The Professional Standards for BC Educators guide my professional development goals. These are the courses I’m taking next, and the standards that they support.
Standard 1: Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests. Educators have a privileged position of power and trust. Educators are responsible for the physical and emotional safety of students. Educators respect and value the diversity in their classrooms, schools and communities, inclusive of First Nations, Inuit and Metis, and other worldviews and perspectives. Educators foster students’ positive personal identity, mental and physical well-being, social and personal responsibility, and intellectual development. Educators engage students in meaningful participation in their own learning. Educators treat students equitably with acceptance, dignity and respect. Educators understand the importance of confidentiality, and protect student privacy, unless disclosure is required by law. Educators do not abuse or exploit students or minors for personal, sexual, ideological, material or other advantage.
I am enrolled in the Queen’s University Post-Grad certificate in Special Education and completed Special Education, Part 1 in August with an A+. TRU courses in Diversity and Inclusive Education and Inclusive Education: Specific Learning Disabilities provided an excellent introduction to educating students with exceptionalities, and I would like to explore this aspect of my practice further. My experience as an Educational Assistant has fueled my interest in this area. As educators, we have a duty to help all learners succeed. Certificate courses in special education will enable me to be better able to support some of our most vulnerable students by enhancing my understanding of their needs and developing strategies to help them to maximize their education.
I am enrolled in the Indigenous Canada MOOC through Coursera. I found the TRU Aboriginal Culture and Education and History of Education courses rich in ways to Indigenize my teaching, as well as providing an introduction to Indigenous history in Canada. I am looking forward to this course to broaden my knowledge of Indigenous worldviews and the contemporary issues that Indigenous peoples face.