Embracing The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning (The New Teachers Column)

ETFO’s newest  resource book,  The Heart and  Art  of  Teaching and Learning: Practical Ideas  andResources for Beginning Teachers,  was  released at  the  2011 Annual Meeting.  Our goal  in writing  this  book for beginning  teachers was not only to provide a practical resource  for the  many  “firsts” they will encounter, but  also to  encourage and  enhance teachers’ personal learning journey.

This resource provides beginning teachers, and teachers experiencing a  change in  assignment, practical tips  on  setting up their own classrooms, classroom  management,  building inclusion, work- ing  with  parents, occasional teaching,  meeting diverse  learning  needs,  and  continuing  their professional learning and growth. This resource will also be released as the first ever ETFO  e-book. It will be available for all models of e-reader, including  the iPad. ETFO invites  you to visit  the  accompanying website/blog at  heartandart.ca  to  continue the learning journey and to interact  with other educators who are living the heart and art of teaching  and learning with  students. Here you  can “Connect,”  “Collaborate,”  and “Inspire.”

The regular bloggers, who are all  ETFO members, represent a wide range of teaching roles and experience. Samantha is an occasional teacher who  just started an LTO  assignment. Erin teaches core French on rotary. Roz,  Sangeeta, and Tina have returned to  classroom  teaching after performing other roles in  education. They are experiencing teaching in a similar way to new teachers. Alison is teaching a new grade in Primary,  and Carmen is an experienced Junior/Intermediate  teacher.

You are bound to find ideas in  these regular columns, whether you are a new teacher, experiencing a new  teaching assignment, or just looking  for new strategies to set up your classroom, build inclusion, and meet the diverse learning needs of your students. For instance, in a recent blog post, Carmen Oliveira considered the importance  of  regular  parent-teacher communication, and in another recent post Tina Ginglo discussed dance and drama  resources from the  Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators (CODE).

Visit this site often to follow our regular bloggers,  connect with  the  beginning teacher community, and contribute your own thoughts and experiences.