After cleaning and locking up my homebase apartment for the final time, readying my luggage for the airport, I tasted that bittersweet feeling once again of ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’. Now, having arrived; after flying through turbulent weather to reach Paris, before flying out to Calgary tomorrow, the ending and beginning of my TAB experience has connected itself to form a great circle: where beginnings and endings are one in the same and mean that great change is on the horizon. I already know that re-adjusting to the culture and colder climate of Calgary will certainly be one of the changes I will be experiencing soon, along with in-depth preparations for Field III. So, in my final week at SEK El Castillo, Mako asked me to create and present a short presentation on Canada: its history, culture, people, and whatever else I thought would be relevant and interesting to her MYP 1 students. To my great surprise, the enthusiasm, curiosity, and sometimes wonderfully wild questions and responses I received was the capstone of my time on TAB. Where two world met, becoming one, before parting.
After much research, planning, and development, I presented “Canada: An Introduction”, much and more was covered and discussed in the 25-40 minutes I was given for the presentation and Q&A period. The topics I covered included: Canada’s history (from Confederation to the present-day), provinces and territories (with their designated regions), a discussion activity to engage their understanding about who ‘Canadians’ are (addressing each answer in turn to form a whole class body of knowledge), multiculturalism as the federal policy it is and the fundamental ‘mosaic’ versus ‘melting pot’ multiculturalism differences between Canada and the USA, FNMI peoples, Truth and Reconcialiation Commission (TRC); where the discovery of great harm initiated an era of great healing for all Canadians to participate in, examples of TRC (e.g., Land Acknowledgements & Calls to Action 62-63), and Calgary Stampede (as it concerns its importance to the healing process, through how it promotes FNMI peoples in the representation and demonstrations of their culture). I also added two video examples and resources from Historica Canada, one being a Heritage Minute on the +100-year history and evolution of Kensington Market, Toronto and another featuring the various multimedia channels produced and offered by Historica Canada to the public. Unfortunately, technical difficulties prevented the proper playing and use of these two videos, but the interest in what insights or new information they could provide already had students’ curiosity piqued and were beyond excited to have a whole class discussion.
When it came to the Q&A at the end of my presentation, I allowed them the time to ask any questions about Canada that came to their mind (whether it was from learning something new in the presentation or from something one of their peers said earlier during the ‘Canadians’ section), it was here that students really showed me just how enthusiastic and engaged they were. Questions abounded: where does maple syrup comes from? Will Canada join the EU soon or not?, and What is the national dish and what are the regional dishes?. Some more complicated to answer than others, which I answered the best way I could, given my own knowledge and understanding of the topic. Fortunately, plenty of hands went up to signal that several students had something to share or contribute to the discussion; spoiled for choice and when the moment arrives, you seize it! Channeling the positive, social energy into the learning, thereby galvanizing it for your own teaching.
However, when one student asked a question about What kind of pets can you have? I spoke about how you can have cats, dogs, birds, and other house pets like you would in Spain. But, in that moment, I remembered a childhood memory from watching the news, where the topic of municipal domesticated animals was featured wherein: a few municipalities in Ontario, legally allow for domesticated raccoons to become house pets. I intended for it to be a funny anecdote, as a way of highlighting the vast social and policy differences within a single province (i.e., diversity and differences of perspective, even with a single province). That, much to everyone’s delight, led to an time-consuming, thought-provoking discussion about this strange phenomenon with one student sharing how him and his family were woken up in the middle of the night, to scare away a trio fo raccoons from their back door (they don’t call them ‘trash pandas’ for nothing!). And before more could be said, the class period was over and off they went to their next class. Likewise, when another student asked a question about moose and how big they could be, I responded as best as I could (recalling as much from my high school biology classes, to ensure I wasn’t missing anything vital); but this too led to an engrossing discussion with a multitude of follow-up questions: do they have antlers? How do they shed them? I have a caribou antler, but it’s really small, so I don’t know if it’s a real one from Norway where I got it. What is the average size of a moose? I heard that if a moose looks at you with, what people call, whale eyes that means it’s going to kill you. So then you turn around and run back to your care and drive! Unexpected, unconventional and downright uncanny at times. But an absolute blast of fun, laughs, and surprises at every new addition. Of course, this too had to be cut short, for which Mako decided tol but only for reasons of re-centring the focus of the presentation and to prepare for the next English activity. With energy spent and energy gained, putting it towards a new topic was the natural path to take. From such an exciting development, the learning continued.
The presentation was far more lively than I had initially anticipated, with those Q&A moments enriching everyone’s participation. More than that, it served as a reminder of how far these cultural interactions and connections have impacted how we (students and Mako/I as teachers) have come in our learning journeys. Mako shared with me afterwards, that she had learned so much more about Canada than she had from anyone else in her life and equally benefitted from the new contexts, knowledge, and perspectives, like her students did. With more leaving the presentation, having had their interest sparked in learning more about Canada. Which I do hope they’re able to do, in their free time; with the references slide in my presentation, especially in utilizing sources from Historica Canada (e.g., Heritage Minutes (YouTube videos), Canadian Encyclopedia, The Memory Project podcast, etc.), I feel confident that they can utilize these sources as good foundational knowledge to begin building upon. In continuing to learn and grow as an emerging educator and excited to bring these experiences into Field III and my future teaching, bridging knowledge and cultural gaps in comprehension; making learning more conducive to whole class, inclusive and active participation in the lesson itself. Finally, the time for Q&A ended and I made my final remarks to each MYP 1 class: though our time together was short, I enjoyed it immensely and getting to know you all and the SEK El Castillo community has been a wonderful experience I will never forget; you have been a great class and I wish you all a great school year ahead. Many well wishes were said in return, from students and staff alike, which was one last amazing gift from the school community on my last day.
As I wrote for the final slide of my presentation: “Thank You, Merci, Gracias” to the three classes of MYP 1 students I had the amazing opportunity to teach, to my partner-teacher and mentor, Mako who I had the honour of collaborating with, to the SEK El Castillo & Universidad Camilo José Cela staff and communities (their support, particularly that of Ainara and Pilar, contributed to my success in TAB), and to España…for welcoming and introducing me into its culture and history. Altogether, the people I’ve met while in TAB, as well as on my learning and teaching journeys have made a positive impact upon me and my development as an emerging educator. Everyone’s kindness towards one another and the genuine passion for what they do, inspires me by their example. As the courage to be kind and determination to continue your work, when challenges arise or trials impede your progress, are north stars for teaching and learning; which I hope to demonstrate by my own example to my future students.
Reflecting upon this experience, with all the new memories made and lesson learned, there are a few takeaways I hope to apply in my teaching practice but one in particular I want to highlight here: culture is brought, but it is also built; never take for granted the importance of both interacting with and influencing one another; where our classrooms today (i.e., Field III & IV) and tomorrow (full, in-service teaching), rely upon the culture to sustain its community. It is vital that lived experiences of cultural norms, values, beliefs, and worldviews remain present and vibrant. For, in this vivacious environment of cultural exchanges and interactions, teachers and students have the magnificent milieu to meet each other and make many worlds, one: shared in the time and place of a classroom environment and learning community.
Hasta luego, España ! À bientôt ! See you soon!