Here we go… there are a few days left of the nomination period and I have decided to run in the upcoming municipal election in October and run in the BC Association of School Trustees Association (BCSTA) for the position of president in April. Left on a cliffhanger from my previous blog entry, Gaining Perspective, I was undecided for quite some time. I loved the encouraging words from colleagues throughout the year, but I had to make this decision for the right reasons and my decision to run was not taken lightly.
Last year, I stepped down from the BCSTA Board of Directors and did not run. When I look back at my blog entry, Trajectory, it was not an easy decision then. I took the year off from the BCSTA Board of Directors and took other things off my plate so that I could finish my dissertation and deliberate what would be next for me. I needed to create some space for me to complete my doctoral work and make space for what’s next. I am proud to have completed my dissertation. I successfully defended my research on August 17, 2017 (while teaching EDUC 454 that term) and walked across the stage at convocation on Friday, October 6, 2017 (after I taught my morning class of EDUC 471) at SFU. I ended the fall term by starting the new year with a trip to Honolulu, HI to present my dissertation and two other studies at the Hawaii International Conference on Education. It was a memorable experience and excellent capstone to my academic achievements.
After Hawaii, the spring term started slow. I was not teaching at the university and I had not established full-time employment as an academic. I had considered returning to K-12 but did not feel that it was the right fit for me. That said, I am very thankful to continue my research and academic writing as an affiliate scholar at the Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy (CSELP) as part of my post-doctoral experience. I am currently working with a school district looking at communicating student learning and effective reporting practices, I am working on being published with my research partner Dr. Daniel Laitsch, and I am also working on some independent writing. With this work, I am reminded of my 5 core values: (1) integrity and truth; (2) self-respect and pride in my work; (3) having a positive impact on society and others; (4) using creativity, imagination, and being innovative; and (5) autonomy, independence, and freedom. I am aligned.
I believe in serendipity where things happen for a reason. Last month, my mom passed away. I believe that it was suppose to be a “light term” for better or worse so that I could spend time with my mom in her final days. I had the luxury of being by her side almost full-time along with my brother, sister, and dad. I have no words to express my gratitude that I was able to spend this time with her, to take care of her, and to love her. I miss her deeply. I have no regrets of not running for BCSTA last year. Everything happened as it was suppose to be. Now that I have turned the page on my dissertation and looking forward to what’s next, I am following my intuition, my heart, and my passion in BC public education. I am an educator, researcher, and school trustee. I am an advocate of BC public education and believe that boards of education are integral to the success of students in BC public schools. I am announcing that I am running for BCSTA president.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 24th, 2018 | Comments Off on Running for President
One thing that I love about teaching and learning is the immediate gratification of success. I just had a wonderful experience this morning. I helped a student with their math via SnapChat. This student was sending “streaks” via SnapChat and I happened to be one of the recipients. I replied, “looks like fun.” It was a picture of a math book. The student replies, “idek and test is Thursday.” Classic frustration and disengagement. Our conversation moved from distress to sending a picture of a question, taking a screenshot, and sending a picture back of the solution with steps… a short delay, another screenshot, and another picture of another solution. BINGO. Engagement. The student asks, “is it right?” I reply, “yup.” The student replies, “yippppeeee.” Immediate gratification experienced by ME and the student.
I love that. I miss that. The sheer joy of learning. This is why I love to teach mathematics in comparison to other subject areas like science or chemistry. There is an immediate gratification when you “get” something, solve a problem, or realize your math efficacy. It’s AMAZING. Yes, certainly, it works the other way as well. When things “get down” in math… things get DOWN. Sometimes it feels like a hole (or vortex to others) that almost feels impossible to get out of. We get stuck there and form another type of math efficacy that sounds like “I will never do math again.” Albeit a dramatization, but it’s not too far off the truth. But there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a student say, “hey, I can do this”… “that wasn’t so hard”… “I can do better next time” after you helped them out.
Another social media experience to CELEBRATE MATH involved a school principal from my school district sending me a photo of a TTOC doing math OUTSIDE with grade 1/2 students with sticks and chalk. I love that!!! Social engagement, experiential learning, and being outside to learn with your classmates are AWESOME. Furthermore, this teacher is taking a risk, doing something different, and figuring out what will help students learn math. I love how doing math on the playground also makes learning VISIBLE… to self and classmates as they are learning, but also makes it visible to the rest of the school when students have an opportunity to look and learn during recess and lunchtime. This is AMAZING (again). Celebrate learning via social media. I love how I got this information from Twitter with a tweet and a tag. Of course I’m retweeting, commenting, and replying to this tweet. It doesn’t take that much to get me excited about teaching, learning, and MATH, and in both cases, via social media. Happy learning.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 13th, 2018 | Comments Off on Feels Good
Wow. It does not take much to trigger me. “Is it me?” A classic question that NO ONE wants to answer. I appreciate that someone is willing to speak to someone face-to-face and inquire if the problem is him or her. Unfortunately, you’re NEVER going to hear the answer that would reflect the truth. So why ask? Is there another way to ask the question? NO ONE is going to say the problem is YOU. That’s just a fact. How can we get around this issue in an educational system that desires and hopes for vulnerability? As you can see, one question provokes me to ask many other questions. It makes me curious.
I just spoke with a student who was faced with this situation. “Is it me?” This student could not confirm or deny that the problem was the teacher. Why would this student do so anyway? Horrifying. If the roles were reversed, we would never say that the problem in our classroom is the student. We would say it’s his/her behaviour, actions, or mindset… SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN CHANGE. It’s a strange phenomenon in education that I question. How can we have a more vulnerable education system that encourages more formative feedback amongst stakeholders to leverage learning when all those involved are somewhat defensive, politically paranoid, or easily hurt? We end up “functioning” in a edu-vacuum where not much is said except for pleasantries and workplace politeness.
Formative feedback is NOT PERSONAL. It should reflect your performance and competencies. Not only should it reflect these attributes, but also should provide you with what to strive for and how to get there. In fact, receiving formative feedback is in your best interest… to be come a better YOU… and those who are providing feedback provide an expertise and want YOU to be a better you. They have your best interest in mind. Formative feedback is about helping each other and the information shared benefits both the evaluator and recipient. It goes beyond collective efficacy… formative feedback is more like COLLECTIVE WINNING. The mantra would be, “we’re in this together.”
But no… “Is it me?” sets people apart… to an US vs. THEM scenario. The power differential is in full play and of course, the subordinate in this relationship would naturally concede and say… “no, no, no… it’s me.” Unbelievable… and in the end, NOTHING CHANGES. There is no opportunity for “real” formative feedback and an opportunity to get better, be better, or make the situation better. All that this scenario perpetuates is the status quo… and if it’s not good??? It remains NOT GOOD. Is this an educational model that we can tolerate? Apparently, the answer is yes. This is disheartening. Education is ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. It’s fragile and resilient at the same time. We need to be asking the right questions. We are the creators of what we see. So, what do you see?
We are constantly immersed in the formative. From the viewpoint of the teacher, are your students engaged, empowered, and passionate about what they are learning? Or are your students disengaged, on their phones, and indifferent? Maybe they are somewhere in between… but guess what? You are creating that behaviour. This is the challenge of teaching. It’s complex and dynamic. There is never THE SAME at any one moment in time… nor should we strive for that. We are not hoping for robot-like students who are homogenous in their thinking or doing. We want to nourish their competencies, strengths, and interests. How do we create a love for learning for all stakeholders? Wouldn’t it be great to develop passionate learners instead of compliant consumers? This is my hope.
The worst part about this question, “Is it me?,” is asking the same question to self. “Is it me?” Self-assessment and self-reflection are integral to the teaching/learning/leading process and when we question self inappropriately or inaccurately because we are functioning in a vacuous silo, then this is when it goes wrong and ugly. How can someone take ownership of something when they don’t know if it’s them or not? It’s a poor assumption. Similarly, one cannot take ownership for something when no one is talking formatively or if one is confronted with “Is it YOU?” No one is winning. Nothing and no one gets “better.” And yes, the status quo persists. Are we really learning in education?
Let’s end this edu-rant with a bit of research. According to John Hattie’s (2016) updated results… factors with the greatest effect size on student learning include feedback (0.73), teacher clarity (0.75), and teacher credibility (0.90). Teacher credibility ranked NUMBER ONE. Do not underestimate the power of the teacher and your influence on student learning. Student looks up to the teacher. It’s important to be a role model but also provide feedback and clarity. It can’t be “Is it me?” anymore. This message goes to all levels in education. We are in this together. It has to be, “It is WE.” Think formative.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 12th, 2018 | Comments Off on Is it me?
This may sound cliche but when you realize that your time on earth is limited, it would be in your best interest to do what you love. I had the gift of being away from my life for 20-days and experienced the JOY OF TRANSFORMATION. Admittedly, I’ve changed too. I witnessed people change before my eyes, recalibrating what was important to them and intuitively knowing why. I experienced a type of advocacy and agency that I have never seen before. Clear conviction. I feel lucky to have this opportunity and now I am taking a moment to reflect on what happened and think about what’s important to me.
Before the 20-days, I was participating in a couple of career education workshops at SFU to figure out my next trajectory in life. It’s too easy to look back and consider what I have done before. As much as I have fond memories of teaching secondary mathematics and continue to teach secondary mathematics one-on-one as part of my educational consulting business, I know that I am meant to do something else and my experiences as a math educator will inform and influence me on what I need to do next. I know that my love is in education, even though several times during the 20-days I’ve been asked if I’m in health care or in the medical field. As mentioned, I’m not that kind of doctor.
What I do know for sure is, I love teaching… I love learning… and I love leading. Hence, this is the underpinning of my business. But so what? Most people in education feel the same way. What separates me from other educators and what am I meant to do next? I do know that whatever I choose to do next, I need to be teaching, learning, and leading. I will make no compromise to that. What I also know for sure is, I love data analysis. I love making sense from numbers, I love creating a narrative. That is soooooo fun for me. I just completed the “School Trustee Study” with my research partner (and former senior supervisor) Dr. Dan Laitsch. I just loved playing around with the numbers and making meaning from what we found from the data. I loved the collaboration, critical thinking, and shared expertise. I felt like we accomplished something that is worthwhile.
At the last SFU workshop, I identified 5 core values: (1) integrity and truth; (2) self-respect and pride in my work; (3) having a positive impact on society and others; (4) using creativity, imagination, and being innovative; and (5) autonomy, independence, and freedom. There were many other items to choose from and rank, but this turned out to be my top 5. What amazes me from this list is… I AM COMPLETELY ALIGNED. These 5 core values resonate with me and aligns to what I am doing now… with my business, research, and school trusteeship. This realization is invigorating… knowing that I am doing what I want to be doing. I am on the right trajectory. So, how can I go further?
I am so stoked that I am teaching EDUC454 for a second time this summer. I love that I can take what I have learned from last summer to make this course even better. It’s a time for me to return to my love of teaching and learning, but also find innovative and creative ways to engage and empower adult learners / pre-service teachers. I am driven by my research and the power of experiential learning and reflective practice. I feel honoured to have the opportunity to work with pre-service teachers to influence and encourage them to do what’s right in the K-12 classroom and develop their pedagogy.
I am also thinking about how to expand my business. I am getting new tutoring clientele, I am engaged in research as an affiliate scholar with the Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy at SFU, and it looks like I will write a book or two as promised in my TEDxWestVancouverED talk. I definitely have one in mind… and another one… and another one. It’s a matter of getting started. I need new material to glean from. I recently guest blogged for McGraw-Hill Education on the “Art of Teaching,” to be published in April. I continue to write about my practice as a secondary mathematics teacher, just like I did for Gillian Judson’s blog ImaginED. It’s been almost 8 years since I left the K-12 classroom and it’s time to write and talk about something else.
Finally, school trusteeship is something to consider. If you look back at previous blog entries, I learned so much from my trusteeship as an educator, parent, and educational leader. Governance plays a huge role in public education and it’s the responsibility of school trustees and boards of education to understand their role, work together with senior management teams, and do what’s best for student learning. I am passionate about this role in education. What we do matters… at all levels in education. Trustees have the responsibility of representing community values, bringing expertise to the table as oversight, and politicizing in a way that leverages learning FOR ALL. This term ends October 2018 and many are deciding whether if they will run or not in the next municipal election. That decision, for me, might come up in my next blog entry. TBA.
Although the “endpoint” is not clear or precise, I am on the right path. It’s reassuring that I am heading towards a vision. I am passionate about education and “finding my place” is important to me… as it should be for all those who are involved in education. Your role matters. Your expertise matters. You competencies matter. And, the right fit matters. We are always changing, so “fit” will also change over time. Be true to yourself and do what’s best for you and the people you serve. There are many opportunities in education where you can make a difference in student learning. You have to find it, then do it well.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 09th, 2018 | 1 Comment »
Do you ever have one of those days where you just can’t sleep? Could it be because I had a triple grande non-fat latte during dinner? Could it be because I hear jazz music playing in the background? Or, could it be because there’s a lot on my mind? It’s all of the above. So, why not blog? Am I right? Blogging is a way for me to reflect and sense-make.
The last 20-days have been a whirlwind. It was something I never expected and yet, I would not trade this “life-experience” for anything. Short of 20 days ago, I posted on Facebook “Do you ever wonder that everything you’ve done was meant to prepare you for something else?” Some of my Facebook friends replied by saying “no, not really” to “I never wonder… I’ve always known this.” I had always believed that everything happens for a reason and every decision we make leads to a destination. You realize this when you look back at life and everything you have experienced forms a STRAIGHT LINE. Strange… because it surely does not feel that way when you are looking forward. I had always believed that moving forward was done with intention, but what I did not realize is, the destination you arrive to may look nothing like what you’ve imagined or hoped for.
Gosh… for months I’ve been so focussed on “what’s next?” My thinking was career oriented and I was placing expectations on myself that may or may not be aligned to my purpose and passion. I struggled with “the should’s” and never considered what was really important to me. I took what was really important to me for granted and now I must ask myself what I am willing to sacrifice or compromise to hold on to what I value most. What I have learned in the last 20-days is, everything can be taken off of my plate. My world does not implode or turn its back on me. It’s just on hold. In the last 20-days, I gained clarity on my values and what’s important to me. They turned upside down.
I have also learned more about what I can and cannot do. It’s strange when folks in the medical field spontaneously ask me if I’m in the medical field. I’ll take it as a compliment. I guess I have the disposition for it but also I like to learn and help people. I think that’s in my nature. I had no idea that my doctorate, first aid training, and trusteeship would blend themselves together in a serendipitous way that is purposeful and meaningful in a completely different context. It’s disappointing to tell these medical practitioners that I am an educator… and I didn’t tell them that I disliked Biology 101 (I’m a physical scientist!!!). I learned more about systems and that my passion and purpose are in education.
I can see what I want to pursue and what values I need to adhere to. It’s my work now to CREATE (my one-word for 2018) what that will be, what will that look like, and how I will get there. This has been an incredible 20-days. Challenging, emotional, and transformational. I am not the same person and I don’t plan to be. I have an edu-mission and I will take steps to move forward to get there. Everything we do prepares us for what’s to come… or at least CREATE a readiness for it. I will not compromise or forgo my values and what’s important to me to get to a destination that I don’t want. It’s time to put things back on my plate and assess if it’s worthwhile doing or not to get to my desired destination. I do have a vision. I hope that I am able to live out my dreams once again. I feel so lucky that I was able to before and have the opportunity to do it one more time.
I am grateful for those who are in my life. I am grateful for those who love and respect me. I am grateful for those who support me and help me rise. I am also grateful for those who help me learn and guide me through “life experiences” to become the person I am today. I have learned more about myself in the last 20-days and I have learned more about others. Thank you for reading my blog entry… if you made it this far. It’s 4:44am and I think I can catch a few ZZZs before the sun rises. Thank you for this late night distraction. My blog entry may be somewhat vague or broad stroked, but it was intended. No specifics tonight/today but what I can say is, I would do it all over again.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 27th, 2018 | 2 Comments »
It’s hard to define what will be a turning point. For the longest time, I thought it would be my dissertation that would be a “significant” turning point… and it was, but not in the way that I had expected. Well, I didn’t know what to expect. Once I was able to LET GO of my expectations, I was able to think and write about my research in a wholehearted way. I loved that I could answer my research question and I loved that the results and my recommendations were not what I had expected. That’s exciting to me. Best of all, the recommendations are doable and research based. I guess the turning point for me with my dissertation is that I realized that I can write and do research. I also learned that I LOVE data analysis. I like it more than I should. I love finding patterns to make meaning.
What didn’t happen with my PhD was walking into a job. I’m not even sure what job that would be, but I thought that getting my PhD would open some doors to job opportunities. Don’t get me wrong. I have opened some doors with my degree. I am doing post-doctoral research that is closely connected to practice. This excites me. Although I did not walk away with a professorship… yet… I have much to do to get there, like publishing some papers and figuring out what’s possible to connect research and practice with policy. I am very interested in this… but there is no “job title” per se that would best capture this. Once again, I am set off on a trajectory towards something that does not have a known destination. This is not “cool” with A-types, so I’ve learned from my sister. Boxes are not being checked off. Quotas are not being met. I am pursing a VISION… a concept.
As I write, not being an A-type was verified by a workshop I took at SFU. It was an evening session downtown Vancouver where we used reflection, checklists (ironically), and visioning to figure out which direction we should take with our career. The workshop started off by asking… “What was the WORSE job you’ve ever done?” We had to imagine it… either go back in time or make something up that we would not like to do. This was an interesting start to the 3-hour workshop, but what I disliked was very clear to me. I hated being a receptionist. We had to write down what we disliked about this job in terms of place, people, type of work, etc. and why, and then we had to share these thoughts with two other people in the room. Afterwards, we reflected on the activity.
It was brilliant. I never done a career exploration activity that started with what I hate to do. Normally, we would focus on strengths, dispositions, or interests. Although this would be helpful and I did so last week at another SFU workshop on campus, imaging a job we disliked CLEARLY identifies aspects of work I do not prefer and rather not do. I had an epiphany and realized that I was striving for a job that was very similar to the attributes of being a receptionist. A HUGE AWAKENING. I had no idea. I was trapped in a way of thinking I could not see my way out of. It is not in my alignment. Now I know… I am NOT an A-TYPE. The workshop proceeded with us figuring out our 5 core values and areas of interest/perceived strength. This was telling as well. I felt good about the 5 core values I identified and realized that I am on the right track… and never knew. So crazy!!!
Finally, this workshop concludes with us imagining what our DREAM JOB is. Wow. The facilitator walked us through this process. I was so glad to do this because I had fulfilled my lifelong vision not too long ago. As mentioned in previous blogs, I have fulfilled my dreams that I thought would not be possible. My INBETWEENIDNESS is because I have no VISION to strive for. During this final exercise, I could see myself moving through my work day and loving every minute of it. All of my core values were in place and I was fulfilling my purpose and passion. What a great place to be. Of course, I’m not going to describe my new vision. I’d hate to spoil it or be disappointed. What I know for sure is, I have a NEW vision, which is my NEW goal and I am super excited to pursue it.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 18th, 2018 | Comments Off on Turning Point
Here’s a photo from the archives. Me and my kid… more than 10 years ago. Where does the time go? I just dropped off my kid at school… “nagging” her about something… of which, I followed up with a text message, “don’t be your own barrier to your success.” Can this be the pot calling the kettle black? Here I am THINKING about what my next GOALS are in life. This is a great place to be when I have recently met my life goals. The sad part is, I’m panicking. This is worse than “what am I going to do when I grow up?” because I’m a grown up. I have friends who are within 10 years of full pension and I’m thinking about what my next career.
I don’t want to be a pessimist about the whole situation. I love that I can spend time with my daughter in ways that I could not had I been working full-time or commuting into Vancouver. I feel very lucky. I could not have finished my dissertation (my lifelong goal) had I not left teaching. I understand that now. The struggle for me right now is letting go of what was and imagining what could be. I have lofty dreams for education and how it could be. I think we are moving in the right direction, but I often wonder about teaching, learning, and leading. What is my role in education? I am a parent and school trustee. I know this for sure. I am doing some research and in the midst of writing academic articles to be published. I know this for sure as well. But, what is my next goal?
Letting go is part of this process. I’ve been working on my CV. It is pretty clear that I have left teaching in K-12 schools and working on research. The last time I taught in public schools was in 2010… which by the way a former parent, now teacher, recently complimented me on my teaching from 8 years ago. I taught her eldest son Math 8. It’s nice to know that my legacy still lives on and I know I had a positive impact on students and their learning learning as a secondary mathematics teacher. My former students are my biggest cheerleaders. I would consider myself a researcher practitioner but find that my “qualifications” are not a perfect fit for various positions that I have applied for and wish to apply for. It’s either I don’t have enough experience as a researcher or I am no longer in the classroom, which means I don’t have recent experiences. The domino effect begins. Then I start to believe that I’m not qualified for any job. This is a problem.
Maybe I should be considering something else. I am heartened when former colleagues, current colleagues, and administrators are willing to give me a reference. I have plenty of references. I feel very lucky. I even cried once because I never knew I had this kind of support. I am very grateful. I am also overwhelmed when colleagues say that I am meant to do something “bigger” and that one friend had encouraged me to “take the leap” so that we could “save education” together. Timing was not great for me because I was still trying to complete my first lifelong goal of becoming “Dr. Christine Younghusband.” My husband always says that I’m too busy “saving the world” via education… and I know that there are many, many other edu-folk out there who have spent their lifetime trying to shift education (and continue to do so). What is my place in this edu-movement?
Well, as you can read, I am still in the midst of figuring this out. In the meantime, I will continue to be a mom, I will publish a few articles, and I will complete the research project I am currently engaged in as an affiliated scholar at the Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy (CSELP) at SFU. I don’t want to be my own barrier to my future success. Anything is possible. It’s about setting a goal and making it happen.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 29th, 2018 | Comments Off on Pot Kettle Black
I’ve returned back to curling after YEARS of not doing it… and I returned part-time. What I love about curling is, you can do this sport at any age and anytime. I learned how to curl when I was 13-years old at the Prince Rupert Curling Club, I had an 8-ender scored against me in my first bonspiel, and I was a high school provincial champion… in the 80’s!!! Yes. Good times. I curled during my days at university, curled at the Gibsons Curling Club when I started teaching, and left the sport when I had my kid. So why did I return back to curling? It’s been an on-and-off love affair with the sport. I love to curl and being in my post-doctoral self, curling does “feel a bit different.” But, that’s ok. I still have fun on the ice, I am driven to make the kick-ass shot, and I love looking at the big picture of the game to strategize “a win” with my team. It’s an exemplar of what I like to do.
The more I begin to understand myself, my strengths, and my purpose… what I know for sure is, I am interested in systems, leadership, and alignment. Systems are complicated because it’s created by people for people. You should share the same objectives, but you don’t share the same role. You can’t. Much like a curling team, the Lead, Second, Third, and Skip all play different roles and each player has their strengths. It’s important for each member of the team to understand their roles, what strengths they possess to contribute to the team, and what role each team member plays and what strengths they possess to contribute to the team. This is KEY for teamwork, communication, and flow.
When one misunderstands their role or another players role… or if one believes that they are in the wrong position or is unaware of their strengths or others… or if one player thinks that they are responsible for doing all of the roles, the system is disrupted. As a result, the team becomes disfunctional and it is highly unlikely for the team to be successful when there is a misalignment in roles and misunderstanding of how all the roles must work in tandem to make the shot and win the game. The struggle becomes internal, not with the opponent of the game. Focus is distracted by the “little things.” In the end, the game is not fun to play. It becomes too serious and nobody is winning.
A shared understanding, trust, and respect are key elements to a good curling team. What helps establish these key elements and thus maintains and nourishes these key elements is communication. Do we feel safe to question the skip? Does the skip have a clear vision? Is the team working together to make the best outcome of every shot (because every execution is rarely perfect 100% of the time)? Are we clear about our WHY for each shot, the role we play, and how it plays in the big picture? This cohesion is only established with clear and concise communication. Furthermore, it takes LEADERSHIP… from all players. The skip is the leader of the team but each player is a leader based on their strengths, knowledge, and expertise. Everyone is a contributor. Collectively, the team makes the shot and wins the game. No one player is better or more important than the other. We each have a role to play… so know it and play it well.
Any second guessing, ego bruising, or parking lot conversations will automatically disrupt the flow of the team and the harmony that’s needed amongst all players to achieve a common goal. Ideally, you want other teams and team members looking at your team and have them ask questions about your team and how they can be just like you. You can’t control others but you can certainly influence them through your actions that this is what we are all about, we are a team, and we are open to any inquiries to help your team or team members be a better team or player. Being a cohesive and collaborative team builds on our collective efficacy but also our own individual confidence and competence.
I loved it when players from the other team asked me last night what I would do in their situation. It was the end of the game. My team had a rock over the pin and nestled in front of our opponent’s rock. There were two rocks covering our shot rock and many other rocks surrounded the house. It was pretty clear to me that my team would steal the point, but we would still lose the game. Nonetheless, the opponent wanted to throw their last rock. I told them that I would throw the rock through. They said, what if it wasn’t the last end? I said, I would still throw the rock through if we had 2 more ends to play. They did not understand my rationale and proceeded with the call of drawing to the button. My advice was not taken. Truth… they didn’t have to throw their last rock to win the game.
As anticipated, we got the point and lost the game… but the opposing team members asked me a follow up question: Why would you want to throw the rock through? I explained my WHY and how it played in the bigger strategy of the game and demonstrated to them by moving the rocks how it was impossible for them to get one point. Get two points with the hammer next end and you’re up by 3 coming home. You got the game. They watched me kick the rocks as if it was a take-out and we looked at the rocks. The yellow rock was still closer to the pin by half a centimetre. My team would have still stolen a point if they had thrown hail-mary shot with hopes of getting one.
A BIG AHA from my opponents and I love how they had questions about the game. Solace. This is what I love that about teaching and learning… and how leadership, teamwork, and influence play a huge role in the success of my team, the teams we play against, and for the sport as a whole. I love that I have returned back to curling to be reminded of these lessons and metaphors of what I like to do and why I love the sport. What’s the big picture, who are the players, and how are we going to get there?
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 24th, 2018 | Comments Off on Curling as an Exemplar
I took this picture on Waikiki beach in Honolulu on the last day of our trip. I saw the tree the night before and was mesmerized by the complexity of its branches. We returned back the next day and I had to take a picture. I never seen a tree like this before. Moreover, it’s one of my favourite images… Light coming through trees. I just love it.
This is a nice image to start 2018. What’s next? We’re in the new year and it’s time to take the next step. My 2018 One-Word is CREATE and I am faced with the challenge of MAKING NEW GOALS. It’s hard to believe that I met my lifelong goals and now I understand that making goals is about achieving them, adapting them, and yes… making new ones. When I was teaching secondary mathematics, I dreamt about speaking in front of a large audience about education and getting my doctorate. I never imagined it would happen. I left teaching in public schools and spoke in front of a large audience about education and became a doctor. Truth… for years, I thought it was only a dream.
I guess this is a great place to be. I’ve met my lifelong goals. It’s absolutely amazing!!! What I have learned is, you take big risks to achieve your goals. You may not realize it at the time. Leaving the classroom was not easy for me, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. That was 7-years ago. It’s pretty clear that my love for education, teaching, and learning has not stopped. I love the opportunity to teach at the university as a sessional instructor and being a school trustee has helped me to keep in touch with the K-12 system. What’s next? For the last week, I have been chatting with others face-to-face and online about what I will do next. It’s been a question mark and the advice I get in return is to take a break and what you are meant to do next will present itself.
Ahhh yes… back to TRUST. Today I woke with the notion of being open to anything. What I’ve learned about achieving my lifelong dreams mid-career is that anything is possible, if you want it to be and you believe it’s possible. Believe it or not, I got my BIG AHA on what’s next? from the #bcedchat I co-moderated with @DAliceMarsh on TIME SHIFTING. The topic was about big life changes that influenced our careers in education. For me, I named leaving K-12 and my dissertation. As the edu-chat continued, I ended the chat with “A8. I don’t know exactly, but it’s going to be fun, engaging, and transformational. Likely education related and I am deep into my purpose and passion” to answer what I am expecting or hoping for next. The crazy part is, I wrote the #bcedchat questions.
For those who follow my Twitter feed, I also appreciated the learning from BIG LIFE EVENTS and I have much gratitude because I would not know what I know today and have met the people whom I met since leaving the K-12 classroom. Yes, “a plan” would have been ideal but in hindsight, I had a plan: talk to a large audience about education and get my doctorate. DONE. Now it’s time for a NEW PLAN. I am the creator of what’s next and I never perceive “rejection” or “no” as failure or not being worthy. I look at it as a sign that this is not the way to go, it’s not the right time, or my alignment is elsewhere. What I realize is, I cannot have a narrow focus on what’s next and I am able and willing to do more or something different. I met my lifelong goals. It’s time for NEW GOALS and I am open to anything who would benefit from my expertise, mindset, and experience.
Of course, I am not going to stand still. I will be sending out my CV to opportunities that I could contribute to but also learn from. I want to be learning and build on my expertise. In the meantime, I will embark on more research as a post-doctoral experience and hope to publish a few articles. I have more to learn about research as it relates to practice, leadership, and the K-12 system in addition to what it takes to publish research. This is my learning. I would also like to publish a book and what it takes to do that. That said, I am also interested in opportunities where I am teaching and learning, or helping others to engage in teaching and learning. This is the extension. I look forward to what’s next.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 22nd, 2018 | Comments Off on New Goals
What a way to start the new year. I feel incredibly grateful to end 2017 with a family vacation in Puerto Vallarta and start 2018 with a conference in Hawaii. Who gets to do TWO vacations back-to-back that straddles the new year? Well, me and my family did.
This blog entry will focus on my professional learning experience at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE). This is my second time attending this conference. The first time I went to HICE was with my Sunshine Coast EdD Sub-Cohort 5-years ago at the early beginnings of my dissertation. However, the day after I defended my dissertation, I applied to present at HICE2018. It was a way for me to celebrate my dissertation completion with a “conference capstone” but also I had the opportunity to present my findings. I had so much fun. Secretly, I wanted to learn how to make a research poster. Success. Presenting my dissertation as a research poster was the best experience. I presented on the last day of the conference and I loved connecting with others to discuss my research. I also presented the School Trustee Study on Information Sources, co-authored with Dr. Daniel Laitsch, and Dan’s paper on class size reduction. Presenting research is a fun way to build my CV. My time at HICE was exceptional.
One of my most favourite moments at HICE were the breakfast networking session. I met so many interesting people during breakfast. You have to meet people. I knew no one. I met people who teach in Japan. I met someone who is doing her PhD studies at SFU. I met someone who was a teacher in BC. I met other educators from the US. What I loved about the breakfast networking session was making connections, sharing our learning, and learning more about these educators FROM AROUND THE WORLD. What was even more amazing is… we shared the same learning outcome… we’re doing the same thing!!! We share a common purpose but how we got there is different. I was humbled.
I also met some amazing people at the sessions I attended and presented at. I started the conference presenting Dr. Daniel Laitsch’s paper on class size reduction. That was challenging in a few ways. I was new to Dan’s paper and this was MY FIRST TIME presenting a paper at an academic conference. It went very well. I also met a few teachers from BC too who attended the session. Then I went to a session on CRITICAL THINKING PEDAGOGY and CIVICS. This was my biggest take away from the conference. I just loved this presentation. They spoke about using critical thinking pedagogy as the underpinning of all their teaching, which in turn united subject specialty teachers. The project was implemented in Indigenous schools in Australia in partnership with a university and government. Finally, they connected with another researcher from the US to make connections between critical thinking pedagogy and civics. I felt so aligned to what was being presented that I was compelled to connect with the presenters after the session. I was so impressed by their work and what they were achieving, I wanted to learn more. Furthermore, it was aligned to what BC’s New Curriculum is trying to achieve. Sheer happenstance, these presenters are also presenting at SFU in February. They invited me to attend their workshop in Vancouver, which is fully booked. I was deeply honoured and I am looking forward to seeing and learning more from them again.
I also met some great folks at the table round session and I went “out of the box” and attended a session on learning Hawaiian without words. That was fun. I was observing but I was so amazed by the patterning and complete immersion to language acquisition and sense making. Mid-conference I presented my paper with Dr. Daniel Laitsch on BC School Trustees and Information Sources. In hindsight, I will categorize my research with “educational leadership,” not as “other.” I was sub-grouped with computer programmers. There was somewhat of a disconnect with my presentation with theirs but I appreciated our overall engagement. I LOVED THE KEYNOTE on MoonShot Labs and “making the impossible, possible.” I was so inspired by they keynote’s passion and purpose. My conference ended with a session facilitated by a SFU PhD student on Indigenous Science Education where I met some more amazing people… from Canada, BC, and SFU. It was very serendipitous to meet these people and I hope to meet them again. My conference experience ended with the LAST conference session and I presented my dissertation as a poster presentation. I loved connecting with those who were presenting with me.
I ended HICE with good feelings. I was also grateful to be in Hawaii with my family. It was fun to spend time with them post-conference, but also knowing they were having fun learning how to surf and looking at fish in a submarine. We also bumped in to a couple of my friends from the Sunshine Coast in Honolulu. Small world. We chatted over drinks before going the the LUAU with my little family. A few other highlights of my Hawaiian vacation beside the HICE conference and LUAU was meeting up with my mom & dad’s family friends to see the Dole Plantation, to drive along the North Shore to have shaved iced and BBQ chicken, and to be in the presence of this super AWESOME sea turtle (see picture above). I also went out of my way to “eat Hawaiian.” I had pineapple everyday. I just had to. Sooooo delicious. I found and had my Hawaiian Breakfast (aka. eggs, rice, and spam) at McDonalds. But I also went out of my way to eat the loco moco, spam sushi, and ahi tuna. I have to admit… I was learning in the conference and out. I much enjoyed the Hawaiian vacation. NO REGRETS. I am ready for my next international conference. But before then, I want to learn more about “critical thinking pedagogy.”
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 19th, 2018 | Comments Off on Critical Thinking Pedagogy
One thing that I love about teaching and learning is the immediate gratification of success. I just had a wonderful experience this morning. I helped a student with their math via SnapChat. This student was sending “streaks” via SnapChat and I happened to be one of the recipients. I replied, “looks like fun.” It was a picture of a math book. The student replies, “idek and test is Thursday.” Classic frustration and disengagement. Our conversation moved from distress to sending a picture of a question, taking a screenshot, and sending a picture back of the solution with steps… a short delay, another screenshot, and another picture of another solution. BINGO. Engagement. The student asks, “is it right?” I reply, “yup.” The student replies, “yippppeeee.” Immediate gratification experienced by ME and the student.
Another social media experience to CELEBRATE MATH involved a school principal from my school district sending me a photo of a TTOC doing math OUTSIDE with grade 1/2 students with sticks and chalk. I love that!!! Social engagement, experiential learning, and being outside to learn with your classmates are AWESOME. Furthermore, this teacher is taking a risk, doing something different, and figuring out what will help students learn math. I love how doing math on the playground also makes learning VISIBLE… to self and classmates as they are learning, but also makes it visible to the rest of the school when students have an opportunity to look and learn during recess and lunchtime. This is AMAZING (again). Celebrate learning via social media. I love how I got this information from Twitter with a tweet and a tag. Of course I’m retweeting, commenting, and replying to this tweet. It doesn’t take that much to get me excited about teaching, learning, and MATH, and in both cases, via social media. Happy learning.
Wow. It does not take much to trigger me. “Is it me?” A classic question that NO ONE wants to answer. I appreciate that someone is willing to speak to someone face-to-face and inquire if the problem is him or her. Unfortunately, you’re NEVER going to hear the answer that would reflect the truth. So why ask? Is there another way to ask the question? NO ONE is going to say the problem is YOU. That’s just a fact. How can we get around this issue in an educational system that desires and hopes for vulnerability? As you can see, one question provokes me to ask many other questions. It makes me curious.
It’s hard to define what will be a turning point. For the longest time, I thought it would be my dissertation that would be a “significant” turning point… and it was, but not in the way that I had expected. Well, I didn’t know what to expect. Once I was able to LET GO of my expectations, I was able to think and write about my research in a wholehearted way. I loved that I could answer my research question and I loved that the results and my recommendations were not what I had expected. That’s exciting to me. Best of all, the recommendations are doable and research based. I guess the turning point for me with my dissertation is that I realized that I can write and do research. I also learned that I LOVE data analysis. I like it more than I should. I love finding patterns to make meaning.
Here’s a photo from the archives. Me and my kid… more than 10 years ago. Where does the time go? I just dropped off my kid at school… “nagging” her about something… of which, I followed up with a text message, “don’t be your own barrier to your success.” Can this be the pot calling the kettle black? Here I am THINKING about what my next GOALS are in life. This is a great place to be when I have recently met my life goals. The sad part is, I’m panicking. This is worse than “what am I going to do when I grow up?” because I’m a grown up. I have friends who are within 10 years of full pension and I’m thinking about what my next career.
I took this picture on Waikiki beach in Honolulu on the last day of our trip. I saw the tree the night before and was mesmerized by the complexity of its branches. We returned back the next day and I had to take a picture. I never seen a tree like this before. Moreover, it’s one of my favourite images… Light coming through trees. I just love it.
