Welcome to Mr. Brazeau's Classroom

Today begins with the sun shining and my daughters running around the house excited about the possibilities of the new day. I am not quite as energetic this morning having stayed up late working on the introductory videos for class that are on the home page. But shortly after hearing their giggling happy voices I am reminded that summer is still in full swing and I still need to do a lot to get ready for class. As I am sure many of you aren't as eager to get back to school, I am hoping that will change as we embark on a new adventure in social studies this year. I have spent a lot of time learning this summer, and I have a lot of ideas for how to add engaging activities throughout our class this year.

EXPECTATIONS

This year I have different expectations for all of my classes.

I expect...

- to create more engaging lessons that are directed at important essential questions that you will be expected to know at the beginning of the unit and answer in a variety of forms by the end of the unit.

- to get to know you as a person and not just a student.

- to let you know me beyond your teacher and as a person.

- you will fail at some point in the class in your attempt to complete an assignment.

- together we can talk through the experience and we can both learn from it as you work to revise your work to demonstrate your understanding.

- I too will fail mostly because I am trying to do things different than I have in the past, and I will make mistakes as we embark on this new adventure.

- to provide you feedback to guide you throughout the learning process to help you be successful.

- you to provide me constructive feedback to help in this process and to grow as I challenge myself to make a more engaging, collaborative learning environment.

- you will create an eportfolio that not only demonstrates what you have done in class, but also shows reflection on the what, how, and why you have learned throughout the course.

- to be flexible and understanding to your situation and circumstances.

- you to communicate with me and be responsible for your learning and actions

- to foster a learning community based on collaborative learning, problem solving, and product creation.

- I expect this year to be challenging, different, and an amazing opportunity for all of us to create a community in our classroom.

FINAL THOUGHTS