A little bit on who I am:
- Good day. My name is Sean Arthur Schofield. Born in 1997 on February 9th, I was born as a relic of a bygone age in a sense. Hong Kong handed back, the Cold War over, and as Francis Fukuyama had recently put it, it was ‘the end of history’. Then 9/11 happened. From that, one can see my interest in history which began at the young age of six. Given my birth year, I’m one of the first of Generation Z, and identify culturally with them. Growing up through the economic crash of 2008, my family and I were impacted, with my Father being laid off at the paper mill. We descended from upper middle class to middle class as such. With that in mind however, I was still remarkably cushioned. In terms of hobbies, I read voraciously, and very much enjoy gaming. Wanting to get out of my shell, I’ve started to get out more. I’ve joined multiple different tabletop games, and am now hosting my own Dungeons and Dragons campaign. I’m slowly picking up on sports in order to better be able to bond with my future students, as I’ve noticed on Practicum that the teachers and students bond over that.
In terms of teaching, as for why I want to be a teacher? It’s a combination of mental and physical fear, and paradoxically, hope. I’m an educated individual who’s read a fair bit on climate change and can see the writing on the wall. At the very least, it doesn’t appear to be getting any easier according to the long range forecasts. Thus, I have a duty to do all that I can to prepare the coming generations for the consequences of the actions of my generation in regard to climate change and socio-economic-political affairs. In addition, upon my first stint volunteering at an Elementary school and talking to the staff, I was horrified to learn the surprisingly high rate of adult illiteracy and adult semi-illiteracy. In hindsight, it speaks volumes as to my privilege that I had never considered that adults in this country would not be as literate as I am. After some reflection in regard to all the things in my daily life that involve reading and writing, I have taken it upon myself to ensure that no student of mine will go forward without being literate to their grade level. In short, I have a fear of illiteracy, but I hope to become a teacher so I can chip in and do my bit in combating it.
As for the latter element, the physical fear, I’ve come to the observation that while HVAC work as well as teaching are both mentally strenuous for me, I’ve discovered that the physical elements of teaching are far less. This is important, as after years of doing Trades work, I can feel my body, in particular my knees and back starting to fail me. As I believe that I can no longer physically perform the required actions for Trades and Trades like work, this becomes a make or break situation for me. I have to succeed, for there’s no other option available if I want to make peace with my mind, body, and conscience. In addition, not to get political, but the book The Uninhabitable Earth by Dr. David Wallace-Wells has changed my view on the state of the earth and it’s future. I see it as a moral duty to do my best to prepare the coming generations for the climate difficulties to come. If my generation wasn’t able to solve climate change for the following one, the least I can do is to help give them the skills and knowledge needed for them to try.
In addition, I will be mentioning here some of my volunteer experiences and how they have shaped me for the better as a person.
- Volunteer and extra-curricular activities (minimum 3, including a 100 word reflection about the meaning for each).
- I did volunteering at the local food bank when I was out east. This was a necessary eye opener for me, as I quickly realized that not everyone had the privilege of not having to think about where their next meal came from. I did quite a few hours there, helping out individuals and families that were fully representative of the community, regardless of race, age, gender, or faith. I have to specify that, as it was admittedly hosted in the basement of a local church.
- A similar experience occurred when I volunteered at the Kamloops Foodbank, albeit this one was fully separated from any religious involvement. It was interesting to see who used the foodbank respectively on both sides of the country, and the differences between those groups. While certainly having made me more compassionate to the food insecure, I also can empathize due to a lack of food when I was in my last month of university. Thus, assuming the principle allows, I’d like to always ensure that the students in any of my classes don’t leave lunch hungry.
- Last but not least, I did an hour of work to assist efforts at Thompson Rivers University recently to help pack hygiene kits for the homeless. While a small element on it’s own, it’s a reflection of the philosophy that I’ve been recently trying to follow of continuously doing what I can where I can to help others as best I can. Whether it be packing hygiene kits for the homeless, or simply on a personal level buying some food and water for a homeless fellow outside of the store where my car’s parked for the day, I’m trying to recognize the privileges I’ve been given by the peculiarities of my birth and pass that good fortune onto others as best I can.
List conferences, seminars, workshops and any other professional development opportunities you have completed (minimum 3 including a 100 word reflection about the meaning for each). An example could be the dance/play you did with Roxane Letterlough.
– Human Rights Conference https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kasari-govender-appointed-commissioner-1.5156744
I had the pleasure and honour to attend in part a lecture by Kasari Govender, British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner on January 22nd. She described the situation in regard to human rights in this province (or lack thereof). What I found interesting was that some of the elements of my course material, what with having Indigenous inclusion statements were reflected here when an elder spoke to the audience and presented opening comments. I also found some similarities between how educators interact with the public and how her organization interacted with the public, with a focus on Inquiry, Intervention, and raising awareness through public communication. It was sobering to learn that despite having ratified multiple international human rights commitments, British Columbia is still far behind in terms of housing availability, a social and employment safety net, and still have wide gaps in timely access by all to quality education and healthcare. One of the reasons why I wanted to become a teacher is to make the world a better place, little by little. So I tip my hat to organisations like these as if one’s not aware of the problem, how can one hope to take steps to fix it?
– Pow Wow
I attended a Pow Wow on February 3rd at the Sandman Center in Kamloops British Columbia. Besides being a fascinating event from a cultural perspective, quite a few things stood out that will be impacting my abilities as a future teacher. It finally clicked in the two hours I spent there the importance of cultural events in fostering and maintaining a sense of community, especially so for First Peoples, Inuit, and Metis who’ve lost so much to colonization. Second, it was a learning experience for me as it was different in regard to the details of how I had been traditionally raised in regard to formal, public events. I had been raised in the traditional Anglo perspective for public events of being quiet, sitting still, and being stoic, and had unthinkingly assumed that this was the same for everyone else. This event proved otherwise, with individuals clapping along, talking, watching with interest, and being involved. In a sense, it was a learning opportunity for both how I can act, and how others can act around me, and serves as a reminder for when I’m a teacher to not sweat the small stuff if a student is fidgeting or stimming, as long as it’s not disrupting the event. In addition, as someone of a pale completion and of an Anglo upbringing, it can be easy to isolate one’s self to only a handful of social, racial, and cultural groups, and so actively participating in cultural events hosted by the above mentioned groups benefit me and allow me to be more open and welcoming to my future students.
– Family Day BC Event.
On February 17th, I attended the Family Day event at the Tournament Capital Center at Thompson Rivers University. Unorthodox, given that I have no children, and have no intention of having children unless the environment and economy rapidly improve. However, given the profession that I’m going into, I’ll be working with children, and by extension their parents, a lot. Thus, I thought, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and what better way to learn of the joys and tribulations of being a parent than with interacting where they bring their children. With permission, I went around and asked questions to multiple parents. Every single parent, whether alone with their children or in couples reported that their cost of living had spiked upwards in the last five years. In terms of the event itself, the adults who attended reported ups and downs.
These observations I hope will allow me to better curate the experience for parents when they have to deal with faculty like myself when I become a teacher. Parents have one of the hardest jobs in the world, the least I can do is make it easier for them. In terms of positives, the parents I talked to were quite happy with the open layout, which ensured there was always multiple sets of adult eyes watching any of the children at once. They found it well planned and organized, all in an accessible location, and that as a whole, it was a good event. A quibble was that it needed to be better advertised. Negatives included a lack of parking, lack of stroller and wheelchair accessibility, the cost of, and general lack of variety of the booths to attend, with no real ‘kids’ food being present, and what food there was being overpriced. Some of the parents stated that while they thought it worthwhile to come, that there were better events in Hope. All these factors are things that I wouldn’t normally think of as a Bachelor but come first and foremost to parents, thus I feel it good and necessary that I immerse myself from time to time in the shoes of a parent.
Employment and travel (minimum of 3, including a 100 word reflection about the meaning for each).
-Labour
I’ve worked a lot of manual labour ranging from HVAC apprenticing to duct cleaning and roofing. Some people love it, a lot of people hate it, and I begrudgingly did it for money. Yet I want to be able to offer my students the skills and knowledge they’ll need so that they can choose to go into it if they wish, but aren’t forced into it like I was. Like it or not, in our Capitalist society, your occupation is one of the most significant factors in determining your quality of life, and I want to be able to give my students the best shot that I can give them at achieving both their dreams and a stable livelihood.
-Europe
I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to go do a Rhine river tour with my mother. I found it amazing, and I learned at that point that not all education could or should come from a book, in some cases you really have to see it to believe it. Now, that isn’t to say that I plan to fly every class I’ve got out to Holland or Hungary, but I learned from this trip that sometimes it may seriously benefit my students to go on a field trip, assuming the place is nearby, rather than in Europe. As sacrilege as it may be for me to say as a Bachelor of History, but not everything is found in book and film, when one could go and look and whatever it may be that we’re studying that day. If the opportunity is there for students to get the in the field or museum experience, I believe it should be taken, funding and time permitting.
-Out East
Having the privilege and honour to attend Acadia University changed me as a person for the better. I was exposed multiple different types of teaching styles, and have learned from some of the best out east. I learned the importance of both being professional and effective in regard to my teaching, while also being human and capable of compassion. I’ve seen that it’s possible to hold oneself to a set of standards and to be professional, while also keeping in mind that the individuals around me are human, and sometimes stuff happens and life gets in the way. Being able to achieve that balancing act I believe is going to be an essential element to being a successful teacher in the 21st century.