2018-2019

I have completed my Masters in Education (2018) while working full time at 5 different schools; twice a week I would travel during lunch. Traveling across a major city during, sometimes 30 minutes or more of driving, was stressful. I have added to my teaching credentials. One of my goals was to teach in high school and as of this summer (July 2019), I have completed this goal. Another goal I had was to go to only one school. As of September 2019, this goal has been accomplished. Teaching is extremely challenging and I am finding the vocation quite rewarding. Investing so much of your time to supporting the future of our world, at times, seems like a daunting task. In the educational world, my comfort level has increased. When I first started to teach I felt like a fraud because I was never the most academic individual and I really did not like the academic side of the school (loved the social part). If you are thinking of joining the profession just be aware it is very hard work. Balancing life and work is nearly impossible when you are a new teacher. Sometimes parents will put pressure on you to do things a certain way or give their child preferential treatment. My advice is to do what you believe is best (back it up with facts) and always have an administrator you can contact. Another factor that a lot of newer teachers do not plan for is the level of stress you face in a year. The constant interruptions and tasks seem endless. Remember it is impossible to assess everything all of the time. One warning is to watch for burn out. If you struggle, it is okay to talk to a mental health professional. Lots of teachers get anxiety (I am one of them).

This year, I am teaching special education and physical education. My goals for the 2019-2020 school year is to become more efficient in supporting early struggling readers and to be on top of marking. If I have enough time I would also like to take additional qualifications to become an HPE honours specialist, with the hope of one day supporting those that write the curriculum. I made my HPE program digital. Now if I can only get resources in all of the classes I teach.

Cool things I did in 2018-2019

completed intermediate Science Aq
Completed Masters in Education
Finished NTIP and probation
Full Time 1.0 in HPE
Changed to 1 school. Half HPE and half Spec Ed
Summer 2018- Full motorcycle licence
Submitted work-related experience
Helped coach Rep Volleyball and completed Elementary and development coach (TRAINED still need to be assessed)
Engaged (most wedding stuff is complete)
Bought Condo
In the 2018 summer, went to the east coast:
Road Cabot trail on a Harley
Went over all of the east coast. 
Trip to Mexico
PADI advanced diver
PADI enriched air
Teach summer school Grade 10 Science.
PADI Rescue course 

PADI dry suit course
(14 dives this year so far)

2019 School year (we are 3 weeks in)
Coached-
Jr Boys soccer
Jr Girls Soccer
Cross-Country
Took a leadership role for Terry Fox run. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rant

After taking some time to digest the fact that there is no history of education class, I have not come to any reasonable conclusion as to why it is not offered. Now that teacher's college is a two year program, universities must be teaching the history of education. I looked at a few schools and …. (hopes up).... Nothing. Even with a two year program there is not one class that focuses on history of education. I must say that I am extremely biased because I love teaching history. When I was in school most of my teachers did not like teaching history as some teachers let the students know their dislike for the subject. I personally love history and I think it is fascinating. What I do know is that even if you do not like a course (as a teachers) you should never let your students know you do not like a course. If one of your students love's course “x” and you say that you dislike course “x”, you can break rapport with that student. Studying history is important to understand why
Read more

Reflections on my personality type.

I took a personality test to see what type of person I am. You can type anywhere online for personality tests. Here is a link one I completed many months ago. https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test My Results and thoughts ESTP The “Doers”/Entrepreneur I could not believe how accurate this personality test was. I believe that understanding my own personality is key to understanding my relationships with others. I am also quite aware that in my life, I use rules and laws as guidelines, not absolutes. Knowing what needs to get done and doing it, is my lifestyle. My opinion about right and wrong are my compass for my morality. In conversations and in athletics everything I do is fast. I like to believe myself as a fun and loving person. One part of the description that made me a little uncomfortable was the fact that my decisions usually do not include other people's feelings. I can honestly say that I have hurt a lot of people from failing to consider their
Read more

My view on teaching and learning

My core principles are teaching from a place of love and understanding. Sure students will misbehave but their job is to determine where the boundaries are. Whenever I enter an interview I usually have points I want to hit that best describe my teaching. The points I want to make are as follows. Firstly, I teach using a backward design for learning. I go to the curriculum document first and determine what I need to teach from the government perspective. Secondly, I read over my class records to determine what additional areas of support I will need to provide. This is called the universal design of learning. I need to factor in all of my students in any lesson I teach. Not some, not most, all students must be accounted for. Thirdly, everything I do in the classroom comes from a place of love. This is called pedagogical love. Some days you will be a teacher, other days a counselor, the next day you could be a mentor. A teacher transforms into many things to best support students. Four
Read more