Elisa Waingort

I’m sitting at the Berkeley Public Library reading a new YA novel. My son and his father are studying at a table nearby. In a few days, my son will turn 20. We’re here to celebrate with him. We’ve been having breakfast together, taking short walks and spending time with friends. I’ve been marveling at Read more

In a previous blog post, I talked about taking on a different role this year. I was happy to be offered a 0.5 interventionist/support teacher position at my school. I provide literacy and numeracy support to small groups of children. I started with a few groups based on the results of provincial exams last spring, Read more

At the end of this school year, I will be leaving the classroom after almost four decades teaching grades 1 – 8. Other than a few years in between when I took on other roles in education, I’ve dedicated my professional life to teaching in mostly self-contained classrooms. During the 2024-2025 school year, I will Read more

Some days I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. Nothing seems to go as planned. My students are out of control. I’m out of control. And I’m bewildered. Maybe they are, too. But recently something happened that made me realize I haven’t been handling disruptions well. One of my students came up to me and Read more

I may have previously written about this elsewhere. I don’t know. But it’s something that has been bothering me a lot this year. As a teacher, I am uncomfortable with the idea that a student’s diagnosis serve as an excuse for their behavior or academic performance. In other words, if a student is diagnosed with Read more

Read aloud has always been a very important part of my classroom. I’ve alternated between reading class novels and reading picture books with my students. Sometimes I’ve read both a picture book and a chapter of a novel on the same day. This year has been different. On some days, as the children are getting Read more

In math, students had to determine what fraction of a rectangle was shaded. They debated whether it was 1/3 or 1/4. (The rectangle was cut into three parts – 1/2 and 2/4. The shaded part was 1/4 of the whole.) I had to bite my tongue not to interfere in their conversation. Instead, I listened Read more

Setting boundaries doesn’t come easy to me, but I’m learning even when it feels uncomfortable. I don’t protect my time well. I tend to say ‘yes’ more often than I say ‘no’. I bring my work life into my home life; I struggle to separate the two. As a new teacher, I wish I hadn’t Read more