Feeling Connected

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

Exemplary Teaching

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

Trustee Tour 2012

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

Transformation

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

The Academic Writing Process

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

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

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

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

The Million Dollar Math Question

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

The Interview

The Interview remains mystery to me.  What are they looking for?  What do they want from me?  Am I a good fit?  Did I say what I needed to say?  Could I have said more?  Just a few questions that rattle through my brain soon after the interview.  I thank my friends and family who advised me to…

• Be myself
• Prepare 3-4 scenarios
• Research the company
• Understand the criteria

I think I did achieve the 4 bullets during the interview but I still walked away with some regrets.  Preparing for an interview is like preparing for a test.  You don’t really know what’s exactly on the test but you have a good idea.  You take the test and then what?  As an advocate for Assessment for Learning (AFL) practices, formative feedback is critical to the learning process.  During the interview, I was picking up cues or hints as to what they were looking for in the position.  I had 3 options to respond: (1) go with it, (2) stick to the script, or (3) make note of it.  I went with option 3.  With time reflect and think about the questions posed, I could have done better.  Classic AFL.  However, in any summative evaluation, the performance is being judged by others, there is an imminent outcome, and no formative feedback may be given in return to make things better for the “next time.” 

I’m OK with that and my self-evaluation is all that counts at this point in time.  What I am proud of the interview are as follows:  I was my authentic self, I revealed my pedagogical beliefs about mathematics education, and I answered each question with honesty and integrity.  What more could I ask for from myself?  My initial reaction was MORE, but all things happen for a reason.  I have no control of the outcome.  What ever is meant to be, is to be.  My job is try, take-risks, and venture forward.  The interview was an exceptional learning opportunity I feel fortunate to be a part of.  I got to talk to a panel of 5 educators about my teaching practice and passion for mathematics.  That’s pretty amazing in itself.  The next chapter will unfold and reveal itself in due time.  Patience.

Rest

I am beginning to realize that I have much on the go.  I am a graduate student (working on my dissertation proposal).  I am a site assistant (working with an MEd Leadership Cohort).  I am a school trustee (exercising governance and leadership).  I am an educational consultant and mathematics tutor (teaching teachers and students).  I am a mom (staying on top of homework, housework, and quality time).  I am a wife (maintaining a relationship).  And, I’m a wannabe (learning how to run, research, and teach at the university).  As much as I want to do MORE, I am running out of steam.  Rest.  Yesterday, I slept in until NOON.  A guilty pleasure, but I needed it.  My brain feels 100 times better and I feel recharged to take on the world.  CHARGE…

Setting Boundaries

I mentioned in earlier blog entries that life often sends you messages, life lessons, or “whispers.”  As I approach today’s blog entry, I’m awakened by a message that I am receiving from multiple directions.  It’s about setting boundaries.  I hear the message.  I need to do something about it.

When I responded in this week’s CUTL (Certificate of University Teaching and Learning) assignment, “Difficult Teaching Situations,” my responses resonated with setting boundaries.  This weekend I received four messages about tutoring services and I am currently booked. Less than 15 months ago, I was a public school teacher. Today, I am a school trustee and the BCTF (BC Teachers’ Federation) and BCPSEA (BC Public School Employers’ Association) are in a labour dispute.

There is no question that there is a clear sign about setting boundaries in terms of my teaching practice, time management, and political views.  It’s not about hiding or denying.  It’s about having a clear vision and making choices that best reflect my authentic self.  Although I’ve been told many times that “it’s not about me,” what I do know it’s about being true to oneself.  Setting boundaries may imply that the answer might be YES, but sometimes it can be NO.  Either way, it’s OK.

BCSTA/BCPSEA Trustee Orientation Academy

Investing in Human Capital… I could not decide on the title of this blog entry, but the BCSTA/BCPSEA Trustee Orientation Academy 2012 presented several sessions to help ‘new trustees’ with a crash course on effective trusteeship, effective boards, labour relations, role of the employer, collective agreements, legal issues for trustees, and effective board meetings.  There was much information to be delivered by both BCSTA (BC School Trustees’ Association) and the BCPSEA (BC Public School Employers’ Association).  As informative as it was to attend each session provided, in addition to the lunchtime session with our BCSTA mentor, meeting other trustees from other school districts and reconnecting to those members on your own team are equally or more valuable.  First, I was able to converse and get to know better each member of my school board team.  Every trustee in my school district attended the Academy along with our senior management team.  Second, I had the unique opportunity to chat with other new trustees over lunch or during breaks to get a sense how it is for them in their school districts.  Third, I had my own Ah-ha’s to clarify ideas in my mind what it means to be a school trustee. 

What I had learned from the Trustee Orientation Academy are the following: (1) There is a clear division between GOVERNANCE and OPERATIONS; (2) BCSTA are student advocates and BCPSEA are respectful of the collective agreement and the bargaining process; and (3) The SD46 (Sunshine Coast) Board for the 2011-2014 term is going to be phenomenal.  OK.  Bullet #3 seems like an overstatement, but I am beginning to understand that the SD46 is heading in the right direction.  With the diversity of our board in terms of experience, expertise, and interests, the SD46 board is high functioning.  The SD46 2009-2012 Strategic Plan, the 2011 Trustee Orientation Binder, and the willingness of the Board to orchestrate and participate in additional working group sessions regarding the role and responsibilities have contributed to the cohesiveness of our team.  Gratitude to the previous board for making this educational leadership experience exciting and worthwhile.  I’m excited for our students, staff, and families of SD46.  Looking forward to the next three years.