All In a Tizzy

1. I learned to take risks in my class, if entering anything genuinely and with respect it will- at worst- be a learning opportunity.
2. Collaborate with my cohort, they will have strengths that balance mine so we can make each other even stronger educators.
3. Leaving the classroom can deepen learning, becoming an immersive experience.
4. Curriculum and Assessment don’t have top be treated one singular way, they can be looked at through many lenses that can benefit my practice.
5. Sometimes plans change, being flexible in my planning will go a long way.
6. Who I am as an educator will change and evolve throughout my life, just as who I am as a person changes.
7. There are many ways to create inclusive lessons, and many supports out there if I only LOOK for them.
8. Authenticity goes a long way, I can learn with my students about diverse cultures.
9. Lesson resources can come from a multitude of places, I shouldn’t overlook the public library.
10. That this is what I want to do with my life, like for sure. Seeing the passion my educators have for this field has only bolstered my excitement to enter the field. Formal post-secondary education really dulled my shine for academics, and being able to support learners earlier in their journey gives me so much hope.

Land Based Learning was demonstrated to us several times, at West Lake and at Cottonwood Park. Being out on the land while developing our personal land acknowledgments was so important to me.

Looking over this beautiful lake and being able to drown my senses in this scene led to such a feeling of gratitude. Dipping my toes into the cold water, smelling the wind as it ran through the branches of nearby trees deepened my understanding of why Land Based Learning is so important. Not only did the grounding effect allow for clarity, but being able to truly contextualize what I was acknowledging and being grateful for left a lasting impact on my pedagogy.

I truly hope to learn about the land surrounding my future schools at both the micro (neighbourhood) and macro (city/province) level, then bring it into the class for learners to also grasp.

Looking at my teaching metaphor at the beginning of my BEd journey…

My original copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone means so many things to me. It was the first book that sparked my love of reading. It was a narrative my young mind glommed onto and related to. It was a source of community, with a love of the story spanning my whole family.

Thinking about it now, I like to think of it as a sign to follow your passions in learning. Allow a love of subject to guide a curious mind. Learning about math intimidated me, still does in all honesty, but the idea that if 30 new students arrived at Hogwarts and they had to be divided into 4 houses seems a lot more digestible. If 9 were Hufflepuffs, and 6 were Slytherin how many were left? Spun in the right narrative it all feels easier. What is chemistry if not really dry potions class?

Outside of my own fanaticism, following a spark of passion with students in LA made getting some necessary assignments done much more palatable. Oh, you’re interested in skiing? Write me a story about a time you were challenged on the ski hill. If your whole run took 35 minutes, but only 5 minutes downhill, how long was the chairlift ride? Why does waxing your board allow for a smoother and faster run? Not only does leaning in to passion, hopefully, engage a learner more but it also shows the relevance to the learner’s life outside of the class room.

I would like to note that in this instance I very much love the art, but dislike the artist and their transphobic statements.

EDIT:

My metaphor at the start of EDUC 394 versus at the end has shifted somewhat, while meeting learners where they are and embracing their special interests is amazing I would much rather find another book to represent that. Maybe a book in the process of being written to signify the potential of the future too.

Being able to visit Two Rivers Art Gallery was a wonderful experience as part of EDUC 394. Leaving campus to focus in on some fine arts learning was such a welcome change of pace, and forced myself, along with my many colleagues, to stretch ourselves taking in the art pieces and trying to understand them.

Many of us come from science and mathematics backgrounds, so being dropped into this sea of art of immersive. Even those of us with humanities backgrounds were able to dive deeper, especially looking at the art in the A Walk In Sunflowers exhibit. Mykola Zhuravel is a Ukrainian artist currently living in Toronto, their art is very indicative of the struggles Ukrainians are facing in these times of war. The knowledge of the artist contextualized much of the art we struggled to grasp fully, but we didn’t need it to feel the emotion behind the multi-medium pieces.

The art director, Rebecca, allowed us to travel our own journey through the permanent collection, and Zhuravel’s– demonstrating some student led education.

Had we been taken through a power point of all these pieces and told exactly what some academic thought each one meant we would not have taken as much away. Being able to immerse ourselves in the PLACE, in this artistic setting, allowed for a depth of knowledge I am so grateful for. I was lucky enough to have done some Art History courses so this was less of a stretch and more a coming home for me. I loved hearing other people’s perspectives, not all having colours resonate the same way. What was blood to one, was holiday sunburns or blush to another. Being able to be close to the art also allowed for a detailed look at the individual strokes of the brush, and the way some textures created a 3D effect on the canvases.

All in all if this had not occurred in the gallery it would have fallen flat, or at least landed in a different way– the demonstration of Place Based Learning made field trips feel even more important when looking at my future classes.