Online Faith Portfolio

My journey through writing and reflection

The Heart of the Teacher

“When I do not know myself, I cannot know my subject...” (para. 5)

“By identity I mean an evolving nexus where all the forces that constitute my life converge in the mystery of self: my genetic makeup, the nature of the man and woman who gave me life, the culture in which I was raised, people who have sustained me and people who have done me harm, the good and ill I have done to others, and to myself, the experience of love and suffering—and much, much more. In the midst of that complex field, identity is a moving intersection of the inner and outer forces that make me who I am, converging in the irreducible mystery of being human.” (para. 26)

Parker’s ideas resonate with me in at least three ways:

1. Having that amazing feeling that I have learnt something along with my students;
2. Feeling like an impostor in the role of teacher; feeling like I don’t belong in the class or lack the knowledge to be in the role;
3. Wanting to teach to the best of my ability but knowing the content is, realistically, forever beyond full mastery;
4. And, a fourth way that Parker resonates: Really connecting with my students out of a sense of confidence in who I am which comes through in solid connections with students.

After reading the article, I reflected on what it takes to truly be a great teacher and develop my practice to the best of my ability. As Parker notes, “I” lies at the core of knowing oneself and building a practice that conveys authenticity and connects with students. The story of Eric and Alan and the craft of teaching informs and illustrates what it means to be a great teacher: Eric denied his core self and suffered; Alan embraced it and excelled. This is what I want to emulate within my teaching as I am the sum of my life’s experiences, which means, in a sense, I have ‘baggage’ and am not perfect. Indeed, this is what makes for the proverbial ‘spice of life’ and makes life worth living writ large. Admitting to myself and knowing that I have a past with good and bad experiences that inform my teaching practice makes for a more genuine and reflective teaching practice, which will ultimately connect me to my practice, and, by extension to my students, with a more solid and resonant outcome.

Parker also notes that teaching blends the intellectual, emotional and spiritual. The nexus and balancing of these elements is what brings out teaching skill, passion, and connection: it is more than technique and thus, as a final reflection, I feel Parker’s message frames the journey that may be sparked in pursuing the outcomes of learning related to the course. I am excited to embark on the journey!

OCT Standards and Ethical Standards

Standard of Practice: “Ongoing Professional Learning”

I believe that ongoing practice improvement is anchored in a continuous, life-long commitment to learning and development. Taking this course is an illustration of my own commitment to this tenet. Indeed, registering for the Teacher Education pre-service program at York is further evidence of my desire and commitment to improving the quality of my practice through education. Admittedly, gaining access to the OCT requires the training, but, nonetheless, candidates such as myself are not compelled to enter the profession if the requirements seem too onerous: I am free to pursue other career endeavours should I choose to. That said, it is within my control to register for further education, and, as mentioned, I am a committed Life Long Learner and thus taking this course along with others (such as an Indegenous MOOC I completed last year through the U of A; or a Level 1 Personal Training Course and CPR certification I also completed last year) illustrates this.

Ethical Standard of Practice: “Care”

Building safe spaces that foster the well-being of students is a core foundation to not only adhering to the OCT Standards but is also part and parcel of my emerging teaching practice. In particular, I strive to maintain the safety of the environment my students are in: on Practicum, as one of my teachables is Tech, maintaining safe environments is key and is a priority for me and my Mentor Teachers. Safety can never be underestimated, especially when speaking of the Shop environment of the Tech class.

Outside of Tech and Shop and In the classroom, having open discussions and zero bullying policies ensure that students will feel safe: though my Practicum is not yet complete, I can say with certainty that this commitment will not waver.

To conclude, all the Standards and Ethical Standards matter and are equally vital components of a certified teachers’ practice; they are of equal import and value in other words. That said, the two I selected reflect both experience and demonstration of use in the main and how and why they matter to my overall teaching practice.

History

My reflection on how the history will color my practice will start at the end when Catholic Education reached parity in Ontario’s funding structure for all grades K13 in 1984. I will then move to reflect on this history as a foundational element to a practice built on knowing the past to help build the future for well adjusted and happy students. I will conclude with a brief thought on not being complacent about history and the dangers that may result when collectively, we forget about it. I’ll also touch on how knowing the past and bringing a deeper meaning based, in part, on spirituality, as noted in the Parker article, into my teaching practice, will create a richer learning experience and environment for my students.

As shocking and absurd as this may seem — I mean we are talking about kids after all — education and the money to fund it took over a century for Catholic boards and schools in the Province to have equality in money to pay for their work; this fact was not the least in rank of priorities, as more money was needed to pay for increasing numbers of lay teachers, especially as clergy aged and retired (or passed on). That it took so long should not be forgotten in a current climate of tightening public finances.

It is not surprising that the government wants to control and widen its bureaucracy at the expense of education: in a sense, governments, in general, expand as a matter of course with their impulse to centralize. The tension that this growth and centralizing tendency creates is real, and for separate school boards, fighting for their right to exist is core to their mission to continue to exist. Strategically, knowing why they are being attacked in the modern era, when sectarian violence is not the driver, but rather, budgets and money are, can help with effective defensive planning and building offensive capabilities through meaning driven instruction and teaching which is enriching for students and contributes to their happiness and success as adults.

Knowing the past history means as a teacher I can appreciate the sacrifices made in order to ensure quality education. The article emphasized limited tax bases as hurting Catholic schools: this is circular as education correlates to earning potential, with greater education generally leading to more money and economic prosperity. For my own practice, I do not take the past for granted and keep in mind the privilege we have currently to heart. Being aware of past hardships makes me not only a better person and teacher, it also serves to inform how I will pay forward the gifts I have received to future colleagues and students. Concretely, and in conclusion, for my teaching practice, knowing the past will translate in the following ways:

• Not taking for granted gains made in the past for the benefit of schools today;
• Understand that past had different challenges — apathy and complacency are the biggest challenge today;
• Faith helps bring meaning which is lacking (especially if judging from popular discourse in the media to take just one example);
• The Public Purse may prove unable to support all the programming it may want to take on which is a light of hope for a Community-centric return to education — as an educator, this means I can assist at a more meaningful level on strategy to help grow and make successful boards and schools faced with challenges from the outside (namely central government that has their own interest top of mind).

Curriculum

The ideas raised in the chapter made me think that as an educator, I want to instill affective ideas, behaviours, and general ways of going about life in my students that are in keeping with a spirituality that is part of the triumvirate of emotion and intellect as noted by Paker. Brief, this is part of my own ‘dna’ as a teacher.

The question the chapter raises pertains to the future and is related to the idea of Assimilation always being a threat — a challenge to negotiate within civil society. Can it be overcome or should it even be if Catholic education is to remain true to its virtues of Confessionalism, Scripture study and understanding, Charity and all other tenets of faith that potentially distinguish separate schools from secular schools?

Further thoughts

The overall purpose of Catholic education is to infuse meaning into the lives of students via teaching and learning the tenets of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The document, and my own video representations of thought stimulated by the reading, has made real, personally, some of my underlying ideas of secular education, perils and pitfalls of ideology being a major one, That said, some ideas, critical thought as an example, do dovetail with Separate education and Public education teaching and learning goals to be sure. That said, the purpose of a teacher who approaches the profession infused with faith and meaning, spirituality in other words, is to bring this concept to impressionable young students so that they too may benefit from the inner strength such thought brings to a life; else without such meaning, people run the risk of leading lives devoid of purpose to the detriment of society and their fellows writ large.

As far as approaching teaching through and via a ‘Catholic lens’, or if someone, student or otherwise, would be able to tell if I am applying such a ‘lens’, my answer would be yes. Everything I do, whether it be approaching my home and family life in terms of happily speaking about my spouse, children, and grand-children, to my presence and how I carry myself in the classroom, my beliefs carry though with compassion, empathy, and care, to say nothing of a focus on academic self-improvement and knowledge.

The last part of the question pertaining to lesson and curriculum delivery and design, though I am still a teacher candidate, I can say with confidence that for assignments I have used my feelings and beliefs to approach with care and compassion subjects that I care for. A current example of this that comes to mind is a unit plan I am building with a classmate related to genocide in the guise of the Armenian experience coupled with a virtual tour of the USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). This project must be approached, in accord with my own values and beliefs, with a sense of hope and optimism for the future which is necessary and in my opinion is required for sense making — it tangibly illustrates my views and beliefs in accords with spirituality for effective teaching with, in the example given grim but very important and relevant subject matter.