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
Toast with butter and jam. A Sunday afternoon treat. I love it.
September 7, 2025 – Enjoy the Simple Things
Wow. That was an intense first week back to school. I can only imagine teachers returning back to K-12 schools. I hope they are kind and compassionate to self. As exciting it is to return back to school, it’s easy to “over-do-it” and over-extend oneself to the point where it’s not safe or healthy for one to do or sustain. Do I need to listen to myself and the advice I would share with other educators? Yes, I do… of course.
First of all… July came and went. I think I was fully immersed in RELAX-mode, which is not a bad thing. Rest is a good thing. Unfortunately, August was very full with lots of things to do (if not, over full) preparing for the upcoming the school year. Prior to the first week of school, I was working on addressing some provisos from an ethics application. It was an incredible learning experience, but the revisions were extensive. With my research team, we mutually decided to make some changes in direction of our work, and I was charged to making those changes in our ethics application. I needed to get this application resubmitted before school started… and I did… at 5am on September 2nd. Truth, I am getting too old for all-nighters, but that’s my best work time. It’s a dilemma, but it was submitted. Yay for me because school was starting.
September 2nd started with a morning meeting with another research team then transitioned into Day 1 of the B.Ed. Program Orientation. This event was only for a couple of hours to do some brief introductions to the new incoming cohorts then go outside in small groups to get to know one another. The day ended at 3pm and I went home with high hopes of going to bed, which I did at 7pm, soon after I learned that the book review I committed to do could be completed later in the term for a 2026 publication. I was not disappointed. I was grateful for the time to pause and rest. I needed it. The next day started early with Day 2 of the B.Ed. Orientation. It was a full day with the morning at the Northern Sports Centre and the afternoon at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. The incoming cohorts engage in activities led by the out going cohorts. Somewhere in between, I also met with my research team to update them on the ethics application and to discuss next steps. It was a very full day, but wait…
September 3rd was the start of classes and I taught my first night class after the B.Ed. Orientation. This class is a 3-hour graduate study class, which was originally designed to be an in-person course, but now it’s hybrid. Teaching that night was challenging to say the least because getting well acquainted with either the in-person or online students in hybrid class is minimized due to having two platforms of delivery all at once. I take a deep breath and remember to find some kindness and compassion for self to do the best that I can. That’s all I can offer. I cannot be everything to everyone and I will do my best to accommodate but I know that it will not be the same as a class that is either all in-person or all online. Sadly, the work continues with prepping for my morning class. It’s another 3-hour class, but with the incoming cohort. It’s the first class they will have in the B.Ed. Program. I needed to make a good impression.
September 4th started with an 8:30am class. I am not a morning person to begin with and I stayed up late to prep for this class. I think the class went well, but classic “Christine”… I went over time by 5 minutes and did not do one learning activity. That’s ok. It’s good to be over planned, but also, I had to learn how this class moved and flowed. I feel that they are moving quite swiftly and they are very adaptive and responsive. The learning activity can wait until next week, but dang… I’m already thinking… how can I get everything I have planned done? It’s ok. I’m going with the flow. As you can imagine, I wanted to go home to sleep, but the outgoing crew were sharing their final projects for one of their yearlong courses. I dropped by to say hello and had the opportunity to listen and see some of their work. It was really incredible and creative with some of the outcomes. I was really happy to see this crew, but it did take about a few hours of my time. All is good. As you know, soon after, I went to bed.
September 5th is Fri-YAY and I had no classes to attend to. However, the outgoing cohort had a second yearlong course of which they were also sharing their final projects. Some projects were offered as a gallery walk while others were online or a presentation. The session was scheduled for 6-hours. As much as I wanted to hear, see, and learn from all of the students, I committed to the morning. Again, it was good to hear what students are doing, and it provided me some solace and closure on this course. It used to be one I used to teach, but now it has a new instructor and new learning outcomes. I am happy for the students and grateful to have the opportunity to say hello, once again, with the outgoing cohorts, and head home to get to other aspects of my work… and then rest. But, this day concluded with great news!! The ethics application mentioned earlier… it was APPROVED. Woohoo!!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 07th, 2025 | Comments Off on Week One Is Done
Omg… I cannot believe it’s September. Goodbye summer time!! The summer months flew by… and I enjoyed every moment of it. I was able to take the time to enjoy my place and feel at home. I LOVE BEING AT HOME and I love where I am living. I love the sunsets. I love the space. I love this little community. I feel safe. I feel solace. I feel a lot of gratitude. I am so proud of myself that I am able to have my own place and that I am able take care of my kid as she approaches adulthood. I am super happy with my job and I am grateful for my autonomy, freedom, and agency in my work. It’s truly a dream. I am in a different place and I LOVE what I do, where I am, and who I am.
How lucky am I?
That said, I totally miscalculated how fast that time would go this spring/summer term. This year has been the first spring/summer term where I did not have a course to teach or be responsible for. I had fantasized that I would get a billion things done during this term. Unfortunately, I did achieve everything I wanted to accomplish in four months. If I shared my original ambition to a friend of mine, they would have said it was unreasonable and unrealistic. I’ve taken all summer to understand what SMART goals really mean. It’s ok to spend time resting and appreciating a slower pace to life. I loved it. But now, I find myself cramming to get things done and some things will not get done. Being ambitious is good, but I need to be a bit more reasonable.
What have I accomplished?
First, I have learned how to enjoy quiet time guilt-free and to appreciate taking life at a slow pace. This way of living is 100% refreshing and revitalizing. I am enjoying life as an introvert and feel that I am truly up to my INFP preferences, which is so opposite from being an ESTJ for most of my working life (as a teacher). The transition was gradual to this SLOW-way of being and I’m loving it. Although I did have to partake in a few significant life changes to get here, I have no regrets. I appreciate my own company (with the cat and kid, of course) and the quiet time I have to myself. It’s nourishing. I feel more aligned to the way I want to live my life. I am very thankful that I can do this… and afford this way of being. It’s a privilege I will not take for granted.
Second, I went to a couple of conferences and presented a handful of times. In the spring, I travelled to Toronto, ON to attend CSSE and Congress. I presented a paper at CAARE (Action Research) in collaboration with 3 former teacher candidates (now practicing teachers) about the sit-spot lesson study; I co-presented with the CETE (Climate Education in Teacher Education) research team members at CNIE (Network of Innovation) about the project; I presented (single author) at CATE (Teacher Education) about in-situ learning in my assessment class; and, I presented at a the CASIE (Indigenous Education) roundtable in collaboration with my friend about the 4 R’s and assessment. In the summer, I co-presented with the District Numeracy Teacher and an Elementary Teacher Candidate at the UNBC Teaching and Learning Conference about Numeracy Night at Edgewood. Presenting is a great way to get your work out there and share your interests with others, but also a means to connect with other people, to network, and get inspired for future writing opportunities.
Third, I got some manuscripts, chapters, and a book chapter proposal completed for submission. Although I have a few more manuscripts to attend to (as well as others on the horizon I would like to write about), I am super grateful and thankful for the work and collaborations that was accomplished this spring/summer term. There were two manuscripts submitted by the CETE research team, where I am the third author on both pieces of work. One was resubmitted for publication and the other was recently submitted for a special edition. I submitted two chapters for the Leadership Book to be produced by the School of Education; one chapter was lead by my colleague and the second chapter was led by me. The latter chapter was submitted to be a conference proceeding for a conference from a couple of years ago, but not much had manifested from that. I thought that submitting an updated version to the book would be a better opportunity for the piece to be published. I was glad to return to that piece to make the revisions it needed. Finally, I have submitted another manuscript that needed revisions with another group about cultural adaption of schools. we hope to get a second manuscript out soon to be considered as well. Lastly, I am hoping to get a book review out, but time is running out!! (… or ran out).
It’s September!!
My accomplishments is not an exhaustive list, but rather a list to reflect upon and acknowledge. I have also been working on getting ethics approved for another project I am leading and I hope to be submitting another one for a book chapter proposal I submitted to be co-written with the 3 former teacher candidates mentioned above. We made a submission and then was asked to make some revisions to that proposal to align the work to the theme of the book. They were fair comments and I am greatly appreciating the feedback that has been graciously offered to me during conferences and writing. It’s formative feedback at its finest with the wholehearted intention to make the work (and you) better. I LOVE THAT!! The learning-mindset thrives on it.
OK. Now, it’s back to work on this labour day weekend. Seems counterintuitive, but I would like to get the provisos for this ethics application done. We took a few spins on how the project would proceed (based on the feedback), and it’s taken a few revisions that is taking more time than anticipated to complete. All is good. That is what I am also learning too. If you want to take it SLOW, you have to do a little bit each day to get things done. That’s a difficult lesson for to learn, but a good one. I am finding that taking breaks during your work-span of a project actually is better for the project. I don’t think that the mindset is… it’s taking longer than expected… but rather… it takes time for good things to happen. I’m ok with that. The consequence, I am learning how long it will take to do things and thus, will take on work that I can do. And, that’s it!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, September 01st, 2025 | Comments Off on You can only control yourself
