Good afternoon,
Welcome to our beautiful province, we are very happy to have you at our school. Since you are new to our country. I thought it would be helpful if I were to share my beliefs about teaching in a Canadian school system.
In our country immersion in both English and French can be taught since Canada is a bilingual country. There is a strong emphasis on equality towards the students. We try to keep the environment as safe as possible and we like to see our students excel and one way to do this is by making them feel comfortable. We try to see the potential in each individual and help them grow. We are respectful of others as well as our environment, we share the state of our current environment and encourage students to keep the world clean.
Canadians have the stereotype of being very friendly but because of this, teachers tend to shy away from delicate subjects. There are many things that are taught indirectly but I believe that they should be talked about more directly such as racism and different sexual preferences.
I enjoy how the curriculum emphasizes on discussion, everyone enjoys sharing their opinions and we teach our students to be open to others’ opinions and to be free of judgements. Freedom of speech is very important, all different cultures should be able to voice their opinion.
Thinking for themselves, challenging what is being taught by not accepting everything that they are being told is very important. I am all for that, we are constantly learning from mistakes and finding new answers. We need innovators that aren’t afraid to think outside the box and who don’t accept no as an answer. I believe that this is very important for people all throughout their life.
In Canada the curriculum is simply a guideline so we are allowed to interpret it as we please. As long as our students learn the material, it is up to us to find a way to teach it. This makes the lessons more enjoyable for us as well as the students. We are able to put a piece of ourselves in the lesson as well as be fueled from our class’s energy. We hope to open their eyes to see the world from different perspectives.
These beliefs are what I find most important for Canadian’s these days. I look forward to meeting you.
Thank you again,
Kajsa Stroh