The Canoe

Pulling Together Canoe Journey 2010

I feel so fortunate to be invited to be a part of the Pulling Together Canoe Journey 2012 (Powell River).  I did not expect to be invited to paddle for a third time with the SD46 s-yéwen s-néxwílh – Spirit Canoe, but I feel honoured to be asked once again.  I have paddled with the SD46 canoe in 2010 (The Salish Sea) as a teacher and in 2011 (The West Coast) as an educational consultant.  This year I will be journeying as a school trustee.  The canoe has been with me throughout my transformation as an educator and look forward to the lessons I will learn.

s-yéwen s-néxwílh (The Spirit Canoe) entered my life at a critical point in my teaching career.  I was a mid-career secondary mathematics teacher.  I had taught Science 8-10, Earth Science, 11, and Chemistry 11/12.  My undergraduate degree is majoring in chemistry with a concentration in mathematics.  As I navigated through my teaching career, I found passion in mathematics education.  I love how students are so candid with their learning in mathematics.  They get frustrated and elated in such a short period of time.  I found teaching mathematics extremely rewarding and reworking my practice so that students can learn mathematics was super fun.  Best Job: teaching math.

I was reaching a turning point in my teaching career.  At that time, I felt like I had nowhere to go.  My family loves living on the Sunshine Coast, I had 18 more years until full-pension, and I was secure with my job with seniority and subject specialty but had little mobility for a job change in my school district.  Something had to change.  I joined many committees, took on the role of staff rep, and entered the world of academia with a doctoral program in educational leadership.  What was I thinking?  Doing more did not equate to happiness in the workplace.  Although I loved working with kids and teaching mathematics, I felt like this was “the end” (a disappointing realization).

The Spirit Canoe was been instrumental to my transition.  It brought me hope, once again.  I learned about teamwork, trust, and respect.  It is a metaphor for systems and working together to achieve a common goal.  We all have a role, we all have a purpose.  The Canoe does not suggest that things remain static or that we are all the same.  It acknowledges our differences and our strengths.  Sometimes change is needed so that the canoe can move swiftly in the water.  Changes can look like changing seats or changing paddling partners.  On the 2011 journey, I volunteered to be part of the grounds crew.  This was an amazing experience.  As much as I wanted to be in the water, the work that is done behind the scenes matter too.  Setting up tents and ensuring that the canoes arrive safely to shore was just as memorable as paddling through rough waters.  There is always something to learn and we are all a part of the canoe family.  No crew member is more (or less) important than the other.  We all have a role to play, we are all in it together, so that the canoe can perform its best.

It was from my experience with the canoe that I have learned many life lessons.  I learned more about the Aboriginal culture, I learned more about Aboriginal students, and I learned more about myself.  The canoe symbolizes “work to be done.”  Initially when I thought I was not going on the 2012 Journey, I believed “my work” was done.  This was a good sign.  When asked to return, I had mixed feelings.  I love the Spirit Canoe and wish that everyone has the opportunity to experience the power of the canoe.  On the other hand, returning back to the Canoe meant that I have “work to do.”  The transition into my ‘new’ life has not been a swift one.  There are calm waters and rough ones.  What I do know is, my heart is open.  Thank you s-yéwen s-néxwílh for inviting me back.  All my relations.