“All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” – Calvin Coolidge

The following is my professional growth plan:

  1. TOC for 1 full year. Dates 2016/2017
  2. Obtain a temporary contract at a Vancouver school. Dates 2017-2018
  3. Work at a school on a continuing contract for three years. Dates 2018-2020.
  4. Focus on achieving a Masters in Administration. Dates: 2020-2022.
  5. Apply to positions in Administration. Dates 2022-2025.

Professionally, I continue to situate myself in situations where I am challenged and stepping outside of my comfort zone. Confidence is large portion of what has made me successful thus far in my professional career and it will continue to do so as I develop as an educator.

Not only do I plan to continue my career in education as an administrator but I plan to involve myself in the development of the curriculum. There needs to be specific adaptations for students who have experienced trauma within their lives. Generally speaking, high school students are typically extremely emotional human beings and their emotions are also very tender. It is important that as teachers we are aware of our students well-being and are able to adapt our alter our lessons based on the needs of our students.  The new curriculum provides big ideas however, it’s primary focus continues to be content. The curriculum does not yet encompass specific behaviours that I believe students need to develop in order to prepare themselves to be successful young adults.

It is my goal to change the perception of how some teachers and administrator’s view high school education. I strongly believe that high school is an opportunity for students to learn content however, it is also the opportunity for kids to learn behaviours that will help make them successful or unsuccessful outside of the security of a school. I can agree that high school is a place for kids to feel safe to fail without any punitive damages however, I do feel as though students need to learn that certain behaviours could be punitive once they graduate.

It’s important that teachers are aware of students who may have suffered through a traumatic event so they can be sensitive to specific content or can anticipate any irregular behaviours for those students.

I promise to continue my research on how I can be a better teacher to those students who have encountered life events that can be life altering.  I am willing to keep this promise so I can better support these students within my classroom without having to refer them to a councillor.

Who Am I As a Teaching Professional?

Teaching has given me the opportunity to analyze who I am as a teaching professional and what matters most to me as an educator. Some students are often put in situations as teenagers and young adults that pressures them to act or respond similarly to adults without having the appropriate experiences. As an educator, it’s my duty to provide a safe classroom environment for my students to develop the skills to be able to handle whatever adversity they come across.

I consider myself a teacher that is passionate about my students personal and academic development. My main focus as an educator is to have my students focus not only on academic success but their success as an individual outside of the classroom. After my students leave my class at the end of the year, I want them to feel they learned both content and the skills necessary to succeed in a business environment and life skills that they can utilize regardless of my students chosen occupation. I truly believe that students are in high school to not only challenge themselves within the classroom but they are there to develop as young individuals. As Edward Zigler once said “There’s much more to life than one’s intelligence score. To be a decent human being. To have some character.

I was provided with many opportunities during meaningful teaching career to witness students learning in both a traditional classroom setting and informal and more casual setting which, opened my eyes to how teenagers interact and how I can use that to my advantage within my classroom.