My Inspiration for Teaching

I am a certified red sealed chef and have worked in many high end restaurants and hotels before transitioning into a career in education; for the last eight years I had been the teaching chef of a culinary program at Tamanawis Secondary School in Surrey. However I have been a chef for more than half my life and decide to challenge myself by learning something completely different; I believe through life’s journey people must occasionally wonder out of their comfort zone to fully develop and achieve personal goals. While I was working at Tamanawis Secondary School I looked at all the different teaching areas in the school and I realized that if I was not a culinary instructor I would be teaching another hands-on course like Tech-Ed.  Consequently, a couple of years ago I started taking courses at the University of the Fraser Valley , moved on toBCIT’s TTED program, and now UBC .  Thus, my key reasons for pursuing a teaching degree are:   I would like to be a role model for my own children; I enjoy working with hands on learners; and I would like to expand my knowledge of trades’ technology and skills.

Not all students are academic learners, some  have been told to sit still and stop moving around all though their school experience and finally in a hands on program they are free to move around and create. When I was in high school I did not do exceptionally well academically, after high school I started my apprentice ship in cooking and was able to thrive; I worked lots of hours, went to college, and competed in various culinary competitions.  The purpose of any school is to prepare students for their future however, this does not mean exclusively academic pursuits, it can also mean trades related knowledge. Skills learned in a hands on-work environment can help prepare students for the work world by teaching a healthy work ethic, how to work in a group/team, responsibility, time management, and leadership.  The confidence of a student can flourish with the satisfaction knowing they have done a good job or completed a project by themselves.  I really enjoy the diversity of the learners and the challenging personalities that elective programs attract. Some of the students that are placed into trades programs are there simply because administration has nowhere else to put them due to behaviour problems, failing other courses etc. Furthermore, some of the more challenging learners become the best students in these programs.  Being a mentor and guiding the development of young people, seeing them grow, mature and develop new skills is very rewarding and self-satisfying. The principal of the school where I was teaching once told me that teaching is my calling and I agree with her.  I loved being a teaching chef, teaching, instructing, and evaluating high school students; I especially enjoyed their enthusiastic and passionate energy of the students which in turn invigorating and it stimulated my own creative juices.