I was born in Edmonton, Alberta into a 3rd generation Canadian-Ukrainian family, dedicated to education and continued learning. My grandmother was one of the first Normal School graduates in 1936 and began her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse, on the Prairies in Eastern Alberta. “Walking her talk” about the importance of "getting an education," she embarked on a learning journey of her own. What turned out to be over a decade in commitment, my grandmother took both distance-learning and on-site classes from the University of Alberta in order to obtain her B.Ed. Incidentally, that was the same university her only child, my father, my mother and I obtained our Bachelor of Education Degrees, in successive generations.
Both my parents followed my grandmother's foot steps and went "back to school" during their adult lives in and amongst raising 3 active children who participated in a variety of competitive sports and extra-curricular activities. My father completed a diploma in Computer Technology in Education, so that he could add technology use to his already progressive teaching style (differentiating, integrating real-world curriculum, and having students learn collaboratively before these concepts had been formally defined by academia). My mother also went back to school, in a combination of night classes and part-time studies, to acquire a specialization in Library Science. Looking back, I think that it was an unspoken expectation that my siblings and I would engage in life-long learning.
To facilitate a broader perspective on "learning" my parents and grandparents encouraged travel. They took me, my sister and my brother on camping explorations around Western Canada and the United States and helped us take advantage of travel opportunities that were presented through our schools and sports teams, often spending many hours fundraising along side of us in order to make the trips happen. But the effort was worth it! Seeing different places opened my eyes tremendously but, perhaps most importantly, demonstrated the possibilities of seeing and doing things differently.
There was much learning between there and here. Suffice it to say, the experiences of moving away from Alberta, having children, completing a Master's thesis, over-coming unexpected obstacles all while teaching full time, has made life interesting. Though I have to say, I have enjoyed every year of the last 25 years as an educator! Albeit traditionally set in location, working in a brick and mortar school, face-to-face with youth, I have always been interested in doing what works for kids as opposed to delivering content according to some politically motivated, prescribed mandate. "Teaching" for me has been more about connecting with those in my charge, guiding them to be self-directed learners. Beginning my career as a High School Mathematics educator, I strove to provide as many real world, hands-on activities as possible and integrating technology whenever reasonable to do so. I had many proud moments watching my students surprise themselves with the depth of understanding they could attain through exploration and experimentation as opposed to the more traditional approach of having me lead them specifically and procedurally, all at the same time and all in the same way, copying into their notes, my step-by-step instructions outlining a solution to a problem.
Though I did not know it at the time, I was setting the stage perfectly for my foray into Alternate Education. Accepting a position where my job was to lead a group of 16 students, who struggled with traditional methodologies and had unique learning needs that demanded a different approach, I further honed my skill to create learning activities that bore little resemblance to the text-based, worksheet approach commonly found in their previous school lives. It was here where I entertained more completely, the power of individualized instruction and pondered how technology would ultimately be essential in creating personalized learning environments that would be relevant to students today.
And now...
Both my parents followed my grandmother's foot steps and went "back to school" during their adult lives in and amongst raising 3 active children who participated in a variety of competitive sports and extra-curricular activities. My father completed a diploma in Computer Technology in Education, so that he could add technology use to his already progressive teaching style (differentiating, integrating real-world curriculum, and having students learn collaboratively before these concepts had been formally defined by academia). My mother also went back to school, in a combination of night classes and part-time studies, to acquire a specialization in Library Science. Looking back, I think that it was an unspoken expectation that my siblings and I would engage in life-long learning.
To facilitate a broader perspective on "learning" my parents and grandparents encouraged travel. They took me, my sister and my brother on camping explorations around Western Canada and the United States and helped us take advantage of travel opportunities that were presented through our schools and sports teams, often spending many hours fundraising along side of us in order to make the trips happen. But the effort was worth it! Seeing different places opened my eyes tremendously but, perhaps most importantly, demonstrated the possibilities of seeing and doing things differently.
There was much learning between there and here. Suffice it to say, the experiences of moving away from Alberta, having children, completing a Master's thesis, over-coming unexpected obstacles all while teaching full time, has made life interesting. Though I have to say, I have enjoyed every year of the last 25 years as an educator! Albeit traditionally set in location, working in a brick and mortar school, face-to-face with youth, I have always been interested in doing what works for kids as opposed to delivering content according to some politically motivated, prescribed mandate. "Teaching" for me has been more about connecting with those in my charge, guiding them to be self-directed learners. Beginning my career as a High School Mathematics educator, I strove to provide as many real world, hands-on activities as possible and integrating technology whenever reasonable to do so. I had many proud moments watching my students surprise themselves with the depth of understanding they could attain through exploration and experimentation as opposed to the more traditional approach of having me lead them specifically and procedurally, all at the same time and all in the same way, copying into their notes, my step-by-step instructions outlining a solution to a problem.
Though I did not know it at the time, I was setting the stage perfectly for my foray into Alternate Education. Accepting a position where my job was to lead a group of 16 students, who struggled with traditional methodologies and had unique learning needs that demanded a different approach, I further honed my skill to create learning activities that bore little resemblance to the text-based, worksheet approach commonly found in their previous school lives. It was here where I entertained more completely, the power of individualized instruction and pondered how technology would ultimately be essential in creating personalized learning environments that would be relevant to students today.
And now...