an end. I have made new friends with students and professors and made many contacts along the way. I am sure I will be continuing to follow the work of Vivian Vasquez, Jim Gee, Jerome Harste, Andy Manning, Julia Davies, Guy Merchant, Peggy Albers, Colin Lankshear, Michele Knobel, Connie White, Rita Armitage, Blye Frank and others. I am not sure what my next path will be but I am hoping to continue my work with aboriginal education.
This week I will begin my research on aboriginal sacred objects and begin writing for the teacher manual to be published by the Eastern Ontario Catholic Curriculum Cooperative.
It was great to arrive back home in the valley after spending the last two weeks in Toronto. I had a wonderful walk down in the park along the Mississippi River. I really do love small towns! I am looking forward to having dinner with Jo and Bill in Gananoque on Wed. to discuss aboriginal issues and literacy. Next week I'll be heading to northern Ontario, my first home, and the beautiful Manitoulin Island. I'll be taking in the Wikwemikong Pow Wow and hopefully visiting with Jeff Burnham from Goodminds. Right now it's back to the mundane tasks of doing laundry and making meals, cleaning etc. Tomorrow I begin my research after my 14 km run at the Running Room.
Heidi and I have made it home! Good luck Tracy, our new Maritime friend! Have a safe trip home!

Our Public Service Announcement and Podcast

Today was quite exciting as Heidi and I finished creating our Public Service Announcement and added a critique of it through a Podcast. Vivian V. and Andy B. were our presenters today and the learning activities took up most of the day which went by very quickly. We were surprised that five o'clock came before we knew it. We also had to upload some photos to Flickr using tags to link to our blog and upload our video to YouTube.
After class, the out of towners celebrated by going to the Belfast Lounge. We thought we might be in for a rowdy Irish time. Instead it was the Dixie Road locals and Tom Jones was playing on the CD player. The beer and food were good though. We headed back to the hotel for our last night before heading home tomorrow afternoon.

More Art

Today we learned about valuing "outsider" art, art that lies outside of the mainstream. Some of it may look like children's art. It is self-taught, lacks some conventions but supports a real desire to communicate in the present. Outsider art is hotly contested, at least when considering "beauty", "truth" and "nature." It is simple like folk art. Peggy Albers suggests that we have children emulate outsider art rather than art of the masters in order for children to see themslves as artists. This made me feel a bit more comfortable with my "art." She also suggested that we take photographs of our students' art, study it, talk to the kids about it, look for patterns and celebrate it.
In the afternoon we created collages of a social issue prevalent in our school area and neighbourhood. Our group chose poverty which was a theme mentioned by almost all other groups. Our next task is to create a public service announcement (PSA) using technology on our social issue. We will begin work on that tomorrow.