Growing as an educator

Greetings from a teacher candidate who is all done her requirements for her Bachelor of Ed, but who doesn't feel like the finality of being done 10 years at Western has really hit yet. Last Friday was the final day of my "Alternative Field Experience" with Growing Chefs! Ontario. The month of April flew by, and it's only looking back that I can realize how many different things I am taking away from the experience.

When I was in my undergrad, toying with the idea of becoming a journalist or maybe a dietitian, I was in a freelance writing course with the opportunity to write a piece about just about anything. I had recently read The 100-Mile Diet and was into all things food which made me think about it beyond calories. I stumbled onto Growing Chefs!' website and in service of writing an article about eating locally, I chatted with Andrew Fleet, the executive director of the organization and the reason the Ontario branch exists. I knew what he was doing was powerful when he told me about kids in a class who mistook lettuce seeds for bacon bits when prompted to imagine what they might be with the hint that they are part of a salad.

My journey to becoming a teacher has had many twists and turns--during my Masters, I thought perhaps I would go down the route of academia, for instance. Throughout the past few years, I've been spending time volunteering with Growing Chefs, which made the decision to go back to them for my final placement feel natural. As I spent time in a range of classes (most of the time between kindergarten and the eighth grade), I realized that I really enjoy the classroom. In short, Growing Chefs! was a big part of why I decided to go to teacher's college after all.

Some of my lessons from last month are practical: I picked up on a way a teacher got her students' attention in one classroom, and noticed how the set-up of another really made for smooth transitions. I liked the way one teacher responded to a chatty student here, or I thought of things that I would do myself if I were in a certain classroom. I saw supply and LTO teachers, and I tried to ask lots of questions. I also got in touch with the way that going into a classroom as part of the Growing Chefs! Ontario team was a unique chance to simply be with the kids, immersed in setting them up to learn and experience food in a way they probably wouldn't be able to otherwise. I did a lot of dishes, and a lot of thinking about the kinds of experiences I hope I can create as a classroom teacher some day. I missed the phys ed classes of my last practicum, and without any spin classes on my roster this month, I realized how much I crave being a teacher of fitness--whether it's to students in a school or students at a gym. There is such power in taking the time to exercise, and there is great great power in learning about food, too!

Our AFEs are intended to give us a chance to experience a different facet of education. I know that plenty of my peers found the experience of finding a placement frustrating. I had great experiences for both of mine--the first at Jaffa, and then the time with Growing Chefs! Ontario--and I got to immerse myself in education focused on things I am passionate about--food and the outdoors/environment. I had time to reflect on how these things get left out of--and how I can incorporate them into--the classroom. For that, I am grateful. Now is my chance to take those unique opportunities and translate them into my own teaching making me into a better teacher who brings something different to the table.