l OVE l ETTER TO uOFt

IT TOOK ME 13,623 KILOMETRES TO COME TO UOFT, but just five months to realize why this has been my dream study destination since I began my undergrad studies in Thailand. Eight characteristics shape how special this school is, showing me what the tears and (boba) tea the T in UofT stands for Coming here as a year-abroad student, I became hyperaware of my surroundings ? the places, the people, and how those impact the students physically, mentally, and emotionally Here are the impressions I have thus far:

1. d iv er s it y

How could I talk about Toronto without mentioning the beauty of this melting pot? Of course, issues persist, yet the cultural acceptance and celebration here are phenomenal You truly feel like you have ownership of this educational space Land acknowledgments also blow my mind, as I love the emphasis on being grateful to those who came before you.

2 . pr o f es s o r s

From a funny, award-winning poet to a passionate Shakespeare scholar from the University of Oxford, I am grateful to be able to learn from a number of distinguished lecturers The passion and connection that the profs have for their crafts are admirable, inspiring students to value our education more.

Coming from a Thai school, class styles and teaching methods here never cease to amaze me More participation, more energetic students, and more engaging class content! I am in awe of how passionate and open everyone here is with learning ? or maybe it?s the expensive tuition doing the work! Since a bachelor?s degree or its equivalent is almost a bare minimum in Thailand, teaching styles and enthusiasm are dry.? ?Please note that I am an English major ? perhaps humanities are more ???colourful in general, sorry STEM peeps Regardless, such vibrancy in terms of passion for knowledge in the dark, cold winter fully contributes to the dark academia vibes you get on campus. Shoutout to Trinity for setting this immaculate ambience on campus!

n o n g t a c h ma so n a mo r n v iv a t

Third Year

English major; Linguistics and Creative Writing Minor

10000/ 10 across the board. Countless world-class facilities, free events, and accessible opportunities for all. As a typical broke student, I adore all the free events, from short excursions to the daily group fitness like Cardio Dance Party and barre You can enjoy food, meet new friends, and get fit free of charge (if you don? t die from the course load first). My home university in Bangkok, Thailand has significantly fewer facilities, opportunities, extracurricular offers, and an overall lack of space. Hence, I am truly grateful for all the perks UofT students have, so be sure to cherish them while you?re here!

5. c o l l eg e l if e

Being an exchange student at the Faculty of Arts and Science means you?re a fake student at your college because you?re randomly placed into a college without any application process Indeed, I couldn? t be happier as a fake Trin. The university offers a lot of opportunities already, but Trinity doubles that. They also have bursaries, so I can attend most paid college events for free A free Toronto Marlies game, the Conversat formal ball, plant pot painting, and holiday dinner are just some of the incredible benefits I?ve received. Still, the concept of having your own clique and being put into a Harry Potter house is as intriguing as ever I hope this serves as a reminder to check out your college more, get involved, go to events, and ask for bursaries, and you might receive invaluable memories and a $50 candlelight concert ticket like me!

6. s pa c e

The vast space of the university is located on Indigenous land, and it is most important to recognize this first The first time I heard about land acknowledgment was at the study abroad orientation, which confirmed that I had chosen the right place The respect we have (and should continue to have) for the land serves an important role in developing it. Since the university acknowledges this, the space development has been very fruitful, with more than a hundred buildings to foster the students, thus maximizing the land?s usage. My little goal this year is to explore all the cafeterias on campus. Living in the heart of such a dynamic city, let?s not forget to enjoy the space and set small goals to learn more about it

7. r es o u r c es

Said it before and I?ll say it again ? all the access that the university offers, from the accessibility services to the gem that is the library system is truly underrated ???Did you know that UofT library system is the third largest academic library in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale? Yup, take notes and go read or even have fun at a movie night, thanks to the university?s archive of a variety of movies and recorded performances Better yet, be a volunteer notetaker to help your classmates who registered with Accessibility Services

8. pr es t ig e AND o ppo r t u n it ies

UofT is up there on the world ranking, and that is why most of us are here The prestige comes with a lot of opportunities ? we have talked about the various possibilities of living your best life here, but what about the aesthetic of the old (and some new) buildings in the heart of Toronto? Great location and grandeur, boujee meets modern ? architecture will always most represent this school for me No, not you, you brutalist Robarts

I only included positive aspects in this list because every beautiful little thing that makes UofT special for me deserves room for a shout-out. Plus, students here don? t have time for the negativity anyway. All in all, I want to express my deepest appreciation for this space that provides me with excellent education and even more remarkable life lessons during my time in Canada. I hope this is a reminder for everyone to explore your space and see how it helps us all thrive, even in small ways Till next time, Toronto.

AFTER A 10-YEAR HIATUS from academia, I was pleasantly surprised to find that professors still maintained the practice of journaling, something I had enjoyed tremendously during my undergrad. I wasdisappointed to find that graduateschool in an MA program, unfortunately, did not allow any opportunities for creative, informal learning outlets. As a firm believer in Vygotsky?s ?zone of proximal development,? and his idea of knowledge as a social construct, the benefits of informal written journals were not lost on me I was thus vested wholeheartedly in one professor?s requirement of journal writing and posting on a publicforum for all peerstodiscussand reply

As I read through the replies from my peers for many of my journals,several particularly intriguing responses caught my attention I quickly realized that by participating in writing and responding to journals, I was demonstrating Vygotsky?s idea that learning develops through social negotiation. Our collaboration and interaction resulted in all of us learning from one another. More importantly, despite having vastly differing perspectives, my peers and I learned to respect and learn from one another?slived experiences

I had written one particularly interesting journal regarding Piaget?s theories to my own real-life experienceswith my children. One of my esteemed colleagues brought up a fascinating point in his reply to my journal: ?One reassuring concept of Piaget'seducational psychology that I think relates to your example is that even though the behavioursand thoughtsof our children/students are being modelled after their social environment, we still have the ability to "form not furnish" their minds by helping them learn how to learn.? What a wonderful idea! I now realize that thiscolleague isright: asan educator in my classroom, my job isto ?form?my students, not ?furnish? them The same appliesto my own children at home. My job is to teach, encourage and motivate my students; the rest is entirely up tothem!

As an educator, the best and most useful thing I can do for my students is to them and inspire in them a genuine love for learning; most importantly, themost useful thingI can dofor my studentsisto teach for transfer and preparethem to apply this knowledge to their real-life problems Thecommentary from my colleague hasundoubtedly helped melearn and grow.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful, thought-provoking commentary my peers were kind enough to provide me An intriguing question arose through our shared journal exchanges: ?I wonder now how teachers can take advantage of this process to support the cognitive and social development of the students in our classrooms.? As a teacher of Grades 11 and 12 English in a primarily Mandarin-speaking private school, I constantly worried about my students; I worried if thematerial wastoodensefor them; I worried if my assessmentswere too difficult As a novice without any formal teacher education, I spent far too much time attempting to provide fun, engaging tasks, sometimesat thecost of coveringall strandsof the Ontario curriculum for ENG3U/ENG4U. However, I have come to the startling realization that my students? social development isasimportant an aspect of their schooling as mere content. I can only hope that my constant class discussions and preference for small group activities helped my students develop some friendships and strong social development skills. Further, I hope that my passion for literature and my desire to inspire a love for reading helped them in other ways, namely, fostering a real appreciation of good literature

The practice of journaling and engaging in written dialogue with my peers throughout the semester hasbeen most enriching I must say, I genuinely enjoy writing and to have the opportunity to write journalsin thiscourse was an incredible privilege. Through these journals and subsequent replies, I not only learned from and with my peers but also created and participated in a community of like-minded learners This practice reinforces Vygotsky?s second waveof constructivism: our class?ssocial interaction helped me both as a learner and a participant in the larger community of my colleagues Further, my knowledge of child psychology has been constructed with both external and internal factors, mainly through constantly engagingwith my peers

I will certainly be incorporating this within my own classroom and I encourage readers to do the same; despite being far younger, I truly believe students from all grades can benefit from sharing ideas and learning from their peers.