“A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step.” [or experience]
It’s interesting to reflect on the different steps that led to my
current teaching career. While the
‘path’ to teaching for me was not straight, nor was it one I expected to take,
I believe my journey was ordained through the examples of different people
placed in my life at different junctions. When reflecting on the journey, I
recognize many ‘miracle’ stops en-route that brought me to teaching.
Already as a young child, I loved to play
school – I was the teacher, my sisters and neighbours the students. Perhaps this came because my Grade One
teacher often called on me to ‘read to the class’ whenever she left the
room. Before leaving, she pursed her
lips and told the class to behave or else!
When the teacher returned, I always reported the students’ behaviour was
perfect, even if it wasn’t—not because I was a liar at heart, but because I
hated how she yelled at us when she was angry.
Some of my first nightmares were about her. She taught me how not to teach . Yet, by assigning me the task of ‘teacher,’
she ignited a tiny spark within my soul.
When I was ten, I was blessed with a
creative and passionate Sunday school teacher.
At the start of class, she walked into the classroom telling a story—as
if both she and we were part of the drama.
We remained spellbound throughout the story. She brought a certain ‘magic’ to stories that
placed one in the middle of a scene even though the actual even happened
centuries before.
At 15, I began teaching Sunday school
classes. Oh how I loved telling those
same ‘magical’ stories to the kids; I often added costumes or special props. Interestingly, ‘naughty’ children didn’t
upset me. I enjoyed their spunk and made
a point of ensuring each student that he or she was special. At the same time, I was ‘strict’ in terms of
expecting the kids to be respectful, which wasn’t difficult. Likely because they were still young, and years
ago kids knew they were expected to ‘mind adults’.
When I was 18, I began planning outings
and activities for youth groups. My
teen-age years were not filled with angst as experienced by many of my friends. My parents were both strict, yet they were
very loving and we enjoyed being together as a family of 6 girls and 1
boy! We were encouraged to become
involved and ‘do for others.’ Moreover,
I was ‘in love with God’ and had much peace in knowing how much he loved
me. I felt deep sadness for friends who
struggled with hurt, brokenness, and anger, and didn’t have peace. So, I decided to become a pastor so that I
could share the story of God’s love and grace to hurting people. But that was not to be. I did poorly in my first year of college and returned
home filled with disappointment and shame. Yet, that did not diminish my love
of learning. I applied for a job at a local
community college. I loved being immersed in the world of learning, which for
me was ‘informal’ yet rich! I was blessed with a very capable ‘boss’ who
expected quality work and yet was a patient ‘teacher’. He taught me that, even though formal classes
were difficult for me due to learning challenges, I was able to “learn’ through
doing. He welcomed questions when they
accompanied possible solutions. His ‘modus
operandi’ of working together to grow and do what was best for students
impacted my respect for and still comfort with academics.
After marrying, my husband and I moved to
Ontario, where I was blessed to work with leaders in the early stages of
establishing a Christian Liberal Arts College. Again, my immediate supervisor
Dr. Ted, a philosopher, was extremely smart, yet humble and approachable. I loved to listen to him ‘dream’ and
appreciated the time he took to answer questions without ever making me feel
silly for my lack of knowing. He
celebrated learning. Dr. Ted was another
important mentor in my life.
While raising my kids, I volunteered in
their school, sports, and church activities –often in teaching-related
roles. When they were older, I was hired
to coordinate programs for military families based on my ‘informal learning’
experiences. I loved working with
families, planning and leading workshops, and organizing special activities for
kids and families. To develop my skills,
I sought out and completed ‘Ready or Not Parenting’ training, Train the Trainer
– to become a more effective facilitator, as well as True Colors Temperament/ Personality
Dimensions Training - because I believe that understanding oneself better is
key to living a more balanced life. I spent long hours at night preparing and
adapting workshops and ensuring there would be time for participants to
reflect, share, and work with others. I
was energized by participant engagement and positive feedback. Not long thereafter, I applied and was
accepted to take a part-time training course that would prepare me to facilitate
occasional workshops for volunteers teaching in various church programs.
Travelling throughout BC to offer training
to lay workers and volunteers in church settings taught me more about life,
teaching, and faith. After each
workshop, I reflected on what went well and what I might do differently next
time. I contemplated the rich workshop
material that was given to us – it was not preachy nor prescriptive, but
contained rich lessons about teaching, being patient, loving students, learning
styles, asking questions, storytelling, faith formation, and classroom
management. I had never before
considered how all of these topics were important elements of being an
effective teacher. Again I was
challenged to reflect on my own teaching style.
I was very humbled when I considered mistakes I’d make and that teaching
was more than knowing about a topic, but involved caring deeply about each
participant and ‘doing no harm’ through lack of attention or feedback.
Over time, my learning led to a thirst for
still more knowledge about learning, about change, and about our world
today. Having accepted that I could
learn even though it took me longer to process and cull through readings to
find the important nuggets, I determined to conquer my past academic failures
by working towards a degree. In addition
to required courses, I also took literacy courses and volunteered as a
tutor. Outside of class, I worked
part-time as a Life Skills facilitator.
The work was challenging, yet rewarding.
At that time, I believed I would continue doing that work until
retirement.
However, an Administrative Assistant at
the University of the Fraser Valley called and asked whether I would consider
working 6 hours a week to assist tutors and students in a Fundamental English
class. Because I was able to schedule my
contract work around the hours, I jumped at the opportunity, which became a
turning point in my life. Had I not been
invited to ‘help out,’ I wonder if I would be teaching today. I lacked confidence in my own abilities to
ever ‘dare to apply’. However, I was
given more and more Instructional Assistant hours, and, that same year, I
completed my Bachelor of Arts in Adult Education, the Literacy Tutor
Certificate, and the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program. So, when an unexpected need arose for a
sessional instructor to teach Education and Career Preparation, I again was
asked whether I would tackle the challenge. This course was a perfect fit with
my training and prior experience working with disadvantaged and chronically
unemployed folks in our community.
After teaching that course, I was asked to
teach an introductory Computer class, then a fundamental English class, and
more Education and Career Preparation classes.
Eventually, I began teaching full time.
Now, ten years later, I have tenure!
Never in my life did I even dare dream that I would have an opportunity
to teach full time. I LOVE teaching and
am so very thankful for each mini-step and life experience that led me closer
to my current teaching career!
We can
make plans but the LORD determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9 – The Bible
Proverbs 16:9 – The Bible
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