There are three specific employment opportunities that I have had that in the past that highlight my teaching journey.
Integration Support Worker (2014-2015)
For a period of two years, I worked as an Integration Support Worker for KidzKlub (with my employment funded by the Victoria Native Friendship Centre) and for Integration Victoria. While the employment differed, the principle remained the same: supporting children in before and after school care, winter break, summer break, and spring break. It was there that I realized that I had a natural inclination to helping students grow, helping children with disabilities, and working with youth who need extra behavioral support. Working on life skills, safe and productive play, and with a focus on athleticism; this was my first foray into the field.
Tutor (2013-2016)
While going through school as an Education Assistant and for several years after, I worked as a tutor for the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and privately. There were times during 2015 and 2016 that I would work in my day job, work for the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, and then tutor privately. As a teacher, I will be expected to work some extended hours, particularly at the start of my career, and this due diligence began here; however, more pressing than these long hours is that being a tutor gave me the opportunity to begin to teach. Specifically, I worked with students in grades four through twelve in English and Social Studies, while another tutor worked with students in Science and Math.
Education Assistant (2017-2021)
Lastly, and most formatively, I worked as an Education Assistant in School District #70. Certified in 2013, I used the previous four years to work in before and after school care, heal and recover from a substantial broken leg, and move for better job prospects. All my previous experiences led to this and this led to me joining the Thompson River University’s education program. Here I gained some understanding of how schools are run, how strong teachers organize their classrooms, and how to deal with challenging behaviours in the classroom. It was here where I finetuned my initial practice for working with students and actualized the thought that I too could become a teacher.