I am the Student

This may sound naive, but I have spent most of my early teaching years (and I am still a young and new teacher in the field) in small-town, rural, predominately Caucasian schools, the same as how I was raised.  Knowing there is more to our great big world than that, I still loved teaching students that were similar to me and my childhood.  I felt that we could relate on a smaller scale and I enjoyed that.  Knowing many of them outside of school, through agricultural groups and community events, was what I loved and still love about small, rural based schools.    
 
Then came Ajax...  When I was hired at a school in Ajax this year I was honestly afraid.  Would I be able to communicate easily with my students and parents?  Would I pronounce their names correctly? Would we still be able to talk about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and decorate accordingly for different common North American holidays?   But mostly, I thought and worried, will some families be offended to know that I am a farmer that may care for and use animals differently than they do in their countries of origin?
 
 My students did not understand what it meant to just have animals and care for them.  Luckily, grade 2 science expectations cover the topic of animals: how to care for animals, different classifications of animals; characteristics within those classifications; and how animals (including us intellectual humans) grow and change.  They just think it is wild that we are animals too and remind me often that we are smart mammals!  Two different students asked me, “Since we are animals Ms. Bunnik, do you live in your barn with your animals, just in a separate part of the barn?”  They were definitely not joking when they asked me this.  It was so sincere, with wonderful childhood innocence, and I explained to them that I have a house just like they do and only the dogs and cats come in the house (I left out the mice and spiders).  However, I ruined my point intensely when I showed them farm photos and a calf was wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace on a cold winter day.  I am not sure they believe me anymore.  On another occasion, I was lying in the stack of straw with one of the dogs and they thought I was going to bed.  In all seriousness though, this thought process does not seem far from their countries of origin.  In India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan animals do often roam around remote homes and walk in and out of human's living quarters.  Perhaps it is not such an obscene thought for animals to be in and out of the house and of course, no question is a bad one!
 
In Social Studies, I make sure to cover all the holidays my students celebrate.  They inquire about what I do with the pigs and goats and I explain to them what we do and that it may be different from what they might do.  When we discuss Muslim celebrations or Jewish traditions, we look at pictures of their feasts and we talk about what animals are used in their sacrifices and what they represent.  One little boy, who is Jehovah’s Witness, said to me “Ms. Bunnik I don’t celebrate this so I shouldn’t talk about it.”  I told him that I do not celebrate it either, but as a whole class we can talk about what others celebrate and learn from each other.   It does not mean we are celebrating, but just listening and learning...and for me, becoming a better, well-rounded teacher. 
 
Most likely, I am one of those teachers pushing the boundaries, teaching a little too much science and social studies in real life contexts.  Students relate to those subjects a lot and it makes learning more exciting and realistic.  Then, when I say, “go write about it” they forget they are doing language.  Or, when I say, “let’s make a math story using reptiles” or “let’s make a growing pattern using peacock feathers” they are ecstatic.  I may have brought a bag of old socks to school a couple weeks ago...  The students were learning about attributes before we delved further into patterning and I thought I really need to get rid of some darn socks in this house.  Rather than throw them out, we used them to identify and sort attributes.  My little 6 and 7 year olds had the nerve to say, “Did you walk through manure in these socks?”  After my laughing subsided, I told them manure is not an attribute, but rather to look at the stripes and colours (and holes).  Then, I joked that since I do live in the barn with the animals some of the socks are bound to have a little manure on them.  Most get my humour...some had horrified looks on their faces.
 
Most of my parent teacher interviews consisted of the parents asking me about my farm and were genuinely interested in the animals and what we do with them.  Also, if a farm trip could be planned and whether or not they can have peacock feathers (LOL).  Then, we would get down to business...  A whole different perspective has been gained in my eyes and my mind.  I spend more time with students and parents who have emigrated here from another country and it has made me a far more appreciative and knowledgeable Canadian.  Also, my curiosity has climbed.  I take tremendous pleasure reading the books about my students’ different countries and traditions.  I have already learned an enormous amount from them this year.  They need to know that I learn from them too and that learning continues far beyond the classroom.  Often, I tell them that I go to agricultural conferences or school workshops and I let them know (in kid friendly terms) what they were about.  I remind them that one day they may choose to learn about something they are really passionate about and they won’t cover every subject everyday like we do in elementary school.  They always tell me that I am a farmer before I am a teacher and that must be what I chose to be passionate about!  I have many passions, but farming is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do to end my night, so yes, it is probably my number one!  However, they have triggered a passion for travel in me...Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka?
 
We continue to celebrate culture in our classroom and we celebrate the life of animals, accepting that each family or group of people may appreciate, respect, and use animals differently.  I love how agriculture can be so easily integrated into this curriculum and weaved throughout the teachings!  Looks like another spring trip to the farm is in order... 
 
And yes, I was able to dress up and wear my cow costume for Halloween!  

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