On November 17th, the education cohort got the amazing opportunity to hear Kelsey MacDonald speak about how she found her “path with heart” in the education field and how she got to education in the first place. I found myself connecting to Kelsey on a personal level because her family is from Newfoundland and her parents moved to Prince George to give them all a better life just like mine did. She is very proud of her Eastern roots and values the connection Newfoundlanders have to food, music, and dancing and I relate to this because this is exactly how I feel; I am extremely proud to be from Newfoundland and I will share this statement along with Newfie music and food with anyone who is willing to talk about it or eat it with me. Like Kelsey, being from Newfoundland is a large part of my identity as a person and I know I will be taking this into the classroom with me as well. Kelsey talked about her experience as an EA at Nusdeh Yoh and how this made her realize that academics are on the backburner for most students, especially Indigenous students, when they come to school because their main focus is making it through the day and having enough sleep, as well as enough to eat and drink. Although I have already come to understand the importance of needing to be in good health in order to learn, including spiritual, mental, and emotional health, I hadn’t really stopped to consider the fact that sometimes academics has to come second. Sometimes all your students are going to need is a safe space and someone to give them a hug and be there for them and tell them that they matter and that they are safe and wanted. As a future teacher, I already knew this sense of safety and belonging was something I was going to value in my classroom, but I think I have been getting too wrapped up in curriculum and how everything needs to tie back to curriculum and how my students need to be learning the curriculum all day every day in order for me to be successful as a teacher. After hearing Kelsey speak about her experiences, I know now just how important it is going to be to foster this type of environment. However, I also understand how important it will be to recognize when academics should not be the main priority in my classroom because something else is needed more.
At the end of her presentation, Kelsey talked about how she has been lucky enough to find her “path with heart” as an educator and this is what helped her become the Land Based and Academic Resource Support Teacher for the district. She told all of us that we each have a gift and something that makes us who we are as an individual and we have to find a way to flourish in this. We as teachers have to find a way to bring our gifts into the classroom with us because we are guaranteed to connect with students who feel the same way as we do. I know now I will be bringing my passions for reading, curling, and Newfoundland into my classroom environment, in hopes of instilling passion for learning about any of these topics in my students. She also reminded us that we each have a reason why we were sitting in that classroom that day wanting to be teachers we just have to hold onto it and never forget it. This made me think about my why and about what I think my “path With Heart” might look like. I am in the education program because I want to make a difference in children’s lives and I want to be an integral part in helping to shape children to become who they want to be in the future. I also want the children in my class to know that it is a safe place to be and I want them to feel like they can always come back to talk to me and ask for help from me if they need it no matter where they are, what they are doing, or how old they get. I am unsure about what my true “Path With Heart” is going to look like, however, I know it is going to include the value of inclusive education, incorporating Indigenous education in my classroom in the most authentic way possible, celebrating and getting to know each individual child for who they truly are and for what they value, bringing each child’s values into my classroom environment so they all feel heard and respected, and more. I am grateful that Kelsey came in to talk to us today and I look forward to hopefully collaborating more with her in my future as a teacher candidate and beyond.
