Through my position working for SD73 I have had the opportunity to help Bernice Jensen run drum making sessions at three, soon to be four, different elementary schools in the district. ASSAI partners with the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society to deliver the program. I have had the privilege of learning alongside students the protocols, history, drumming patterns, songs, and games that Mrs. Jensen shares in her workshops.
Deer hide tanned, dyed, and stretched over frames to dry.Students painted their drums and used them for a final performance.
Hiking
In Autumn of 2024, I led a hiking group with grade 4/5 students. We talked about the local wildlife and vegetation as we hiked to our favourite tree, sometimes to have hot chocolate and snacks. I got to know a lot about the students in my session, as well as practice my proactive planning.
I grew up in Campbell River, a small coastal city on Vancouver Island, on the unceded territory of the We Wai Kai First Nation. Growing up near the ocean enriched my understanding and appreciation of ocean life. I was privileged to learn experientially about the tides, food sources, dangers, and the feeling of swimming in salt water every summer’s day. Comparing my experience with someone else’s who has never been to the ocean before blew my mind. I learned about how connected I feel to my home place. It is tough to live away from a the ocean sometimes, as the ocean used to be a factor in my decisions, a background smell, a go-to place to decompress, and a familiarity.
My long-lost talent: driving sail boats.
Socio-economic Status
For as long as I remember I have lived in a lower-middle-class. My parents separated when I was a baby due to addiction, so I was raised by a single mother. There was always food on the table and I always had a place to live, but we weren’t a family who went skiing or payed hockey, or who had a university fund for the children, as those things were financially out of reach. There were kids whom I noticed had less than I did, and there were many that I noticed had more. In terms of how that affects the lens I teach from, I think I sometimes might find it easier to relate to students who have similar circumstances to what I had. But, it is important to remember that a lot of things I experienced as a child that shaped who I am now are things that can happen to children born from any tax bracket. And my financial status is bound to change in the coming years as I exit my student life and enter the workforce. I am lucky that I will have the experience of both, as this will expand my perspective.
Technological Perspective
Being born in 1996, I experienced the era of the “family computer”. Dial up internet and the growing popularity of household access to computers allowed me to grow up learning digital navigation, typing, and burning mixed CDs (and collecting viruses). The image above is a rare photograph of me practicing using a computer at around six years old. And now I will be teaching students who began with iPhones and artificial intelligence as part of their regular experience.
