What have I learned?

I have learned that I am more capable and resilient than I had previously given myself credit for. I have learned that it is not as hard as I thought it would be to learn and teach about First Peoples’ culture and issues. People of both Indigenous and other heritages are for the most part receptive and willing to listen and help. I’ve also now seen first hand, in my English 10 classes,  the benefits of teaching First Peoples content in the increased confidence and belonging felt by all members of a classroom. Additionally, I’ve learned that there is a community of teachers, administrators, Elders, and others who are willing to help me learn and teach more.

Who am I as an educator?

I value the power of relationships and connections in the classroom. When students have empathy for one another and connections with adults who care, they are more confident and caring, more able to take risks and try new things, and therefore, more able to learn.

I am a strong advocate for student choice and voice. I find that students are more excited about their learning when they have a say in it and/or its processes. When students feel like they are in control of their learning, it seems that they are more willing to extend themselves. I know I was surprised by many of the amazing projects my creative writing students handed in because they put in so much more work than they would have if I had given them a ‘textbook’ final assignment. For this reason, I still love creativity and I want student advocated learning and ADST to be a part of all my future classes.

What’s next?

Moving forward, my main goals are to set and maintain boundaries between work and home life. I tried to do this during practicum, and although I struggled at the beginning, by the end I was successful. I had resolved to only do school work at the school, so spent a little extra time after school each day working on planning or marking. I feel I could be better at this work-life balance by establishing a set time to stop working each day, and reserve the rest of the day or evening for family. I believe that this time would be beneficial to my mental and emotional health and that of my family unit. Additionally, by investing in myself, I will ultimately be a better teacher therefore benefit the students.