Application | Canadian Classroom on Rails

Canadian Classroom on Rails/Salle de classe ferroviaire canadienne

Applying the principles of Classroom to the talent we seek aboard:

STUDENT APPLICATION FORM – a tool to bring the two together

The learners Canadian Classroom on Rails … is seeking will be persons

of character and quality
with a sense of community that includes their own locale and Kanata
diversely abled, multitalented, can work alone/together and lead by example
strongly motivated to connect with their fellow beings to build a better world

It is the goal of our application process

to identify these people to themselves and to Canadian Classroom …
to in-form applicants’/evaluators’ choices in submissions/assessment
to focus …that brings together the right group at the right time/place

The right group will be more than individuals. It will be a constellation that, taken together, will have enormous perceiving, connecting and persuading abilities. Our approach to differential gifts will be the opposite of the one in the fable below:

The Animal School a Fable by Dr. R. H. Reeves

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “New World,” so they organized a school. They adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer, all animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming, better in fact than his instructor, and made excellent grades in flying, but he was very poor in running. Since he was low in running he had to stay after school and also drop swimming to practice running. This was kept up until his web feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but had a nervous breakdown because of so much make up in swimming. The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustrations in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the tree-top down. He also developed charley horses from over-exertion and he got a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and had to be disciplined severely. In climbing class he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way of getting there. At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well and also could run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.

The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to the badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

To attract and maximize different strengths in Classroom, we’re taking …

A five stream approach to intelligence and leadership

This application has an opening section of (a) factual information about you and (b) your outlook on Canada, followed by (c) five sections that give you a chance to set out your strengths in three of five specialized streams. Please choose the three specialty areas that reflect your greatest strengths.

Significant development in two of the five areas with basic coping ability in a third is needed for us to build a solid and broadly based student body.

All students are gifted/have potential. Knowing and choosing areas to highlight is the first mark of a good student. (“know yourself”- Socrates)

The five A-streams (types of awareness) we’re looking at are:

aboriginal/agrarian – understanding our connection to the land, having a sense of community that’s more than where you work and who lives next door. This awareness is as much about how we look at life—rhythms, cycles, natural systems—as about ancestry.

academic – idea-based: able to access facts and figures and to organize them in constellations of concepts, theories and conclusions. Can be expressed verbally or mathematically. Memory is important; so are reflection and an ability to analyze/reassemble.

artistic – can includes the verbal arts (poetry/prose) as well as the visual, musical, kinesthetic and tactile. What is genius to others can be ordinary to an artist focused on the medium as much as on the audience. Artisanship (ability to teach and replicate) is related.

athletic/kinesthetic – body based awareness, visualization, practice and discipline. Canoeing and kayaking, skydiving, jogging, yoga, hiking, riding, climbing, wood chopping and hay baling can demonstrate this as much as Olympic and professional sports.

adventurist/initiative – a capacity of successful risk taking. Infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and libraries, summer programs and transportation are examples. Some raised private capital, some were religious/not-for-profit enterprises, some state ventures.

The “Company of Adventurers trading into Hudson Bay” was one of our most successful. Canadian Classroom predecessors!

This application format is a model to help potential students, staff and sponsors to assess if Classroom is for them. When funding/itineraries are in place, a final form will be posted for downloading/submission.

STUDENT APPLICATION: PART I – GENERAL INFORMATION

FACTUAL INFORMATION – This material is private

Full name ___________________________________________________

Meaning of name(s) ___________________________________________

Date/place of birth ___________________ Citizenship(s) _____________

Postal address _______________________________________________

(include code) _______________________________________________

Email address ________________________________________________

Cell phone ________________________ Land phone _____________

Next of kin (2 persons to contact in case of emergency)

____________________________________________________________

How have you spent the past year? _______________________________

____________________________________________________________

Languages spoken ____________________________________________

What will you gain from Classroom? What do you bring to the experience?

____________________________________________________________

How do you see yourself enriching others with what you learn in Classroom? What personal advantages (location, age, role, network) equip you to do so?

____________________________________________________________

Please send (a) responses to these questions in writing, sound or AV format

(b) names/contact information of three references

________________________________________________________________________________

and (c) initial your consent to the left of each of the following and sign below

Terms of Participation – If selected to take part in Canadian Classroom…, will you:

(a) submit a physician’s letter indicating your health is sufficient for you do take part in the planned schedule of activities?

(b) pay a $1200 non-refundable registration fee on acceptance along with a $2400 deposit to be returned on successful completion of course requirements at the end of the calendar year?

(c) attend a four-day weekend training session in Edmonton AB (April 14-17) at no cost for travel, accommodation or meals but on your own time?

(d) take part in two on line/conference calls of one hr. each before the weekend training sessions?

(e) be free to travel with Canadian Classroom … between May 13 and July 2, 2014, departing from Winnipeg and returning to Ottawa ON AB?

(f) keep a personal journal and submit an edited copy (private details can be removed), along with a completed questionnaire and report, within 30 days of the end of the travel portion?

(g) take part in three presentations (one each in September, October & November 2017) with travel costs paid to share your experiences with others who may be interested in CCOR?

(h) be prepared to take part in one of the three spring training sessions (in February, March or April) to be held for successful candidates for the 2018 Canadian Classroom ®

(i) undertake to clear with the Canadian Classroom on Rails Foundation in advance all public statements, including interviews, during the year you take part?

Signature _________________________________________________

Print name ________________________________________________

Witness signature __________________________________________

name (printed) _____________________________________________

address/contact ____________________________________________

SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS – replies private

Is there a place in Canada other than your home that you’ve visited once or many times, that matters/means a lot to you, and that is important to your sense of Canada and what it is? Tell us about it.

________________________________________________________

Tell of one person who has influenced you in understanding of Canada, citizenship and what it is to be part of this country in the global community.

________________________________________________________

Is there such a thing as a Canadian spirit, attitude or way of looking at things? If you believe there is, tell us about it, giving one or more examples. If you disagree, show/explain how some characteristic thought to be Canadian is really shared with others in the world.

________________________________________________________

What characteristic strength, quirk or value does Canada bring to the human experience? Where have you sees it in action? Is it uniquely Canadian? If so, why? If not, what about this trait makes you think of Canada? How do you think it may be viewed by those in other countries?

________________________________________________________

What was your most powerful learning experience about Canada? It could be from reading or watching a video, from travel or a one-on-one encounter as well as in a formal setting of a classroom or on line course.

________________________________________________________

STUDENT APPLICATION: PART II – SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS replies private

Is there a place in Canada other than your home that you’ve visited once or many times, that matters/means a lot to you, and that is important to your sense of Canada and what it is? Tell us about it.

________________________________________________________

Tell of one person who has influenced you in understanding of Canada, citizenship and what it is to be part of this country in the global community.

________________________________________________________

Is there such a thing as a Canadian spirit, attitude or way of looking at things? If you believe there is, tell us about it, giving one or more examples. If you disagree, show/explain how some characteristic thought to be Canadian is really shared with others in the world.

________________________________________________________

What characteristic strength, quirk or value does Canada bring to the human experience? Where have you sees it in action? Is it uniquely Canadian? If so, why? If not, what about this trait makes you think of Canada? How do you think it may be viewed by those in other countries?

________________________________________________________

What was your most powerful learning experience about Canada? It could be from reading or watching a video, from travel or a one-on-one encounter as well as in a formal setting of a classroom or on line course.

________________________________________________________

STUDENT APPLICATION: PART III – INTERESTS & ABILITIES

Please chose THREE of the following five areas that best reflect your strengths/experiences. Do not fill in more than three.

ABORIGINAL/AGRARIAN

“Comm-unity” is a sharing of ties and values. What local community (neighbourhood, settlement, colony, fellowship) is most home to you? How long have you lived there? How did you come to be a part of it?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you travelled alone/with others to represent your community, band, religious fellowship or school at regional/national assemblies? What did you learn from this? Do you keep in touch with those you met?

“Kanata” is an Iroquois word that means “village” or gathering place. What does Kanata mean to you: a land, a government, peoples, organization, services? Tell us how/if this matters to you.

What is the greatest contribution that aboriginal people have made to Canada over time? What do more recent Canadians have most to learn from first peoples? How do you think this would be best learned/taught?

ACADEMIC

Have you written a(n) essay(s) book review(s) or commentaries on Canadian events/topics? Attach samples or summaries …

Pick and list 10 people who shaped Canada. Identify what each did.

Name 10 significant places you’d like to visit in Canada, with reasons

Answer 4 or 5

Identify ten events that shaped the Canadian character. They may be yes/no choices. The list should not be mainly constitutional documents or military encounters that reflect earlier choices with their own factors.

Write 500-2000 words on “My Canada, strengths/weaknesses, values, challenges:” where we’ve been, where we’re at and where we’re going.

ARTISTIC

Check (√) areas where you have some training/practice and underline areas of proficiency. Indicate how you learned the art: watching, apprenticeship, private tutoring, class lessons, summer camp, etc.
1. Words: prose, poetry, drama ___________________________
2. Music: instrumental (which?) vocal (throat/mouth/classical/jazz)
3. Movement: dance (types), mime ________________________
4. Visual: drawing/sketching, photo, painting ________________
5. Sculpture: ice, metal, stone, wood ______________________
6. Moulding: glass, clay,, wax, plastic,
7. Fabric incl crochet, embroidery, knitting, quilting ____________
8. Paper: print, resist, rice paper, origami ____________________
9. Electronic: laser, computer art/games, design _____________
10. Jewellery, bead, shell work ___________________________
Select three samples of your work, and send in by video with a statement of the significance to you, and evaluation by a master. _____________________________________________________
How have you shared your skill with newbies to help them develop? Is it more challenging to do your work or to teach/encourage others?

_____________________________________________________

Tell us how your artistic talent can be used to teach, enrich, describe and document what we experience in Canadian Classroom.

_____________________________________________________

If you have used your art in interdisciplinary projects (multimedia) or collaborated with artists and in other disciplines, tell us about this.

_____________________________________________________

Imagine a project you could undertake as your special assignment in Canadian Classroom. No need to choose now, only to suggest an idea that brings together your artistic interests and Classroom’s goals.

_____________________________________________________

ATHLETIC/KINESTHETIC – Indicate your involvement/development in:

aquatic: canoeing, kayaking, rowing, swimming _____________________

combat and martial arts ________________________________________

gymnastics, track and field ______________________________________

riding (cycling, equestrian, biking) ________________________________

summer team/pair sports _______________________________________

yoga and related ______________________________________________

What does it mean to you to be fit/in shape? Do you consider you are? Does body awareness/mastery contribute to leadership? How/why/not?

_________________________________________________________

Have you ever undertaken an outdoor event that’s given you a greater sense of your country? Describe it? Was it one time or can you revisit it? _________________________________________________________
How do you see yourself remaining healthy and fit during a 7 week trip?

_________________________________________________________

Tell us of any experience you’ve had in movement with the differently abled, such as par-Olympic activities. What did you learn from that?

_________________________________________________________

ADVENTURIST/INITIATIVE – Here are 4 situations that show organizational and risk-taking thinking/leadership. Pick one/those that fit you.

Have you ever organized an overnight or longer hike, bike ride or canoeing trip? Where? When? For how long/far/how many persons?

_______________________________________________________

Have you ever run a business? What? How many people? How long?

_______________________________________________________

Have you organized publicity or fundraising to support a not-for-profit cause? Was this your own initiative or were you invited to take this on?

________________________________________________________

For each activity you describe, include descriptive/promo materials: sign-up/evaluation forms, comments received, pictures/videos, news coverage.