1. Melissa
Bullen
November
2,
2012
Journal
Entry
#4
During
the
past
two
months
of
my
internship,
I
have
had
many
discussions
and
collaborations
with
my
cooperating
teacher,
members
of
the
school
teaching
staff,
and
administrators
at
my
school.
I
have
learned
that
a
school
is
much
like
a
community
and
not
just
a
venue
to
educate
students.
A
community
needs
to
work
together
to
ensure
its
continued
advancements.
Without
a
complete
community
effort,
there
is
no
prosperity
or
quality
in
the
community.
The
saying
is,
“it
takes
a
community
to
raise
a
child”.
Professional
Learning
Communities
(PLC),
as
I
have
observed,
help
teachers
to
further
their
own
education
and
thus,
that
of
their
students.
My
cooperating
teacher,
Scott
Leonard,
is
actively
involved
in
Professional
Learning
Communities.
He
has,
and
still
does,
perform
with
various
rock
and
blues
bands.
These
experiences
help
to
inspire
his
students
and
develop
the
various
guitar
techniques
and
styles
he
is
familiar
with.
He
strives
to
improve
his
performance
as
a
musician,
and
has
many
achievements
thanks
to
his
efforts.
He
was
awarded
the
Music
Teacher
of
the
Year
Award,
which
Scott
received
at
the
Juno's.
His
students
not
only
admire
his
accomplishments,
but
also
find
him
to
be
a
more
credible
teacher.
Scott
speaks
of
the
various
musicians
he
plays
with,
like
Scott
Beckwith
a
former
guitarist
for
Anne
Murray,
with
his
students.
He
tells
them
inspiring
stories
of
musicians
on
tour,
and
of
the
long
hours
and
hard
work
that
goes
into
being
a
professional
musician.
During
the
30
years
that
Scott
has
been
teaching,
he
has
immersed
himself
into
a
musical
culture
to
continue
his
education.
During
my
internship
I
have
used
Facebook
as
a
PLC.
Social
media
is
a
wonderful
tool!
When
seeking
different
ways
or
ideas
to
teach,
I
have
posted
questions
on
Facebook
pages
and
the
feedback
is
almost
instant.
With
cell
phones,
social
media
venues
are
right
in
our
hands
and
there
is
no
faster
way
to
get
ideas
or
inspiration
from
colleagues
-­‐
especially
the
ones
who
are
far
away.
Over
the
years
I
have
developed
relationships
with
composers,
fellow
teachers,
university
educators,
professional
musicians,
and
conductors.
These
relationships
have
established
a
valuable
resource
for
me
as
a
musician
and
educator,
and
contributes
to
my
Professional
Learning
Community.
I
use
YouTube
and
Ted
Talks
in
my
classroom
to
bring
in
visual
sources
and
highly
qualified
educators
the
likes
of
which
have
never
been
seen
so
easily
before.
Students
are
able
to
experience
a
greater
global
perspective
during
my
lectures,
and
I
have
noticed
that
this
appeals
to
students
who
would
be
lost
in
lecture
style
lessons.
I
am
a
Sub
Lieutenant
in
the
Canadian
Navy
that,
for
the
last
6
summers,
has
taught
children
at
the
high
school
level
advanced
music
courses
at
the
HMCS
Acadia
School
of

2. Music.
During
this
time,
I
have
developed
a
PLC
that
stretches
across
the
country!
For
the
100th
Anniversary
of
the
Canadian
Navy,
I
was
in
charge
of
planning
a
program
for
my
thirty
piece
band
to
perform.
I
had
performed
a
piece
called
'Song
of
the
Tides'
composed
by
Derek
Charke
with
the
Mount
Allison
University
Symphonic
Band
and
I
thought
it
would
be
a
fitting
piece
to
play
for
this
event.
Thanks
to
my
connections,
I
was
able
to
email
Mr.
Charke
to
purchase
the
score
set
and
explain
my
story.
He
was
so
delighted
that
he
offered
to
come
rehearse
with
the
band
and
be
present
for
our
concert.
What
a
valuable
resource
for
these
young
cadets;
certainly
not
one
that
most
students
get
to
experience!
Getting
to
work
with
the
composer
of
the
piece
brought
a
whole
difference
dimension
to
his
song.
Some
of
the
students
disliked
the
piece
prior
to
working
directly
with
Mr.
Charke,
but
quickly
changed
their
tune
once
he
had
shared
his
vision
with
them.
I
was
able
to
engage
even
the
most
challenging
of
students
by
having
the
composer
present
during
the
rehearsals.
The
students
were
able
to
understand
the
influence
and
thought
process
behind
Mr.
Charke’s
composition.
They
were
able
to
portray
the
performance
in
front
of
an
audience
as
he
had
intended
it.
It
was
a
privilege
to
work
with
such
a
great
composer
and
musician,
and
he
even
gave
positive
reinforcement
to
the
students
after
their
concert.
This
experience
showed
me
the
value
of
a
PLC
in
the
new
learning
environment
that
is
developing
in
our
classrooms.
Professional
Learning
Communities
are
the
foundation
for
the
advancements
in
and
the
delivery
of
curriculum.
In
order
for
the
curriculum
to
stay
fresh
and
appealing
to
students,
educators
must
build
their
PLCs
and
utilize
them
effectively.
Historically,
teacher
development
would
be
more
difficult
post
formal
education,
but
Professional
Learning
Communities
have
allowed
teacher
leaders
to
further
this
development
after
their
formal
training
and
into
their
careers.
PLCs
would
not
have
been
as
diverse
as
they
are
today,
but
thanks
to
social
media,
the
internet,
parental
involvement
and
encouraged
collaboration
with
school
peers,
we
have
the
ability
to
bring
relevant
resources
into
our
classrooms.