
Niall Ng
Actor, Director, Teacher

Professionalism
Professionalism is a core value which goes beyond mere adherence to the rules. Press play to hear my short podcast describing my reflections and ideas about professionalism. This was created as part of a short series of academic reflections called a "Commonplace Book". This was created as part of my Law and Ethics in Education class, and the full podcast can be found here.
Guiding and Practicing Self-Care
Curriculums are important, but developing social-emotional management skills will benefit students as they conduct themselves in their public and private lives. I had the opportunity to conduct a lesson on emotional processing during my teacher practicum with Grade 8 students. I shared with them three steps for addressing a situation: assessing feelings, needs, and requests.
Addressing a Situation:
1. Feelings- the emotions we experience as a result of a situation.
2. Needs- what we want to happen which would improve the situation.
3. Requests- what actions we can take to achieve our needs and benefit our feelings.
For example,
Situation: My teacher doesn’t answer my questions in class.
Feelings: upset, frustrated, unappreciated
Needs: more attention in class
Requests: talk to the teacher, talk to administration, time after class for questions
In my class, I handed them this sheet to put this concept into practice. I had them work with a partner on any one situation of their choosing. Then they went around the room to other pairs who had chosen a different situation, and shared their thoughts and choices until the they had considered every situation. Social situations come up throughout our lives, and this is a strategy that can help students feel more in control of what they can do change a situation for the better. I learned that this is an effective method for teachers and students to conduct themselves in a professional, supportive manner.
