Recently, I’ve been gaining momentum on my dissertation. I’m truly enjoying the work and hope to complete in 2014. Much of this momentum has to do with setting some goals, making decisions, and jumping in. We all have different ready times, moments of clarity, and motivation to move forward. There is no question in my mind that I was scared and uncertain. Over the past few years, I’ve learned so much experientially and met so many wonderful mentors that I am ready. Things are falling into place as if the puzzle pieces are fitting together nicely. It’s a good feeling. My amazing aha occurred to me yesterday after a midnight run and revising my literature review. As much as I was writing about professional learning, I realized that I was writing about myself. After so many attempts to disembed and distantiate myself from my paper, and believe I have done so, I realized that my dissertation is all about me and my professional learning. What a pleasant realization. Looking forward to what else I find out.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, August 06th, 2013 | Comments Off on Awesome Aha
Is this you? I have several photos, like this, of me with my phone. I’m a bit of a social media junkie. I’ll admit it. Here I am “camping” at Hotel Lake with my phone. Half of the summer is over and July has been absolutely amazing or catalytic to my transformation. CSBA (Canadian School Board Association) Congress 2013, SFU Summer Institute, Community Futures Sunshine Coast, and FUSE Work Party are a few professional learning opportunities I’ve engaged in this summer. I’m a sucker for learning. What I’ve really enjoyed this summer is Twitter Chatting. I’ve been following #bcedchat. With that said, I’m confident there are many other Twitter Chats to belong to that may or may not be education related. You just have to find the hashtag and join. So far on #bcedchat we’ve chatted about teacher education, assessment, and digital literacy. Once a week for an hour I can connect with other educators in BC and beyond about education. We answer questions, share ideas, and dialogue in 140 characters or less. For an extroverted educator writing a dissertation, this kind of teacher professional development is awesome!!! #highlyrecommended #lookingforwardtonextweek #socialemotionallearning
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, August 02nd, 2013 | Comments Off on Twitter Chat
Thank goodness for other people and their willingness to help other people. On July 26th, I was one of eight entrepreneurs to partake in a “Work Party” with Leah Goard at FUSE. I love how I am writing about professional learning in my doctoral thesis and I’m engaged in professional learning as an entrepreneur. Ideas like expertise, mentorship, and self-directed learning resonate with my academic work and my lived experience. Listening to my intuition, feeling good, and fulfilling my vision must be aligned with my life and my business. I walked away from the work party knowing that the DECISION is MADE. This is suppose to be liberating because I can’t go back. For the past few months, I thought that I was in the decision-making process. Corrected. The decision is made and I’m contemplating how to move forward and take the ‘next step.’ Apparently, there is no path for me to find on this pedagogical journey… I am creating it.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 28th, 2013 | Comments Off on Decision Made
Once again… my daughter teaches me a lesson. Here she is at the Sechelt Thursday Night Market making LARGE bubbles with two sticks and string. Why? One after the other, she dips the sticks into a bucket of soapy water then takes several steps back in hopes of making a gigantic bubble for little kids to chase. Hmm… what is this all about? She loves coming to Thursday Night Market. I would consider her a regular. She knows the routines, the vendors, and the people. Tonight I took her to the market. My daughter could stay for the full 4 hours, but I’m a bit of a ‘rain cloud’ and limited our experience to 2.5 hours. Seemed sufficient. Anyway, what is my kid doing? She is doing what makes her happy. She made bubbles… participated in the yoga the flash mob… and bought ice cream from the ice cream truck. She just loves it. What did she did teach me? There could be a whole crap of things weighing you down, dampening your mood, or holding you back. Forget about it. Do what makes you happy. Move forward. Sometimes it may seem weird, absurd, or contradictory to others, but who cares? Does it make you happy? Yes? Then do it.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 26th, 2013 | Comments Off on Do What Makes You Happy
Teaching and learning have a dynamic relationship that is difficult to separate. There is no teaching without learning… and there is no learning without teaching. Teaching can be autodidactic, or self-taught. It can be community oriented, connecting and collaborating with like-minded individuals. Or, teaching can be traditional, where an expert imparts some pertinent information to the learner. At the SFU Summer Institute, I feel fortunate to engage in all three types of professional learning. First, I presented “Math Embedded: A Tribute to Susan Point,” a Math 8/9 project I implemented a few years ago in partnership with several colleagues. The project blended mathematics, aboriginal education, fine arts, and formative assessment. The project itself was a learning experience, but also creating a proposal and presentation that incorporates my doctoral research with my past practice as a secondary mathematics teacher and the theme of this conference, “Engaging the Mosaic,” was also a learning experience. Success. Proposal accepted and I got to present. The summer institute focused on ways to engage the learner. Second, I connected up with Dr. Michele Schmidt who was the site manager of the Masters of Education Surrey Cohort in Educational Leadership that I was the site assistant to. We had an awesome 2-year partnership. At the institute, Michele attended my workshop which spring boarded an opportunity to present to her Educ 471 class the following week, in addition to a conversation about her current research, careers in higher education, and her pedagogical journey. I learned so much over lunch and lattes. Finally, the keynote speaker, Dr. Sharon Friesen from the University of Calgary validated my teaching practice. What she had to say that day resonated with me, even though I have not been in a secondary mathematics classroom for almost three years. Best part, she too was formally a mathematics teacher now doing national research on student engagement with adolescents. The Summer Institute was an excellent opportunity for me to teach and learn formally and informally. I could not have predicted who I would teach and learn from. I even appreciated the spontaneous dialogue provoked by a couple of students from the MEd Surrey Cohort during my presentation. I was teaching, they were learning… then, our roles reciprocated. Loved it. So much fun. As mentioned in a previous post, I am so proud of this MEd Surrey Cohort and their action research projects and posters. Looking at our practice and pedagogy to improve student learning and celebrating our findings at the Summer Institute is genius. As you can see, I much enjoyed teaching and learning at the 2013 Summer Institute and I am looking forward to 2014.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 21st, 2013 | Comments Off on Summer Institute 2013
Three head shots of me spanning approximately 10 years apart and the most recent photo of me on the right was taken about 3 years ago. In my opinion, there is not much difference… except for the glasses. I’m not even dying my hair. It’s all natural. Although my kind sister did recommend “01 BLACK” but I’m saving that for the next head shot. I was advised to create a new head shot… a photo that would reflect my age??? A bit of sadness, but I do agree. It will just be another shot of ME, wearing pink, with a BIG smile. It’s all good. However, when I look at these photos, I remember the story behind them. In the first photo, I was campaigning to be the Professional Development Chair of our local union; the second photo was at my 20 year high school reunion in Prince Rupert; and the last photo was my last day of teaching in public schools. What a diverse set of stories and you would have no idea what those stories were just from first impressions. We can judge a person from what we see, but not really know anything about them or their stories. This reminds me of the opening and closing keynote speakers of CSBA 2013. The Right Honorable Michaelle Jean and Alvin Law both shared a part of their personal stories to school trustees at “Diversity Matters.” In their storytelling, they emphasized that you don’t know them unless you know their story. Our experiences shape us. Don’t judge unless you know. This resonates with me. I can think of many instances in my lived experience when I was judged based on my ethnicity, gender, body type, behaviour, or age. This only skims the surface of how we judge others. I wonder what the story will be in my next head shot. All that I know is, I am me… you are you… and we each have a story.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 17th, 2013 | Comments Off on What’s your story?
Isn’t this an awesome picture? I am so proud of these guys. This is a photo of the K-12 Educational Leadership Surrey Cohort from Simon Fraser University. I loved supporting this dynamic cohort of educators as their site assistant. All women. So much fun. Loved every moment. In this photo, we are at the SFU Faculty of Education Summer Institute 2013, “Engaging the Mosaic.” I was presenting “Math Embedded – A Tribute to Susan Point” at this conference. The cohort was presenting their final action research posters at SFU Surrey. It was certainly a time of celebration. I learned so much from working with this cohort and the faculty who taught them. Thank you Dr. Geoff Madoc-Madoc Jones for believing in me. Thank you for welcoming me into the EdD K-12 Educational Leadership Surrey Cohort. Thank you for being a great mentor at the beginning of my dissertation. Thank you for hiring me as a site assistant and connecting me to this MEd Cohort and Dr. Michele Schmidt, the site manager. I am truly grateful and there are not enough words to express my gratitude to you Geoff. You were my biggest cheerleader and I miss you. With that said, all is looking great with my professional learning and dissertation process. I am optimistic. This part of my pedagogical journey has brought me much happiness. Thank you MEd Surrey cohort!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 13th, 2013 | Comments Off on Happiness
What is CSBA? It is the Canadian School Board Association. I’ve recently attended the CSBA Congress 2013 in Vancouver and loved it. Not only was it an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues from BC, but it was a chance to connect with other trustees from other provinces and territories. In this photo, I’m standing with Dave from SD51 Boundary (on my left) and Sandy from Manitoba (on my right). What is our connection? Dave and I serve on the BCSTA Education Committee and I helped him get on Twitter… Sandy and I first met on Twitter and met in person at CSBA. We are kindred spirits. CSBA was so fun. This year’s theme was “Diversity Matters.” Diversity matters to me. I loved the opening and closing plenaries with the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean and Alvin Law, respectively. Their stories were inspirational. I also loved the student trustees presentation. Chris Grouchy, Hirad Zafari, and Jennifer Yoon were outstanding. In fact, all of the workshops, plenaries, food, venue, and student performances were excellent. CSBA was memorable, meaningful, and worthwhile. Thank you BCSTA for making CSBA an incredible professional development event for school trustees. Well done BCSTA!!! Much enjoyed the event and learned lots from #CSBA2013.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 09th, 2013 | Comments Off on CSBA 2013
Have your Townsite and drink it too.Finally, I have arrived at 365 blog entries… aka. a year’s worth of blogs. Mind you, I don’t blog everyday but the thought of 365 entries is noteworthy and an opportunity to step back and look at my edu-reflections. I am not planning to re-read all of my blog entries, but I have sampled a few. The same messages seem to resonate throughout my edu-blog… listen to your intuition, trust yourself and others, and take risks. Truthfully, this disappoints me. I keep reiterating the same message. Have I not changed? What is all of this for? Well… I have changed. And, I am still changing. I spent the last few years of my teaching career oozing out of my position with nowhere to go. I left teaching in public schools so that I could ooze elsewhere and discover other opportunities in education. I have learned a tonne as school trustee and graduate student. Humbled and inspired. I met so many wonderful people who are equally invested in public education and wanting to make a difference. What I realized is that the possibilities in education are endless. You just have to put yourself out there and look for it. This 365th blog entry is timely. Tonight, I have attended my first CSBA conference in Vancouver. Awed. I continue to learn and I’m enlightened to venture forwards advocating for quality public education for all. How cool is that? I feel lucky to be where I am today. Thank you all for being a part of it.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 05th, 2013 | Comments Off on 365 Blog Entries
As much as I take great pleasure in helping others, I am humbled by those who help me. Being helped is a challenging lesson for me to learn. I am a teacher. I help others to learn math, to teach math… and to love math. Now as a graduate student and first term school trustee my role has switched. I am no longer the helper. I am the helped. As much as I want to continue helping others in the field of mathematics, people want to help me as an emerging academic and politician. This is new territory for me considering that I would rather be the helper than the helped. I may not be the most gracious person in being helped, but I am truly grateful for people’s willingness to share their expertise and provide formative feedback. I can take it or leave it. Right now, I am listening. As the learner, being helped means people want me to become a better ME. What a gift!!! Much gratitude. #yayme
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, July 03rd, 2013 | Comments Off on Being Helped
Recently, I’ve been gaining momentum on my dissertation. I’m truly enjoying the work and hope to complete in 2014. Much of this momentum has to do with setting some goals, making decisions, and jumping in. We all have different ready times, moments of clarity, and motivation to move forward. There is no question in my mind that I was scared and uncertain. Over the past few years, I’ve learned so much experientially and met so many wonderful mentors that I am ready. Things are falling into place as if the puzzle pieces are fitting together nicely. It’s a good feeling. My amazing aha occurred to me yesterday after a midnight run and revising my literature review. As much as I was writing about professional learning, I realized that I was writing about myself. After so many attempts to disembed and distantiate myself from my paper, and believe I have done so, I realized that my dissertation is all about me and my professional learning. What a pleasant realization. Looking forward to what else I find out. 
