Christine Ho Younghusband

A Great Day to Travel

Remote blogging on Skytrain to Surrey Central… it’s a great day to travel.  First of all, it’s a sunny day.  Can’t go wrong when taking public transit from Sechelt to Surrey on a sunny day.  Second, good people en route makes the journey worthwhile.  My husband and I dropped off my daughter to school.  My husband drove me to downtown Sechelt to catch the bus.  He went to work and the vehicle is scheduled for new winter tires.  At the bus stop, I saw a friend walking to work.  We chatted for a bit and my favorite bus driver was there to pick me up to go to the ferry.  At the ferry, I bumped into a couple of parents/clients and enjoyed a yummy bowl of BC Ferries oatmeal. The ferry trip seemed to zip by and in the bus line met a Gibsons woman who shared her story with me on the way to Vancouver.  I was meant to meet her.  Off a The Bay, I maneuvered my way through to the SkyTrain station heading to SFU-Surrey Campus.  It is here where I will enjoy a curry chicken and rice lunch, work on my dissertation at the library, and say hello to the MEd cohort I’ve been working with remotely as their site assistant.  More wonderful people to meet and greet. Tomorrow, I have the opportunity to spend another day with this cohort or attend the BCAMT executive meeting where there are more fabulous people.  I am looking forward to today. I will also get the chance to see my parents tonight and Skype my little family tonight or tomorrow.  Finally, I get the chance to remote blog to share my gratitude with you.  Almost in Surrey now… gotta go… hello chicken curry.

External Validation

“Hey Chris… What a win.  Congratulations on becoming school trustee.”
“Hey Chris… I’m so glad there is someone on the Board knows what it’s like in the trenches.”
“Hey Chris… You are such a wonderful math teacher.  Thank you so much.”

It feels awesome to be recognized for my hard work and what I may have to offer.  Those statements above are examples of external validation.  On the one hand, external validation can be viewed as a compliment.  On the other hand, external validation can be viewed as a reward or reason for being.  The difference is, how the external validation is acquired.  What is the motivation?

When I decided to embark on political life in the field of education, my motivation to run was to find a way to advocate for student learning.  As school trustee, I am taking a different role in public education as a policy maker to help students on the Sunshine Coast to enjoy learning, understand their learning, and develop lifelong learning skills.  Winning the election, shaking hands, name recognition, or receiving of compliments is GRAVY.  My motivation is intrinsic and the external validation only reinforces my life’s decisions.  I will move forward with or without the gravy.

When I decided to pursue a doctoral degree in educational leadership 3 years ago, I think that my initial motivation was extrinsic.  I wanted to be recognized, noticed, or acknowledged as a public school educator.  All that I was looking for was the GRAVY and I lost sight of the meat and potatoes.  In the end, nothing gets done.  Nothing gets accomplished.  Gravy does not taste good without the meat and potatoes.  This is where my pedagogical journey exists.  How can I move forward?

TRANSFER in education is one of the most complex and difficult learning tasks to achieve.  Here I am.  It is time to transfer.  I finally get it.  My supervisor has been advising this right from the start of my dissertation process.  When motivated by external validation, I became more consumed by “doing it right” versus “just doing it.”  When doing it right was more important, I could not accept formative feedback thus paralyzed to submit work.  UGH.  Forget about it… my work for the past year was not only to disembed from the workplace but also to find myself.  Writing, moving forward…

Significance of the Study

Once again, here I am… thinking about the SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY for my dissertation proposal.  I have written Chapters 1-3 over many times.  Although my topic is relevant and timely, I have been honing my writing skills, narrowing to scope of my research study, and refining my point of view that is somewhat objective and academic.  I am not proud to say that I still remain in the same place of the dissertation process.  It has been 2 years and I am STILL stuck on the SO WHAT?

I am frustrated to say the least and I continue to read articles, speak to colleagues, and make observations in hopes of finding some insight to the relevance of my study.  I must admit when looking at and revising the same document over and over again, my level of care starts to diminish.  I would love to get into the interview stage of my study, to listen to people’s pedagogical journeys, and make sense of the data to inform others of something new to consider.  But to do so, I have to be very clear with my research question, my literature review, and my methodology.

Chapter 1 (version BLAH) is almost complete.  The significance of the study is the heart of my dissertation and I have lost sight on ‘why bother.’  I don’t want to be a rain cloud on my academic situation.  I am very grateful to have so many SFU buddies from my cohort, Educ 809, and EGSA who are willing to gab, chat, and help out.  In the end, it’s me who has to commit and feel good about what I am writing about.  Even coming to my blog to express my frustrations has been cathartic.

I can write.  I can express my feelings.  I can think.  The question is… Can I write this dissertation?

SD46 School Trustee Orientation

Spirit… Body & Mind

Spirit… My spirit has been restored.  I feel so lucky to be able to advocate for student learning and continue to be a part of School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast) in a ‘new’ role of school trustee.  We have a diverse Board for 2011-2014.  We are a nice mix of incumbents and new trustees, with gender and cultural diversity, and diverse academic backgrounds.  I look forward to working with this newly elected Board of Education and the new Superintendent of Schools.

Body & Mind… My next step in moving forward with my pedagogical journey is with diet, exercise, and my dissertation.  I feel that my physical fitness will contribute to my mental fitness.  My mental fitness is challenged by my research and completion of my doctoral thesis.  I understand that this is my next hurdle in life.  Both body & mind are working in tandem.  Much like my spirit, I am looking inwards and understand why things are and how I can make it better.  To move beyond the ego means to accept, trust, and acknowledge.  This is my work.  I plan to succeed.  I deserve to succeed.  Carp diem.  Nameste.

One Year in Review

Today is the first day of a new year… it’s ONE YEAR IN REVIEW.  One year ago, on November 26th, was my last day of teaching in public schools.  After 16 years of service, I left the teaching profession with intentions of working on my doctoral thesis and gain some perspective on life, career, and public education.  It was certainly a year of transition.

All that I can say is, moving from A to B is not necessarily a straight line.  It’s a matter of trying things and taking risks.  If things don’t happen the way you intend them, then it was not meant to be.  If things do work out and exceed your expectations, then that was meant to be.  As much as there were UP moments, there were plenty of DOWN moments.  Leaving the teaching profession was not an easy decision.  I miss the kids.  With that said, I look behind me and I was able to accomplish a lot in one-year.

Here are my Top 10 highlights of things I got to do in the past 12-months:

1.  Walk my daughter to school and be with her on the first day of school.
2.  Started my own educational consulting company, websites, and blog.
3.  Presented at 10 teacher professional development workshops.
4.  Tutor students mathematics and science from Grades 8-12 and ABE.
5.  Attended Educ 809 at SFU with Dr. Michelle Nilson.  Loved it.
6.  Peer-reviewed and presented at the EGSA EWOB and the Seminar Series.
7.  Attended the SFU Teaching and Learning Instructional Skills Workshop.
8.  Watched Nel Noddings LIVE at SFU and her views on the Ethics of Care.
9.  Employed as a MEd Site Assistant at SFU working with Dr. Michele Schmidt.
10.  Elected as School Trustee representing the District of Sechelt with SD46.

This is not to mention that I had met a lot of wonderful people along the way.  I got to paddle in the 2011 Pulling Together, present at FNESC with my canoe family, and I will be completing my Certificate in Teaching at University with SFU TLE in the Spring of 2012.  These are only highlights.  I am not one to deny the rough times, but there were too many good things that happened.  This is my JOURNEY and it’s only the beginning.  I feel good and I am optimistic of what the future holds for me… hopefully, Dr. Christine Younghusband, EdD some time soon… LOOKING FORWARD.

FNESC 17th Annual Provincial Conference

FNESC is the First Nations Education Steering Committee.  Members from the SD46 Spirit Canoe Crew from Pulling Together 2010 and 2011 got together to present a workshop at the FNESC 2011 Provincial Conference on Aboriginal Education, themed “Students First.”  Our proposal to present was submitted a few months ago and was accepted.  The conference was held in the Westin Bayshore and it was a phenomenal conference.  Our presentation was titled “The Spirit Canoe.”  Our fearless leader had the vision and brought out the SD46 Spirit Canoe to the event.  We set up the workshop to model what we experience in Pulling together and all 5 of us shared our stories that related to the canoe, Dr.Brokenleg’s four directions, and benefits to student learning. Kerry brought the canoe, set the stage, and made the slide show.  Signy brought her 2010 and 2011 books she published, produced 2 large canoe pics, and told her story story well.  Ed brought his paddles, drum, and his many Vision Quest stories.  Ashley represented the RCMP well, organized escort vehicles for the canoe, and presented well.. And, I did my part of presenting, sharing my story, and helping out where I could.  Also, the rest of the SD46 Aboriginal Education team were present at the conference.  We all sat together, ate together, and celebrated together.  It was a wonderful professional development experience.  We met great people, saw familiar faces, ate well, awesome hospitality, and ultimately we were inspired.  Aside from us having 2 successful Spirit Canoe workshops, the opportunity to work with colleagues, and a chance to be a part of the FNESC conference, the most memorable part for me was to l to and be inspired by Dr. Cindy Blackstock from UofA. Here is one person making a difference in education amongst  room full of other individuals making a difference.  It was a powerful keynote address to say the least.  The Master of Ceremonies described Dr. Blacksock as a “dragon slayer.”  I would not disagree.  Thank you FNESC for a fantastic conference and thank you Spirit Canoe for the journey.  All my relations.  Much gratitude.

Can’t Control Others

One life lesson I try to emphasize with my daughter is… You can’t control others, you can only control yourself.  Well, I should start to listening to myself.  Political life is all new to me.  Although I was active in the teachers’ union when I use to teach at Chatelech Secondary and situations may have been political, but I was never the politician.  i am rudely acknowleging that my role in the community and school district has changed.  I can’t control what people say to me, but what I can control is what I say to them.  I am 100 percent accountable.  What I do say or not say can positively or negatively affect others.  So, I apologize to those whom I have already affected negatively and to those I may affect in the near future. I guess this is part of what people refer to about being “thick skinned” in the world of politics. Humbled.  Aware.  Moving forward.

Welcome to Political Life

Being school trustee “officially” for 8 hours and “unofficially” for 4 days has been interesting to say the least.  It is not to say that I was not expecting what I have already experienced as an elected politician, but I was not expecting to be experiencing particular aspects of political life so soon.

My personal challenge throughout the campaign process and now as school trustee is to be authentic, honest, and open.  I have nothing to hide and I have no reason to lie.  My primary purpose for running as school trustee is to advocate for student learning from the governance and policy perspective.  To do so, I have to ensure that I have a clear mind and an open heart.

I have much experience as a classroom teacher and as a teacher leader serving the local teacher’s association as a professional development rep, staff rep, and executive member.  I am a mom, graduate student, SFU MEd site assistant, and math teachers’ association executive member.  I have much expertise in the field of education.  What I have to learn is the edu-politics. 

With blogging, tweeting, and facebooking… my life is pretty much accessible by anyone.  Yet, some information that’s out there in the social networking world can be and has been easily manipulated, misinterpreted, or misunderstood.  This is not good for a politician.  Now what?

Here is my stand… now that I am officially one of the SD46 school trustees representing the District of Sechelt… I have removed any local politician from my Facebook friends.  I can be easily followed on Twitter.  My Edu-blog is also accessible via twitter or http://christineyounghusband.blogspot.com/.  And, I have a campaign website at https://sites.google.com/site/voteforyounghusband/.

A line must be drawn between personal and professional.  I am a politician with full intentions of listening to the public, being active in public education on the Sunshine Coast, and advocating for student learning.  There are various school trustee training sessions and meetings scheduled in the next few months I am attending.  Right now, I am humbled and I am learning.  Avoid the drama.

Lessons Learned From Curling

My favorite sport is curling.  I’ve been curling since I was 13.  Although I had taken about 5 years off from curling when I had my daughter 8 years ago, I’ve curled competitively and recreationally for more than 20 years.  There are some lessons learned from curling that extends beyond throwing a rock to the button and sweeping your heart out when the skip yells, “HURRY!”

The lesson I would like to blog about today is teamwork and leadership.  There are 4 players on a curling team: the lead, second, third, and skip.  Each player on the team has a role and strength.  The lead is consistent with draws and an effective sweeper.  The second is precise with take-outs and also an excellent sweeper.  The third is the best all around player who can draw, take-out, sweep, and strategizes.  The skip is the leader of the team.  The skip is the decision-maker.  He/she calls the shots, throws the last rock, and sees the big picture.

The biggest challenge for the skip is leadership… to set a team climate or culture so that each player is willing to work together, communicate regularly, and help each other to become individually and mutually better at the game.   Furthermore, the skip must be able to recognize the strengths of his/her team members to capitalize on them.  A curling team with the best skip, best third, best second, and best lead does not necessarily make the best team.  If the team is not communicating, working together, or focused on the game (versus outcome), then the team is bound to lose.  Sometimes a team composed of average players who work collegially and cooperatively often make the best teams.  As a result, each individual player on that team becomes the best at their position.

In curling, the best feeling as a curler, whether if I am skipping, throwing, or sweeping, is to have a rock perfectly positioned in the house because each person on the team fulfills their role to the best of his/her capacity and functioned as one.  I know Bloggies… don’t judge.  But, the feeling is incredible.  The team feels awesome because each player made that one shot happen.  In the end, that one shot could be the TSN Turning Point of the entire game.  Every shot matters.

There are two general types of leadership… transformative vs. transactional.  We have all experienced both types of leadership… on the curling ice, in the classroom, or at the workplace.  The tranformative leader believes the team CAN DO IT, motivates them to strive to do their best, and involves himself/herself in the process of doing.  The transactional leader derives much of his/her leadership from power, directives, and focusing on what’s going wrong to make things better.  One team is working together to achieve a common goal, the other team is working as a group of individuals focused on self-interest not necessarily towards the same goal.  Which team is better?

The context does not matter… curling, schools, or corporations… what does matter is leadership.