My final week has now concluded at PSO secondary in 100 mile house. I spent the majority of the final week at storefront alternate school where i lead the students in a biographical tattoo assignment. Students were expected to design their own tattoo that reflected a dramatic point in their life. This was a very revealing assignment and for the most part, many of the students participated. It was through the students self designed tattoos that I heard their lifes hardships and the many trials they have been through, and through art we were able to communicate on a different level. Many of the students in Storefront alternate school suffer from severe behavioural issues. The behavioural issues that appeared in regular school are somehow made easier through the one on one environment, and the slower work pace. However, i still see a recognizable struggle in these students, not in their behaviour, but in their communication. They all have important stories, and they all have unique perspectives. I would like these students to recognize art as an outlet for them to create a visual metaphor, and to have their stories recognized as beautiful, powerful things. I was slightly disappointed I could only run the tattoo art unit for a day. It was such a positive experience that i would have liked to have started it sooner. Alas, many of the students were prepping for final exams, so art tends to take a backseat. I also believe that in the three weeks i had a relationship with these students that came to a plateau. I found in alternate programs, much of the progress is dependant on consisstency. Many of these students come from radical backgrounds, and from non consistent environments. After being there for a certain amount of time, students tend to remind themselves that i only played a temporary role in their classroom. All and all my experience was a great one. I will miss the alternate and never forget the amazing students i came to know at PSO. 

Today concludes the second week here at PSO, 100 mile house. This week was pretty hetic, jumping around to many programs in the district. This week I got to take part in the resource department, store front school and of course the alternate.

The resource department is a graduate certificate program for students with learning imparments. I spent most of my time there getting to know the wonderful ladies on staff and some of the fascinating students taking part in the department. These students with the aide of there TA’s and teachers are able to build community and make connections with one another through one on one experience.

This week I spent two days at storefront school. Storefront is an off site alternate program usually dealing with students showcasing severe behavioural cases. These students are classified as high risk not to graduate, but with the individualized learning method, and the one and one involvement most students are able to earn their dogwood certificate. Practicing these strategies has earned PSO and Storefront alternate programs some of the highest completion rates in the district.

This week both of the alternate programs were prepping themselves and their students for a very special “out in schools” presentation coming to the district. For some of these students it would be the very first time beig exposed to LGBTQ in a positive non threatening light. “Out in schools” held two private, more personaliZed presentations for the alternate programs. This help facilitate a dialogue. I took part crowd managing the presentation at storefront school. Many faculty were concerned with the behaviours that could arise during the presentation, and were fully prepared to send students to in school, or home for the day. To the surprise of all the staff the students responded quite well to the presentation, with few rude interruptions. This presentation was such a progressive and large step for 100 mile house to take part in. Years before students had been trying to facilitate an environment for their hidden LGBTQ community, and now with the help of “out in schools” their voices were being heard for the first time.

For our pro D day we were pleased to attend another Out in Schools, informative presentation for staff and community members. It was so great to see the community open their hearts to the presenters, and open their minds to facilitating a more LGBTQ friendly environment.

I can’t wait to see what next week holds for me. I’m planning to hold a sharing circle for the students where we will be designing our own temporary tattoos. The tattoos will serve as representational journals, to help the students open up to me, and to one another.

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

100 mile week one

Today concludes the first week at PSO secondary. On my first day i was please to enter the alternate program at PSO, where I was greeted by a friendly staff and  a small room of self motivated students. Self motivation seems to be the key of how the alternate lends it’s claim to fame. Every student works at his or her own pace, completes their own subject units, and are given unit tests all when convenient for them. At first the idea of leaving students to their own learning left me quite skeptical. The learning environment had an unstructured feel, students were allowed to come and go as they please, and it didn’t give me much confidence for students to just begin working. To my surprise the students had no problem motivating themselves. True the process was a bit slower, but the drive was apparent. Students are also expected to take part in a sharing circle that occurs at least once a week. During my first week two sharing circles were held. The topics discussed revolved around “giving advice” “how we treat people” “food security” and “smoking”. The discussions held were very thoughtful and thorough, challenging the students to think critically about the topics and lend examples from their own experience. Each student participated in the discussion, and all were welcome to add or give reflections on their thoughts and feelings. The sharing circle provides a safe and comfortable setting for students to share, and the overall feeling was very welcoming. As an outsider coming into this environment I was so pleased to be so welcomed and excepted into their space. Students were friendly, curious, and polite, and I’m so excited to see what happens next week at PSO alternate program.