It did not snow this week! But that meant it was free rein for mosquitoes, and they certainly took advantage. After significant scratching, I decided to count my bites. Forty-one. I have forty-one mosquito bites. That is a personal record. I have never seen so many mosquitoes at one time. Right now, my itchiness is leading me to prefer the snow.

This week presented many challenges, some of which turned out well, others were just plain challenging. The mosquitoes are atop my list. I also completed my first ever “swamp run”. To do this, I had to help kids run through the swamp, across shoulder-deep ditches, through thick mud and sticks and bushes. This was a new experience that I would not have done on my own, and probably won’t ever do again. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it, though. This week was exhausting. Our days started with a staff meeting at 6:30AM, and ended with another small group staff meeting that ended between 10:30 and 11PM. I enjoy working hard and being busy, but I was under the impression that CFE would be more along the lines of working 5-10 hour days (not 16). This week also presented me with the challenge of dealing with my fear of heights. My group did the high ropes, during which I had to clip and unclip kids along the cables. I did not enjoy walking across a tight rope, fifty feet in the air, but I am glad I did it. The high ropes course ended with a zipline down from the top of a very large tree. It was terrifying climbing up and getting ready to jump off the platform. My legs were very shaky. But zipped down to the ground was really fun, and again, I am glad I did it. The final challenge for me was the food. The food prepared was good, and adequate, but I really enjoy cooking for myself. I enjoy eating certain types of foods, and avoiding others. It seemed that the foods I tend to avoid were quite common this week.

Despite these challenges, I learned a lot at Educo. I really like their emphasis on environmental sustainability. I would like to take that back with me when I return to the classroom. As well, I now have a few more little games and icebreakers that I can use to get to know my students, and to help them get to know each other.

This past week at Educo has definitely been an experience outside my comfort zone. Educo is an Adventure Camp west of 100 Mile House, without electricity, running water, or cell phone reception. My experience at Educo has made me more aware of my dependence on these three things, as well as their negative environmental impacts. I agree with the staff at Educo that we, as human beings, need to be more conscious about how our actions and lifestyles affect the environment. They do a better job than I do of practicing what they preach. But, they have inspired me to be more environmentally aware in the classroom. I do have strong beliefs that we need to do a better job of conserving energy, but when I was teaching during practicum I was too overwhelmed with PLOs and marking and other stressors that my mind did not even think about our planet.

The hardest part of the week was trying to stay warm. I sound like a spoiled city girl princess, but it is true. It snowed on Wednesday. I lost feeling in four of my toes for an entire 24 hours. The days were slightly warmer, but the nights were awful. I thought I was prepared (with thermal long underwear, fleece pants, 2 pairs of thick wool socks, a fleece blanket, and a mummy sleeping bag good to -11°C), but I honestly did not think it would be this cold in May. I was placed with a group of twelve First Nations children aged five to eleven. Several of the children had behavioural disorders and required constant supervision and instruction. Working with this group was challenging for me, and reaffirmed my choice to work with high school aged students. As well, several of the students in this group had lice (which we learned after we had shared blindfolds and bandanas several times over the course of two days). Luckily (we think), it did not spread to any of the staff members. To ice the cake, I burned my hands while cleaning oven parts yesterday. I wore rubber gloves, but some of the oven cleaner got inside and burned my hands. I think of myself as a tough girl who can take a lot of pain, but this is not a pleasant feeling.

Despite its challenges, I did have a lot of fun this week. I went canoeing (with a five year old who thought that paddling meant scraping his paddle across the surface of the lake and sending sprays of cold water backwards at me) at sunset around a beautiful, calm, lake. I saw loons, ducks, and just missed catching a glimpse of a beaver. I also learned how to belay while rock climbing. The kids got to climb the rock wall, and I was allowed to belay them. Seeing these kids reach the top of the fifty-foot wall was empowering. Hopefully, the kids can use this experience to help them conquer fears and build self-confidence.

I am in Williams Lake for the weekend and then am heading back to Educo with Kathryn on Monday. To maximize my experience next week, I need to keep rolling with the punches, and keep being useful. I am going to focus more on keeping the kids engaged in the activity, and suggesting new activities to the staff members when the kids lose interest and get bored.

My main question for myself after this week is, how could I tie a school trip to Educo into a science or biology curriculum? It would be easier to connect it to a P.E. class, or a Leadership class (both of which I would like to teach), but I want to challenge myself to justify a trip for a biology or science class.

What a week! I am having a great time up in the Cariboo. This relaxing but exhausting week has been full of new experiences. Before I can talk about my experiences, I first need to acknowledge how welcomed I feel. Everyone up here is really nice, and has been incredibly accommodating. Just now, Jessica locked herself out of her dorm room, so we called the superintendent of the district, and he showed up 5 minutes later. I am having a tough time imaging that would happen in the Lower Mainland. We mentioned we wanted to go canoeing, so they dropped lifejackets off at our dorm.

This past week I was at Skyline Alternate School in Williams Lake. It was a fantastic experience. The alternate set up is an entirely new experience for me. It really opened my eyes to differentiated learning, and integrating memorable life experiences into school. This week was very exciting. While at Skyline I was exposed to a number of experiences I don’t think would normally happen at a “regular” high school. I went to see the work site where the show the Timber Kings is filmed. We met one of the owners of Pioneer Log Homes and got to wear hard hats and walk around the giant log houses they are building. I met some of the guys who are on the show. The principal at Skyline is trying to establish a relationship with Pioneer Log Homes, so that some of his students can work there. I also got to take a few students outside for a P.E. class to play around on some mountain bikes. That was really fun. Yesterday, I went with a teacher and a few students to an equestrian centre where I got to ride a horse. Pretty awesome! After school yesterday the principal took us all (the CFE-ers) mountain biking. It was so much fun, and also a bit terrifying. It might be my new summer hobby.

This week was great, but the alternate high school system does have its challenges. I found it very difficult to connect with certain students. I also had difficulty feeling useful sometimes. I felt like I was floating around without doing very much. I did help students with their work, but it felt very strange in comparison to full on teaching during practicum. I don’t think this is an alternate issue, but rather just me being used to full-time teaching. Emotionally, it was challenging to establish a balance with the students. I wanted to be supportive and caring, but also felt like they were trying to manipulate me at times (a few, not all of the students). I tried to be compassionate and supportive, without being naïve.

This past week was very different from my practicum experience. For my long practicum, I was at a very large school, with almost 2,000 students. At Skyline, there were usually only about 50 kids at school each day. I really enjoyed the close-knit community feel, where everyone knew each other by their first names. Even the kids addressed their teachers by their first names. This experience has broadened my mindset about teaching high school. I realize now that the alternate setting is not just for kids who flunked out of “regular high school”. Skyline has quite a few students who are strong academically, but did not find “regular high school” to be a good fit for them. I also enjoy the high level of differentiation. Each student is working at his or her own pace, and the teachers adapt to help each student succeed. Self-directed studies are the norm. There is also a large emphasis on real life applications. Teachers spend a lot of time helping students with their resumes, and getting them ready for the workforce.

The alternate setting for high school, much to my surprise, actually fits in with my personal philosophy about teaching. I believe that the classroom is just a starting point for education. Most learning happens outside the classroom. There is more to life that just studying and doing homework, and Skyline has supported that view. They believe in getting kids outside, and getting them connected with potential employers. Education is more than PLOs and IRPs.

My final thought from this week is; can I teach at an alternate high school (and be more than a 1 week floater)?

Today is my last day of my long practicum. Crazy to think where the time went! It definitely was not easy, by any means. There were many tears (mostly on my end) and a few breakdowns (thanks, Mom, for listening to me whine and complain). I had a very positive experience during my practicum. For the most part, things went well and I made quite a few positive relationships with students. I was naive coming into teaching, though, in thinking that everyday I was going to make a difference. There were several days when I was just trying to get through the day. I really do hope that I made a difference. And I hope I am not being naive in thinking that I think I did make a difference for at least a couple kids. I have 2 more classes to teach today, and then I am completely done my practicum! I have tonight to celebrate (and REFLECT) and then tomorrow I need to pack myself up because Sunday I am heading up to Williams Lake for my CFE. I am very excited! I am going to be spending a week at Skyline Alternate Secondary School, and then 2 weeks at Educo Adventure Camp. I am really excited for my next adventure.

Next post – from Williams Lake! 🙂