March 26, 2026 – My cat found a new passion in Churu
Oh my… I am super late with my weekly blog, so much so that it’s almost next week. That’s ok. There will be something else to reflect on and wonder about. What I wanted to talk about in this blog post is reminding myself what stokes my fire. I find myself, at times, overly excited when I am at presentations and I can honestly feel the JOY busting through my chest. My energy is up and I just get excited about the possibilities. I just get JACKED-UP when I am at a ProD workshop or conference. And yes, that topic is MATH.
Let me be clear. I’m not a math-nerd. I’m OK at math. In some ways, I wished I was math-bionic. With respect to pure-math at the 300- and 400- level, I would need to return back to university to find the love in different types of mathematics. I am not 100% sure if I can say that “I love high school math” or “elementary math” per se. The content itself can often seem disconnected to the real world and it’s hard to believe that math teachers from K-9 are primary working towards mathematics to learn calculus. Yup, it’s true.
Now, I’m getting into MY JAM. I love the policies, the pedagogies, and the politics of math and math education. I am so drawn to the idea of math identity and math efficacy. Moreover, I am so enamoured by math teacher efficacy and math pedagogy. I love how people interpret and translate the curriculum. I love math education teachers and experts who share their ideas and exude a love for math. I am so curious and deeply invested in policies in math education and why it matters. It’s all a puzzle to me. It’s super FUN!!
So, it’s strange to look back at my photos to find an image of me and my friend (i.e., selfie… on-brand) or even a food pic of my lunch (i.e., also on-brand). Nope. I found a picture of my cat eating Churu within 30 seconds. I used to give my cat Catit tubes, but saw an AI cat on Reels promoting Churu. I thought I would try this brand with my cat and she has never looked back. My point is, she found her JAM too. So, the picture seemed appropriate for this blog post. There is likely no pic of lunch because I was so engaged.
Oh my goodness… we just talked about MATH, math education, and math policies. We chatted about math efficacy in teachers and ourselves. We talked about the proposals we each wrote with hopes of the editors from UBC to publish a book on Indigenous Math K-12. I was brought home. It was a very familiar feeling and I was so grateful to have this 2-hour conversation over fish tacos about math and math education. I was so engaged, excited, and interested. It’s conversations like these that boost my math efficacy.
I am finding as an academic that I am exploring everything about education in terms of leadership, identity, and pedagogy, but I am not centred around mathematics. What is that about? I don’t ask this question in a judging way, but rather in a curious one? What happened to my doctoral research? What happened to continuing that research program? What happened to my math embedded project? Why aren’t I exploring that work further?
This lunch conversation and how I feel about math, math efficacy, and math identity cannot be underestimated or ignored. I remember one student asking me if it was ok if they took my research idea math stories. I said, OK. This convo has left me thinking. I need to really dig deep (well not that deep, I’m there) and be truthful about what I fear about and why it matters. Being in my JAM matters to me and I need to stoke this fire.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 26th, 2026 | Comments Off on Feeling Stoked About Math
Just returned home from my trip to Winnipeg. I went to present at the WestCAST 2026 conference at the University of Winnipeg, but also support and mentor 3 teacher candidates from the UNBC Teacher Education program to present as well. What an amazing job the conference organizers have done to make this event possible, memorable, and incredible. I had a wonderful time, and I believe that this event will be one that the teacher candidates will never forget. The kind of thoughtfulness, organization, and orchestration were outstanding and I was so impressed by the number of attendees and quality of the presentations as well. The UNBC teacher candidates all did an amazing job in preparing for and presenting at the conference. I loved how personalized each inquiry was and how they were able to present their work that was meaningful to them and reflective of who they are. I am so proud of them. As for me, I did A LOT of OVER THINKING and preparing for my session… and I have no idea why???
I was definitely noticing that I was pouring a significant of time in this presentation and I approached my presentation like I did when I was a school trustee and I was writing a speech. It was so important to stay on time, but there was so much to say. Unfortunately, in speech writing, I lost the “pragmatic” or personal approach to my presentation. I tried to blend a bit of ad libbing during my presentation, but I went a bit overtime so I quickly rushed the end. Anyway, all went well and the group that was following my paper presentation would really see what I was trying to say… so much so, they were able to ad lib their work and incorporated what I was saying into their presentation. That was a true compliment and I loved what they had to say with a student led initiative in Indigenous Education at the University of Calgary at Werklund. I feel very lucky. The photo below was a posed picture taken after the conference. Sad, I know. I did not take a good photo when I was presenting, so I wanted to take one posed. What was amazing about this photo was, the teacher candidates I was working with made it possible. Very grateful.
I had such a good time at WestCAST 2026. I loved that I got to present with some colleagues from BCTEN (see image below) about Connective Professionalism and we just riffed off of each other during that presentation. I made the PowerPoint for the group and we collaborated after discussing what we wanted to talk about and after a follow up meeting to decide who was going to speak to which slide. What was fun… or amazing… about this presentation was, although we had “assigned” each other which slide we would speak to, we each created space for one another to speak and add to what each of us had said about our slides. It was, in essence, us modelling connective professionalism and the process of the Métissage that we had co-created for WestCAST 2025 at SFU. I just loved working with these folks and how joyful working together can me. I love BCTEN and the work we accomplish. I feel so wonderful about knowing who I am and understanding what’s important to me. These people are important to me an the work we are doing. I am so happy to be part of a group where we can lift each other up regardless of role of institution. It’s extraordinary. I am thankful to be a part of BCTEN and for these people.
I did not know what to expect from Winnipeg or from the conference, but overall, I am very thankful for everything that Winnipeg had to offer. Not only did I have the pleasure to coach and mentor three amazing teacher candidates from the UNBC teacher education program who volunteered / expressed an interest in presenting at WestCAST 2026 (see images below), but also for all of the fun things we got to do together while at the conference. We went to the Forks, a beading shop, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, and Festival de Voyageur. The keynote speaker, David Robertson, resonated with all of us, and I think we each did a bit more shopping than we had anticipated. I think what surprised me the most, was reconnecting with folks in teacher education (i.e., from UBC, UVic, and SFU) but also folks who are from Winnipeg. I loved connecting with members of the WestCAST 2026 organizing team, and I got to bump on to a friend and former school trustee colleague who is currently the president of CSBA (no photos). I love my career in education, and the teacher candidates made it known that they were impressed with folks who know me. I said, you have to make your teaching career what you want it to be. For me, human connection was important to me… as a K-12 educator, school trustee, and now academic. Connecting and networking with people make my work fulfilling, FUN, and fruitful. PS. love conferencing!! I’ll be back in May, Winnipeg.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 21st, 2026 | Comments Off on Returning from WestCAST 2026
It’s been a few years since I have been teaching in teacher education. I will say that returning back to teaching has been a calling. I stepped away from teaching high school mathematics in 2010. I did not return to teaching until 2018 at the university. During my 8-year hiatus, there has been many changes and transitions from where I was and where I am today. I would not consider myself an outdoorsy person, nor would I consider myself adventurous. I would say, I am somewhat curious and I am in constant exploration of who I am and my identity. I will admit, I often feel combobulated most times and will engage in reflective practice to wonder, question, and reflect. When I moved to Prince George in 2018, my sense of self was seriously disrupted. I lived in small communities by the ocean for most of my life, in Prince Rupert and Sechelt, with exception to Vancouver where I had completed my post-secondary degrees at UBC and SFU. Being by the ocean was an integral part of who I am and how I identified. Moving to the central interior of BC was very dramatic, along with the weather and river. I was starting all over again.
For the first couple of years, I was essentially coping. I lived in my apartment, from which I commuted to the university and back. Nothing out of the ordinary until we had a faculty association strike in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In both instances, we were walking the picket line outside in subzero temperatures and then trapped in isolation from others during the pandemic. Going outside and taking a walk seemed like the only normal thing we could do when we were in lockdown. Also, walking around my neighbourhood helped to to understand place and space. I did not feel as isolated or lonely when I was walking outside. Being outside felt like freedom during the pandemic and I was grateful to be forced to get outside as something to do, but also acquaint myself to this new place. Upon returning back to the university in-person from remote learning, going outside seemed aligned to the signature pedagogy of the redesigned BEd program that was first implemented in 2020. Going outside was an opportunity to take my classes and learn more about this place and the land and who I am in this place.
My friend took me out to a place called West Lake Provincial Park. I was asking her of possible places to take my class and learn outside. We drove out to the lake and walked around. It was the perfect place, even though when we were there, there was a bear strolling along the waterline. As we were drinking our coffees, she held my arm and said, “don’t panic, there’s a bear.” Good thing she said that because, I would have panicked. We slowly got up from where we were sitting and quietly left. As you can see in the photo, I love West Lake and I brought one of my classes that year to West Lake to learn about land-based learning, the walking curriculum, “land as teacher,” and being intentional using curriculum to be outside. It was an amazing experience and I feel that it brought us together. Although many of the students are from the local area, it was an opportunity to reconnect to a place with a different intention, but also for those who are not from the area to acquaint oneself to the beauty and awe of the land and place. For me, it was also an opportunity to learn more about this place, with this place.
I have also taken my class to Cottonwood Park as an introduction to curriculum and lesson planning, and to other places in Prince George such as the Prince George Public Library and Two Rivers Art Gallery. I have also taken classes to the Forest of the World near campus to walk to the pit house to learn more about the First Peoples Principles of Learning, the Ceremonial Fire Circle at the university to acknowledge the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Wabooz Garden to facilitate the Blanket Exercise, and Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park in the middle of winter to explore teaching and learning at different places and different times of year. The weather can be tricky in the fall and winter, of which the terms I teach in the teacher education program, but also also going to places, as mentioned, also embodies the School of Education signature pedagogy of People, Place, and Land. In the winter term when I have been teaching the elementary cohort only, we have held classes in schools via in-situ learning and numeracy night with families. Teaching and learning in schools alongside with the school community is powerful, meaningful, and impactful. There is a reciprocity present, but also learning in context and community through experiential learning help deepen one’s understanding.
I do get some comments from students saying that being outside was their most favourite part of the course or learning in-situ. These comments are reinforcing and I am also aware that my colleagues are also taking students outside by going to Barkerville in the spring, going canoeing in the fall (near the end of their program), and going on nature walks with knowledge holders to learn the Dakelh language. Language and land informs one’s identity and connects them to their history, culture, and place. I am also aware (and have observed) students on practicum taking their students outside to learn, to wonder, and to be well. Working with one group of students who’s inquiry involved the sit-spot and student wellness. They hypothesized that going outside was good for student wellness and would help them to self-regulate and enjoy learning more through engagement with the land and with others. I recall one of these students saying that during the summer term of the program, they could not wait to go outside during the break because both of their classes were held inside. They needed to go outside to self-regulate and reconnect themselves to land and place. For me, going out on the land helps me to understand myself. It challenges me to embrace the new and the unknown.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 29th, 2026 | Comments Off on Land-Based Learning
A return back to school… with classes on Monday, January 5, 2026 and Thursday, January 8, 2026. My Wednesdays class does not start until next week. I had plenty of meetings this week and I am anticipating more to come next week. It was an excellent jump into the new year with a deep dive into my teaching term with so much more on the go. One of those things I had to tackle this week was filling out my first FRASP for work, that is a Field Risk Assessment and Safety Plan form. I tried to do this last year, but I felt so flooded. It’s a shift in practices at the university and taking students off campus has become a little more challenging, even though they are adults in our program.
It only took a few hours to fill out the form, get confused, ask a colleague for an exemplar, go back to the form and do my best to complete the form. The questions seem not adjacent to taking students to a K-7 school for classes versus somewhere outdoors or at a health care facility, but this form had to be completed and I was committed to do so. The next day, I went to the university to ask teacher candidates in my class to sign the form as well in addition get signed approval from the Chair and Dean. It was a process, and admittedly, it’s 99% complete. I have one more student to sign the form, but I have been approved to start in-situ earning at Harwin Elementary on Monday. Yay!!
Another aspect of the FRASP is for the supervisor (aka., instructor) to have their first aid certificate. Oh my goodness… I needed to get this done before Monday’s class… and when I was getting the formed signed, it was Thursday. No pressure, right? I looked online for Basic First Aid courses in Prince George. I had to try. And yes, there were a couple of classes I could take. It turns out that they program has changed since I had taken it last (i.e., 2 decades ago) and it’s now called Basic First Aid versus Level 1. Nonetheless, I signed up for the Saturday class knowing that that I had to pass for the FRASP, in-situ learning at Harwin, and compliance to my course syllabus. No pressure.
Many, many years ago… I used to be the first aid attendant at my high school. I did that role for years and had to be trained in Level 2 first aid (now called Standard First Aid). Back then, I did quite well in those first aid classes. They used to be a week long and I got time off work to train. Now, that course is only 2-days long and I can imagine, very crammed. We practiced a tonne in those courses, and what I had appreciated about first aid was the logic, the protocol, and the sequence of events that are needed to save someone’s life as the first responder. I like the rigour. Maybe I missed my calling?
Sadly, I was never good at biology. I might attribute that to my high school and university experiences in biology. High school involved rapid note taking via the ongoing scroll of the overhead notes (and the ink was so faint, I could never read it. Or the politician who said, here’s the textbook and there will be weekly tests on the subject matter. Or the professor that talked about dirt. Truth be told, I did not like dissecting a cow’s eye ball, a preserved fetus pig, or freshly killed rat. Not a fan. I like the care aspect of first aid, and maybe making a difference (hence, education). Even when I took care of my mom on her last days, many health care workers asked me if I was a nurse. I said, “no, I am a teacher.”
Anyway, I took the Basic First Aid Course in Prince George. From 8:30am to 4:30pm on my “be a person” day (aka., Saturday). I noticed the length of time of the day. It’s very much like my classes on Monday… so, it is possible. Hmm… but admittedly, an endurance test and there was a lot of content. We did not do a lot of practice compared to what I had remembered from Level 2 decades ago, but I needed a 70% pass on the test, which was multiple choice and held at the end of the day (i.e., 4pm). There was no pre-reading, and the course was primarily direct instruction, PowerPoint, the odd reference to the books, and some demos and practice. I was not sure how I would do on the test.
There were so many acronyms and things to remember. As mentioned, biology was not one of “my things” because of all the names, terminology, Latin… and I know that my brain can be a sieve. I really tried to pay attention during the day. Some things were repeated, but you never know how much you know, until you know. We got the test form at 4pm. I am such a slow reader. I did not want to miss, misread, or misunderstand anything. I think I was on #10 out of 30 and people were finished and getting their test marked. I was trying to self-regulate and focus on the test. I was the last or second to last to finish with 9 questions I was unsure of. In the end, I got 30/30. Woohoo!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 11th, 2026 | Comments Off on Missing My Calling
Is that what I want for myself? It’s starting to look like a habit… re: blogging every second week. That’s not my plan, but it’s turning out to be that way. Normally, I would like to blog to reflect on my week but also think about some of the lessons learned during that week. Moreover, blogging often helped me as a warm-up to work. Is this something that I am making up? I think I am, but lately, I have not been prioritizing my blog time as part of my “things to do.” Blogging would be something that I looked forward to, particularly on the weekends. I would also blog when I was inspired so more than one blog post would emerge from the week. Now, I perceive blogging like work (i.e., something that I have to do). Blogging is not part of my work, but maintaining a reflective practice is part of my work. Anyway, here I am… two weeks later… writing my blog post… on a Monday.
If anything, I do need to get motivated or geared up to do the list of things I need to do. I have been prioritizing sleep and rest. Unfortunately, last weekend I opted to work… and I did… all weekend. By the time the week rolled around, I was somewhat tired, I needed a lot more to recover from the day, and my days remained fairly full. As a result, things that did not get done just spill over into the next week. Last Friday, after two weeks of full-output with respect to ending the term and doing additional work I have signed up for, I had nothing left in me after an afternoon meeting that day. The weather dipped deep into the cold, it was snowing, and I just wanted to REST… and so I did… all weekend, guilt-free. I just needed the time to restore myself. I had no idea that recycling, vacuuming, and doing my laundry would have such a restorative effect on me.
I was not in the mood for anything Friday night. I did not have the will. I did some housework on Saturday, as mentioned. On Sunday, I just slept in, took a nap, and chilled for most of the day. I did not even want to blog, so here I am on a Monday afternoon, the day after winter solstice. Dang, it did get dark early yesterday. And, I made my kid and her boyfriend dinner. I cleaned up and just enjoyed my time with my cat. I’m becoming one of those ladies… a cat-lady… and, I’m liking it. I was looking forward to the next couple of days to catch up on a very big list on some very big things to complete that rolled into this week from the last few weeks and beyond. Sadly, I almost missed the one Monday morning meeting I had scheduled. Holy moly… there needs to be a balance between rest and work. I am loving BE A PERSON Saturdays, but it does trickle into Friday nights and Sundays. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but it does make the week full.
If anything, I am not complaining, but I am honestly grateful to have this work to do. I love what I am doing. I love where I am. And, I love the people that I get to work with. In the end, prioritizing my time only highlights what’s important to me. All of what I am doing is important and I have learned to walk away from things that do not fill my cup, sucks up too much energy, or I do not love to do. So, how lucky am I? VERY LUCKY.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, December 22nd, 2025 | Comments Off on Prioritizing My Time
Oops. I missed a week of blogging. It was the final stretch of the fall term. I could not (or did not) prioritize my weekly blog. Rest seems to be of high priority, next to closing off my classes. I am really happy how my classes ended even though I still need to distribute my course evaluation form for a couple of classes. It was a tech issue, which I think is now resolved (meaning, I figured it out). I should be sending them out soon, but on weekends, I have accustomed myself to take the “be a person” time and enjoy every moment… and to REST, which I needed. No regrets, just shopping.
So, what I am doing this week is accepting final assignments for the classes I taught this term. I finished teaching last week (and launched a research project with hopes of folks participating… TBD). I was so happy how each of my classes ended. It was unexpected, meaning, I am always adapting and reflecting in my practice. It’s difficult to stick to a course syllabus when things change over time (i.e., stat holidays, opportunities, and broken plans). Although the course syllabus is a contract between me and the students, I am so grateful that they are so willing to adapt and go with the flow. Sometimes I think it’s more me who is having troubles with change rather than the students. As a result, I felt self-conscious or worried that I was not “on the right track.” Needless to say, I think the classes went well and this term flew by (with a whole bunch of things on the go).
My Tuesday night class ended with our last roundtable (i.e., chapter reflections) and formative presentation of their infographic. My Wednesday night class ended with their infographic presentations and then a guest speaker from the school district. That was so amazing. I am so grateful. And finally, my Thursday morning class ended with the members of the district student advisory committee. Nine high school students came to the university with the lead teacher and school administrator to share their thoughts about teaching and learning and encouraging the teacher candidates to FIND THEIR WHY for teaching. The conversations and presentations were thoughtful, candid, and playful. I appreciated their willingness to step away from school in the morning to be with us and they planned and facilitated the whole morning. The “adults in the room” supported these students, but really we just created space for them to have voice. The teacher candidates enjoyed the session. It was a powerful morning and a great way to end the term.
Which brings me to the topic of this week’s (or last week’s) blog post. This year (i.e., 2025), it took me a long time to figure out my One-Word. I like to do One-Word as a means of goal setting, or dare I say, set a new year’s resolution. It’s a word that I can focus on and develop over time. It’s not specific enough to get disappointed of unachieved expectations, but specific enough to stay focussed and have opportunities to reflect and discern how things are going. This year’s #OneWord2025 was LOVE. And yes, I feel that I have fully achieved that word. I love my work, I love my kid and cat, I love where I live, and I love ME. These are all very good things. #OneWord2024 was HAPPY. And I needed to do that too to figure out what made me happy… and figure out my values, my boundaries, and my likes. This year, my one word for 2026 came to me relatively early. I’m really looking forward to 2026. Some days, I just need to “jump in.” My #OneWord2026 is PRACTICE. I feel that it’s something that I need to do in all aspects of my life. I look forward to this word and what it will bring. Let’s see how this goes…
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, December 08th, 2025 | Comments Off on One-Word for 2026
My kid was hanging out in my office for a bit last week. I invited her to see a talk with me on Friday afternoon. she agreed to go with me as she had a couple of meetings after the presentation. We went to my office to charge her iPad and she started looking at some of my collectables in my office. One of the things she found was my dad’s slide rule. She asked, “What is this?” I said it was a slide rule. She said, “What is it used for?” I knew it was used for mathematics, but of course, I looked online to see what the slide rule is really (see image below). It’s used for math… for logarithms, exponents, trigonometry, etc. It was a device used before calculators. She then asked me if I knew how to use it or if I ever used it for school. The answer was no and no, but I did say to her that it was one of those gems that I took from my dad as a keepsake. My brother and I have so many memories of things that were in the house that we remember as a kid (i.e., a copper globe that opened up and it was a cigarette holder… LOL).
Anyway, we started talking about logarithms. I asked her if she know what a logarithm was. She did not take Pre-Calculus Math 12, so I wondered what she knew about logarithms. She was not aware of logarithms, so I started talking to her about it. I started to give her some examples, orally, and then asked her some questions. Through trial and error, she started to get the concept. This activity was so fun. It reminds me when she was 3 of 4 years old and I’m teaching her about square roots when we were driving in the car. Yes, it’s true. We did math problems in the car instead of singing or telling stories. I talked math… and she would get it. So, it was really cool for me to see that she was getting logarithms base 10. So of course, I changed the base and started asking her different questions. She started to get it. Classic mom… I asked her what was log 1? Hence the picture, we needed to talk and write it out in terms of a logic using exponents. I was so impressed that my kid persisted. LOL. I thought it was a good sign even though she ended the conversation with “I was never good at math.” I would strongly disagree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule
Here is what I love more… the next day, she asks me… “When do we use logarithms anyway?” She insisted that I give examples… and so I did. Example 1: Earthquakes and the Richter Scale. Example 2: pH values and acidity of solutions. I think I might have impressed her. LOL. I’m giggling… with joy and wonder. I love that my kid was interested in mathematics. I took joy in her curiosity and willingness to learn and engage. I mean, I’m her mom. I can get potentially annoying and I’m talking math!! Finally, I took much joy in talking about math and I loved teaching math to her and with her. I did say to her that I was not the smartest in mathematics, but I did ok. She said I was smart. I said, I taught high school mathematics for more than a decade. You just get better at it over time. Anyway, that experience told me that I would love to go back to K-12 education teach math. In the meantime, I am teaching numeracy to elementary teacher candidates. That, in itself, has so much to learn as well. Math is too fun and that’s where my joy sits.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, November 23rd, 2025 | Comments Off on Talking Math
Although I could only validate my week’s experience with my sister, who seemed to be having a similar week, I felt like when “it rains, it pours.” Everything seemed to be happening all at once. Nothing “bad” happened, with exception to not handing in one more conference presentation for myself for an organization I am volunteering for, but everything seemed to require my time and attention. Unfortunately, I could not accomplish all that I wanted to get done… something had to give. GB to my conference proposal… LOL. Sad, not sad. If anything, it is brought to my attention that the topic I wanted to present about is important to me. If anything, I have more time to investigate that topic as well as consider another conference.
You have to see the “cup half full” sometimes. As soon as I “let go” of the idea of submitting a proposal, I could feel some relief in the stress and tension I was experiencing last week. It seemed like all was a flurry after the long weekend and the four day work week was fulsome to say the least. I just was not sure what was happening last week, but I could not establish my footing, nevertheless rest, last week. My kid definitely noticed I was running on fumes and I am hoping my classes did not pick that up (even though I spoke about my week explicitly). By Friday, I am grateful to have a friend/colleague to hold some space from me to listen to my little rant, and then have the rest of the day to get back on track with things. Sadly, some things remain TBD.
After finishing some work for one study and having a meeting with another colleague to figure out what I needed to do for another project, I threw in the towel and opted to go out for dinner that night with the kid. I did not feel like cooking. Truthfully, I refused to cook. I could not do it. I was spent. And, guess what? I think everyone else seemed to have the same idea because the restaurant I wanted to go to was full. Admittedly, I was not 100% if they were full but the parking lot was full as well as the roadsides. My dinner dreams were dashed. We went to another restaurant and we were sat at a table near the back of the restaurant near washroom. The restaurant was full. We took the table and the service and food were good. Thank goodness, but even the dinner experience seemed to exemplify the vibe of last week. Nothing bad, some concessions made, and it was BUSY.
After dinner on Friday, the kid and I went to a couple of places to shop and walk around. I bought a couple clothing items from Costco and soup dumplings, of course (they were on sale), then we went home and I actively rested on the LazyBoy chair with the fire place on and my cat on my lap. It was pure bliss. I had full intentions of blogging yesterday (aka., on Saturday, that is, “be a person day”), but my body and mind said, NOPE. It’s be a person day. I recycled, changed the filters in my fridge, went food shopping, cooked a few things, cleaned up the house a bit, played a few video games on my phone, and well… hung out with my cat on the LazyBoy chair. That’s it. I needed to rest. No guilt. It’s Saturday. I think that I have mastered being ok with resting. That’s what I did last weekend during Thanksgiving, but felt that the week unravelled in a way that I did not anticipate. I am wondered if Karma was getting back at me for taking some time off last weekend. I put that inquiry forward to my students in all of my classes. It’s a constant dilemma for teachers. Rest, then work… or is it rest and work. I chose rest.
If anything, it’s Sunday. I feel rested. I had two wonderful sleeps on Friday and Saturday nights. I am caught up on my email, I have done my laundry, I cleaned up my office, and now… maybe… it’s time to return back to work. Although some would say that there is no work-life balance, while others claim that there is. For me, I just have to listen to myself and how I am feeling. It’s ok to say no or get things off your plate to make things happen. It’s also ok to REST and enjoy life. Do what’s best for you despite what’s happening around you. This week was a good reminder of who overwhelmed my work can be and it’s ok to just do what you can do, try your best, and feel satisfied. And, I do.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 19th, 2025 | Comments Off on Was it a Full Moon
One of the things that I teach in one of my teacher education classes is, “Christine 1” and “Christine 2.” This course is situated at the beginning of a 16-month program and the focus of the course is curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching. In 13-weeks, I try to curate a course-narrative to describe what is curriculum, what is pedagogy, and what is teaching. So, “Christine 1” is “teacher-Christine.” She is performative. She exudes confidence. She is professional. She is caring, kind, and compassionate. She is the teacher that is demonstrating all of the professional standards that are required of her. “Christine 2” is my inside voice. What am I thinking? I could be pivoting. I could be reflecting in and on action. I could be making decisions in real-time. Basically, “Christine 2” is articulating “adaptive expertise.” So, I try to disclose what’s happening in real-time when plans change and why. I wanted to make the invisible, visible.
“Christine 3” is “soap-box Christine.” There are some topics in education that I am very passionate about and at times I will go on a slight tangent and share some thoughts on some these topics (i.e., assessment, teacher wellness, leadership, math efficacy, and math education). “Christine 4” could be the researcher, the writer, or educational leader… and other Christine’s start delving into the personal-side of Christine (i.e., the curler, the cat mom, the kid’s mom, the sister, the daughter, the niece, the aunty, etc.). There are many ME’s and it’s fun to articulate the ability to compartmentalize parts of me… even though all of these identities are all a part of me. Just the other day, I was out with my class at West Lake for a land-based learning experience. It’s fun to take learning out to place and on the land when exploring ideas such as land-as-teacher, land acknowledgements, and a walking curriculum. Anyway, in one instance, planning with one of the students that I “mis-mathed” the time. We giggled and I said, I used to be a math teacher… but now I’m a teacher educator. I’m all about sharing circles. Another student then said, “Is that Christine negative one?” #brilliant
Can you believe that? It’s only Week 3 of the course (out of 13) and the notion of “Christine 1” and “Christine 2” not only have meaning for these students, but the idea that these identities are on a time-continuum. I just loved it. The next day, I joined another class who went out to West Lake as their last instructional day for their course prior to final practicum. I was saying goodbye to folks and one student mentioned “Christine 1” and “Christine 2.” I shared with this student the story mentioned above, and they loved it too. I feel very grateful to do the work that I am doing, and I am learning more about the different aspects of “Christine” over time. I will continue to be learning… not to take myself too seriously… and to continue to care for the practice, the students, and myself. I appreciate the playfulness and openness for the students… and I am very appreciative for their kind remarks and positive feedback. One day at a time… and just do my best. That’s all I got. #grateful
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 20th, 2025 | Comments Off on Christine Negative One
A much better week this week… busy, no question… but more representative of what my work week will look like this fall term. On Monday, I did some work for the School of Education. Tuesday was focused on research and I had my first class with a graduate class at St. Mark’s College as a sessional instructor. We had an incredible class. We proceeded with my online class design and worked like a charm. Thank you to my previous online graduate level classes over the last few years who helped me to co-construct my online approach. I really like it, and I believe the students like it too. Wednesday was spent prepping for my Wednesday night class that was originally scheduled to be in-person but now its hybrid. I’m up for the challenge. We tried a few things to make the class more personable. Not perfect, but I think that class went well. Wednesday is a big day for me… because after night class, I am prepping for my morning class. Thursday begins with an 8:30am class. I managed to prep and went to bed at a decent hour. I had a pretty good sleep and we had a pretty good class. Friday ended with doing some work on campus in the afternoon and organizing my office.
I ended the week feeling very satisfied with the work I accomplished and it feels great to get “re-set” for the new school year. Although I did not get through my email, that might be a next week thing. Now, we head into the weekend. And, let me tell you… I entered this weekend guilt-free. Normally, I would have listed a whole bunch of things to do over the weekend. I had informally created a small list, but it is likely that I’m not going to address the “list of things to do” until Monday. Keeping work between the bookends of Monday to Friday (as best I can) might be the next step of my self-care, rest way-of-being. I need to keep this work sustainable and JOYFUL. I feel great when I’m rested. I know this sounds obvious, but I did not live my personal and professional life this way. Work took precedent and rest was only a privilege that I thought was purely indulgent and only available to me when my work was done.
Here some news… THE WORK IS NEVER DONE. That took me a long time to understand. Moreover, to get really good at maintaining balance and a healthy lifestyle, I need to PRACTICE. I’m guessing that after I finish this blog post that I am going to do a “workout” from YouTube. Yup. I would rather walk outside at night time, but it’s not safe. So, this weekend, I truly enjoyed my time RESTING. Saturdays is”be a person day.” What does that mean? I can do chores… I can sleep in… and I don’t do any work. I love recycling on Saturdays. I’m not sure why, but it brings me a lot of joy (or closure) to recycle on the weekend. This Saturday, I roamed around, went shopping, then food shopping, and went for a walk with a friend. Today, I took out the garbage, built a shelving unit, and re-organized my office/bedroom. Oh my… it feels great to be organized. Resting is intentional. In the end, I feel great. So, why not?
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 14th, 2025 | Comments Off on First Real Week Back
