This first month in the B.Ed. program has drastically changed my learning abilities compared to how I am used to learning. This new and adapted version of learning has been difficult, and to be in such a high structured and involved program that has turned out to be so independent feeling has been a major adjustment. As well as adjusting to a completely new way of learning, the several standards that a teacher must follow and comply to, as well as put them into their teaching practices has been a completely new concept to me. The 9 BC Teacher Standards, as well as the First Peoples Principle of Learning have been a new set of structures to remember and implicate into my teaching practice. Learning the 9 standards has shown me that what I thought my standards were, are nothing compared to the ones already set out for teachers. While some of the personal standards I had set for myself are similar to some the 9 standards, I did not think about some of the other ones. Specifically, number 9 about Indigenous, Aboriginal learners and the importance to give them their own standard. That one was really eye opening for me and then to connect it to FPPL, it is something that I want to make sure I learn and teach to the best of my abilities and always to keep improving on them.
The expected learning so far has been a curve of what I thought I would be learning verse what has actually happened. In my head I thought I would be learning more about being in a classroom and what I would actually be teaching to students, but so far it has been lots of theory and lots about the history of teaching. While I did not expect this, I understand and am enjoying learning about theory and history of education. Seeing the advancement of the teaching program, especially in the most recent years has been not only eye opening but exciting to imagine what other new and improved practices will come while I develop me own teaching practices.
Something I have learned about myself is that the standards that I had going into this program about myself and teaching has already been adapted and developed from the information I have learned and gathered from my classes, instructors and guest speakers. One adjustment that I have had to make during this time has been viewing education from the point of an educational assistant to a teacher’s perspective. Being an EA has been an amazing experience and I have loved every moment of it, but it is very one on one with a student, or a small group of students. Looking at things now as a teacher has shown that while it can still be one on one with students, because each child has a different relationship with a teacher, but it is also an overall class and teaching experience to view how all the students in say a class on 21-28 are doing. One thing that has stood out to me has been from the POPEY development day, and how they stated that teachers are like doctors, one medicine (or method of teaching) doesn’t fit all. Children are all different and being a teacher means adapting and developing to create the best learning situation not just for a certain type of learner, but for all learners, because all students have the ability to learn and grow. That is what I strive to hold onto during this program.
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