Curriculum as Place

Autobiographical Assignment

Raquel Bellefleur

ECS 210

January 29th, 2013

Curriculum as Place

Curriculum as place means that experiences, places, people, and moments constantly shape our lives. I am not the same person I was at this time last year; I am constantly growing, changing, coping, learning, adjusting, questioning, and feeling. Therefore, my identity is fluid and I am a product of my environment. This autobiographical piece will provide a series of snapshots that represent who I am in this space and place and what led me to the path of becoming a teacher. I will identify significant moments in my journey and explain how these moments, places, and people have shaped my life, beliefs, and values as a future teacher.

This is the first snapshot I have chosen: a picture book about tractors

During the summer of 2009, after I had completed grade nine and graduated from the Weyburn Junior High, my good friend encouraged me to help out with a summer program she was volunteering with at the Weyburn Family Place. The Sunny Scholars Program is for children ages 3-6, many of whom have special needs. It runs during July and August every weekday from 9:00 to 3:00. That year, the coordinators planned events like, going swimming, doing gymnastics, touring the fire station, going to the animal park, going bug hunting, visiting a farm, and much more. Because of my friends suggestion, I decided to volunteer my time for one day and expected it to be a one-time occurrence. I didnt anticipate falling in love with the program, becoming attached to the children, or volunteering every day of that entire summer; I didnt know that seemingly insignificant decision to volunteer for a day would shape my life.

The snapshot I chose represents something I remember most from that summer: E. E was a very quiet, shy little boy. He usually played alone, never talked to anyone extensively, and was often overlooked by student volunteers and staff because he wasnt causing any trouble. I started making an effort to talk to E consistently and to somehow get involved in his play every day. At first, this involved me sitting with him and asking him questions about what he was doing, only to receive one-word answers or be ignored. Then one day, I discovered Es love of tractors. I asked him if he wanted to read a book with me, and he quickly chose a book about tractors. As I read him the story, he would interrupt me to tell me exactly what kind of tractor I was reading about and exactly what it was used for. He knew every tractor in the whole book! I was amazed by his knowledge and thrilled by his sudden talkativeness.

Throughout the summer, I joyfully watched E grow into a giggly, silly, exuberant little boy. He started playing with others, often instigating games of travelling adventures, where the kids would pack up suitcases and purses, put on travelling hats, and venture across the Family Place playrooms. E absolutely blossomed that summer. I received many comments from the coordinators about how I had helped E come out of his shell and I am still extremely thankful I was able to do that. When I returned to volunteer the following summer, I tried not to expect E to remember me, for fear of being emotionally crushed by this four year old boy. E didnt run to me or hug me or jump up and down when he saw me, but he slowly made his way over to me, gave me a puzzled look, and then said, Me and you used to play together, right? But that was a long time ago, right? I just melted, and all I could do was smile and nod while my heart overflowed inside me.

This experience ignited my passion for working with children. It showed me the rewards of being a consistent volunteer and revealed what a big difference consistency makes for children. It also grew my comfort zone and my ability to be really silly with children. Looking back, this was the first experience that made me realize teaching might me for me. Because of this experience, I value consistency and caring and believe that being there for and truly caring for students is extremely important. I believe students will remember kindness, empathy, listening, and the time you put in, just like E remembered the time and love I put into our relationship. Finally, this experience taught me to be myself in my teaching and helped develop my belief that you cannot teach without exposing who you are.

My second snapshot: a cowboy hat

Another important experience that changed me and shaped my values as a teacher was working as a student volunteer in the Functionally Integrated Program (FIP) at my high school throughout my grade twelve year. My role was to work, usually one on one, with a student on whatever they were working on, usually spelling and end of the day reflection. End of the day reflection meant helping the students fill out sheets that identified the best part of their day, who helped them that day, what they could do better the next day, and what they were looking forward to. I would talk through the questions with them and write their answers down in big letters, which they would copy onto their own sheets. Working with teenagers in this program was a new experience for me, as my prior experience had all involved working with children.

A memory that stands out for me happened one day when I stopped by the FIP room during lunch hour. Everyone was busy doing their own activities except K, our classs 17-year-old self-acclaimed cowboy, who was standing with his walker, staring at the blank projection screen on the wall. I knowingly smiled. Hey K, you want to sing me some karaoke? I asked him. He happily agreed, and instructed me on what to type into YouTube. When we found the right video, I pressed play and sat down on the floor, under the wall projection. K sang his heart out to that country song, his voice full of feeling and love. He performed like he was in front of thousands and when he was finished, I applauded, cheered, and made sound effects like I was thousands of people, ecstatic to be there listening to him sing. As he grinned at me and wiped the sweat off his forehead, I could see that he was truly proud of himself, for who he was in that moment and for his ability to perform.

This experience helped me realize the importance of listening. Without listening to the students, I wouldnt have known what was frustrating them or how to help them work through their frustrations during end of the day reflections. Through listening, I could help the student I was working with make goals to do better at the next day, as well as encourage them in their work and celebrate their successes. Additionally, I was affected by seeing how my support was so encouraging to these students, as illustrated in my story when K was so proud of himself after I cheered him on in his singing. This experience taught me to see my students holistically, rather than just looking at their academic capacities, which includes asking students how they are doing or pulling them aside to talk if they seem to be having a rough day.

J and I in our silly sunglasses

From January to July of my grade twelve year, I was a mentor with the Weyburn Cognitive Disability Strategy. I planned activities for J and I to do together, such as going to the spray park, creating crafts, playing baseball or basketball, going to basketball games, going on walks, going swimming, adventuring out to my grandparents farm, and creating a scrapbook of out time together. One of my favourite memories of spending time with J was when we went to a basketball game together. This was the first time I had spent time with him outside his home (as the organization suggests making the transition slowly), and it was an amazing experience. Despite my fears that J would get bored and not be able to sit still long enough to watch a whole game, J was intensely focused and was soon loudly cheering the players on. I began telling him the names of some of my friends on the team, and each time they got the ball he would yell out their names along with shouts of encouragement. J was also enthralled with the mascots at the basketball game. He couldnt believe there were real people inside the big, feathered Eagle costumes, and continually asked questions about them and laughed uncontrollably when they danced around. On the way back to Js house, he chattered and chattered about the players, the mascots, how loud the people were, the food we ate, and more. The next week when I picked J up, his dad told me he had talked about the mascots and the basketball game all week! To see that I could help provide new and exciting experiences for J was an incredible feeling.

This experience grew me as a mentor because instead of being embarrassed of Js actions, as was my original tendency, I learned to be proud of him and embrace his excitement in all its forms. Mentoring J often tested my patience, but in this testing I learned strategies to help him listen. For example, I learned to warn him at least fifteen minutes before we had to leave a given place and give him a periodic countdown to get him used to the idea and to help him accept the transition. Moreover, my mentorship experience further grew my ability to be flexible. I learned to accept that my plans wouldnt always go as I had planned them, and to let J take control and use my original plan to create something of his own. I had to let go of my foreseen outcomes and let him use his unique skills and interests to arrive at his own outcomes, which often turned out to be more meaningful than my predetermined outcomes. Because of this experience, I value patience as a skill for teachers, especially in the elementary years. It also taught me the value finding strategies that will help each in