Hailey Cooper

Educational Experiences

Howe Sound Secondary School

Graduated 2011

University of Victoria

Bachelor of Education in progress

About me

I am an Art Education student, and have been passionate about art my whole life. I’ve tried many different mediums at school, such as film photography, silkscreen, intaglio, and ceramics, and I’ve explored everything that I can get my hands on in my own home. I have a particular interest in pen drawing, lino, and acrylic paints and inks. In the last few years I’ve gotten into comic books and wish to illustrate my own one day.

My other teaching area is Social Studies. I have a geography emphasis and so have taken a variety of those classes, but my passion, it turns out, lies more towards history. My most interesting classes have been the ones that combine the two. I want to use the joy I find in art and the humanities to educate young people, and do it in a way that is exciting, engaging, and fosters creativity in all areas. I want to help them learn the skills they need to express themselves, whether in visual arts or in writing.

I’ve been working at St. Michael’s in their middle school art room; I organize, restock, load the kiln, put up displays, and help pick out exceptional work for shows. I’ve seen a little of the school’s culture, and know more than ever that I want to teach.

First name: Hailey
Last name: Cooper
City/region: BC
Country: Canada
Occupation: Studio Assistant at St. Michael's University School

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hailey.cooper.art
Twitter: @_haileyeliza

West Chatham Island

I went on a field trip for Indigenous Geographies spring 2016. We pulled invasive species from the island after having a guest lecture from Cheryl Bryce earlier in the year.

I think this sort of thing can be really valuable as a student. We were doing hard work, and it was related to what we had learned. Especially being part of a class on Indigenous studies, with an indigenized way of teaching, it is important to get in touch with the land we are talking about. I also thought it was important that we were taught these things by local Indigenous people. In my high school experience we didn't particularly look at Indigenous peoples beyond history from a settler-colonial point of view. Having someone in who can teach students that the injustices Indigenous peoples in Canada have faced are still happening, and have generational effects, is crucial for building real empathy and understanding

"It is about raising awareness of Indigenous histories and place-based existences as part of a continuing struggle against shape-shifting colonial powers. Insurgent education entails creating decolonizing and discomforting moments of Indigenous truth-telling that challenge the colonial status quo. It does this by questioning settler occupation of Indigenous places through direct, honest, and experiential forms of engagement and demands for accountability. Insurgent educators exemplify Indigenous forms of leadership by relating their daily struggles for Indigenous resurgence to broader audiences using innovative ways that inspire activism and reclamation of Indigenous histories and homelands" - Jeff Corntassel