During my final practicum, I was placed in two Science 9 classrooms and one Drama 9/10 for my ten weeks. Throughout this time, I grew larger and faster as an educator than any other time during my training. In this practicum, I was able to gain exposure to aspects of teaching that had been inaccessible during previous practicums and coursework, and this really helped me grow as an educator. For example, I had previously had little to no interactions with students’ parents, and during this practicum, I got to experience ongoing correspondence with certain parents, provided mark updates through email to parents, held parent teacher conferences (coordinating both online and in-person preferences), and tactfully diffused aggressive parent emails. I also had never reported student assessments before; during this practicum, I sent out both interims and report cards while learning to use the programs Easy Grade Pro and MyEdBC for the first time simultaneously.
I also gained the experience of what could be done when the lesson plan prepared for the day could no longer be implemented. During my practicum, there was a day in early November where it got very wet during the day and froze overnight. The following morning, the roads and highways were so slippery that half the commuters in Prince George were held up by vehicle accidents, to the extent that UNBC actually cancelled morning classes. Luckly, I made it safely from the Hart to school in College Heights where I found my attendance averaged approximately 6 students per class (all day). Needless to say, there was no strong argument for going ahead with my original day plan when so many were absent. To fill the time in my science classes, I happened to have had a bunch of riddles, logic problems, and cool (well I think they’re cool) science/math videos on standby. We spent the class solving riddles, playing logic games for candy, and watching videos that led to interesting discussions. In my drama class, I really got to know the few students that were there on deeper level. We sat in a circle and had all sorts of discussions around life, drama/acting, and more—for the entire block.
At the other side of practicum, I am still a novice educator; however, I have a stronger footing that stabilizes me enough to feel confident to take on any challenge coming my way. I have learned that I have become an educator that thrives when a professional/educational relationship is formed between the students and myself—this is when I am most effective in my teaching and when students are most receptive to my teaching. I have also learned that I am most effective when I create my own lessons, resources, and activities, and that I enjoy doing it. Unfortunately, the time and energy requirement for inventing everything each day is far to large to be sustainable and it is therefore imperative that I develop efficiency in adapting tools and materials that are already made and work towards a modicum of work-life balance.
From here, I hope to be entering the teaching profession in SD57 or in a different district in Northern BC. I am interested in eventually developing place-based and project-based curricula for which core subjects like science and math can be applied to. In the meantime, I would like to sub (face it, it’s time to make some $$$) until I find a suitable contract to apply for, as having my own class would allow me to construct effective relationships with students to optimize my teaching practice. Having taught Science, Math, and Drama at this point, I am fairly confident that, of the three, I am best suited to be a science teacher; there is an authenticity that comes with teaching a subject that captures ones’ mind. I owe a debt of gratitude to my CT(s) from this past practicum for her support, mentorship, and trust—I wouldn’t have grown the amount I did without her. I am also grateful to the students that allowed me to be part of their lives for 10-weeks—it was a ride.