Today's Reflection:
Unfortunately I'm having some issues with my internet connectivity so I missed a couple parts of the presentation, but I will definitely watch the video after to fill in any gaps.
It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through the course! I feel so much more confident and capable with the new tools you've shown us. Thank you for the article you sent me yesterday, I had never heard of Transformative Learning before so it's definitely something I'm going to keep in mind and continue learning about.
Though today's reflection isn't necessarily related to the course content, I have to be honest that this week I have been having some serious doubts about getting into the teaching profession. Seeing the gaps in the province's expectations for teachers versus what they're actually providing for resources is extremely discouraging. Coupling that with Pallister's completely tone deaf remarks about teachers showing initiative by paying for school supplies out of our own pockets is another stark reminder that teachers are often left at the mercy of government officials who are mostly concerned with the bottom line. In addition to that, the upcoming reforms to our province's education system do not give me a lot of confidence that these issues will be resolved anytime soon.
In my first year of university, one of our professors shared that 50% of teachers quit within the first 5 years. This is a horrifying statistic that continues to stick in my mind. It's also troubling to think that since the introduction of blended and remote learning throughout the pandemic, it's very possible that in-person education will slowly be phased out and replaced with more and more virtual learning platforms. While I'm sure many teacher-candidates experience these doubts, I also know that it's important to share these concerns with senior educators to hopefully gain additional perspectives. If you have any words of wisdom to share, I'm all ears!!!
I can sympathize entirely with your hesitation regarding the teaching profession. It is a wonderfully rewarding job in many ways but it can be crazy making frustrating as well. Learning any profession is as much learning a set of coping skills (lots of square breasthing :) as much as TPACK skills. We can talk about that more as we go along in class. Be good to yourself.
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