Five Life-Changing Experiences Through the Education Program

  “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking.
It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
– Albert Einstein

Throughout the semester, I had many inspirational experiences where I felt that participating in the Education Program at UVic has helped to develop me or improve my life in some way.

In some respects, any experience can be life-changing, but programs such as this tend to be catalysts for change and I want to share five aspects of the program that have built me up and changed me for the better.

1. Attending Classes

Although I didn’t have any exams last semester, a lot of my first term was spent navigating my time between visiting a local high school where I observed first-hand how teachers teach and class time where I learned how to become a teacher.

There were some genuinely inspiring moments in my classes, but the part which I found most appealing was the ability to pass each day with my classmates. As I’ve mentioned before in another post, all of my classmates are unique and bring their own strengths to the program. By spending each day with them, I have gained so much in terms of community in and outside of the classroom, and it is for this reason that I can say that the classes were truly life-changing.

2. Joining Communities

As part of my studies, I was given several opportunities to attend conferences. Many of our teachers encouraged us to attend extra-curricular events and my second languages instructor in particular mentioned a few events which my classmates and I attended. I was very thankful for this opportunity because it allowed me to meet the teacher community and get a better sense of the profession I am studying towards.

In October, I had the pleasure of attending the Super Conference in Vancouver which was hosted in honor of the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation’s (BCTF) 100th year anniversary. As a side-note, the BCTF website is an excellent resource if you are interested in becoming a teacher, especially if you would like to teach in British Columbia. 

Anyway, in the conference I was overwhelmed by so many interesting sessions that I often had two or three that I wanted to attend at the same time. While I was there, I ended up attending presentations titled “Inclusivity in the Classroom” and “Deconstructing Myths.” These sessions had me thinking a lot about my place as a teacher and the way that I can encourage equity in the classroom.

As a bonus, I ended up finding the material for extension projects that I wanted to share with my fellow students at the end of term. I also had the opportunity to join the AEA (Aboriginal Education Association) and BCATML (BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages), Provincial Specialist Associations which contain a wealth of knowledge in their subject areas. I never would have known about these things if I hadn’t been encouraged to go to the conference!

In November I also had the chance to attend a workshop hosted by BCATML with several other students from my second languages class. We joined with other French, Spanish, Chinese, and Punjabi teachers among others from around the province to learn about a kind of language teaching called TPRS that involves the creative use of story-telling in the classroom.

These new experiences not only exposed me to new ideas but also introduced me to several new communities outside of the school that I will become more involved with in the near future and for this I can say that it was life-changing.

 

3. Making Big Projects

While I was in Vancouver, I had the chance to talk with several professionals in the area of Indigenous Studies, and they encouraged me to take a workshop called The Blanket Exercise.

The Blanket Exercise is a class that involves putting blankets on the floor and acting out the entire history of Native/Colonial relations in a classroom step by step. It was such a moving exercise to participate in that afterwards I decided to contact the BCTF online and ask to have someone come to Victoria to do the workshop with my classmates.

Other students came into the classroom and presented about various topics which were close to their hearts, too. One student discussed music in the classroom, another talked about games in the classroom, and another about how to apply for funding in the school setting. Throughout the first semester, we all had a few unanswered questions, but through all of the nice extension projects we were able to answer some questions for each other.

The Gallery Walk (see this example from 2015) was also particularly noteworthy because of scope of the activity. We not only had the chance to present our projects to each other in our own schools, but on the following week when we all gathered and had the chance to then present to everyone, it was a chance to see some of the great exhibitions which the other Education students had to offer. 

These big projects allowed us all to think more deeply about aspects of education which are important to us. Classes are programs with information that we all need to learn, but these projects and the passion which the students showed in presenting them was inspiring.

4. Field Trips and Guest Speakers 

Throughout the course of the term, several people from different walks of life came to speak to us about the value of education and how they have been drawn by education to fulfill their dreams. From veteran teachers to entrepreneurs, we were inspired by their stories.

In our Social Studies methodology course, we had educational experiences in places such as Tod Inlet, Level Ground Trading and the Royal BC Museum. We had guests such as Elizabeth May from the Green Party to help better inform us and prepare us to be teachers.

Through our Multi-literacies class, we had many guests such as student teachers entering the final term of their journey come to class to offer their advice on practicum placements. Several working teachers also came into our classroom and made presentations about how to collaborate with other teachers to make better lessons.

Even during observations, we had the pleasure of different teachers coming to speak to our cohort on a weekly basis to answer questions and help us with specific questions about becoming teachers.

All of these experiences connected us with mentors and professionals in our teaching areas which could become valuable resources for us in the future. It was great to meet all of these people and imagine the kind of teacher I will become.

5. Observations

Every week, we attended observations at various locations in Victoria, the Saanich Peninsula and Langford. This was a great experience for us as teachers because we could participate in the day to day activities at school.

For many of us it has been a while since we last had the chance to see a high school classroom environment in person, but through our weekly visits, we could re-acclimatize and see what high schools these days is like.

For me the impact of technology these days was a big difference. It was news to me that cellphones are not only something most students have, but are allowed in most classrooms as well. When I was living in Japan, cell phones weren’t allowed, and when I was teaching English camps in Korea (more information about my experience teaching English abroad), we used to confiscate the cellphones at the beginning of our camp.

In Canada, different teachers have different perspectives and strategies for dealing with issues such as cellphones, and it was a pleasure to see it first-hand. In this way, attending different classes allows us to not only see how the “reality” of teaching a class is, but also to begin thinking about the different strategies teachers use.

Going in weekly and even having an opportunity to attend a middle school allowed us to assess the realities of teaching compared to our expectations and were some of the most valuable experiences of the semester.

The education program has been really busy sometimes, but whenever I was confused, I knew that my classmates and teachers were behind me one hundred percent. I believe that anyone who enjoys teaching and puts in a sincere effort towards the classes will do well. There are many different ways to become a teacher, but as long as you have passion it will surely carry you though.