Classroom Teaching Assignments

SCHOOL DISTRICT 27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin)

Full-Time Classroom Teacher | Mile 108 Elementary | September 2018-June 2019

  • Being responsible for the full grade seven curriculum required me to consider learning perspectives of a diverse group of students, including First Nations and religious views. When teaching the required geologic time scale, I was cognizant of certain students’ religious views that challenged this Scientific theory of our Earth’s formation and age.
  • I used the LesPlan current events lessons entitled “What in the World” for my grade seven class. This weekly current event covered global racial, medical, environmental, and economic issues. Link: subscribers (The actual lessons require a sign-in, but this will give you a general overview of the website).
  • The grade seven curriculum continues with studies of the French language. I used the pictorial representation of vocabulary to help the students learn the terms and understand the concepts of basic French conversation.
  • Students were assigned inquiry projects of ancient civilizations and required to compare them to various present-day nations: “representations of the world according to the religions, spiritual beliefs, myths, stories, knowledge, and languages of past civilizations and cultures” (Govt BC 2015).

My experience as a classroom teacher has taught me the value of knowledge with regard to global competency. It is vital for a teacher to acquire global knowledge in order to teach it to their students. Having a solid foundation about the cultures of Ancient Egypt, for example, is important when creating an engaging assignment for grade seven students. Also, as I learned about ocean pollution I was able to create a Science unit with more confidence. This detailed knowledge allowed me to form lessons that encourage students to become active participants and teach other classes about how plastic affects aquatic ecosystems.

 

Part-Time Classroom Teacher | Lac La Hache Elementary | January 2018-June 2018

For this assignment, I was responsible for one (grade four through seven) split grade class. I planned, taught, and assessed Science and Social Studies for the four grades.

Again, teaching focusses on sharing knowledge. While my attitudes and values were important, teachers sometimes need to suppress their biases. For example, not all students may have the same passion for ocean environment preservation that I do. I cannot force them to express the same concern, but I can teach them the importance of keeping ecosystems in equilibrium.

The most memorable cultural learning experience was when I arranged for an Elder from our local Canim Lake Band to lead a drum making workshop for the class.  Both my class and I learned about the meaning of drumming through stories from the Elder and we were all able to make a drum.  It was a beautiful example of learning about another culture through their traditional storytelling method as well as participate in a hands-on activity that allowed us to experience the intricacy of constructing a First Nations drum from scratch.

 

Teacher on Call | All schools: 100 Mile House/Williams Lake | March 2017-Present | Employee # 41334

When I am not at school, I am still employed as a Teacher on call in School District 27.  This job exposes me to a vastly diverse group of students on a daily basis since each day is a different assignment.  I need to become familiar with students quite quickly and learn potential cultural traits.  For example, I meet many First Nations students working as a teacher on call, yet traditions vary between even the local bands.  I endeavor to ask some of these students to share stories with me so that I can learn about who they are as individuals.  An example of this was that I learned about the story of Turtle Island before I had read it in a book, and it is a story that has stuck with me because of how it was told to me in such a personal and memorable manner.

My teaching experiences have exposed me to a diverse community of students, ranging from Syrian refuge English learners to members of the local First Nations. Meeting students from different areas of the globe has allowed me to learn the necessity of teaching all students about global competence.  As our world becomes more interconnected through things like international students and diversity in the workplace, we need to gain a deeper understanding of our fellow humans, one that extends beyond simple acceptance and attains a deeper cognitive understanding of individuality and origin.

 

TOTAL POINTS CLAIMED FOR THIS SECTION: 5

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