We first became aware of EotS in 2013 when an Ottawa priest contacted us with concerns about it and how it was being used at schools
Several teachers have told this blog that they use “Elf on the Shelf” to try to keep discipline during the secular frenzy of December (as opposed to ADVENT!)
This is simply wrong from both a Catholic and psychological perspective
So, instead of using discipline and teaching virtues, teachers use “EotS”.
This is but 2 examples of EotS tweets coming from #OCSB teachers
This is the professional portfolio from UO student teacher @aleey005. It is to explore her “thinking processes and growth”.
It is a bit concerning that many of her blog posts are written at the Grade 6 level (some made it to Grade 8). We originally thought the blog was for her students because the writing was so simplistic with short sentences and simple words. She is not illiterate but the level of writing makes us believe a Professor at UO who told us that he thought that 20% of his graduates (his department is in the Arts Faculty) were functionally illiterate at graduation.
One of her blog posts was a training day at the Teachers College with CCGSD (Jer’s Vision). It is frightening to think that future (and current) OCSB teachers do not know that the Catholic Church rejects unscientific Gender Ideology from CCGSD. Pope Francis compared it to Hitler indoctrination
As an aspiring elementary school teacher I find that being an individual who is inclusive to everyone is extremely important. This workshop I went to focused on being inclusive to all gender and sexual diversity. The speakers were all incredible and knowledgeable with presenting the information speaking about their personal stories.
This reminds me of the four core ethical standards for teaching which are: care, respect, trust, and integrity. These ethical standards goes beyond just teaching.
A lot of self reflection needs to take place and retraining ourselves to do better. Language has been related to historically oppressive words and terms. This workshop gave out resources and discussed ways to be an ally. Being an ally goes beyond sticking up a rainbow sticker.