This blog post was written by Marissa during her 4th year in the BES/BEd program.

 

 

 

When applying to university, I specifically picked York for the combination of the Bachelor in Environmental Studies (BES) and the Bachelor of Education (BEd). I had two passions, environment and education, and at York I got to pursue both. In these past three years, Environmental Studies has taught me the knowledge and skills that I will need to teach in my own classroom.

Now in my fourth year at YorkU, I have entered into my first year of "teacher’s college" (Taking courses specifically for the Bachelor in Education). The classes are different than what I was used to, but it’s a nice change. Many of the themes we talk about, such as indigenous education, class, hegemony and discrimination, are all things I have covered in my BES degree as well. I've found that the BES has given me the tools to excel in the BEd.

One of my required classes is focused on teaching environmental science. This is where my extensive knowledge of the environment comes into play. In this course, we learn about the issues of teaching science, how to teach, and engaging in different activities to do with students.  One fun assignment we had was to create and teach a whole lesson incorporating a hand-on activity. One groups lesson was on the digestive system and in groups, we got to make poop.

Part of the BEd is gaining hands-on experience.  To do this, we complete placements where we are working directly with students so that we are better prepared for having our own classroom one day.  In the first year of the BEd, we complete two  placements to gain teaching experience: One in a local community and another in a school.

My Community Placement

For my community placement, I was placed in York's local community helping under privileged children learn to read. It is such a great opportunity to see just how vital the community is to all students.

My placement was three hours a week and involved many different activities.  One activity I did was working on pronunciation and sounds with JK students. It was a good experience to work with children from a variety of needs and backgrounds. I also got the opportunity to lead library time including learning the school library system and helping students pick books. Another fun experience I did in my community placement was making homemade bread with the students. This was not only fun, hands-on, and delicious but was also to teach the students about measurements.

The community placement highlighted to me how fundamental the community is in raising and teaching a child. This school is the hub for the whole community, providing resources through a community parish, adult center and infant care. This school is much more than a school and is so rewarding for me to bring it back to my own classroom.

 

My Classroom Placement

My second placement is as a student teacher in a grade 8 classroom in Woodbridge. This placement is specifically to train me as a teacher in a traditional classroom setting. For the first couple weeks, I just observed the class so I was able to get to know the students, their schedule and ask a lot of questions. I then started to teach and create my own lesson plans. What’s great is that the program encourages learning by doing. In my school placement, I would learn in the moment and be given feedback throughout. I also was able to see the inner working of a school, get to know all the resources and how curriculum transfers to learning.

Currently, I am in charge of the subject Health. I create lesson plans, activities, and assessments for my students. I also help with marking and I even participate in clubs and sports teams such as helping coach the girls’ volleyball team. I even attended a tournament where I got to help coach and cheer for our team.  As a student teacher, I am an essential figure for every student and I am able to fully get an experience as a teacher under the guide of my mentor teacher.

In this placement, I have also experienced rotary and teaching different classes as well as my own. I have  been able to teach a variety of subjects including dance which has gotten me out of my comfort zone. Being able to navigate and experiment in lesson planning with these students over this year has given me the excitement to see just how my own classroom will develop in the future

I have found all aspects of the BEd very rewarding and feel like it really prepares you for a career in teaching. I am able to not only learn how to be a teacher by doing but also what it means to be one. Teaching is a vocation and through both my placements, I see how to be the best teacher I can be.  Environmental Studies gave me the ground work for understanding what I can bring to my students and now education had brought me even more learning to bring back to my undergraduate degree.