As we traced through the intricate details of this painting, narratives about the main characters in the foreground - their status, and surrounding environment began to unfold. ​

• Nicolas Rolin

The man holding that prayer book was the renownd Chancellor of Burgundy - Nicolas Rolin (1376-1462). The landscape in the background off his side clikely depicts his homeland and the church of his birth, Notre-Dame du Chatel Catheral in Autun. Nicolas, as a Chancellor to several Dukes of Burgundy, played a pivotal role in expanding the duchy’s wealth and military power.  His skillful administration and political acumen helped elevate Burgundy to one of the most prosperous and regions of the time. He was not born into nobility and his skillful handling of political situations earned him both priases and criticism. He started wars and built churches and hospitals. We could find him and his wife being portrayed in the altarpiece located in “Hotel of God,”  the hospital he founded.  

• Mary and the Infant Jesus

The lady awaiting her crowning by the angel with the peacock-like is likely Lady Mary. Her exquisitely jeweled mantle bears the inscription along its edge:  “O exalted cedar of Lebanon, please pray for us.” The Cedar of Lebanon is often used as a symbolic reference to Lady Mary, which leads us to speculate that the baby holding the crystal ball is the infant Jesus sitting on the throne of wisdom. In the back ground, the town flourishes with bustling crowds and grand churches adn cathedrals. While Mary and the Infant Jesus exist in an imaginative, sacred realm, the prosperous townscape offers a glimpse of Heaven itself.
 

• Symbolism

The rich details in this painting invites us to ponder the complex relationship between purity and sin, the heavenly grace and earthy medieval men. The floor tiles cut the painting into two sides, one with the Chancellor and the other with Lady Mary. On the side of Rolin, the wall relief vividly brings to life the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath,  lust, envy, gluttony, and sloth.


The garment’s hues of the four characters shifts gracefully between the earthy blue and heavenly red, symbolizing the contrast between the mortal and the divine.  

• Name of the Painting

Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (1435)  by Jan van Eyck

As we delve deeper into the artwork, more and more details began to unfold through our discussions. Jewelery, plants, colors, lighting and fabric textures all delicately complement one another, creating a harmony whole.  Together, these elements brought the stories of the lady in the foreground and the lady in the background to life, weaving a rich tapestry that invited us to imagine their world and experience - a prayer to Lady Mary and Infant Jesus. The painter skillfully used various details to honor Lady Mary of Burgundy as a pure and holly lady. ​

Found great resources for teachers - engage students with nonfiction texts. These ideas work for different levels and ages of children. I have tried some of them, sometimes not so skillful. It takes practice. 

Just to take a note for myself. 

1. Children either walk on the rod or on the flower lines depending on their ability.
2. Children pick an animal walk or skip (previously taught) to avoid the obstacles.
3. Children balance their boy on 4/3/2/1 point for 5-10 seconds depending on their ability.
4. Improvised jump.

The same process can also be used to teach gymnastic rolling, like how the panda rolls in the video clip.

Elina is a great art teacher from Finland. Her demo teaching blew my mind. 

We met through a Fulbright exchange program where she represented distinguished educators from Finland.  Needless to say, it sparked a lot of curiosities in me and also teachers from other countries. I had the privilege to be placed in the same group with her, learning her teaching philosophy and saw her teach first hand.  

Long story short, after long discussion and observing her lessons, I found that self-paced learning is deeply ingrained in her teaching beliefs, or perhaps in her beliefs in general. How human beings learn or acquire knowledge throughout one’s life is different and therefore our teaching shall reflect that nature. That, is manifested in this teacher’s every move in the classroom, her words and design of the lesson. 

​In her first 2nd grade sewing class (2nd grade? Sewing? That’s right!), she introduced the learning time line. Each student in the beginning of each lesson set the pace of learning for themselves. They decided when and what they would complete a certain step. 

There was no competition but evaluation and discussion of their each decision between the teacher and students - no compliments; no punishment, just a sense of “of course everyone can do it!”

Of course everyone can succeed. It is just a matter of time. Why rush?

​I have always wondered how a class that requires intensive interactions and readings of non-verbal cues can work online with little kids. Can it really work? To what extent?

I believe in real human interaction in the K-2 classrooms, where our children learn to respect and cherish one another through their deeds. To me, it’s like a little society they get to experience and experiment the consequences of their own actions. Through discussion, if the teacher is willing, they will bond and acquire a sense of life that they wish when they grow up. 

Since the breakout of pandemic, our children and teachers can only interact online through a small window and are refrained from physical engagement. Amongst the teachers, we sometimes jokingly said that our kids absorb everything happening in the class through their skin, not eyes not ears, just like fish in the water. Now that the kids are in a different context, How learning takes place is indeed an interesting phenomenon. Is it still the same kind of learning? 

​I’m sure there are children truly excited about using “computers” or “tablets,” but I am not sure how the quality of online interactions serves the purpose of learning social skills such as eye-contact,  showing physical support with non-verbals or active listening. 

Online class/communication, to me, perhaps requires a different set of social rules or etiquette. 

It’s easy to get fatigued sometimes in our teaching when our brains went totally dry and can’t come up with any ideas to boost the learning energy in the classroom. 

Here are some quick go activities I collected through colleagues or online resources. It is always great to come back for a revisit now and then.

*The first* article is from infromED in 2013. It offers 25 tricks to jumpstart routine lessons. They are divided into subjects: Math, Reading, Writing, Science, Social Studies, and offered when a specific skill or skill is targeted at. The ideas are very practical and easy to implement given that our ESL/EFL curriculum integrates many of those subjects. My favorites are 
 

• adding music or rhythm when working on number counting/multiplication
• adding movement, drama or party to recreate or actualize an event 
  
• adding manipulatives when too much mental exercise is taking place 
• adding student-student quiz masters when discussion or teacher-student QA is wearying the classes out
• adding candy/chocolate or any kind of treats to boost students’ interests and energy

These ideas are all simple and practical. I always feel pumped again when I come back to revisit these ideas. 

*The second* article is written by teachtought in 2018, specifically addresses the necessity to get students moving in the classroom and it offered 5 activities to be incorporated in any lessons.  Simple and easy to prepare. 

• Gallery Walk or Chalk Talk - giving and gathering feedbacks
• Whiteboard Meetings - graph or image presentations
• North-pole South-pole continuum - assessing background knowledge
• Musical mingle - finding different discussion partners
• Stations - differentiation 

Although the authors stated that their activities are used with high school students I found them also useful in the elementary classrooms when I implemented then with more control of questions I asked and more practice on the routines/discussion on the goals with the children.