“Take chances! Make mistakes! And get messy!” As a future educator (hoping to teach science), I would like my students to  look through a more holistic, less discrete lens; Everything is interconnected, and the added focus on Ecology and First Peoples’ Principles of Learning in the new BC curriculum will help facilitate this view. Like Ms. Frizzle and her Magic School Bus, I want students to be exposed to plenty of experiential learning, linking science and “real life”.

My real life teaching journey has taken me to some amazing places, one of which was Amman, Jordan. In the school I taught at, grade three students choose to pursue either Muslim or Christian studies, based on their family’s beliefs. One day, one of these grade three students looked up at me inquisitively and said, “Miss…are you a Muslim or a Christian?” When I replied with, “I’m neither,” she looked very confused, and retorted, “Well, what do you believe in?” I thought about it: “I believe in being a nice person.” She seemed to think this was an okay answer. “Miss, you are very nice.” I smiled, “Then I guess I’m doing my job.”

Ultimately, I want to encourage the “nice” in people. I think this quality is associated with self-worth and perspective, both of which we can help foster in the classroom. I want to help children become lifelong learners with a deep understanding and a broad set of social skills. I want to build an inclusive community where my students can accept themselves for who they are, but embrace the differences in others. I want them to explore, “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”