Going into this workshop, I thought that it would be a great “shadowing” opportunity of one of my supervisors, Cindy. I did not know what “facilitation” was or meant, and so my intent was just to sit and listen.

However, it turns out that facilitation is like teaching, but with a very small difference. I was listening to all of the “challenges” that the participants of the workshop were experiencing, and my mind literally had a flashback to all of my education classes where I learned about classroom management and other challenges to teaching. With each challenge said, I felt more and more welcome and like I belonged there because I’ve experienced all of those challenges as well. I was probably one of the youngest people at the workshop, and also with the least experience, but when we did 4-per-group activities, my group members looked to me for solutions to the challenges, and even for mutual confirmation. This made me feel like I had a voice, with things to offer, even if I am still a new teacher.

I know that during my practicum, when some of these challenges came up, I felt that I was not meant to be a teacher. Being at this workshop gave me a new insight – these “challenges” will always be there when teaching or facilitating, even when teaching adult students. The key is to figure out what works for your students/audience to solve these challenges, which is an easy thing to say but a hard thing to do. However, it is a great feeling to know that I am not alone.