Christine Ho Younghusband

Last Day of Tour

Today was the last day of the Trustee Tour in School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast).  We visited the various sites of the Sunshine Coast Alternative Schools (SCAS) and my former stomping grounds of Chatelech Secondary.  First, it is absolutely impressive what kinds of programs are being offered through SCAS.  We saw special programs for K-2, 3-7, and secondary students.  We visited 4 diverse sites in Gibsons and Sechelt led by the SCAS principal.  I appreciated her time and the staff & students who teach & learn at SCAS.  This is one way SD46 tries to accommodate a wide variety of learners on the Sunshine Coast.  After lunch, the SD46 Trustees and Superintendent visited Chatelech Secondary.  I taught mathematics, science and chemistry at Chatelech for 16 years.  I returned to the school almost 2 years later as a school trustee.  Does Chatelech “look” different as an outsider?  The jury is out.  I much enjoyed looking at the different programs offered at the school.  It was good to see teachers and students in action.  I was comforted by the hellos and hugs I got from former colleagues and students.  In the end, the visit to Chatelech was a full-circle experience for me.  Thank you SD46 staff and students for your hospitality.  The SD46 Trustee Tour was insightful and informative.

Celebrate Self

How do you define yourself?  I have spent many years trying to be someone else, doing what I’m suppose to do, worried about what others thought of me.  For many years I defined myself as a secondary mathematics teacher.  Within my teaching career, I wanted to be known as an educational leader.  I took on roles of mathematics department head, staff representative, professional development school representative, and executive committee member of the local teachers’ union.  At one point in time, I wanted to define myself as a curler.  I curled on competitive curling teams, bonspieled, and played in several regional playdowns.  Took a leap of faith, left teaching, and pursued doctoral studies in educational leadership, started a consulting business, and returned back to the school district as a school trustee.  What are all these titles about?  Oh wait a minute, that’s what they are… titles.  Titles do not define me.  Why am I worried about people reading my blog?  Why am I self-conscious about what I wear and how I look?  At first, this blog was titled “Younghusband Consulting Edu-blog.”  I believed that this was a new identity for me since leaving teaching but felt controversial since I entered into local politics.  So, I changed the name to “YH’s Edu-blog.”  YH is a pet-name given to me by one of my Math 12 students almost a decade ago that seemed to stick. I thought the name seemed more edu-friendly.  Once again, over thinking about what others think.  What do I really want?  “If I could do anything in my life, what would that be?”  My kid just asked me that tonight before going to bed.  Good question.  More than five years ago when I returned back to work from maternity leave, I had a vision.  I saw myself speaking in front of a huge audience, wearing a suit, and walking on stage after a complimentary introduction.  The audience applauds and I was stoked.  What was I talking about?  Who was I talking to?  Who knows.  What I do know is, life is good but not sure if I’m heading in a direction to achieve my vision.  So there it is… it’s time to CELEBRATE SELF and feel good.  I am not defined by what I do but by who I am.  It begins here.  I have renamed my blog (sorry Bob) to “Christine Younghusband’s Edu-Blog.”  This is my pedagogical journey.  It’s mine to define.

Experiential Learning

I am relating “experiential learning” to “learning the hard way.”  As a child, I always had to learn things the hard way.  I could never take people’s word at face value.  I had to figure it out myself.  Let me tell you, life lessons learned the hard way are long lasting.  No regrets.  As an adult, I continue to learn things the hard way.  Many people give me advice, but I continue to persist to learn from experience.  For example, I am writing a literature review that was due yesterday.  I procrastinated and thought I could cram.  What I am realizing is that I cannot cram a literature review.  It is not possible.  I have tried but currently not succeeding.  This is not a profound academic finding.  I’m sure that many who have written and who are writing literature reviews know that it is a thorough and lengthy process.  I am learning that right now.  All I can say is that I am only half done.  I have read many books on writing… 15 minutes a day.  Yadda, yadda.  Hello?  How about 15 hours in two days?  OK.  Thank you Bloggies for reading my edu-rant.  I must return to my literature review.

SD46 District Spiel 2012

Photo from Silas White

SD46 School Trustee Curling Team… aka. “TrustSWEEPS”… in the house at the Gibsons Curling Club.  On March 2nd, Trustee Mewhort, Trustee Baxter, Trustee Pratt, and Trustee Younghusband formed the “TrustSWEEPS” rink.  Board Chair White graciously left our team to support the event organizer Ian Thompson to help out with another rink who was short players.  Nonetheless, all SD46 trustees who participated in this district event were exceptional.  This is NOT to mention the Senior Management Team that included the Superintendent, Secretary-Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.  They were OK.  I am a little disgruntled with the Sr.Mgmt rink because they WON the entire event with their sister team.  TrustSWEEPS placed second with their sister rink.  The SD46 District Spiel was an exceptional opportunity for all those who are involved in public education to get together and play. All in all, it was a fun event and EVERYBODY was a winner (aka. we all got prizes).  Classic educators.  Upcoming events: District Golf & District Volleyball.

Feeling Connected

You know when things are going right when everything seems to be going right and you feel good.  As of March 1st, I feel like I have arrived.  It was a day of commuting from the Sunshine Coast to SFU.  It was an awesome CUTL (certificate of university teaching and learning) session with Sarah Turner and Kathryn Ricketts.  Loved it.  I felt connected to what they were trying to achieve about voice and body language.  They are both actors sharing their knowledge and expertise to a group of SFU graduate students on how to teach.  It was amazing. To end the day, the CUTL teacher assistant said that he enjoyed reading my Teaching Philosophy Statement (TPS), an assignment of CUTL.  That was great feedback.  Needed it.  I used my TPS and cover letter for a ‘real job application’ at SFU in the Faculty of Education.  I was certainly on cloud 9 after CUTL and celebrated with a Vancouver food truck lunch.

Exemplary Teaching

It is about half way through the Certificate of University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) spring 2012 program at SFU.  On week 7, CUTL had the opportunity to speak to three award winning exemplary teachers at SFU.  Aside from being treated with tea, coffee, pastries, and fresh fruit, it was a joy to round table discussions with each invited guest.  With each round table conversation, it was becoming clear to me as an experienced K-12 teacher that “good teaching” at the university is very similar to “good teaching” in K-12 schools.  On the one hand, it seemed intuitive.  On the other, it was a passion for teaching and learning each guest possessed.  The #1 advice given by one of the guests for “good teaching” was TO BE ORGANIZED.  Other advice included eye contact, knowing student names, engagement, and a good sense of humour.  The biggest difference for me between university teaching compared to K-12 teaching was class size.  Some classes have approximately 500 students with TA’s (teaching assistants) or TM’s (tutor markers).  The comforting thing for me to know was that the teachers I resonated with shared the same beliefs about education as me.  I am the only Faculty of Education graduate student in the Spring 2012 CUTL and I am learning.

Trustee Tour 2012

It’s been 3 months since being elected school trustee with the SD46 Board of Education.  I cannot believe it’s been 3 months.  I have attended several conferences with BCSTA and BCPSEA, participated in several Board of Education public meetings, and engaged in many working sessions with our Board and senior management.  I’ve enjoyed the learning curve understanding governance, policy, and roles & responsibilities. One of the most meaningful events as school trustee is the “Trustee Tour” on March 1st and 2nd.  Here is a picture of the SD46 Board of Education at Madeira Park, one of our elementary schools on the Sunshine Coast.  The Trustee Tour was an excellent opportunity to meet school principals and gain a sense of each school’s uniqueness.  I appreciated the warm welcome at each SD46 facility and I loved watching the students, teachers, and staff in action.  Thank you to everyone who took part in the Trustee Tour 2012.  It is a privilege to visit the schools and classrooms of SD46 and an honour to be an SD46 school trustee.  Looking forward to future school and facility visits.  Happy learning everyone!
http://www.sd46.bc.ca/index.php/community-info/214-trustee-visits-to-schools

Transformation

I have turned a page.  Leaving teaching over one year ago was not an easy decision.  Something deep inside said it was time to go.  I took a leap of faith and after 16 years of teaching it was a difficult transition.  At present, I am fully engaged with my graduate studies, I am an elected school trustee, and I am self-employed as an educational consultant.  There is more to mention on my CV, but what still remains the same is my contribution to public education.  What I valued 2 years ago is what I value today.  Mathematics education, educational policy, teacher professional development, and student learning continue to resonate with me.  It just so happens that I am approaching my passion from a different vantage point.  Educational leadership is not who you are, but it’s what you do.  There is never a dull moment.  I have met amazing people and learned much about education from new experiences.  I am grateful for the last 14 months.  No regrets.  Truly enlightened.  A transformation… and looking forward to new opportunities.  What are you doing to go beyond the status quo?

The Academic Writing Process

Wow.  The Academic Writing Process is something not to be underestimated.  Guess what I did?  Major underestimation.  With that said, I am deeply enjoying the writing process and what I am learning.  It’s a humbling process with much reward upon completion.  What I have been struggling with most is the “writing blocks” and how to overcome these personal obstacles.  I’m finally getting back on my feet after a bit of feedback with intentions of handing in something “perfect.”  Aha.  The first obstacle to acknowledge.  The second would be… what are my intentions of writing my dissertation and completing my Doctor of Education that extend beyond the extrinsic goods.

Certainly upon completion, I would transform myself from “all but dissertation” or ABD to having a Doctor of Education (EdD).  My title would change, my status would change, and possibly my career path would change.  These are all good things.  My work for the past few months is understanding the intrinsic goods of completing my dissertation.  I am in the midst of writing my “Theoretical Framework” for my proposal discussing the Nature of Virtues by Alasdair MacIntyre (1984).  I have read this document in 1999 during my Master of Education program, read it in 2008 at the beginning of the EdD program, and reading it once again in 2011 and 2012 for my dissertation proposal.

Notions of the practice, the goods internal, standards of excellence, and the virtues that MacIntyre (1984) speaks of in the Nature of Virtues not only resonates with my research study, but also with my academic learning process.  Understanding that this is not an all-nighter event, the more I engage in the academic writing process, the more I am beginning to understand the ‘goods internal’ to the practice of academic writing.  I am striving for the excellence in my writing, the writing itself, and life as a practitioner researcher.  Only relying on the ‘goods external’ to the practice, such as getting my degree, was not enough for me to continue forward with this direction of my pedagogical journey.

By reading through Nature of Virtues again, I have gained some solace with the academic writing process.  It’s about taking risks (courage), being truthful (honesty), and judging fairly (justice)… the virtues.  Make mistakes, do what feels right, and accept feedback as a means to improve.  This is true for all learners.  This is the best part of pursuing graduate studies as an educator.  It reminds me what it is like for learners and how humbling the learning process can be.  To accept my inadequacies and define my relationships with others as opportunities for learning the standards of excellence, I hope to achieve the ‘goods internal’ to the practice of academic writing.

The Million Dollar Math Question

How do we get quality math instruction in our schools?  This is the million dollar question.  One of the biggest reasons why I have took a tangent in my teaching career was to answer this question.  It is not to say that my doctoral research question is exactly this one, but it certainly relates.  I was just thinking about this tonight.  First of all, not many students pursue an undergraduate degree majoring or minoring in mathematics.  Of those graduates, only some of them choose to pursue a career in teaching.  To get into the Faculty of Education requires volunteer work, satisfaction of several prerequisite courses, and a relatively high GPA in one or two subject specialties.  Those accepted into teacher training programs in the field of mathematics are quite exceptional.  They survived four years of undergraduate studies in mathematics and thrived on how they were taught mathematics.  Honestly, they truly get it.  Here’s the switch… How will these teacher inductees address the learning needs of students who do not thrive on direct instruction or the drill-and-kill approach to math education?  Many students will not ‘get it’ as well as these math teacher inductees.  There is a disconnect.  My research addresses the professional learning of teachers who do not have a formal background in mathematics and assigned to teach mathematics.  There is another disconnect.  Both of situations relate to content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.  Maybe the million dollar question is: How can we teach mathematics so that our students believe that they can do the math confidently and competently?  In the end, learning mathematics should be personally relevant, comprehensible, and engaging.  Guess what?  This is true for all subject areas.