A Good Day

If you look closely, you can see my daughter holding a four leaf clover.  It’s a good day.  Today was a good day.  There was nothing in particular that was exceptional or life-changing, but today seemed to unravel into something wonderful.  The day begins by getting up a 4 am to catch the 5 am bus to catch the 6:20 am ferry.  I nice chit-chat with friends and a bowl of oatmeal, the commute continues with the 257 Express bus to Vancouver, a latte break at Starbucks, then off to catch the Expo Line and then the Millenium SkyTrain.  At Production Way, I catch the bus up Burnaby Mountain to attend the Certificate of University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) program at SFU.  I arrive at 9 am.  That is my 4-hour commute.  CUTL lasts for 3-hours, then I’m back on transit to do the 4-hour commute back home to the Sunshine Coast.  Although this does not sound like a good day, everything in between seemed to align.  I am communicating with my academic supervisor, I am feeling connected with my CUTL classmates and instructors, I am enjoying my trustee/committee work, and I am excited about my writing/research for CUTL and my doctoral program.  Best of all, I have an awesome family who supports my chaos/joy.  At the end of the day, my husband and daughter picked me up at the ferry terminal.  Yes.  I did not have to take the bus.  I returned home and took a 3-hour nap.  All is good.  Are you having a good day?

Block Out the Noise

2011 Civic Election (District of Sechelt)

How does one move forward without blocking out the noise?  This sounds like a rhetorical question, but I am curious how individuals succeed.  When I ran for municipal election in November 2011, I did look for some validation to see if this was the ‘right move’ for me.  A litmus test, if you will.  To be honest, it didn’t matter.  I was going to put my name forward regardless of what others thought.  I blocked out the noise.  In the end, the outcome of the election worked out in my favor.  I am most productive with my work when my family is asleep and there is nothing on TV; and least productive when I am well-rested and watching TV.  Then I had an aha-moment watching the interview of Lady Gaga with Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Next Chapter.  (FYI: I am an Oprah junkie and Lady Gaga fan.  Do not judge.)  During the 2-hour interview, Lady Gaga said that she has to block out the noise in the creative process.  No media, no influences.  An excellent life lesson to share.  I’ve heard this lesson three times: once by a mentor when I was in teaching at the high school; a second time by BOB via social media; now a third time on TV from Lady Gaga.  BLOCK OUT THE NOISE… great things will happen.  Stay focused, take risks, and believe in yourself.

Funny Feedback

Flat Christine (Educ 809)

One of the biggest challenges with my dissertation is DISEMBEDDING myself from what I write. With four proposal submissions comes four opportunities for feedback:

• Get out of the problem.  The dissertation is not the problem.
• It’s not political.  It’s not about union vs. management.
• It’s not about you.  Excuse me?  It’s not about me?
• Make it academic.  It’s not a blog.  Ouch.  That hurts.

You can see why I am a bit fearful of future feedback and have become tentative with my writing.  This spring I am enrolled with the Certificate of University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) at SFU.  This program provides an interesting perspective on teaching and learning.  I am the only participant this session who is from the Faculty of Education and has more than ten years experience teaching.  A requirement of CUTL is the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW).  I took ISW last summer which transformational my teaching practice.  CUTL has also influence how I perceive teaching and learning.  With CUTL and ISW, I have gone through great lengths to disembed myself from my writing for the past few years.  My research topic is inspired from a problem in the workplace.  Personally, I found it difficult to stay in the teaching profession while writing my dissertation proposal and achieve the first three bullets as mentioned above.  Now I am trying to write out my ideas in edu-academic speak.  It’s been challenging.  This brings me to my funny feedback.  For CUTL, participants are required to write a literature review about teaching and learning in higher education.  I wrote about ISW and how it could be used as a framework for professional development for K-12 mathematics teachers.  I used some of my resources from my dissertation proposal for this literature review.  My greatest concern was flow, coherence, and disembedding myself from my writing.  After the rough draft submission, participants of CUTL are divided up into small groups to present their literature review to peer and receive formative feedback on presentation skills and content.  Here is my feedback from last week:

• You seem comfortable presenting to the group with good motion and gestures; very natural.
• You have given a good rationale why to implement ISW as a framework for professional development.
• You did not quite achieve the intended learning outcomes of the literature review assignment.
• Your next step is to write about implementation and how I would use it as a teacher.

Pardon me?  I need to include myself in the writing?  Now that’s funny.  You don’t get a true sense of how you are doing unless someone tells you.  It’s like looking at a mirror.  This is what formative feedback is all about.  This is what my CUTL literature review tries to emphasize.  This is what I wish for with my dissertation process.  Feedback matters.

Follow Your Bliss

Do what you love… find your passion… follow your bliss.  When I look back at my life, I am following my bliss.  What is my passion?  I love to teach.  I love to learn.  I love to lead.  When I was teaching at the high school, I was teaching, learning, and leading.  After 16 years, it was time to move onto something else to embrace new challenges and a new way of being.  Now, I tutor mathematics, I’m a graduate student, and I’m a school trustee.  Once again, all three components satisfied with three distinct educational opportunities. The problem is, I have to acknowledge that I am following my bliss.  It’s so easy to dwell on what should be and lose sight on what I am trying to achieve.  I have three obstacles to overcome:

1. Unrealistic Expectations: You cannot cram a literature review, a 10K run, or dissertation proposal.
2. Fearful of Feedback: You cannot move forwards without feedback, input, or insight from others.
3. Living a Lie: You cannot realize your dreams when you feel like you are not deserving or worthy.

According to Alasdair MacIntyre (1984), to achieve the goods internal to the practice one must exercise the virtues of JUSTICE, COURAGE, and HONESTY.  To be focused on the goods external to the practice (eg. money, status, or fame), one can never achieve the goods internal or standards of excellence.  MacIntyre (1984) provides the theoretical framework of my research study, but also guides my way of being.  The more I can understand what is, the more I am able to identify that my obstacles correlate with MacIntyre’s virtues… set realistic goals (justice), be open to feedback (courage), I am worthy (honesty).  I am living my dreams.  It’s not about what other people say or what they think.  What matters is what you think and what you’re going to do about it.  Follow your bliss.

Change in Roles

Photo from Claudia Ferris

What a photo opportunity… Me (School Trustee), Silas White (Board Chair), and Nathan Cullen (NDP Federal Leadership Candidate) standing together at the Blackfish discussing women in politics.  Thank you Claudia Ferris for the introduction and photo opportunity.  The last time I saw Nathan Cullen was more than 500 m away and he was on stage with the other federal leadership candidates campaigning during the NDP Provincial Convention December 2011.  A change in roles… shifted from high school teacher to local politician.  This was brought to my attention during the March 13, 2012 Board of Education meeting that was well attended by SD46 teachers, my former colleagues.  While speaking to a motion, the Chair kindly reminded me during my speak to address the Chair and that the Board of Education are my colleagues.  True.  I am a teacher and a politician.

Board Motion

Sechelt Learning Centre, March 6, 2012

On March 5, 6, & 7, 2012, teachers of the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) walked out for 3 days to protest Bill 22, a legislated contract.  On the Sunshine Coast, members of the SD46 Board of Education visited teachers at various sites to show support the teachers and mutual want for a negotiated contract.  Being present at the teacher demonstration and verbal support was greatly appreciated by the teachers, but a letter of support to send to the Minister of Education was desired.  What I appreciate about School District No. 46 (Sunshine Coast) as a school trustee is the relationships between the Board, teachers, CUPE, exempt staff, parents, students, and administration.  Although we each have roles to bare and a point of view to voice, we manage to communicate, connect, and share ideas.  Days leading up to the SD46 Board of Education public meeting on March 13, 2012, the Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association (SCTA) had a special general meeting to pass 2 motions not volunteer or provide extracurricular activities for the rest of this school year and next school year.  This was not an easy decision.  In the meantime, a desire to have a letter of support from the Board of Education was expressed by the SCTA.  Email, phone calls, and word of mouth led to the Board of Education meeting last night.  The Board was aware that this would be a well attended meeting, standing room only.  After presentations from Charlene Smith and the Music Local Specialists’ Association (LSA), the SCTA president requested to make a change to the agenda.  The amendment to the agenda item was addressed near the end of the agenda.  After Board business was reported, one trustee motioned to respond to the Minister of Education with a letter of support.  The Board Chair had a draft letter prepared and all school trustees spoke in support of the motion.  The Board motion carries.  The Board Chair took into consideration what was spoken at the Board table and a final draft was composed, received, and sent this morning.  We support a negotiated settlement.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=238604796235375

Last Day of Tour

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

Celebrate Self

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

Experiential Learning

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

SD46 District Spiel 2012

Photo from Silas White

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