I love the things I learn from my kid. She keeps me humble. With all the busyness around me, I made a conscience decision to take this weekend off to watch my daughter play in the local softball league tournament. I do not understand much about the sport, except that I am learning more about it, with each game, from observing and asking questions. My daughter’s team placed second overall in the standings during the season, but lost every game in the tournament, so far. After today, there were some tough lessons to be learned. Winning versus losing… Outcome based versus process based… Intrinsic reward versus extrinsic reward. These are not easy lessons for an 11-year old girl to acquire. Fear not… She is learning. Placing last in the round standings today may have bruised her ego, a bit. There was a little bit of anger, a little bit of frustration, and a little bit of disappointment. This is normal. Anyone would feel kind of down with 3 straight losses. Your sense of hope and optimism are significantly depleted; and your willingness to ‘play your best’ quickly diminishes. Knowing that the two other teams in her league were playing in the semi-finals, my daughter opted to stay late at the field to watch her peers play. However, she got asked to play for a peewee team as a substitute. She could have easily declined and sulked in her misery. Instead, she eagerly accepted the offer and played the best game I’ve ever seen her play. She rose to the occasion by playing with team members who are almost 3 years older than her. She faced the fast pitch, made it to base 3 out of 4 times, and played 1st and 3rd base wholeheartedly. She was part of the team. This is what I call GRIT. When things are down… when things get ugly… she was able to pick herself up and get back into the game. Now that feels good.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, June 15th, 2014 | Comments Off on GRIT
I love my kid… For the past few years, I’ve been making a go at self-employment. I’ve learned about branding, product development, customer service, scheduling, and business finance. And, I am still learning. Self-employment has many rewarding points and some not so rewarding. What I do love, without intention, is my daughter’s desire and self-motivation to build her own business. First, she loves Rainbow Loom. Second, she loves people. Put those two loves together and voila… “Rainbow Loom Creations.” With the help of a friend, she is taking orders, making products, and invoicing customers accordingly. One night she showed me this bag and started explaining her business plan. So thoughtful… This is what I call “personalized learning.” She has connected her passion with business and entrepreneurship. Would love to see this kind of learning in our schools. #projectbasedlearning #awesome
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, June 07th, 2014 | Comments Off on Self-Employment
Navigating through the dark… it’s very tempting to go back to one’s comfort zone and maintain the status quo. Personally, I’m not a big fan of going through life on automatic pilot. I’ve done it before and I’m here again. For me, I feel like I’m just trying to catch up to my “things to do list” with little or no time to reflect, digest, or synthesize. This leads to some frustration, avoidance, and lack of inspiration. To move forward, I need to answer some tough questions. I am reminded by a blog entry I wrote last summer titled “Unfinished Conversations.” I’ve deleted that blog entry months ago. Apparently, I was not prepared to have these conversations. Now, I realize that these conversations were not ones I needed to have with others, but they were ones I needed to have with myself. By going through life avoiding… with little opportunity to critique, understand, or question… I think I will remain in the dark. Am I scared? Absolutely. Am I prepared to do the same thing over and over again? No, I am not. #change
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 31st, 2014 | Comments Off on Tough Questions
BTW: This is a random picture selected from my huge collection compiled since 1994 of my past life as a secondary mathematics teacher. Looking back, I believe that one of my strengths as a mathematics teacher was building relationships. I much enjoyed connecting with students, knowing what motivated them, and understanding their understanding of mathematics. Without trust, it would have been challenging to woo students into learning… or maybe even liking… mathematics. Leaving the teaching practice was not easy. Thank goodness for social media… and living in the same community… I have the great fortune of connecting and re-connecting with many of my former students. Instead of calling me “Ms. Ho” or “Mrs. Younghusband”… they call me “Christine.” That’s a nice shift. Furthermore, I get to learn about their journey into adulthood… and somehow, I was a part of that. I’m so proud of my students. Thank you for sharing your stories. #Chatelech
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 18th, 2014 | Comments Off on Former Students
Mother’s Day 2014… What can I say? It was more like a Mothers’ Day weekend. I am not complaining. First, my daughter presents me with a bouquet of flowers, a beautiful dragonfly glass, and Pandora charm on Thursday (BTW: she bought all of those gifts with HER money). On Friday, my little family had a super yummy Thai lunch with my twin brother who flew in from Toronto and my super cute parents. That evening, we connected up with my sister and her little family to celebrate Mothers’ Day, which we renamed the DOUBLE DUCK DINNER. We celebrated Mothers’ Day with TWO Peking ducks… duck wraps, lettuce wraps, and stirfry… complimented with a variety of other dishes. Go big or go home… we went BIG… and felt BIG… and enjoyed the FAMILY FOOD FEST. But hey, food builds commuity… it brings people together and makes us happy. The weekend ends with a BBQ dinner from Lucky’s on Saturday and Sunday leftovers. #HappyMothersDay
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 13th, 2014 | Comments Off on Mothers’ Day Reflection
I think about my dissertation and my personal hold ups… cognitive, emotional, and logistic… and I can take one of two roads. First, I could get down on myself and give up. Or, I could look at the situation as a learning opportunity. I choose the latter. Ironically, I resist the notion of “The Reflective Practitioner” in my research, but it is something I do everyday. As I reflect, I understand now that it is an integral part of my study and desire to learn more about as it relates to teaching and learning. When I think about my teaching practice, I wonder… “Why do I do what I do?” with respect to content delivery, assessment, and the learning environment… you name it, I’m asking. By asking, I am self-assessing the quality of my work. Is what I am doing benefiting student learning? Am I helping students or am I creating a barrier? If I am not supporting students with their learning, how can I do things differently? My next step is to modify it… try it… and assess again. This process resonates with Kolb’s experiential learning cycle… Learning while doing. My main objective is to foster the love of learning in others and myself. If I can’t do that, I need to dig deep and ask why.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 08th, 2014 | Comments Off on The Reflective Practitioner
On April 30th, SD46 held it’s first Student Forum at the Sechelt Learning Centre. This inaugural SD46 event was developed and facilitated by the SD46 District Student Leadership Team (DSLT). Topics such as extracurricular activities, social media, and student stress were discussed at 7 round tables. Each table consisted of one school trustee, DSLT representative, SD46 staff, and student representation from each secondary school. At my table, “Team Double Green,” we had myself, Student Trustee Maya Treuheit, Principal Carolyn Spence, and one student representative from Elphinstone, Alternative Schools, Chatelech, and Pender Harbour ranging from grades 8 to 12. We had an excellent discussion… coming up with great ideas such as an OPEN INVITATION to extracurricular activities, considering BYOD in schools, and creating a sensitivity to RACISM and racial slurs. Thank you students of SD46. I look forward to next year’s SD46 Student Forum. Your voice matters! #StuVoice #StuVoiceBC
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 04th, 2014 | Comments Off on SD46 Student Forum
The BC School Trustees gather in Vancouver at the BCSTA AGM. The event starts with a keynote, followed up by concurrent sessions, and concludes with our deliberations of motions at the AGM. I am so proud of SD46 at this AGM. First, our student trustee, Maya Treuheit, attended this event advocating for student voice and spoke at the microphone in favor of motion 18. Second, SD46 teachers Kirsten Deasey and Kathy Stoddart eloquently presented SPARK 10! as a concurrent session to delegates. Third, trustees Lori Pratt, Silas White, and Chair Betty Baxter moved 6 motions that ranged from the BCPSEA Board, UBCM, to the Auditor General. Fourth, Trustee White chaired the first part of the AGM along with Student Trustee Treuheit reading motions beside him. And, I was elected to the 2014-15 BCSTA Board as director. Well done SD46! The little district that could.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, May 01st, 2014 | Comments Off on BCSTA AGM 2014
A proud prize winner… yup, jam made locally. I answered a trivia question correctly and voila… FOOD. Thank you to all those who presented, planned, and organized the Centre for Civic Governance at Columbia Institute titled, “Food for Thought” in Vancouver. I was not sure what to expect, but walked away with so much. First, I learned a tonne the pre-conference session on public speaking. We were called to task with speech writing, video recording, and critique. It was intense, but worthwhile. This was followed up with several concurrent sessions. The ones I attended focused on food, schools, and student learning. The first session I attended had several speakers talking about bringing fresh food to students. Their passion to do was astounding, not to mention their journey to ‘make it happen’ for students. Inspirational. The second session I went to was led by three grade 12 students talking about their learning experiences with a project-based learning adventure in culinary tourism and the “Taste Trail.” Exceptional. I fully endorse and support student leadership and advocacy. My third session was to support my colleague SD46 Trustee Silas White and Principal Sally Thicke who presented on Davis Bay Elementary’s K-3 Primary Nature Program, from governance to implementation. An excellent presentation that derived much interest and dialogue. It’s nice to know that SD46 are on the leading edge with this environmental education initiative. Well received. Finally, I ended the conference with Indigenous Sovereignty. A change in rhythm but an excellent way to conclude the conference with my ultimate take-away… FOOD BUILDS COMMUNITY. #gratitude
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, April 20th, 2014 | 2 Comments »
With personalized learning as the ‘new direction’ of BC education, Ron Berger’s presentation on Expeditionary Learning at the BCSSA Spring Forum was inspirational and enlightening. The Spring Forum was an excellent opportunity to imagine what project-based learning is like and what it could be. It can be purposeful and service oriented. Berger started the keynote with building character through commitment, courage, compassion, and contribution… instilling virtues in student learning. Various examples of students demonstrating their learning were shown… ranging from field guides, music videos, to student-led conferences. What captured my attention was the Butterfly Critique… using formative assessment and multiple drafts to establish quality work. Learning was more about WE and less about ME. My biggest take-away is, project-based learning is structured by formative and summative assessment. #absolutely
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, April 20th, 2014 | 2 Comments »
