Courtland Park International School Volunteering

This semester, an opportunity came up for a friend of mine and myself to volunteer in a Grade 1 Classroom in St-Bruno, at Cortland Park International School, which is a bilingual school. I was really excited to take advantage of this opportunity because I like to engage in at least one extracurricular activity per semester that is somehow related to education and children. By doing so, I feel like I remain connected to the art of teaching because I’m always in contact with children and I find myself in classrooms on a regular basis. Volunteering in classrooms helps me develop several professional competencies because I not only get to observe different teachers, but I also have the chance to interact with children in an educational setting.

During my visits to this school, I sit in on a Grade 1 French classroom and help the teacher with various daily tasks, such as organizing activities, keeping children on task, guiding students during activities, controlling disturbing behaviour, etc. However, these visits are also great training opportunities because the teacher, who is very experienced in the field, passes on some really valuable tips and teaching practices. I also get a chance to peek into her curriculum planning and how she typically organizes lessons in order to maximize learning. I like having the experience with very young students because I didn’t get to work very much with the younger grades during my first field experience. Therefore, I feel like I’m growing with regards to Competency 6, which concerns planning and supervising classrooms. I’m learning specific techniques in supervising children that will help me engage students as much as possible and keep the focus on learning. Apart from this competency, this experience is also helping me develop Competency 11, seeing as how I am interacting with other professionals in the field. By spending time in this classroom, I feel like I’m engaging in professional development because I am working towards establishing myself as a professional. I’ve also had discussions with the teacher about some of her teaching practices, which also allows me to ask questions about her pedagogical choices. In this class, I also practice ethical and responsible behaviour, which is part of Competency 12. For example, I treat students equally and avoid any form of discrimination because this would not be an ethical way to behave as an educator, or even as a person.

Moreover, I was really excited to work with some Grade 6 students on their end of cycle IB Project. They decided to do their project on drugs, including drug awareness, consequences of doing drugs, types of drugs, and community implications. My friend and I helped them develop their project and even start their own WordPress blog. It was exciting to share knowledge that I just previously learned in one of my own classes. We taught the students as much as we could about making the website and using it as a way to raise awareness about the dangers of drugs. We had to adapt our way of communicating the features and uses of the site because they were a younger audience. In other words, I didn’t use the same language that I would use to teach a friend of mine to use this site. In a way, this contributed to my growth in Competency 2 because I had to make sure that they were understanding what I was saying. This wasn’t so much about correcting their language use; it was more about monitoring my own language and communicating my ideas concisely and effectively.

In the future, I hope to repeat this experience and teach my students about online tools that can enhance their learning. When I learn something new such as the use of WordPress, it’s exciting to be able to share that knowledge with my students. It’s important to remember that I am learning alongside my students because I don’t have all the answers and I don’t know about everything that technology has to offer.

#MELSCompetency6 #MELSCompetency11 #MELSCompetency12 #MELSCompetency2