Hello,
a bit about me:
I believe that...
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Teachers should facilitate their students' learning
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Teachers should provide a positive environment
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Teachers should provide individualized support for their students
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Teachers should be life-long learners
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Students should feel safe in their school - safe to ask questions and safe to make mistakes
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Students are all unique - they have different interests, learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, etc.
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Students should take an active role in their learning
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Learning is a life-long process
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Learning occurs both inside and outside of the classroom
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Learning means something different to each individual
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Learning should be fun, interactive and exciting
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Learning should be student led
I have an utter fascination with the growth and development that occurs during the preschool and elementary school years. To me, a child is like a magician with development being his most elaborate and mystifying trick, while I am an enraptured audience member, who is at once desperately trying to understand the realities behind the illusion and exalting in the mystery of it all. Part of me wants to know all that there is to know about how this development occurs – which environments foster what kind of growth; how this development can be facilitated; etc. While another part of me revels in the idea that there are so many questions that I could not hope to answer them all, and the knowledge that trying to would be a wonderful adventure.
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I thoroughly enjoyed exploring a set of these innumerable inquiries over the course of my undergraduate. My interest led me to select as many courses as possible dealing with children’s biological, psychological, and social development. Each additional class added to my understanding of the ‘big picture’ of child development and highlighted a number of areas that require further exploration. I became particularly interested in children’s ability to acquire language and learn empathy. Aspects of which I investigated in Carleton University’s Brain and Language Lab and Children’s Representational Development Lab, respectively. I continued my pursuit through a MACTE certified Montessori Training programme with the Canadian Montessori Teacher Education Institute, a B.Ed. at the University of Ottawa, as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership and Early Childhood Education and Care qualifications at Tampere University of Applied Sciences (on going).
My interest in the topic has been supported and expanded by my experiences outside of the classroom. The environment is the third teacher and I have had the pleasure of learning from a number of such teachers. Through diverse work and volunteer opportunities I have been able to amass firsthand experience working with a range of age groups in a variety of settings, both locally and internationally. These experiences have allowed me to build on my strengths, recognize areas for personal growth, and have fed my passion for helping others, especially young ones.
It is my hope that my adventures in the classroom will help me to transform from a mere spectator watching the magician from the audience to a magician’s assistant actively participating in the show. I will get to peek behind the curtain, learn the ins and outs of how the trick is done, and provide the magician with all that he requires to perform the greatest show on earth.
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