About Me!
Hello, My name is Alexa Martindale. I am from Prince George, British Columbia, which is located on the Lheidl T’enneh territory. The question of “Who am I as…?” is starting to pop up more and more my life, l think starting at “Who am I as a person?” is a great place to start! So let’s begin!
Who am I as a person?
Like I said before, my name is Alexa Martindale. I come from settler decent, and I have lived in Prince George my whole life. I don’t see PG as somewhere I have just lived, I see it as a place where I went to school, a place where I call home. I tend to be shy, passionate for things that I love, sporty, competitive, love good-ole binge watch of my favourite television shows, and I tend to be the one that holds the singular brain cell when I am with my best friends. As you get to know me, you will find that I tend to hide the fact that I love Broadway Musicals, and I’ll try to quote them at random times.
Who am I as a Life-Long Learner?
I started Elementary school back in 2005, then moved into high school around 2013/2014 school year, then finally I graduated high school in 2019. (That was not too long ago!) During my time in high school, I started to develop the person that I am as learner. I did not shy from the heavy academic classes, my semesters were always full. It wasn’t until my final few years, where I got to discover who I was a learner. During my Grade 10-12 years, I found my self constantly busy. I always finding things to do, like being in Multiple bands ( Jazz Band, Travel Band, Concert Band), having an Internship with the Prince George Cougars (WHL), High school soccer, being apart of leadership class, and finally Yearbook Club. I was always in the state of go go go. I decided that I am going to become a Life-Long learner (a term that Lisa Dickson uses for her students) in the beginning of fall 2019, I started my University career and started my path as life-long learner. 4 1/2 years later (December 2023), I completed my Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. I constantly see my self as a learner, so using this term ‘Life-Long Learner’ fits me well.
The Teaching Metaphor
My metaphor is my stuffed bear that I made in grade 9. This stuffy I made as one of my class projects in textiles. Since, I was the one that got to take creative licence in creating the bear, I got to make it my own. With any sewing project, there is a pattern and instructions that I had to follow; I made the choice to make the bear represent who I was at the time. Instead of making the bow that the pattern tells us to make, I decided to create a Tie instead. Let’s look at how this bear is a metaphor for me as a learner and as a teacher.
When I created this bear, I wanted something simple and easy as it was one of the first projects that we made. This stuffed bear represents me as a learner because shows who I was in school as a learner, yet it also shows who I am as a teacher. As a teacher and a learner, we have to be open to making mistakes. I cannot remember how many times I had to remove stitches from the bear to fix small mistakes or even remove stitching because I over stitched a section. This bear is also a representation of being imperfect, the amount of I had to redo stitching because I had to fix something is astronomical. It is important that we remember as teachers that we are all imperfect, we can see all the imperfections in the bear through the limbs being uneven.
After the bear was completed, It was not just a project that I completed. I remember rushing my teacher to mark my bear so that I could take it on a school trip. Remember the tie that I mentioned briefly? That tie represents who I am as a learner. The tie pattern is a musical notation, during the time music meant everything, my go to.
My Metaphor has not changed because I am not perfect and I will never be perfect.
Land and Place Based Learning
Standards
What Did I learn in EDUC 394?
What Did I really learn in this Class?
The British Columbia Curriculum…
The curriculum is everything to teaching. Simple as that. Curriculum is there for us a guide for British Columbia Educators. The British Columbia Curriculum website is quite simple to navigate.
Lesson Plans…
lesson plans are important when we are teaching. Lesson plans helps us plan what we are doing in the day. It makes sure that we are cover the Curriculum.
Locations…
Where and how were we learn is important. is the classroom welcoming? is the classroom calming and reflective?
Relationships…
Relationships are everything in teaching. Our relationships with our students are vital in creating a welcoming environment in the classroom.
We all have different strengths…
We all have different strengths, and we all have different weaknesses. We are never the same people.
It is okay to pivot in things aren’t working…
things change through out the day and it is okay! some things run smoothly but some time they don’t
Assessments…
some assessments are good, some are bad, and finally some are great! but it depends on what you are assessing!
Learning takes time…
All learning takes time and patience
Have fun…
make sure to have fun in your teaching!
Parker Palmer
You teach who you really are.
EDUC 376
EDUC 421
