Standard 1

Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.

Professional Standard Number 1

Standard 1 of the Standards for B.C. Educators states that “Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.” Over the duration of Blocks 3 and 4, as I continued to consider what this (and all) standard(s) means not only overtly, but also to me personally, the usual manifestation of inquiry took place. Aside from the more “obvious” meaning which one can glean from an intentional read of the standard itself: valuing equitable means of helping students achieve social landmarks such as graduation, etc, hoping that we are able to play a role in helping our students to develop meaningful connections to the knowledge they receive, and the careers they pursue, making calculated decisions in ones professional praxis to foster the well-being of the students in our class’ for example, I began to think about that statement more internally as well.

What do I, as a member of this community or society, value as success? What do I hold to be the predictable best interests of another member of that community? To what extent does my understanding as a professional prioritise my predictions over a students hypothesis, or does it ever? How do I provide equitable attention to both the individuality of the student, as well as my capacity to inform based on past success’ and failures? How much of a discrepancy is there between my own understanding of these questions and what would be considered “baseline?” 

These were the initial questions that began to come to mind as I navigated my perception of Standard 1. Personally I feel as though I have made significant progress in solidifying my understanding of, at the very least, the rudimentary inquiry that presented itself in my considerations, and I think I owe that in large part to several role models which I have taken note of in this program. Specifically to this standard, I would like to speak to two examples which I believe represent, to me, the truest form of embracing Standard 1.

During our time spent with Glen and Bonnie co-teaching the secondary cohort, I was fortunate to have a short time to meet and get to know Bonnie. I have an enormous amount of respect for the mastery she has developed in executing her lessons and activities, which I think speaks to the more overt qualities I outlined above. She was able to present in a way which captivated both sides of the class, and provided adapted examples when something she had mentioned had not hit home for one of us. She provided a wide array of exciting activities that could be manipulated in any number of cross curricular ways which was very substantial information for myself, as well as clearly many others. Why I think Bonnie makes such a perfect example for this standard however, is in the way she was so quickly able to pick up on my habits, mannerisms, and behaviours and how she responded with such grace. Without ever having to say a word, I could tell that my needs as a learner were understood by Bonnie. She would speak very softly and slowly with me, often circling around and collecting my focus by mentioning my name. She always had an encouraging demeanour when discussing one on one which helped substantially in my ability to remain confident asking her for help.

My second example for individuals who I observed as exemplars for Standard 1 is Sheila Monkman. If you have not read my blog section, Sheila was our instructor for our Career Education class, and similar to Bonnie she presented in ways (despite being over Zoom) that kept me engaged throughout class. I found the information she had planned for and shared with us to be extremely relevant in preparing me for my eventual career, and I can not think of a single member of the cohort that I know to have felt differently. On top of all of this though, was her willingness to make space for her students to feel like they were being listened to and understood not only in a learning capacity, but in a well-being capacity as well. She was able to extend an authentic empathy that is one of the traits I respect the most in educators. 

Establishing the line between professional and personal when it comes to compassion and concern are such a complex idea for me to consider. After finding the validation I have received in the understanding that part of caring for the well-being of a student involves allowing some presence of “care” to exist which blurs the perceived “professional” edges; That is okay. Part of being a professional is knowing to what extent you have room to welcome students in who need that compassion, or to make very sure that we are intentionally redirecting and helping those students find others who do have available room to help them. With the available information, advances in research, and the growing intricacies of atypical presentations in a growing statistical majority of students, it is becoming less and less excusable to remain uninformed of how to interact with, spot, and at the very least be available to help students find the help they need when they need it.

Thank you.