Christine Ho Younghusband

Sallerific

This is Sally… or I like to call her Sallerific.  It’s been strange two weeks.  I’ve been stuck on what to write about in my “daily” blog because I’ve been consumed by my dog.  DING.  Why not write about my dog?  This is a picture of Sally after being groomed a couple of months ago.  Here she is, sitting in front of the fireplace.  She like the heat, much like her owner.  Sallerific is super dog but she has not been herself since this photo.  A month ago she had “hot spots” and now she has “intestinal problems.”  She has been in and out at the Sechelt Animal Hospital for the past couple of weeks.  Although we have not arrived to an exact diagnosis, she has undergone many tests to strike off what it could be.  Some of her symptoms continue to persist.  After spending a few nights at the vet, Sally has returned home.  She is on a fibre diet and scheduled to return to the vet for a check up.  I think Sally is glad to be back home, even though she is half as zippy as she was when this photo was taken.  We went for two walks today and she loved them.  She loved going out for walks at the vet too.  That’s about the only thing that has remained consistent in her behaviour, in addition to greeting people at the door.  Sally is the hostess with the most-est.  I love that about her.  Regardless of pain, she continues to welcome people into our home.  Right now she is curled up in a ball in her bed by the fireplace.  It’s super cute and super sad.  She seems to value her rest and I respect that.  Thank you Sechelt Animal Hospital and everyone else for sending your kind words and healing energy Sally’s way.  It is greatly appreciated.  Onwards and upwards to a speedy recovery Sallerific… you’re the best-est.

Education Standing Committee

Who’s the chair?  I’m the chair.  What an honour to be elected by the trustee committee members to chair the Education Standing Committee.  I have chaired a staff committee once and attended many, many meetings that follow Robert’s Rules at some capacity.  Today, I chaired my first Education Standing Committee with School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast).  I thank all of today’s attendees for their patience and participation.  We had some discussion on several topics as seen on the agenda.  With each topic, those present at today’s meeting seemed to mutually agree.  Three recommendations will be coming forward from the Education Committee to the SD46 Board of Education in February.  This excites me.  The Education Committee amongst the Policy Committee and Finance/Facilities/Transportation Committee are public meetings.  If you have something to bring forward for discussion, let the Board Chair or Superintendent know to inform the Agenda Committee.

FYI:  SD46 Education Standing Committee Meetings, 1:00pm, 4th Wednesday at the Board Office.

The DPAC is Back!

Today has been a busy day for Trustee Younghusband.  The day has not ended, but I thought I should take a moment to reflect on the day.  A day in the life of a school trustee…

Had two meetings today… the working committee of the Board of Education and the District Parent Advisory Committee (DPAC)…  In between, I was a “swim-mom” commuting my daughter to and from the swimming pool.  The day begins with a carpool to the board office.  Two other trustees were picked up en route… an excellent opportunity to go green.

The working committee meeting is a continuation of trustee orientation discussing the role of steering committees, the district’s strategic plan, and work in progress.  I found the 4-hour meeting informative and I appreciated the strength of each board member brings to the table.  We have a phenomenal Board of Education and senior administration.  I am convinced of this more with each meeting we have together.  I am optimistic of this leadership team in School District No.46 (Sunshine Coast).

One step in the right direction was tonight’s DPAC meeting.  The DPAC has been maintained for the past 5 years by one parent/district employee.  Because this amazing parent volunteer is a district employee, she could not assume the DPAC chair position.  She remained loyal to the DPAC as secretary.  Trustee Pratt (@loriannpratt) committed herself to revive the DPAC and DPAC executive.  It’s official.  The DPAC is back!  The executive was officially elected… Chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer.  Thank you parents for your commitment and willingness to lead the SD46 DPAC.

As Trustee Younghusband, I was pleased to see the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and secretary-treasurer attending tonight’s meeting, in addition to several school principals and parents interested in DPAC.  The meeting kicked off with an excellent presentation about Early Learning in SD46 and concluded with a report from a district principal regarding emergency preparedness.  I have learned more about SD46 as a school trustee and DPAC participant.  Much gratitude.

Living My Dissertation

I have been reading several books about the “Dissertation Journey” or “Destination Dissertation” or “The Education Dissertation.”  It doesn’t matter what the title is… they all seem to say the say thing.  ABD (All but dissertation) is a choice… a way of being… so, get over it.  In fact, being ABD is common for doctoral students.  This does not make the process any easier.  Although on paper, I have made little progress.  In my mind, my revisions, and my conversations… I feel like I am moving… but maybe not forwards.  I am like the hamster in the wheel who has not figured out how to stop spinning in circles.  There is no question in my mind… I have a good research topic.  As it seems, there are many entry points to the topic and it’s a matter of choosing how I would approach “the topic.”  I have moved forward a couple of times and got spooked by my feedback.  This is not a bad thing… it’s confidence building… learning to accept the standards and expectations of gradate studies as prescribed by the Community of Practice.  With many Google experiences, article downloading, and reading books, I realize that the proposal is critical in the dissertation process.  A straightforward proposal equates to a straight forward dissertation.  No pressure.  Now, I am over thinking.  Over the past year, I have disembedded myself from the workplace and created for myself an academic learning community.  I am living my dissertation.  The dissertation is not just a document, but it also involves the learning and intentions that are interconnected to the dissertation process.  I understand that my friends and family may be a bit frustrated at my “rate of progress”… as much as I am… but I have taken a full-circle.  What I am writing about is running parallel with what I am learning and experiencing with the dissertation process.  Moving forward.  Keep It Simple Sally.

BCPSEA Symposium

Who would have thought that one day that I would be attending a BCPSEA (BC Public School Employers’ Association) Symposium and AGM.  Not me.  I was an active union member volunteering much of my time with the local teachers’ association advocating for teachers and quality public education.  14 months later, I am a newly elected school trustee and public school employer.

I thank the BCPSEA organizers, presenters, and Coast Coal Harbour Hotel for hosting an excellent professional development event.  The BCPSEA Symposium and AGM was an opportunity to learn about human resources and labour relations.  It was also an opportunity to network with other Boards of Education along with members of our Board and senior staff.  For instance, I met our newly hired Assistant Superintendent for the first time and feel optimistic for our students and school district. 

My mind is open and I am learning.  I have met other newly elected trustees who were in their past life public school teachers and union leaders, now adjusting to a new role as BCPSEA reps and employer.  I have attended many conferences and several AGM’s as a BCTF (BC Teachers’ Federation) member.  There are many similarities and some notable differences.  The obvious difference is point of view.  The not so obvious similarity is that we’re in it kids.

Quality public education is important to all stakeholders in public education regardless of what role or position.  This was evident to me throughout the whole symposium and AGM.  Thank you.

CUTL – Certificate of University Teaching and Learning

Life at university… it’s been more than 20 years ago when I had first entered university life at UBC.  I was a Science undergraduate in 1988 living on the second floor of Okanagan House at Vanier Residences.  I remember exploring campus, trying to find my classes, and hanging out at the clock tower with one of my study buddies drinking lattes.  Good times.

Here I am again… at SFU as an Education graduate student working on my doctoral dissertation in Educational Leadership.  I commute from the Sunshine Coast to SFU-Burnaby to reorient myself to the campus lifestyle.  Although I am a site assistant with one of the Master of Education cohorts at SFU-Surrey, I am also going to Burnaby campus to complete a 4 month program called CUTL – Certificate of University Teaching and Learning… an opportunity I could not refuse.  Right now, I am sitting on a bench in Saywell hall to blog, reflect, and eat lunch.  I just finished my third week of CUTL.

CUTL is composed of approximately two dozen graduate students from various faculties.  Many of them are TA’s or TM’s.  Today’s CUTL session was about “Student Assessment.”  The educational consultants presenting the lesson where extremely knowledgeable about the topic and were realistic about what could be accomplished in 3-hours.  I appreciated their willingness to go with the group and balancing what they had intended to cover.  I also liked that we were able to discuss in our groups what student assessment means to us as students, TA’s, and future instructors in addition to dialoguing about an area about student assessment that concerns us.  My group tackled “participation.”  It was an engaging and enlightening conversation.  We did not come up with profound solutions but what was certainly clear… our intentions must align with our learning outcomes and assessment methods.  If it doesn’t, we must ask ourselves why?

My awakening is… concerns about student assessment at the secondary level (i.e. assessment of learning vs. assessment for learning) are similar to the concerns found in higher education.

Reframing

Reframing is one “Tool for Living” Weight Watchers suggest to “change your mindset and get the positive results you want.”  For example, if you are looking to relax or relieve boredom, instead of having a snack go for a walk or take a bath.

I use reframing when I teach mathematics.  As a math educator, I often hear claims such as, “math is too hard” or “I don’t get it.”  I would attempt to improve the students’ sense of self-efficacy to do math by identifying what the student knows and how they can overcome their perceived challenge.

As good things do come in three’s, reframing can also be used in life.  Here is a picture of me and my dog, Sally.  Sally is a Tzi Tsu Bichon Frise.  She is 6 years old and the fourth member of ‘my little family.’  Sall-er-iffic is truly a delight.  Tonight, she is spending the night at the Sechelt Animal Hospital.  She is not well and I finally found the courage to bring her to the vet.  As it turns out, she is requiring much medical intervention to diagnose her current condition.  Although Sally had no words to tell us something was wrong, for more than a week she was telling us something was wrong.

REFRAME: Sally is in the hospital and in good hands.  She is pain-free tonight.  For those who know Sally, she is an awesome dog with a great disposition.  She will be home soon to “walk”… “roll-over”… “speak”… and eat “treats.”  It was strange to return home today with no Sally to greet me at the front door, hopping up and down with excitement, giving me gentle kisses on the back of my calf.

I miss you Sally.  You are people.  You are a part of ‘our little family.’  Get well soon Sall-er-iffic.

Not Enough Time

Oh my goodness… where does the time go?  Does that sound familiar?  It’s not to say that I feel over worked.  I’ve been pretty busy all day, but have been keeping a good pace.  What I do feel is under appreciated.  The day begins by… getting up, getting ready, making sure the kid is up and ready, making breakfast and lunch, dropping kid off at school… racing back home to clean the kitchen… leaving home to tutor, go to the library, and food shopping… returning home to tutor some more, make dinner, tutor, eat dinner, tutor… and here I am.  A brief moment of time for myself… time to rest, pay bills and balance the budget… and possibly get some of my own stuff done (after cleaning up after dinner and doing the laundry) such as reading and writing.  NOPE.  The train keeps moving…

I was squeezed out of my place of solace (in front of the fireplace) to blog (and rant) upstairs alone in my office.  I guess this is one way to get working in my office, but man… I’m beginning to realize that there is not enough time.  Regardless of how much I have accomplished today I feel somewhat disappointed.  I have so much more to get done today and all I feel is a bit of anger and frustration.  This is not a good head space to be when I should be spending time with family. SIGH.  Where is “My Happiness Project” book?  I need to reassess.  What’s important to me?  Lots of things are… like supporting my family, my studies, my career, my well-being.  Where does it stop?  I’ve been saying “no” a lot (i.e. curling), but maybe it’s not enough.  What’s strange is that I thought I was doing all of these things to benefit myself, but in return I think that I’m losing myself in the process.

LIFE BALANCE… from too much time to not enough time… and the pendulum swings.  Is it possible to have it all?  A huge part of me says YES, why not?  A small part of me says MANAGE YOUR TIME, you’re nuts.  OK.  I can take a hint.  One step at a time… and plow forwards.  Time is money.

Chinese New Year

Voila.  A mango pudding fish… a very nice ending to Chinese New Year’s dinner.  Well, my daughter had this yummy dessert and the rest of us had red bean soup.  Nonetheless, celebrating Chinese New Year with members of my family is always a special opportunity to reunite.

My dad is heading out to Australia and Hong Kong to revisit parts of his story as a student, gas engineer, and family member.  He will be visiting friends, family, and former colleagues.  His round trip will take 16 days to complete.  Before his departure, visiting with family over a delicious Chinese New Year’s dinner seemed fitting.

At the dinner was myself, my daughter, my husband, my sister and her husband, my two aunties from my dad’s side, my mom, and of course my dad.  We had Peking duck, lettuce wrap, prawns and scallops, sweet and sour beef tenderloin, barbeque chicken, tofu hot pot, fish and crab soup, and yes… dessert.  Gung Hay Fat Choy Everyone.  May the new year bring you hope, kindness, abundance, love, and prosperity.

Jumping

And so it begins… jumping.  Wheee…  Today was my second official school board meeting as Trustee Younghusband.  The trustee orientation meeting started at 330pm.  The in-camera meeting started at 6pm.  And, our public meeting started at 7pm.  It was 5 hours of meeting time with no time for dinner.  The upside, there was much dialogue and engagement.  Early in the orientation, I had a choice to make… remain quiet or speak from the heart.  I chose the latter.  I disclosed my feelings, being open and candid.  With the opening of the meeting describing the canoe as a metaphor for leadership, speaking up resonated with me to ensure that my heart was not heavy.  The goal is to propel the canoe smoothly and swiftly.  Communication, mutual respect, and trust matter.  So, I jumped.  Thank you Board of Education and senior administration for listening.  Moving forward.