Working together 2 make a difference
Educators working collaboratively
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Mike Poluk
- Male
- Sault Ste. Marie, ON
- Canada
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Mike Poluk's Groups
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The Global Poetry Project
29 members
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Use Your Words
7 members
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Service Learning
5 members
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Take the 25 Days to Ma...
12 members
CONNECTING MY CLASS TO THE WORLD
Latest Activity
This is an excellent initiative Erin! I haven't read the book myself, but your post has inspired me to add it to my wishlist of books that I need to get to. Please keep us posted.
Comment Wall (20 comments)
- At 12:27pm on October 27, 2009,
May said… - G'day,
Thanks for the offer. I am going to spend a few days looking around and then I will jump in with both feet =)
Have a great day
May
- At 8:17am on October 24, 2009,
Zachery Walters said… - Thanks for the welcome, I'm going to enjoy it here! It's my dream to have a poem published one day.
- At 10:10pm on October 22, 2009,
Lee Ann Spillane said…
- Hi, Mike,
Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm looking forward to learning about the community and the initiatives here.
Lee Ann
- At 10:40am on October 15, 2009,
Linda T said… - Hello Mike!! Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm looking forward to the experience. :) I have put the link to my blog on 25 days to make a difference challenge page.
- At 4:22pm on October 14, 2009,
Amber said… - Hello! No, I'm not a teacher. I think we need to make changes with how humanity impacts on the globe. I don't really know how I'm going to do that, but I think we shouldn't have so many kids to overpopulate the place. China's kind of got the right idea in that regard, but they still have an enormous population. Thanks for the welcome! :D
- At 2:19pm on September 16, 2009,
Darren Kuropatwa said… - Thanks Mike; what a warm welcome! I'm looking forward to learning along with everyone here. I'm particularly chuffed to be welcomed by a fellow Canuck. ;-)
- At 11:41am on August 31, 2009,
katieb said… - Thanks Mike, I thought your Light Up the World project was great. Finding it difficult to get things off the ground yet. Need to get permission forms returned by students and isn't happening quickly. Also, I see my group once a week which makes me feel like things are going very slowly. One group's plans to have a bike ride, where they're sponsored for each lap of the velodrome, seems to be coming together well. They're thinking of splitting the profits between our P.E. department and the Scott Peoples' foundation.
- At 11:03pm on June 29, 2009,
loonyhiker said… - It was amazing to read all the wonderful things you are doing! Your students have a wonderful role model to look up to. When I read all of the things you and your class have done, it was hard to believe that they were only grade 5. They are a great example for others who think there students may be too young or not interested. Thanks for sharing this!
- At 10:44pm on May 13, 2009,
Adrienne Michetti said…
- Hi Mike - thanks SO much for your warm welcome. I appreciate it very much. It's great to look around and see what's happening in this space. I can see you're a very active member here and your support is encouraging. I'm an international educator currently at UNIS Hanoi in Vietnam. I've been in MYP schools for the last 8 years and am returning to graduate school in the fall to study at NYU. I'm interested in spaces like this because of the big role that Community and Service plays within MYP schools, and I love the idea of networking in online spaces like this one.
- At 10:26am on March 30, 2009,
Jenny Luca said… - Hi Mike, Thanks for your continued support of this ning. You are a very valuable member of this team - don't you ever forget it!!
Mike Poluk's Blog
Willing to Connect
A message was sent out recently to all members of this ning by Jenny Luca suggesting that connections be made between classrooms and teachers willing to collaborate on service learning initiatives. I'm glad that Jenny suggested this because I agree that this is an important next step in the progression of this community. There are several amazing projects underway that could lead to inspired conversations between teachers and students, so I think that we have a great opportunity to use social me… Continue
Posted on September 16, 2009 at 1:44pm — 1 Comment
Mid-Summer Reflections
Now that I'm almost halfway through my summer holidays I've had a chance to reflect on the experiences my students had with their Making A Difference program. I also want to add my personal perspective to Angela's recent post in which she ponders how to inspire students to take a self-directed and self-motivated approach to service learning.
In her post Angela states that serv… Continue
In her post Angela states that serv… Continue
Posted on July 24, 2009 at 2:21pm — 2 Comments
Our Year-End Wrap-Up
Now that the school year is over and summer holidays have begun, I am reflecting on what my grade 5 students have accomplished during our Making a Difference program. I have posted previously about our efforts to raise money and awareness for the Light Up The World Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing energy efficient lighting to third world countries not connected to the power grid. The students created… Continue
Posted on June 29, 2009 at 6:30am — 3 Comments
Light Up the World
As part of our Making a Difference program my grade 5 class has decided to become involved in raising money and awareness for the Light Up the World Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing energy efficient lighting to 3rd world countries not connected to the power grid. We are working in conjunction with another class in Ontario, Canada and we have kicked off our efforts by creating digital… Continue
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 1:53pm — 1 Comment
Spread the Word to End the Word
Today we pledged our support for Spread the Word to End the Word, the Special Olympics campaign that encourages people to stop using the "R" word (retard) in a hurtful and derogatory manner. We were inspired to raise awareness for this campaign through the service work of Laura Stockman, a 12 year old blogger who also happens to be a member of this Ning. Laura org… Continue
Posted on April 1, 2009 at 1:30pm — 5 Comments
About
Latest Activity
The students have had some great ideas but we have struggled to get them off the ground. One that seems to be coming together is an initiative to raise awareness of the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation. This foundation encourages others to donate their o...
Hi Stephanie,
I really like the rhyme scheme in this poem. It reminds me of some of the poetry of a man called William Butler Yeats. He wrote in the same style and his poems often dealt with weighty issues, as yours does. This poem makes me consi...
I completely and utterly agree with this. I see so many people who have so called "good" values and morals in life look at others as though they are the scum of the earth because they were born differently than them. It's not right that so many pe...
If the battle cry is given,
and the drums of war begin,
would you fight to save the peaceful,
or let the grief sink in?
Would you stand for all you know,
if the price became to steep?
Or would you swallow all your worries,
and hope to hell they l...
I really appreciate the subtle point you make about the ways in which we judge people based upon what they do or do not accomplish. People who don't finish school do lose quite a bit of status in our world, but I can think of so many people who ha...
Hmmmm....and I'm wondering...is it possible to make the world a better place without making ourselves better? And is it possible to make ourselves better without making the world better? I'm really curious about how you would answer this, Kathryn....
Catherine---Wow. This is like a much needed slap in the face ; ) What a great example of how we can use poetry to make necessary statements and illuminate serious issues. Provocative.
Oh, Mrs. Leach, I love this poem. I have so felt this. I get so many customers at the pizzeria I work at who come in and share their intolerant beliefs. There was one a few weeks ago, who walked past an African American customer, and stated how he...
We will be wrapping up our work on Three Cups by creating Glogsters with the kids' reactions to the book. Each glog will contain images, writing, video that we will capture during which kids discuss the theme or message they have taken away from t...
The salesman came in and began to chat, as they do
about the family that he missed and the town where he lived
and the blacks infiltrating his neighborhood and the Jews who were hiding the money from him
and he thought that I agreed, because of m...
I am not inside your head.
I can't predict what you will say.
I can't control your feelings,
Even if I hope you feel that way.
Today you tell me one story,
And tomorrow you'll tell another.
How do I know what to believe,
Why should I even bother?...
The Global Poetry Project aims to provide a space for members to expand upon their cultural views through the writing and reading of poetry.
I am not inside your head.
I can't predict what you will say.
I can't control your feelings,
Even if I hope you feel that way.
Today you tell me one story,
And tomorrow you'll tell another.
How do I know what to believe,
Why should I even bother?...
© 2009 Created by Jenny Luca on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
