Sent on behalf of Dr. Wayne Serebrin, Associate Dean, Undergraduate & Partnerships:

 

I hope that you have all had many rewarding opportunities to learn with and from children/youth, experienced educators, and the entire community of learners in your practicum schools this term. Thank you for your joyful energy, sustained commitment, and many contributions to our partner schools—developing caring educational relationships, engaging students in meaningful learning opportunities, and supporting the work of all involved in our partnerships. Throughout your practicum, I hope you have been able to maintain a spirit of openness, curiosity, humility, and wonder leading you to new personal and professional questions and conversations.

 

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Recently, I have been sharing the picture book At the drop of a cat (written by Élise Fontenaille and illustrated by Violeta Lópiz) with my colleagues and friends. In a review of this picture book by The Marginalian’s author Maria Popova, Popova (2023) writes:

 

That one mind can reach out from its lonely cave of bone and touch another, express its joys and sorrows to another—this is the great miracle of being alive together. The object of human communication is not the exchange of information but the exchange of understanding. If we are lucky enough, if we are attentive enough, communication then becomes a system for the transfer of tenderness. That we have invented so many forms of it—the language of words, the language of music, the language of flowers—is a testament to our elemental need for this exchange.

 

Popova, M. (2023, November 16). A tender illustrated celebration of the many languages of love. The Marginalian. https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/11/16/at-the-drop-of-a-cat/

 

At the drop of a cat explores the unconditional loving relationship—the mutuality—between a young boy and his grandfather in a beautiful world that also has the capacity to fragment and divide.

 

It is my hope that over the next weeks, you will have some collective opportunities to rest, to metabolize difficulties and disappointments, to play, and to dream. I look forward to informally meeting with you next term so that we can compassionately listen to one another’s dreams. See you in January!

 

Before you step into your well-deserved holiday break, here are some things to keep in mind:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, if you have questions during your program, please contact one of the following:

For general questions: bachelor.education@umanitoba.ca 

For questions related to requirements of the B.Ed. program: Students with surnames A-L should contact Simone Hernandez-Ramdwar at Simone.Hernandez-Ramdwar@umanitoba.ca

Students with surnames M-Z should contact Sara Smith at Sara.Smith@umanitoba.ca

For questions about practicum: practicum.education@umanitoba.ca

 

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Office of the Associate Dean Undergraduate & Partnerships

 

Faculty of Education

Room 213 Education Building

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2

Phone: 204-474-9015

nicole.jensen@umanitoba.ca

 

 

The University of Manitoba campuses are located on the original lands of the

Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.