Christine Ho Younghusband

When Time Flies

You know that you are doing something you love when time flies.  I am aware that Stage 1 Job Action may agitate the educational system to encourage provincial bargaining.  After today, there is no doubt in my mind that students know how they are doing in school.  First, I know as a parent that my daughter is “meeting expectations” in mathematics and science.  And, I am confident that she is also “meeting expectations” in her other courses.  She is in grade 3.  Second, I know as a math/science tutor that students know how they are doing.  I had 6 tutoring scheduled for today, in addition to a reunion drumming session to celebrate the baby wolf drums made last week.  That is 6 hours of tutoring and managing to fit in other things like reading, writing, and some campaigning.

I had a tonne of fun tutoring.  Every client I serve is phenomenal.  Not to pat myself on the back, but each client seemed like he/she had fun learning math/science.  The best part of tutoring is the AH-HA moment.  I love that.  The AH-HA’s are what I love and miss most about teaching in public schools.  Today, I tutored one Math 9 student, one Math 8 student, one Science 10 student, and three Math 12 students.  My week is completely booked.  I am also out of town on Wednesday to see Nel Noddings (the Ethics of Care goddess) at SFU, the All-Candidates Meeting is tomorrow, and the Municipal Election is on Saturday.  In the end, all I can say is… I LOVE TEACHING.  I love honing in my pedagogical content skills as a tutor to teach students math/science so that they can feel confident, competent, and autonomous with their learning.  I think I achieved that feat today.

Are you doing what you love?  Some people ask me if I will ever return back teaching.  I love teaching.  Teaching is not isolated to a classroom in public schools.  I know that I took a BIG career detour by leaving public schools to pursue full-time graduate studies, run my own educational consulting business, and participate in local politics as a school trustee candidate.  I may return back teaching.  In the end, how do you know what your potential is, unless you try?  Take the first step…

ON NOV.19, ELECT CHRISTINE YOUNGHUSBAND FOR SD46 SCHOOL TRUSTEE (SECHELT)

SD46 All Candidates School Trustee Meeting

One more week until the official municipal election day on November 19th.  Because there are 4 mayoral candidates and 14 councilor candidates (for 6 positions) in the District of Sechelt area, the 5 school trustee candidates (for 2 positions) were often not involved actively in the All-Candidate Meetings held locally in the past five weeks, except for attending the events with hopes of connecting with constituents of the Sechelt community in an informal way.  The school trustee candidates in the Sechelt area created their own campaign opportunities to spread the word that they are running for School Board with signage, flyers, newspaper ads, public appearances, meeting people in the community, or door-to-door interactions.

On Monday, November 14th, the Coast Reporter (the local newspaper) is sponsoring an All-Candidates Meeting for all SD46 School Trustee Candidates.  That is 15 candidates.  In Area 1, the school trustee was acclaimed to the Board.  As mentioned earlier, Sechelt has 5 candidates.  In Gibsons, there are 2 candidates (for 1 position) and in Area 2 there are 7 candidates (for 3 positions).  Area 2 trustee Candidates have participated in several All-Candidates Meetings hosted by various interest groups in their catchment area.  I am not sure what the Gibsons Candidates have participated in, but this All-Candidates meeting happening on the 14th will be my first and last All-Candidates Meeting I will attend officially.  I am looking forward to this event.  This is when all the cards will be played and I am curious of what each candidate will have to say and offer.

The SD46 School Board is composed of 7 trustees who will work collectively to work collaboratively with the superintendent to govern (not manage) the School District.  If you are interested in the school trustee candidates running for school board on the Sunshine Coast, come to the All-Candidates Meeting on November 14th @7pm at the Seaside Centre.  If you can’t come, the event is televised on Coast Cable TV11.  I look forward to seeing you or you seeing me on TV11.

ELECT Christine Younghusband FOR School Trustee (Sechelt)

10-Pin Bowling

Who doesn’t love bowling?  When I was a kid growing up in Prince Rupert, we had the “Rupert Lanes.”  It was 5-pin bowling and I remember going there on the weekend to hang out with friends and bowl.  The place has closed down since.  I guess that bowling is not “the thing” to do nowadays.  When I moved to the Sunshine Coast 17 years ago after graduating from UBC, there was 5-pin bowling in Gibsons.  A handful of years later, there was even a second bowling alley.  Well, today there are no bowling alleys on the Sunshine Coast.  Too bad.  My kids loves to bowl.

On this special day, 11-11-11, my little family spent Remembrance Day in Vancouver.  We had our moment of silence to remember those who gave their lives on the BC Ferries.  We are deeply grateful.  Lest we forget.  My twin brother is visiting from Toronto.  We saw him last weekend, we resumed our lives during the week, and here we are again to reunite at my parents’ condo.  We met up with my sister and her little family to enjoy a HUGE BBQ lunch at Memphis Blues on Granville and Broadway.  The food was delicious and plentiful.  We followed up this “Man vs. Food” event with an afternoon of 10-pin bowling.  At first, I was reluctant.  In the end, I had an awesome time.

The bowling alley had 48-lanes, loud music, videos, electronic scoring, and disco-like lighting.  My sister, brother, man, kid, and myself were bowling up a storm and prided ourselves when we accomplished a spare or a strike.  I won the first game with a score of 107.  My sister took the second game with 131.  My kid did not want the bowling to stop.  It was super fun.  The ego did not take a super beating.  And, my daughter had a strike and a spare.  We will definitely go there again.

Bowling today was like going back in time.  Spending good times with people you care about and love.  Creating memories and new loves that intrinsically motivates us to come back again.  I love our little family reunions.  It’s an special opportunity to step away from the routines of life and engage in something enjoyable, community oriented, and family-centered.  We ended our day connecting up with my parents and having a HUGE Chinese Crab dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  YUM.

Love

I am so lucky.  I look back at my day and all that I feel is gratitude.  I started the day walking my daughter to school, well… she rides her bike and I walk the dog.  Back at home, I spent the day tidying up, printing out articles, updating my CV, writing in my daily edu-blog, revising my websites, virtual campaigning, and making lasagna for dinner.  Before I know it, the day is over and I’m off to go out to face-to-face campaign at the local high school.  My husband picked me up and my daughter gifts us with a small bag of gummies she bought from the gummy store.  I was so touched.  I love gummies.  I returned to my alma mater (aka. Chatelech) to see familiar faces and good friends.  That was so wonderful.  Then, I attended the Restorative Practices presentation to be followed up by the All-Candidates meeting for Sechelt Mayor and Council.  In between, all 5 Sechelt School Trustees were present to campaign face-to-face.  All 5 of us were passing out campaign flyers amongst others who were passing out flyers for other municipal election candidates.  It was an awesome experience.  Furthermore, I got the chance to see some of the meeting live and one of the trustee candidates offered me a ride home.  I was so thankful.  Back home, my daughter greeted me with love and joy.  She loved my lasagna.  I love my kid.  In the end, that’s all that matters.  My yummy yum-yum.  My daughter makes my day.  She makes me laugh.  She is independent and strong-willed.  She is full of wonderful surprises.  BTW: My man is equally awesome… once again, I am so lucky.  LOVE.

Face-to-Face Campaigning

The last 5 weeks have been an interesting journey… municipal or school trustee campaigning, I mean.  Only 8 more days to ELECTION DAY on November 19th.  If anything, VOTE.

While balancing my family, tutoring, writing, and campaigning, I have learned so much about the political process with great hopes of serving, representing, and acting as an educational liaison for residents of the District of Sechelt as one of the SD46 School Trustees in 2011-2013.  My campaign is modest, but hopefully effective.  I have used social media, campaign signs, and hand-distributed flyers to make it known to members of my community that I am running.  Tonight, I will be face-to-face campaigning with community members at the local high school.

There are two events happening tonight… I was invited to attend a Restorative Justice presentation at the Chatelech Secondary Theatre at 3:30 pm and to an All-Candidates Meeting for Mayor and Council at 6:30 pm.  Because there are so many candidates running for mayor and council in the Sechelt Area, Sechelt School Trustee delegates will not be in the All-Candidates Meeting, but will have the opportunity to mix-and-mingle in the foyer.  For Sechelt School Trustee Candidates, there is only one formal All-Candidates Meeting for all SD46 School Trustee Candidates sponsored by the Coast Reporter and televised on Coast Cable held on November 14th, 7pm at the Seaside Centre.

It is opportunities like these where candidates are able to publicly discuss and share their political platform and intentions.  I hope that I will be able to effectively share my educational beliefs and desires during the All-Candidates Meeting on November 14th so that residents of Sechelt understand my platform of STUDENT LEARNING, Learning Communities, and Safe Learning Environments.  I am passionate about education, student achievement, and quality programming to ensure that the students of School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast) have memorable and worthwhile learning experiences and opportunities.  THANK YOU to all those who support my 2011 campaign.

On November 19th, ELECT CHRISTINE YOUNGHUSBAND for SCHOOL TRUSTEE (Sechelt).

Advanced Polling – November 9th & 16th

Municipal elections in BC are well on their way.  There are only 11 days left to ELECTION DAY… Saturday, NOVEMBER 19th from 8 am to 8 pm.  Please check your local newspaper for locations.  

If you can’t get out to vote on the 19th, there is ADVANCED POLLING on November 9th and 16th.

In the District of Sechelt, there will be 3 polling stations on November 19th available for Sechelt residents:  (1) The Senior Centre in downtown Sechelt, (2) West Sechelt Elementary School, and (3) Davis Bay Elementary School.  On ADVANCED POLLING days, the station is at the Seaside Centre.

On November 19th, District of Sechelt constituents will be voting for 1 Mayor, 6 Councilors, and 2 School Trustees.  Before you vote, please be informed about the candidates (click to link):

1. The FABS website (Sechelt Candidates Only)
2. The SCTA website (School Trustee Candidates Only)
3. The Coast Reporter (All Sunshine Coast Candidates)
4. Attend an All-Candidates Meeting (Sponsored by the Coast Reporter)
• November 10 – Sechelt Mayor and Council Candidates @ Chatelech, 7-10pm
• November 14 – SD46 Trustee Candidates @ Seaside Centre, 7-9pm
5. Attend other All-Candidates Meetings (Sponsored by special interest groups) 

Candidates may also have personalized websites… For example, you can Google my website with “younghusband trustee” or you can connect to my website link here.  On candidate websites, you can find out more about about their background, platform, and contact information.

Thank you for reading my blog.  Please pass it on to fellow voters who would benefit from this information.  Stay informed and get out to VOTE on November 19, 2011.

ELECT CHRISTINE YOUNGHUSBAND FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE (DISTRICT OF SECHELT)

Formative Assessment (Campaign Style)

One of my greatest passions about education and working in the field of education is assessment and evaluation.  How do you know that you are doing a good job?  Who is judging?  What can be learned from formative feedback?  And ultimately, how do you move forward to ensure success?

For the past year, I have been designing and facilitating Assessment for Learning (AFL) professional development workshops for teachers.  To date, I have delivered 10 workshops involving AFL and how teachers can learn about student learning and their professional practice.  Formative feedback is a critical component of AFL.  It’s feedback to help the student understand how they are progressing, determine what they know, and decide what they have to work on.  Formative assessment is not worth “marks” but it has HUGE value at the end point, or summative assessment, that is the test, project, or exam to demonstrate their understanding for judgment known as the mark or grade.

Running for school trustee in the District of Sechelt is a new learning experience for me in the realm of public education.  I have 16 years of teaching experience with School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast) as a secondary mathematics, science, and chemistry teacher.  I have participated in many committees related to professional development, mathematics curriculum implementation, and the local teachers’ association.  I have assumed several teacher leadership positions at Chatelech Secondary as the math department head, staff rep, and professional development representative. 

Currently, I volunteer my time at my daughter’s school as a “bike club mom,” tutor adult basic education students at Capilano University (Sunshine Coast Campus), and involved in the BC Association of Mathematics Teachers (BCAMT) executive committee as a secondary representative.  I continue to work on my dissertation in education leadership, I have presented at the Seminar Series and Education Without Borders with Education Graduate Students’ Association, and I am employed as a site assistant with the Master of Education educational leadership K-12 cohort at SFU. 

I am passionate about education and have a wealth of knowledge that continues to grow and evolve.  Campaigning and meeting people in my community to talk about education has been enlightening to say the least.  Along with some campaign signs posted around the District of Sechelt and YH Flyers distributed on some cars and homes in the community, I have met many wonderful people who ask good questions and share stories about their experiences with public education in SD46.  It’s been a wonderful journey so far and I have learned so much from members of the community.

I love the question: “How is the campaign going?”  I get this question a lot.  I am sure that every candidate in the municipal election is faced with this question.  It’s an opportunity to self-reflect and self-assess how things are going.  Strangely, much of the formative feedback I receive are positive.  I am grateful for the kind words, advice, help, and support people have given me during the campaign.  With that said, I truly don’t know how “things” are going.  I can critique about the number of signs I have posted, the number of flyers distributed, or the number of events I have attended, etc… but, in the end, I am going to find out how the campaign is going is on November 19th.

Returning to the Happiness Project

With so many things on the go… it’s nice to spend a bit of time on yourself.  I had mentioned around Thanksgiving that I had picked up a book at Chapters called, The Happiness Project.  Apparently, it is a “Heather’s Pick” or a guaranteed good read.  I try to read the book when I can.  I am truly enjoying what I have read so far and would like to take some action on my own life.

As the author, Gretchen, says it’s not she is unhappy, but she could be happier.  Life is good.  I am not complaining.  I have good friends, a supportive and loving family, and we are managing to make things happen.  You never know unless you try.  I would like to be happier.  As I look back at the last 12 months of my life, much has changed for the good.  I feel purposeful.  I feel stronger.  I feel like I am doing what I am suppose to be doing.  And, I am learning lots.  Now what?

I would like to model my “Happiness Project” with Gretchen’s.  For the first month (i.e. November 2011), I would like to BOOST MY ENERGY.  The more energy I have, the more able I will be to endure other life’s challenges, to question my false beliefs, and move forward.  Like Gretchen, I will make note of any changes or observations worth noting.  I’m excited to take these steps and share them with you… Bloggies from the virtual world… who are curious to do the same thing.

What I will start with is the following:

1. Getter done… just do unfinished projects or tasks and JUST DO IT.
2. MyFitnessPal… a phone app to guide & moderate my eating and exercise habits.
3. Clean & Purge… organize and remove clutter from my space and mind.
4. Less TV & FB… minimize less productive screen time for more productivity.
5. Sleep… there is sooooo much to get done but all-nighters are not an option.

Wish me luck.  Gretchen had about 4-5 bullets she worked each month.  I will do the same.  Everyone’s Happiness Project will be different.  I am looking forward to engaging in this journey of small changes to achieve more “happiness.”  I encourage you to do the same.

BTW:  I wrote this blog entry without the TV on.  Silence is good.  Feeling a bit happier.

My Credentials

Welcome to my school trustee candidate representing the District of Sechelt for School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast) municipal political campaign 2011.  I would be honoured to be elected to represent the students, parents, and community members from the District of Sechelt as their school trustee.

What do I have to offer?

1. I have a BSc (Chemistry), BEd (Education), and MEd (Curriculum & Instruction)
2. I am a Doctor of Education Candidate studying Educational Leadership at SFU
3. I have 16 years of experience teaching Math 8-12 at Chatelech Secondary in SD46
4. I am a Masters of Education (K-12 Educational Leadership Cohort) Site Assistant at SFU
5. I am an educational consultant providing Pro-D workshops to teachers and tutor students
6. I am an executive member on the BC Association of Mathematics Teachers (BCAMT)
7. I was active with the local teachers’ association and BCTF as a Pro-D rep, staff rep, teacher mentor, executive committee member, AGM delegate, and workshop facilitator
8. I am parent volunteer with the West Sechelt Elementary bike club and Sechelt Minor Softball
9. I am a volunteer tutor at Capilano University (Sunshine Coast Campus)
10. I am passionate about teaching and learning… as a learner, educator, and parent.

BOTTOM LINE:  I have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of education as a teacher, parent, and teacher leader with SD46 in the District of Sechelt.  The SD46 School Board can benefit from having a school trustee on the Board with this kind of knowledge and experience to ensure that policy decisions and implementations to support student learning are well informed.

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween Everyone… What a great evening.  Families roaming around the neighbourhood, knocking on doors, and receiving yummy treats from neighbours.  My husband is out and about with my daughter Trick-or-Treating.  I’m at home greeting all those “little characters” who ring my doorbell with their bags open, ready to receive some candy.  So far, so good.  The night is clear.  No rain.  No fog.  A beautiful night.  I truly enjoy seeing the kids in their costumes and parents spending time with their children.  Giving out candy gives me great joy.  This is what I call community.  Boooo.