My #OneWord2021 is experience. Throughout this year, I want to be able to take advantage of every opportunity I’m given and put my all into the experience. This is especially applicable to my time in the elementary education program. In 2021, I’ll be going through three separate practicums, where I’ll gain the experience and skills that I need going into my own teaching career. I want to go into this year with a mindset of getting the most out of these experiences, both inside the classrooms of my own education and my practicums, and in life as a whole. I’m planning to move up to Prince George for the start of Block 3, which will be a new experience for me. I’ve never lived off the island, so spending some time living somewhere new and different will be an enriching and rewarding experience, as will finally getting to meet my classmates. I’m also excited to explore Prince George and get to know somewhere new in the province.
Through the EDUC 391 Practicum, I’m hoping to learn more about what it means to be an elementary school teacher. With Gretchen’s class, I’m starting to learn the ins and outs of assessment, and it would be really great if I’m able to see that put into action, whether that’s from listening to my coaching teacher explain how they view and use assessment or from actually being expected to take part in that assessment. I’m also excited to start lesson planning, as scary as that concept still seems. I’ve volunteered with JABC in the past, where I’ve been given lesson plans that I then take into a classroom and execute, so the actual act of standing in front of a roomful of children and teaching them something isn’t something that makes me nervous. But in the past, these lesson plans have been given to me and haven’t been something I’ve had to create myself. I only had to memorize what points I needed to hit, and then work through the given activities and slideshow. I’m excited to now be the one creating these lessons, and being given the range to be able to teach something I’m passionate in the way I want to teach it.
