TRB Standard 8
Educators contribute to the profession.
Educators support, mentor or encourage other educators and those preparing to enter the profession. Educators contribute their expertise to activities offered by their schools, districts, professional organizations, post-secondary institutions or contribute in other ways.
REFLECTION
For this TRB standard, I shared a Prezi I created to be used in a kindergarten social studies lesson that explores children's toys around the world, featuring photographs from Gabriele Galimberti’s series “Toy Stories”. I demonstrated this TRB standard because I shared this lesson/presentation on various platforms, including Teach BC as well as the shared resource page for my peers, contributing to the body of resources teachers can easily access.
In creating this lesson and sharing it with other teachers, I learned that community is essential to teaching. Especially with technology these days, it is so easy to share resources, and it makes everyone’s load lighter when we share our ideas and strategies for the classroom.
I used to feel overwhelmed thinking about the work ahead of me as a new teacher, but through contributing to the profession and seeing how others have contributed to the available resources, I am feeling a lot more supported by other teachers and educational foundations. This TRB standard has led me to believe that successful teachers cannot exist without the support of other successful teachers, and I feel fortunate to be able to support and be supported by teachers and by those creating great resources not only in Canada but around the world.
This TRB supports that it is not only students but teachers who need support. With nearly a 50% teacher burnout rate for new teachers, this TRB standard is a good reminder to help other teachers as well as seek help when we as teachers need it. Whether we need resources, guidance, or another form of support, it is important to remember that we can turn to each other for help.
A strength of my chosen piece of evidence is that this lesson is one that not only I am happy to share with other teachers, but one I will actually use in my classroom. I believe that it is a worthwhile activity for any kindergarten teacher to use, as it introduces cultural differences and similarities in an age-appropriate way.
This TRB standard is important to me as a new teacher because I believe that teachers should constantly be growing, contributing, and learning from each other in order to be the best teacher they can be. There is a lot of give-and-take in this profession, and I plan to contribute to it in the same way I gain from others who give their time and resources.
I will continue to hold this standard true by continuing to support other teachers in multiple ways, through sharing resources as well as lending an ear and providing emotional support. This TRB standard supports my attitude that it is important that teachers aren’t afraid to ask for help and support each other in a variety of ways, borrowing from each other’s strengths and collaborating within the community.
EVIDENCE
A video from our CAP project on International Peace Day
My POD and I hosted a celebration of the UN's International Day of Peace on campus at Vancouver Island University
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Vancouver Island University - September 21, 2018
REFLECTION
I have chosen to include a video I put together from our International Day of Peace event at the Vancouver Island University campus on September 21, 2018. With my pod, we encouraged VIU students to ask themselves what peace means to them and paint it on beautiful pieces of wood. When talking to future teachers, we encouraged them to think about how to make their classroom a peaceful place, and supplied them with lessons and resources they could use to reach this goal, or as an activity to do on the International Day of Peace. I also contributed music that was rather peaceful, and there were calming aromas floating around from our fresh picked lavender and rosemary on our tables. To have a greater impact globally, we uploaded lesson plans that promote peaceful classrooms to TeachBC to contribute to the teaching community on a broader level. This connects specifically to this TRB standard as we shared our collective knowledge through conducting activities locally, as well as sharing resources on local and global platforms. Another way it contributes to the standard is that we are not only helping other educators, but other students.
This evidence piece has impacted my insights relative to the TRB standard because this project is a great demonstration of ways that individuals can contribute something unique and meaningful to them. I naturally gravitated towards providing music , as it is something that I am interested in and is already a big part of my life. Other POD members brought wood and apples from their land, art supplies they love, resources they enjoyed collecting, or plants they were passionate about. I learned that when we have expertise in an area, it becomes our duty to share our knowledge and inspire other teachers, and perhaps show them how they may choose to incorporate some of what we know into their classrooms in a way that is authentic to them.
A strength of my chosen evidence is that we are carrying on a celebration and acknowledgement of the International Day of Peace from education students last year, which will hopefully be carried forward for years to come. We wanted to honour and learn from the workshop that took place last year, and had conversations about what went well and where we could take it this year. Hopefully, as we share this special day with the current PB5s, the activities and wealth of resources on the subject of peace will continue as a tradition at VIU in the future.
This TRB standard is important to me as a new teacher because I will be entering a career where I would figuratively drown if it not were the help of my colleagues and other educational resources. Once I progress from merely treading water to towing the raft across the lake, so to speak (or as I transition from student teacher to an experienced one) I will share all that I have learned and pay it forward, feeling ever indebted to the collective knowledge that was shared with me.
The aspects of this TRB standard are important because there will always be better, more developed ideas when more heads are put together. There’s no penalty for borrowing from another teacher’s idea in your classroom - in fact, it’s what good teachers do. They listen to other teachers about what works in their classroom, and they adapt it to suit their own classroom and their own teaching style and identity.
I will hold this TRB standard true as I continue to grow as an educator and can contribute more lesson plans and resources to platforms such as TeachBC, as well as continuing productive conversations with my colleagues. I will find unique ways to contribute what is authentic to me (such as music) and inspire others through my passion and expertise.
This TRB standard relates entirely to improving knowledge and skills of teachers, just not ourselves. One of our jobs as an educator is to not just educate students, but help education - and teachers - as a whole. There is no prize for the best or most unique lesson plans - what is valued instead is the willingness to share them and grow together. It is only through this sharing, collaboration, and discussion that we can then improve our own teaching as well as our schools as a whole.