In our most recent seminar, we had the Superintendent of the Saanich School District come in and answer all of our pressing questions. Of course, the number one question in most our eyes was “what kind of responses are you looking for when hiring new teachers?” Without hesitation, the Superintendent began listing off what matters most. He started by stating that the ideal hire would believe in and feel passionately towards: high quality assessment, assessment for, as and of learning, project based learning and inquiry based learning etc. He went on to describe that the ideal teacher would also have strategies for teaching diversity, supporting vulnerable students and knowing what the best possible learning environment would be for First Nations and varying cultures. After exhausting an extensive list of responses to our question, the Superintendent made it very clear that the most important attributes he is looking for when hiring a new teacher is someone who is authentic, passionate, acts with integrity, and has a genuine love for teaching. Lastly, he said that the ideal candidate may not have personally implemented or experienced any of the above criteria that he has listed. However, as long as that individual demonstrates a willingness to further develop their knowledge and practice as an educator that that person has equal as likely a chance of getting hired as someone who has been teaching for years. For me, taking EDP-498 has reaffirmed my genuine passion for teaching. Having now reached that transition point from a student to a teacher, I feel that all the previous work I have dedicated to this career choice has been 100% worth it. One of the key concepts that stuck out throughout this entire process was the importance of creating a positive, open relationship with my students. One of the representatives from the Ministry of Education was adamant in sharing that each student has a gift and it is our responsibility as Educators to find out what that gift is. She said, for some it won’t be easy, but overtime you will find out what that gift is and it will make all the difference in that child’s success in your class. Furthermore, over and over again we have been told “love what you do.” It goes without question that teaching can be an exhausting and time-consuming career. However, as I am learning in other classes, that can be countered by choosing to have balance with life and career so that you can remain harmoniously passionate about your career choice. One way that this can be accomplished is by practicing the teaching of students rather than the teaching subjects – mentioned by the Reynolds teaching staff. For the 21^st century student, this is particularly important because they have access to any fact at the click of a button. Therefore, I am taking on the responsibility of teaching how to apply this information by creating a comfortable and interactive environment. I do not want to be the teacher in front of a class flipping slide to slide. I want to be able to move around the classroom, use a variety of resources and get the students actively engaged in the material I am teaching.

One of the greatest pieces of advice that I have received this semester is the importance of easing into the profession. This is particularly important for me because I am the type of person that wants to impress people and make others like me. As a result, I can see myself stepping into the first school I am hired and taking on every task available to me just to show that I am eager to help and want to be involved. However, now that I know the importance of easing into the profession, it is so much more important that I take the time to become the greatest teacher I can be. This way, I can ensure that I stick to and exceed the standards for Education, Competence and Professional Conduct of Educators in BC, and so that I can engage in career-long learning and be able to contribute to the profession over the long run.  

I believe one of the greatest contributions that an Educator can make for their profession is supporting and mentoring the next generation of teachers coming in. The teachers and principal of Reynolds, the representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Superintendent of the Saanich School district, the retired counsellor from Belmont Secondary and last, but most definitely not least, Allyson and Kerry have all aided in my transition from a student to a professional educator. In doing so, all of these people have made great contributions to our profession. The information and knowledge that these people have passed on to my class not only increased my motivation, but reaffirmed my passion for teaching. Two messages that stuck with me throughout this entire process were, “love what you do and “pace yourself”. Without this advice I most definitely would have gone into the first school I was hired at, took on every task possible and been completely and utterly overwhelmed throughout the entire process. As a result, I am incredibly fortunate to have gotten this advice as it has altered my approach to teaching. My number one goal now is to become a great teacher! Then, once I have completed that, then I will take on additional tasks. In doing so, I will be pacing myself throughout the entire learning process allowing my love and passion to shine through my work. 

Once I am settled in and feeling confident with my teaching abilities, I think one of the greatest contributions I can make to a school program is to help with the development of its community. Whether that is helping with fundraisers, selling school apparel or supervising dances, creating school pride and community will not only make my time at school more enjoyable, but the students as well. I remember in that past, my greatest relationships were formed with those teachers that supported school programs. These were teachers that came out to watch a game or even just participated on dress up days. Their willingness to be a part of a community was evident in my eyes and the eyes of my peers, which helped facilitate the creation of a very comfortable and collaborative learning environment. At the end of the day, my goal is to be the best teacher I can be and help develop a strong community with the school I am hired at. In doing so, I hope that people recognize my contribution to the profession and are motivated to do the same.

I am very fortunate to have enjoyed and been highly motivated throughout my primary, secondary and post-secondary education. For this reason, I see no problem in engaging in career-long learning. I am currently following a variety of Educators on the social media network Twitter. The majority of them focus on physical education, and how they promote teaching games for understanding and being active for life. There are a lot of great resources posted on this feed. Most of which I have found very useful when lesson planning for teaching assignments and in my coaching experience. Not only do these educators post information about physical education, but they also share dates for upcoming conferences. The other great thing about this particular online resource is that I am learning perspectives and practices from all over the world. I follow teachers from all over Canada, The United States and the United Kingdom.  It is very inspirational to know that my peers and I are not alone when it comes to improving physical education for all. There are a lot of motivated people supporting us as educators, which is very humbling. This is an ever-growing feed, and it is only making my understanding of the topics I teach stronger each day.

Similar information was shared during our seminar at Reynolds, but there was more emphasis on tips for teaching in the classroom. One of the teachers at Reynolds mentioned that he always keeps the door to his classroom open. This way he is always inviting information in and encouraging that information is carried out. Moreover, he also mentioned the importance of observing his colleagues teach. Regardless if he chooses to use the techniques or not, his willingness to observe alternative techniques to me is what career-long learning is all about - a willingness to improve on the skills one already has. It goes without saying that one of our greatest teaching resources is our colleagues around us. Working as a collaborative group will make us much stronger educators. At the end of the day, I want to make sure that I introduce my students to the wide variety of opportunities available to them. I want to help facilitate their learning and take it in whatever direction they see fit. The best way I can do this is to stay up to date with all that is relevant to the topics I am teaching.

In last week’s session at Reynolds Secondary School I learnt some very valuable lessons. When asked to describe the ideal teacher, a Reynolds student told us that the ideal teacher is someone who loves what they do. This love is driven by their passion for the subject that they teach, and their desire to share this knowledge with their students. Both are very true, but it also goes beyond that. An educator is responsible for teaching both a subject and students. Therefore, in order to be a successful teacher one must have a strong knowledge base of their subject area, but also must have a broad knowledge base when it comes to the variety of students that they are teaching. This comes down to the relationship that the teacher creates with the student. When a teacher is able to reach their students, not only does it drive student learning, but it also inspires students to discover what they enjoy and pursue it to the same degree. Moreover, as Marcus has mentioned, a successful teacher is one who is always open to new ideas and stays current with new research, theories and inquiries about their teaching areas. In doing so, the teacher increases their credibility, builds their own confidence and their ability to share this information with their students.

It comes without saying that in order to properly instruct ones students that they must be clear in the delivery of their subject area. Therefore, teachers must be able to adapt their lessons based on their student’s understanding. One way my grade 9 English teacher did this was by looking at my facial expressions. She could tell based on my body language whether she needed to slow down or provide us alternative examples. As a result, I am became more knowledgeable and motivated in her class because she took the time to recognize how I was progressing. 

I think it is also important that educators recognize that students come from a variety of backgrounds. As a result, when presenting material, it is important that we use a variety of methods in order to broaden their knowledge. Some of these students may have only traveled a few 100 km away from home. For this reason, it is important, that we share with them what is out there. The best way to do this is to incorporate global context in the classroom. By doing this, teachers are creating a richer and more inclusive learning environment that will help elevate student learning beyond the curriculum. Throughout my university career I have been asked to make many lesson plans. But, it wasn’t until I took IED 373 that I was asked to incorporate Aboriginal culture, practices or learning styles into my lesson plans. At first I found it challenging because I had less knowledge about aboriginal culture, but by the end I became a lot more knowledgeable about the culture and was able to develop a really fun, interactive lesson plan as a result of it. So, what may require a bit more research will end up benefiting the teacher and the students considerably. 

For the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of emphasis on the current curriculum in schools. Some of my peers believe it is out of date and does not help equip students for the real world, while others believe that it has been successful and should stay the same. I would have to agree with the later. The problem does not lie in the curriculum. The problem lies in the active participation of the individual. To be actively engaged the student must be both attentive and motivated. Attention may be one of the more difficult concepts to tackle. As a result, educators need to focus on motivation. Once they are able to tackle motivation attention will follow naturally. One way we can shape this environment would be through a Sports Education Model. This model gives each student a role within the classroom. Therefore, students would be working collaboratively towards a variety of goals. Moreover, classrooms can plan events and fundraisers, which would help contribute to school pride. In doing so, students would be more motivated to learn because they have a meaningful role in the classroom. This will help with their teambuilding skills, give them accountability over their learning and help motivate the students. This method will also help with teacher planning and instruction because there will be greater communication between the students and teacher. This way, teachers can adapt their lesson plans based on the individual differences and the group.

As we have discussed in this course, we are required to teach the prescribed learning outcomes for each course. How we choose to go about this is up to us. Therefore, we have a lot more flexibility in planning and instruction then we thought. This will help when it comes to creating an appropriate lesson plan for the group we are teaching.

A second thing that students might find motivating is diverging away from the historical assessment method. Historically, educators focused on assessment of learning. But, as we have been introduced in this course, and in EPHE 452 – as James has previously mentioned, there are alternative options for assessment: assessment for learning and assessment as learning. These alternative options allow students to learn from their mistakes. In the traditional method, students are tested on what they know, what they don’t know is marked wrong and they never learn the difference. A way of avoiding this would be to have students take the test home, and properly answer the questions they got wrong. This way the students would learn from their mistakes, which is an important life skill that they can take away with them.