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REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS FORM

Check as appropriate: __ Year 1, __ Year 2, __ Year 3, (X) Year 4

A. On the form below, explain how the activities you engaged in or the texts/materials
you submitted pertain to your professional development in terms of one of the other of
the twelve teacher education competencies. In completing the form, you should refer to
and discuss ALL items for which you claimed points. Please note, however, that it may be
relevant to discuss one item in relation to more than one competency. For example, a
project which you did with a group of students during your practicum might possibly be
discussed in reference to competencies 3-6. Add space as necessary.
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Before completing the form, please note the following:

!Competency 1. This competency pertains to those courses which provide you with a foundation

in your area of study: second language learning and teaching. Of note in this regard are courses
which pertain to English and Spanish linguistics, culture, language acquisition, literature, second
language pedagogy. Assignments from courses and study abroad experiences are particularly
useful in demonstrating how your knowledge in these areas has developed.

!Competency 2. One aspect of this pertains to providing evidence of your own level of

proficiency in oral and written English (or Spanish). Assignments from courses or pieces you
have written outside of class (e.g., articles in student newspaper) are relevant here. Another aspect
pertains to your use of language when you teach. This could be demonstrated by such things as
videotapes of your teaching, assignments in which you analyse and reflect on how you adapt your
speech to the needs of ESL learners, examples of worksheets you have designed or instructions
for a project.

Competencies 3 7. These competencies pertain to your L2 teaching. Of particular relevance

is your teaching during your practicums and care should be taken to collect items, especially
during practicums 3 and 4. However, other relevant items pertain to your coursework (e.g.,
materials developed in pedagogy courses but not tried out) or items from teaching experiences
other than the practicum. The types of items identified for Teaching reflective practice,
materials development, confirmations of teaching, etc. are particularly relevant. However,
thought might be given to how other experiences contribute to your development. For example, if
you attended a SPEAQ Campus workshop you found particularly useful, you might include a
description or handout and in your reflection explain why. If you read an article in Vie
pdagogique for which you provided a summary, you might specify how this fits in with one or
the other of these competencies. If you handed in a practicum report in regard to your teaching,
for the targeted competency try to say more specifically what you did of relevance. In other
words, you are asked to use your creativity in terms of how you exploit the various documents
included in your webfolio. Above all, what is important is to specify clearly how the items
contributed to your progressive appropriation of the targeted competencies. It is also important
to remember to pick up items which can be used for the various competencies. For example,
have you picked items which enable you to say something about evaluation (C6)? classroom
management (C7), adapting your teaching to students special needs (C8)?

Competency 8. With respect to ICTs, you should take into account those experiences which
enabled you to develop your personal skill in this area (e.g., use of ICTs in various courses or in
extracurricular activities) as well as how you used ICTs in your teaching (whether in the school
system or in another teaching context).

!Competencies 9 and 10. By their nature, these competencies pertain almost exclusively to

experiences you would have had during a practicum. Be sure to remember to collect items
relevant to these competencies (e.g., a reflection, activity developed in collaboration with a
colleague).

!Competency 11. Items pertaining to Ongoing professional development and Community

involvement are particularly relevant for this competency.
!Competency 12. Items relevant to this competency could pertain to your coursework, practica or
other teaching situations. Care must be taken to remember to collect relevant items.

Competency 1: Agir en tant que professionnel hritier, critique et interprte dobjets de

savoirs ou de culture dans lexercice de ses fonctions.
Comments:
With respect to this competency and as mentioned in my webfolio presentation,
competency 1 was something I touched upon during my fourth practicum as well
as during my whole 4.5 years in the BEALS program. Essentially, as explained, I
enjoyed using internet memes to add humour to my lessons as well as keeping my
students linked to what is going on in places such as the United States and around
the English speaking world. For instance, during my fourth practicum, I used a
Drake "Hotline Bling " meme to emphasize the verb to use. E.g., "You used to call
me on my cellphone. "
I also used an internet meme to explain to students what a "pun" was. E.g.,
"Want to go on a picnic? Alpaca lunch" (with the photo of an alpaca.) On a
sidenote, my students loved that one!
Lastly, being born in English Canada made it really easy to explain to my pupils
how the school system works in provinces such as my own. I told them that they
were lucky to have CGEP before university because the transition period was a
lot less intense as opposed to my province. That brought forth many other types of
questions about my culture in which I was really happy to answer. I really piqued
their interest and made them want to visit western Canada. All in all, I am quite
content with respect to this competency as I feel that allowing access to other
cultures is what makes them more emotionally mature people later on and more
culturally conscious of others customs. It is so important!
Competency 2: Communiquer clairement et correctement dans la langue
denseignement, loral et lcrit, dans les divers contextes lis la profession
enseignante.

Comments:
As I mentioned in my webfolio project presentation, competency 2 was one that I
struggled with in the beginning of my career as I was still fairly new to Quebec
City when I entered the BEALS program. In fact, I had been here for a mere 1.5
years when I started out. That said, my French was definitely not on point when I
began which affected how I comprehended ESL English and how I spoke to
students as well. Essentially, my brain did not translate to French what a student
was attempting to say in English which made for a few misunderstandings by both
parties. That said, my goal was actually to perfect my French by taking a few
extra courses at my local university, by being tutored by the French department
and by accepting various corrections in verbal and written forms from my
colleagues in the BEALS program and from my associate teachers. Having worked
in an office during my degree also helped my verbal and written skills as well. By
having done this, I was then able to decipher what type of English I needed to use
with my students as well as how to use it to my advantage. Now, when I read a
students English text I know what they are trying to say! Moreover, I am now
able to efficiently use cognates that translate easily from French to English when I
teach. These words may not always be accurate by native speaking standards but,
they definitely make for easy understanding and less overall confusion on the
students' part. Finally, I still speak quickly to students at times to have them attain
a certain ZPD, but I also know when to speak slower to ensure that they
comprehend each individual word I say (and/or get the jist of what I am saying).
Having said all that and seeing as this competency normally pertains to English
speaking and writing I did evolve with respect to certain aspects in English.
Namely, my written communication courses helped me learn how to structure
texts so I could help my fellow collegues by peer reviewing their papers. I also had
a few PHD level teachers push me a little further with respect to my writing by
allowing me to present my own topics in courses such as History of the English
language and the Theatre course. I truly adored being challenged at this level and
I have evolved so much thanks to these people. In the end, I think I worked really
hard at competency 2 and I feel ive succeeded.
Competency 3: Concevoir des situations denseignement/ apprentissage pour les
contenus faire apprendre et ce, en fonction des lves concerns et du dveloppement
vises par le programme de formation.

Comments:
What is not to say about this competency? I have worked on this aspect of my
teaching all throughout the BEALS and consider myself to have drastically
improved since the beginning. I recall slaving over my first LES in Pedagogy II
with three other teammates and thinking we would never finish it in time with five
other courses! We playfully squabbled over formatting, sentence structures,
materials used; anything and everything really! By the end of practicum four
though, I was left alone and I had the monstrous task of creating my own LES.
From scratch at that! This is where I truly learned what aspects worked and
which ones did not as I had actually tried out what I had prepared. In fact, in
other practicums we test various activities that we have prepared ourselves. If they
were correctly planned out and the activity worked, then great! If not, then we go
back to modifying our activities or omitting them altogether. Once at the LES level
though, there is no going back once it is finished. Yes, you can always create
another LES or modify it for the following year, but once it is done, it can only be
tried out on the group of students of your choice and I realized that not all
students will react to it the same way. What some may find fun, others may find
terribly boring. That is why creating LES' call for diligence on the planner's part.
You have to know what your students like and dislike.
Having said all that, I feel for a beginner that I have a good knack at creating
LES and stimulating students although, I have realized that I cannot teach the
samething the same way to all groups. In the future, I shall now make certain
modifications to ensure that everyone is happy and learning in different manners.
Competency 4: Piloter des situations denseignement/ apprentissage pour des contenus
faire apprendre et ce, en fonction des lves concerns et du dveloppement des
comptences vises dans le programme de formation.

Comments: Piloting is something that depends on how your teaching was planned
out. What I learned in the past four years is that if you do not plan properly, you
may find yourself with more time than expected. In our practicums they referred
to this term as: "se garder un horizon dans le temps." In other words, keep your
eye on that clock and be timely in everything that you do. I for one was a teacher
that constantly looked at the time. I gaged whether I needed to drag an activity on
or if I needed to wrap it up more concisely. I also went with my students' general
feelings. If they started sighing or looking around or even sleeping, I knew it was
time to switch it up. That said, I always prefer to overplan and cut things out as
needed but there were also a few times that I needed to, as my third practicum
teacher stated in French : "Me virer sur un 10cent. " This essentially means that I
needed quick and easy ressources at my dispostion for those last ten minutes or if a
student finished the work too quickly, and I had nothing planned. There were a
few times where I improvised and the students never knew, yet they walked out of
there having learned something at least!
Lastly, piloting to me is acting. You need to be an organised, competent actor. If
you have the confidence to keep your students stimulated, they will retain much
more than you think!
Finally, with respect to the BEALS program, I feel there could have been more
piloting situations in years one and two with real students to allow us to be a little
less nervous in practicums three and four, but this is my opinion! With respect to
this competency I feel very satisfied with my evolution in the short time I have
been teaching as I have a natural affinity with my pupils but in the end, there is
always room for improvement and that is what I plan to do.
Comptence 5: valuer la progression des apprentissages et le degr dacquisition des
comptences des lves pour les contenus faire apprendre.

Comments: I tie competency five a lot to competency 3. Evaluation takes so much

planning! You cannot just arrive on the spot and evaluate a student. It would not
be as Mrs. Saif always said in Testing and Evaluation: " Valid ." Nor would it be
fair for that student.
With respect to this competency, that little voice in my head (my confidence) told
me that I had trouble evaluating students in the beginning, although, after having
compared C1 evaluations with my associate teachers, to my pleasant surprise, we
were almost always on the same page. In the end, I was not so bad after all! I just
needed to get my feet wet. Moreover, I taught myself to go back (through trial and
error) and modify what I had evaluated once I compiled my grades. I would also
group my strong/weak students evaluations together and say for instance: "why
did i give that student an 18/20 again? Why not a 17 instead? Whoa, why does she
have a 6 and not a 10 instead?! What specifically made this student stand out as
opposed to this one?" I truly ask myself a lot of questions when evaluating because
I want to be fair. I also make sure to get to know my grids very well to ensure that
I am not missing anything.
That said, my next point is to make sure that you follow the specific grades (e.g.
secondary IV) progression of learning. I shamefully admit that I never had to
consult these documents as my associate teachers always provided me with premade evaluation grid models that I tweaked, but in the future, and once I am
alone, I will fully ensure to take a look at them even if a lot of teachers have
admitted to me that they do not do so unfortunately. Again, I reiterate, I want to
be fair and truly want to protect myself.
Lastly, another thing I have learned is NOT to look at whose paper you are
correcting. This is so hard because there were some students that I was truly
attached to and that I wanted to succeed. They were my protgs. Emotions got
the best of me a few times until I went back and reread the paper telling myself I
would not let subjectivity reign when I was correcting C3 papers. Moreover, my
associate teacher also taught me not to give 100% on the first exam. She said: "
How will the student evolve if you give them a perfect grade each time? " " I am
sure you can find SOMETHING wrong. " In the end, I understood what I needed
to do.
Finally, I am somewhat nervous with respect to this competency although, if I
follow my progression of learning and use my resources, I should learn to be the
master of evaluations!
Comptence 6: Planifier, organiser et superviser le mode de fonctionnement du groupe
dlve en vue de favoriser lapprentissage et la socialisation des lves.

Comments:
Competency 6 is definitely a multifaceted topic in my opinion. I often refer to this
competency as clicking on a browser and it opening with 10,000 tabs at once. there are so
many topics when it comes to this aspect of teaching.
In fact, classroom management is something I touched upon throughout the BEALS
program in various courses as well as every single one of my practicums. In the past 4.5
years, this is the competency where I have seen myself evolve the most along with
competency 7.
One of the first things I have learned is that seating is critical. Think of seating plans like
playing Minesweep. If you do not put that little red flag at the right spot, a bomb will blow
up and you shall lose the game. Students are quite similar, although a tad more complex
as they are like little groups of bombs that can go off at any time. If your seating plan is
not done correctly, then many bombs may go off at once making for a very hard lesson.
That said, I learned where to place my flags very quickly as I knew that if I lost control in
the first few classes, it may make or break my fourth practicum. I accepted losing my first
few games of student Minesweep, then I thought of various strategies to use. First, I
started out in alphabetical order as I did not know my students. I then changed them once
I started noticing who my class clowns were or my bored students were etc. Kagans
student types (and positions) really came in handy here! although Kagan was a great help,
he could not help me with those students who had individualized education plans.
Sometimes I had to place some pupils at the front because their plan said I needed to.
Other times, I had to make the tough decision to isolate certain students because whoever
I put them beside became disruptive out of nowhere. I even went up to the point of putting
one disruptive student in the back. Believe it or not, it had a positive effect on his learning
and he got to work as apparently, being in the back is "cool. "
Secondly, strategies for at the moment disruptions. I am still tweaking this one but I
essentially learned that being clear, concise and coherent is of utmost importance with
respect to teaching any age group. I first learned that class rules (and reminders of these
rules) are a must. I made my rules short and fair to everyone to ensure that students were
learning in a healthy environment. Second, I also used verbal warnings and the school
system quite frequently to ensure that I kept the class thriving. For this aspect of teaching,
I often think of it as watering a plant and trimming its leaves. One must water the plant
everyday, trim its leaves and pull out any weeds to ensure that the plant survives.
Students are the same! As for strategies, I used English tickets and made a game out of it
with my students in practicum IV. If students spoke French, I took a ticket. At the end of
every cycle we then had a draw for Subway tickets. My pupils thought it was a bit babyish
at first, although in the end, they loved choosing who would win the free Subway ticket
and often asked about it if I forgot.
In the end, I shall continue playing Minesweep and watering my plant to ensure that
students progress all while learning. I am overall very satisfied with what I have learned
in 4.5 years.

Comptence 7: Adapter ses interventions aux besoins et aux caractristiques des lves
prsentant des difficults dapprentissage, dadaptation ou un handicap.

Comments:
As mentioned above, competency 7 is one (along with 6) that I have evolved the
most in. My evolution began in practicum 1 when I taught to a special education
class during my spares alongside another teacher. She had a class of 11 students
with various types of learning disabilities. At first, I felt as if I was being thrown to
the wolves, but after just a few classes, the students began to trust me enough to
ask me questions and allow me to look at their work. I learned that trust is a key
element when teaching these groups of pupils. The other teacher and I used
various strategies such as repetition and proximity. Scaffolding was another
strategy we used very frequently. During this time I learned a lot about the reality
of many students once the practicum was over.
By practicum III, I was confronted with a different set of pupils I had never
encountered. These students were incorporated into regular classes through an
EHDAA program offered by the school but they each had different issues. For
instance, in one of my groups, I had an autistic student, a few ADHD students
(some medicated, some not) a student with a pervasive developmental disorder
and an ADD pupil. Add that to some students who were not even diagnosed yet!
Moreover, seeing as they were at the primary level, most of them were not yet used
to living and learning with these disabilities which made for a lot of patience and
scaffolding on my part. The two students I learned the most from were my autistic
student and my non-medicated ADHD student. The autistic student taught me that
trust is so important. He did not trust me at first because I was new. That made
for a few awkward first encounters which finished with him storming out of class
or refusing to work and/or getting terribly angry with me. With my non-medicated
ADHD student, well, I learned that I needed to keep his leash very, very short. As
soon as he would for instance, stand on his chair, I would say " Sam, sit down
please. " Eventually, when I said his name, he knew what needed to be done. I
again, needed to be clear, concise and consistent to ensure that they learned.
Moreover, with these two students, I learned that having same-side chats was very
important to ensure that they trust you more! It also made them feel special.
Lastly, in this practicum, I first consulted " Le Guide Rfrentiel des lves
EHDAA " which has become like a competency 7 bible to me. It has taught me to
detect these students issues more easily and has given me excellent strategies on
how to teach them as well.
Finally, with respect to my last practicum, this is where I learned how to read and
respect individualized education plans.
That said, I still need to work on how to teach certain types of students but all in
all I feel I have evolved from not knowing anything at all about learning
disabilities to helping students progress at their own pace regardless of their
supposed " issues. " I am proud but I still want to strive for perfection.

Comptence 8: Intgrer les technologies de linformation et des communications aux

fins de prparation et de pilotage dactivits denseignement apprentissage, de gestion
de lenseignement et de dveloppement professionnel.
Comments:
I have learned a lot about this competency in all my pedagogy classes with Mrs.
Parks and Mrs. Priego. From the use of the Smartboard, to Comic Life, to Prezi,
to Questgardennever would I have dreamed of using these programs had I not
done these classes. For that I am thankful. I also learned more about Word and
Excel through my job in a real-estate agency as well as from Mr. Miller in
Computer Applications. We also touched upon using Kompozer with Mr. Miller as
well even if it is no longer used! Moreover, during this term, I did my first ever
virtual class as well as learned about creating a website which is quite practical.
Lastly, I am content that I have resources such as Youtube to show my students
videos as well.
Finally, students are great tutors as well. Whenever I had a technological issue
with the Smartboard, one of them would get up and help me rectify the issue
immediately and teach me new techniques on how to use it. Never forget that you
can always learn from your students as well! In the end, I am content with my
progression of this competency although, I shall never become obsessed with
technology, it is just not my cup of tea. That said, I am still interested in learning
new ways of teaching students by using online tools!
Comptence 9. Cooprer avec lquipe-cole, les parents, les diffrents partenaires
sociaux et les lves en vue de latteinte des objectifs ducatifs de lcole.

Comments:
For competency 9, I feel quite satisfied with my evolution. For those that know me, I am
not the type of person to sit around, not ask questions and/or not give my 110% in what I
do for others.
That said, I did not need to do much in practicums I and II as most of the time I observed
how teachers taught, what they talked about during lunch time and the various tasks they
needed to complete. I merely asked questions, absorbed what others said to me, then
regurgitated that information in text form. In the first two practicums we really were not
there enough to actually make a difference. In fact, I more felt in the way/a burden than
anything else really! Still, I did learn a few new teaching tricks!
It is truly by practicum III that I began to become more involved. I attended important
budget cut meetings for all specialists as well as a parent teacher meeting. I recall seeing a
teachers reaction when she was told that her task was being reduced to 52% and that she
would have to find a fourth school to teach at to compensate. It was quite sad. I also
remember quite vividly when a parent came up to me and said: " How is X doing in your
English class? Is she talking a lot, is she troublesome? " All I remember is my face
flushing and thinking: " Oh my god, who is this child?! Why do I not remember her? "
After I lied to the parent because of sheer embarassment, I looked up the childs name
and remembered the next class that she had spoken all of two times in five weeks. I made
a point to include her more often in case I saw her mother again. That said, I do not feel
too badly about that anecdote as I had 83% of the school for a mere five weeks. It is
impossible to remember all of them because we have to admit that some stick out more
than others! Finally, in this practicum, I felt as though I was part of the group. I
remember bumping into a teacher from the school a year or two after and her asking me
how things were going and that she really enjoyed that I was there during my practicum.
It was nice that she remembered me.
Finally, practicum IV was truly where I gave it my all. I called parents every single day
sometimes having 30-40 minute conversations with them. It really helped that my teacher
was the schools resource teacher for secondary IV and V as I collected the information
about the students and she booked timeslots to meet them. We were like Batman and
Robin. Sometimes I would do the follow-ups myself to give her a hand. I also attended
what they called: " Une rencontre de niveau " where we talked about what we would do
with various types of troublesome students. At this point, I knew my students so well that
sometimes I stated what I had gathered/observed to add to the conversation.
Lastly, I conducted my own parent/teacher meeting in my last practicum. It went very
well actually. I followed my associate teachers cue of providing tons of positive
reinforcement as well as showing parents traces. She told me to prepare myself and to be
able to provide valid arguments if needed. This part scared me a lot but seeing as I knew
my students so well, I had so much feedback to give that sometimes I went over the alotted
5-10 minute mark. In the end, most went very well and I truly felt that my students
appreciated me because they were smiling in front of their parents the whole time even if
they were mailing my class. They appreciated my teaching.

Comptence 10. Travailler de concert avec les membres de lquipe pdagogique la

ralisation des tches permettant le dveloppement et lvaluation des comptences
vises dans le programme de formation, et ce, en fonction des lves concerns.

Comments:
I find this competency ties-in to competency 7 and 9 a lot because it often involves
helping students with special needs and collaborating with others to do it. It is one
that I worked a lot on in practicums III and IV mostly.
Seeing as I taught at a school with an EHDAA program, I had to work on a very
frequent basis with Special Education Technicians of the school. They mainly
worked with the autistic students although, once in awhile, if they noticed other
students were struggling they could help 2-3 students at a time. They were
lifesavers! I often asked them questions about how I should teach certain students
or act around them and they gave me a lot of feedback that I would then apply.
Moreover, whenever I had an issue in class, I just had to call one of them and they
would come and take the student away to work with them individually. We would
then meet up afterwards to discuss what was done and what they had talked
about. We had a great system going. Furthermore, in this practicum I even went to
an EHDAA meeting where we discussed which of the schools autistic students still
needed help and what strategies we would/could use help them become more
independent by grade four.
Finally, in my fourth practicum, and as mentioned above, my associate teacher
was a part-time resource teacher. This was 50% of her task actually. That said,
during my time there, I often had meetings with her and other students and saw
how she helped them. Sometimes I would walk-in on her talking on the phone to
parents. I would then see the personal notes she wrote to herself on the schools
GPI system. Sometimes I would add information for her to read or add to what
she wrote so she would not forget to meet certain students (for example.) Finally, I
often had lunch with the school psychologists which aided me in understanding
how their job works and what it consists of. I even had to consult one of them
when a student told me he was being abused at home. That was a formative
experience as well.
In the end, I am just now realizing that this is a competency I really enjoyed
developping as it involves helping others and that is something I throughly enjoy
doing. I am satisfied of my progression.
Comptence 11: Sengager dans une dmarche individuelle et collective de
dveloppement personnel et professionnel.

Comments:
With respect to competency 11, it is something I am working on even now as I type
this reflective analysis form. I am a person that talks a lot, but I am also a person
that analyzes a lot of what has been said and/or done.
Throughout my whole 4.5 years in this program, I have written paper after paper
about what I have learned and/or reflected upon during my practicums in both
French and English. I wrote about maximizing English in Quebec, I have done
case studies, I have also done action research projects as well. All in the eventual
goal of having me realize what I am doing besides teaching English in a classroom.
That said, aside from writing a lot of papers, I have actually thought about my
teaching and my attitude towards the practice itself. I specifically recall working
on LES with my partners Stphanie Bourgault, Marilyne Lachance and Julie
Paquet. These LES did not just create themselves! We had to put thought into
what we were doing. We often brainstormed and said things such as: " Will a
student understand me if I write the sentence like this? " " Or, what if I stand a
certain way? " We took eachothers feedback and what we had learned from oneanother and brought it to our fourth practicums. Through our collective and
collaborative reflections throughout the years, we learned to reflect and become
concious about ourselves and how we taught. I must admit that I had the best
teachers and partners with me. I learned so much from them.
This now brings me to my personal thoughts. I really reflected in my three last
practicums yet, I was still being spoon-fed by my associate teachers. I was spoiled
in fact. They gave me resources to use and classroom management tips amongst
many other things. I just had to think about how I would teach, then I could go
home and write about it in papers. When I reached my fourth practicum though,
my associate teacher first asked me: " What are your teaching goals? This is what
needs to be done. How are you going to bring this forth? What about classroom
management? Where is your seating plan? " I literally panicked. Never was I left
to do it all by myself! I had to think, think, think. Eventually, I pulled through and
organized myself and it was all right. I asked a lot of questions!
Once I had worked out the technical part of teaching, I then had to think about
how I would talk to and act around students. This part of teaching plagued my
mind at times. I often replayed certain scenarios in my head thinking: " I should
have said X this way. " Or, " I wonder why this student was so angry at me today?
What am I going to do with Y? Should I call their parents or? " This of course was
in the beginning and once students knew what to expect of me and me of them, the
plague subsided and I was then able to sleep again without waking up in the
middle of the night thinking about everything I needed to do.
Finally, I have reflected and shall continue to do so long after this degree is over. It
is an ongoing process and I think it not only helps a person to act appropriately in
most situations, it also molds us into becoming better teachers (and humans) in the
end.

Comptence 12: Agir de faon thique et responsable dans lexercice de ses fonctions.
Comments:
For this last competency, I feel you either have it or you do not. I cannot say that I
had many real situations where ethics came into play although I can say that I had
my fair share of " moments. "
Nothing happened in practicum I as it is a relatively short practicum, although, in
practicum II I had a situation with my associate teacher. Julie Paquet and I had a
moment where we were correcting and a student had copied and pasted a text
from Google Translate. I might add that she had also handed it in quite proudly
the day that it was due. My associate teacher immediately stated " Ugh, R again?
Give her a big -D. " Julie then piped up and stated: " Mister F, she at least did
something, couldnt we at least give her a -C? This is the first time she has ever
handed in her homework. She was obviously doing it to please you. " After a little
arguing on students self-confidence versus a grade, he grudgingly agreed and we
changed it to a -C. Having said all that, if Julie had said nothing, we both would
have known it was wrong for him to give up on her like that. Although she had
used Google Translate and we had to talk to her parents about it, she at least tried
to do something.
I had many more moments such as this one in my third and fourth practicums. In
my fourth, and as mentioned in my presentation, I had a student tell me on
numerous occasions that he was a victim of emotional and physical abuse in his
household. I had to unfortunately tell him that I was not the right person to talk to
about these types of situations as I was merely his English teacher. I had to take
matters into my hands to find him the help that he needed and in the end, he
ended up meeting with the school psychologist whom I had become quite
acquainted with!
As I mentioned in competency 11, ethics is an ongoing process when teaching as a
teacher always has a new group of students and different dynamics that come into
play. The world also changes which makes for an interesting future for us teachers
with respect to ethics.
In the end, of the short time that I have taught, I have learned a lot such as what I
can and cannot say as well as how I can and should dress in schools as well as
other things that pertain to ethics in teaching English as a second language.

B. Briefly identify goals for yourself for the next year.

This is the hardest question for me to answer as I do not feel as if I can provide any
concrete information.
For now, I am finishing my degree and working in real estate for my fifth summer in
a row. The reason I have not yet thrown myself towards teaching is because I know I
can do it, I just do not know if I want to put forth all that effort in doing so. During
my practicum I worked 25 hours a week, volunteered for 6 and had 50% of my

teachers task. When it came to the actual work of teaching itself (the preparation,
corrections, planning, modifying, calling the parents, doing practicum tasks etc.) I
was putting forth between 50-60 hours a week to ensure that everything was perfect.
I often went to bed after midnight to wake up at 6:15 the next morning just to teach.
After the practicum I thought, is it worth it to do this to yourself for 32,000$ a year
after taxes? I also realized that I would not be getting the groups I wanted as I was a
new teacher which made for very instable income and a lot of travelling around
during the week. In fact, I despise the idea of making my lunch at night and waiting
to be called around 6:30am to see if I can teach that day as some teachers do
everyday for two years.
Having said all that, I am still pondering on whether I would prefer to move on to
the masters level at Laval (in didactics or in literature) as I have the capacity to do
so and I enjoy writing quite a bit. I also prefer teaching CGEP more than primary
and secondary, although I think I need some time off to regroup and complete some
personal projects before throwing myself into anything else. That said, I will mainly
be working on competency 11 for now.