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Steve Ames, '15

Alumni Spotlight: Steve Ames, Sport & Physical Education, ’15

November 16, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself:  My name is Steve Ames. I earned a B.Ed. in Sport Management. I transferred to Gonzaga in the fall of 2008 from Columbia Basin College. I finally graduated in 2015 after slowly working toward my degree while playing professional baseball for both the LA Dodgers (2009-2013) and Miami Marlins (2013-2015).
  2. What are you doing now?: Currently I work for the Tampa Bay Rays as an area scout. I primarily scout amateur players at the high school and college levels. I currently live in Nashville, TN. My area consists of the entire state of Tennessee, Alabama down to Montgomery, and a small portion of western Kentucky.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? Sports have always played a huge role in my life and I had always planned on working in the sport industry in some form after my playing days were over. A degree in sport management seemed like an obvious choice and the program at Gonzaga is highly respected.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? Well first let me say, I met my eventual wife Allyson Powell at Gonzaga, a former volleyball player. There have been many teammates and coaches, who have had an obvious influence on my life as well. The School of Education department truly has a family atmosphere. Dr. Karen Rickel has had the greatest influence in my educational experience at Gonzaga. She was my advisor for the majority of my time at GU, and was always available to answer any questions. I can honestly say without her, I don’t know if I would have followed through and finished my degree after getting drafted. Dr. Heidi Nordstrom, Dr. Tunnell, and Dr. Park all worked with my unique schedule and were vital to my success as I slowly worked toward my degree.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? Just because the COG always has dessert, doesn’t mean you need to take one every meal.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect of scouting is watching guys you draft work their way through the minor leagues and get that call up to the Major Leagues. That’s what this job is all about, signing big league players. The most challenging aspect is just that, trying to get the sign the right guys. There is no perfect science to scouting, and that’s why it is so rewarding when you find big leaguers. Especially when they are later round drafts that you have a gut feel about.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? I wouldn’t call the use of analytics a critical issue, but it continues to grow. Its use affects how the game is played, and how players are evaluated. Scouts must continue to adapt to the use on technology like Pitch FX and Trackman in ballparks across the country. The use of analytics is a great tool to help evaluate and make decisions, but there is a human element to our game. It will be interesting to see how the use of analytics evolves over the next 10 years and beyond.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? Persistence pays off, which can be said for any profession. If you want something bad enough, go get it, keep chipping away until you reach your goal. I took 1 class per semester for 5 years and then was able to come back and finish. A college degree meant a lot to me. I was the first person in my family to earn one, and while they aren’t everything, I knew it would help me get a career once I was finished playing.

Alumni Spotlight: Christy Swan, Principal Certification, ’16

October 26, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: Christy Swan. I completed Principal Certification in 2016
  2. What are you doing now?: Assistant Principal of Chester and Ponderosa Elementary in Central Valley School District
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? Not only does Gonzaga have a stellar reputation for education, it also met my needs for earning my certificate while teaching and completing an internship. The pace of the program was ideal, allowing me to finish my work in a year.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? Dr. Cynthia Johnson had a huge impact on my work. She pushed my thinking and offered experiences that challenged me while also helping to develop my confidence in school leadership.  Cindy was supportive, encouraging, and without a doubt an advocate for all in the program.  It was, and still is, her main focus that all candidates leave ready to enter the field of school leadership and do so with passion and excitement. 
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? The greatest lesson I learned at Gonzaga was the power of a cohort. I believe working through the program with others was pivotal in helping me feel supported and engaged.  We were all able to share experiences, grow one another’s thinking, and celebrate our successes.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? Hands down, the most rewarding part of working in my field is serving others. It is my “why.”  My purpose for coming to work each day is to serve those around me and to ensure that their needs are met.  I am lucky enough to work with amazing students, teachers, support staff, administrators, parents, and community members. The most challenging part of my job is there are not nearly enough hours in the day to do all I believe is necessary to fulfill my role. With that challenge, I have learned to balance my time prioritize my “to do” and enjoy the ride!
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? A critical issue I believe that needs to be addressed in education is the mental health of students. We serve many students of complex trauma and other outside factors that need support.  Currently, we are limited in all that we can do to help these young kids. 
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? Make sure you know your “why.” It guides you in all that you do.

Alumni in Action: Making a Difference

October 19, 2017 / / 0 Comments

This is the third and final part in a series featuring the value of a cohort-based approach to graduate education.

Dr. Elaine Radmer spent the last two years advising a group in Fernie, British Columbia. The Fernie cohort perfectly highlights the value of Gonzaga’s site-based approach. “All but one of the educators were from a single school district, but that district spans a number of communities,” Dr. Radmer wrote. “Geographically, they are spread along a single highway, but it takes almost two hours to travel between the outermost cities.” Candidates from the cohort have a story to tell about the way the program transformed their educational practices and philosophy.

  • Penny did her capstone on improving the experience for athletes through recognition dinners and social media. This rejuvenated her passion for the role she plays as athletic director. On paper, it seems like a small part of her job, but in reality, it is a huge commitment.  Her capstone work led to many more plans for improvement – coaching clinics, sports camps, etc… Additionally, in an effort to involve the community in sports programs, she created the first alumni basketball game, which has become a highly successful fundraiser.
  • Jill continued her work as leader in school literacy goals, working on a collaborative literacy grant with colleagues. They implemented two school-wide initiatives. The first, “Storm Reads Challenge,” set a school wide goal of reading 500 books (which they exceeded) and featured grade level competitions (Grade 7 read more books than any other grade). The second, “Storm Reads Week,” saw every human in the school spend 15 minutes reading during an assigned time.
  • Leanna implemented the “MindUp” program in Kindergarten/Grade 1 class. It is a social-emotional learning program to teach mindfulness and improve self-regulation. Their class made a Gratefulness tree bulletin board and invited anyone at the school to add a leaf so it would grow over time.
  • Kathy has started to work with Grade 4 through Grade 6 students at her school to apply math in designing a garden housed at the school.
  • Andrew started making movies to highlight student achievement. He started with his own classes, but now has a leadership role across the school — gathering videos and pictures and posting “highlight reels” on school websites.
  • Renee is a Kindergarten teacher who is passionate about student activity levels. She developed and delivered materials to help kids at all grade levels understand options for being active at recess and expectations for their behavior (e.g., problem solving rather than fighting, etc.). Due to her efforts, kids became more active at recess and teachers reported fewer behavioral problems. She also implemented several other school-wide initiatives. She changed the volleyball approach to Triple Ball, which gives younger kids more chances to play and gain skills. To do this, she gained approvals from senior management, and then collaborated with a local college to provide training.  Ultimately, she organized a district tournament that was a hit in the community. She also implemented a Golden Shoe challenge to inspire everyone to ride, bike, scooter, or walk to school.
  • Ian created a collaborative, school-based team that launched an initiative to explore inter-curricular inquiry-driven projects. They changed the bell schedule to create “Inquiry Fridays” for project-based learning. On Fridays, three teachers from different subjects worked together on grade-wide inquiry teams. Ian’s background and expertise as an outdoor education instructor was helpful to support this initiative. In addition, Ian stepped into leadership by organizing activities: staff events, school-wide track-and-field event, and a field trip to Calgary for cultural experience for students in Social Studies and English.
  • After deciding to commission an art piece as a focal point at the school’s entryway, Jane collaborated with the staff and allowed the plan to evolve until the artwork represented the recent combination of two schools into one. She raised over $3,000 for this project. The unveiling will be in the fall. She also wrote a grant for a collaborative project to build a greenhouse at their school. As an inquiry project, students filled out the permit application, drew up plans, and decided how to heat the greenhouse.

Check out our first post in this series:  Alumni in Action: The Elk Valley Arch

Check out our second post in this series: Alumni in Action: The Rainbow Crosswalk Project

Alumni Spotlight: Nickie Lustig, PhD, BCBA, Special Education ’02, ’08

October 12, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: I received both my B.Ed. and M.Ed. in Special Education, 2002 and 2008 respectfully, from Gonzaga University.  I received my PhD in School Psychology from the University of Iowa in August of 2016.
  2. What are you doing now?: I am currently a psychology fellow at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center working in the Biobehavioral and the ABA Early Intervention programs.  I specialize in assessing and treating challenging behaviors that often are associated with autism and other disabilities. I have accepted a position with the Child Development Center in Missoula, MT and I will start in October 2017.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? At the beginning, I just wanted to be at Gonzaga University and I was undecided between majors and academic programs.  I was involved in several sports when I was younger and I thought coaching would eventually be in my future.  Most of my former coaches were teachers so registered for my first education class with Dr. Tim McLaughlin.  I remember loving the discussions in that class and he inspired me to pursue special education.  The next semester, I registered for applied behavior analysis (ABA) with Dr. Randy Williams.  ABA was life changing for me.  Understanding and analyzing the concept of learning through the principles of reinforcement and punishment made intuitive sense to me.  I knew I was in the right program after taking that course!
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga?Each member of the faculty reach out to me, taught me critical skills, and believed in me in different ways throughout my Gonzaga career. Tim was influential in getting me started down the path of special education and for advising throughout my undergrad. Randy was influential in teaching me the foundational principles of ABA and modeling ABA in his teaching. Mark (Derby) was influential by convincing me to pursue my masters at a time when I was so unsure of what to do with my life. Kim (Weber) is influential by modeling leadership and advocacy, not only for the population of students that special educators serve, but for her undergrad and graduate students. Anjali (Barretto) was influential by simultaneously modeling passion for our science and compassion for all the children who walk in our doors.  She was also instrumental in my choice to pursue my PhD at University of Iowa and to work with Dave Wacker. It was the most difficult, but by far the most rewarding choice of my life.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? Gonzaga taught me several valuable lessons two of which come immediately to mind. First, I learned is that Gonzaga will always be a second home and Gonzaga’s faculty, staff, and fellow alumni are family. Between graduating from Gonzaga with my bachelor’s and coming back to earn my master’s, I sustained a life-changing traumatic brain injury (TBI). I was at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation and Deaconess for several weeks. But the time went by fast because I had so many visitors.  Tim and Randy among them.  As soon as I could, I began volunteering at Gonzaga as a rowing assistant coach and would walk across campus to visit the SPED faculty regularly. I was always welcome at Gonzaga! Learning how to navigate the world of disability while showing individuals their true abilities was the second lesson I Iearned at Gonzaga.  From writing an individual education plan (IEP) to researching rare genetic syndromes, I learned that that the word “disability” is multi-faceted.  At the same time, every individual has amazing abilities.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? Strength:  Seeing the growth in a child and showing parents their child’s strengths through your data. For example, I recently saw a 5-year-old girl with destructive behavior. Her mother just wanted to keep her safe.  We implemented a play intervention to teach her to play with her toys instead of throwing them and the outcomes were successful. Her mother was brought to tears when she saw her daughter playing and said, “she has never done that before!”Challenge:  Keeping up with the need.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? Making quality services more accessible.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals?  “When in doubt… persist, don’t punt.” A quote from Dave Wacker.
September 7, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: My name is Tiffany Hawkins and I completed a Master of Education in Leadership & Administration ’17
  2. What are you doing now?: I currently serve as a Vice Principal.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I chose Gonzaga’s program in order to become a vice principal and eventually a principal. The program came highly recommended by Gonzaga graduates as the best professional development they had participated in. It was offered in Kamloops, so I didn’t have to do any courses remotely or by correspondence. The work and opportunity to study with colleagues expanded and challenged my professional capacity and opened new career paths for me.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? The closeness of our cohort. Even when you are exhausted at the end of the week and you have class at 4:30pm, by being with the group, I was re-energized as well as cared for. We laughed, cried, and got frustrated together. It was very powerful! Several of our professors cared about our well-being just as much or even more than our assignments. This allowed me to want to do well and push forward even though sometimes it felt impossible!
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? Time management and learning to prioritize items. Professional growth and learning does not stop at the end of the program. It has lead me to continue with learning through professional conversations and readings. I look forward to what else I can learn!!
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? Students growing emotionally due to the relationship that I worked to develop with them – being able to trust and begin to change their attitudes and negative behaviour. Relationships with staff – I find I am very strong in this area, which allows me to provide support as well as the ability to being the instructional leadership aspect of my job. The most challenging issue was being able to support children and families that are difficult to help. The issues can range from stating that they do not need help to the school and community providing excellent supports, but the family is not taking these lessons to help their family grow emotionally. As a result, the students struggle to function at school because they are not ready to learn due to instability at home.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? We need to have counsellors at the elementary school level. We have many students entering our school with significant mental health issues that go above and beyond our abilities as teachers and administrators. These issues are not limited to our inner city schools. This can be found at any school in any area.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? This field is extremely rewarding even when it feels overwhelming or it seems like you will not make it. During the process, make sure you have a strong support group, manage your time, and make sure you also take care of yourself. At the end of the day, if you are not well, you will not be successful. Do want you enjoy. Challenge the norm and yourself. It may be messy and uncomfortable, but the end result will be very rewarding.
July 27, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: My name is Sharleen Jackson and I graduated with a B.Ed. degree from the University of Calgary in 1982. Additionally, I earned an MA degree in Administration and Curriculum from Gonzaga University, which I graduated with in 1989.
  2. What are you doing now?: Currently I am a volunteer at both a hospital and within my community. I’ve had a very rewarding career in education that includes teaching, writing and editing educational curriculum, and providing educational services to adult students with disabilities.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I initially chose the MA program at the School of Education at Gonzaga for a unique reason. My mother, Frances Kapp, was very interested in taking the program and asked if I would like to join her in doing so. Besides being best friends, my mother and I had very similar careers as we were both teachers. The thought of taking a two year MA degree program with my mother seemed both very educational and fun. Also, I had colleagues who had enjoyed attending Gonzaga. I felt that by taking the MA program I could apply what I learned to my role as a teacher and in future opportunities.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? Gonzaga had a wonderful community of tremendous educators, and I am grateful to have been taught by them. I was very influenced by Dr. Bob Bialozor, who taught courses in administration and curriculum development. He was very inspiring and enthusiastic, had a super sense of humor, and taught very innovative ideas. You could see that he had a great love for education and a keen interest in the success of all his students. My mother and I also took a course on critical and creative thinking skills that Dr. Bialozor taught in Hawaii. It was a great learning experience, and the skills taught we applied in our teaching.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? My greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga is that learning is infinite and a lifetime journey. Take time along the way to really enjoy the work that you do and the studies that you complete. Be of help to others and do not hesitate to ask for help yourself if need be.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect of working in my field was in working together with students and colleagues to help students to try and achieve their personal best. When I would see students enthused with work that they had accomplished or projects that they had created I found it very rewarding. Schools, for students of all ages, are communities of learning, and I really liked that sense of community in helping students to learn. It was a privilege for me to have been a part of that.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? I find that some critical issues in education today are similar to those in the past. Funding and appropriate class size are both issues in education that need to be ensured.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? My advice for future education professionals is that education is a wonderful career choice to pursue. Have faith in your abilities and those of others. Work hard, be kind, and laugh often. Both your dedication to and service in education will be deeply appreciated.
July 20, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: My name is Clare Sykora (Alexander). I completed my Bachelor of Education in Special Education (’08) and Master of Education in Special Education – Functional Analysis (’11).
  2. What are you doing now?: I am finishing up my 9th year of teaching self-contained classes in public schools and will begin to teach at the Spokane Guilds School in July.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I chose GU for my undergrad degree to be able to earn both my elementary and special education certifications within four years. I chose to return to GU for my masters degree because of the concise nature of the FA program (1 1/2 years) and the flexibility of the classes when I was still working during the days. Also, it was great to be able to work with my former professors and obtain my early childhood special education certification at the same time.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? Dr. Anjali Barretto was immensely integral to my choice of occupation. I took her Psychology of the Exceptional Child class and the service-learning component changed how I viewed the world. I volunteered at L’Arche and quickly learned how special it was to participate in helping individuals learn skills. The joy that each successful step brings me is my motivation to continue to serve those with disabilities. Dr. Barretto’s direction and support from that point forward shaped both the way I learn and the educator I am today.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? The most important lesson I learned while at GU was that it doesn’t matter if each moment is perfect, it is the ultimate outcome that results in how impactful one’s work is.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? Working in the Special Education field takes patience, love, and consistency. My largest rewards come when a student achieves their goals and teaching them to be proud of those achievements. Smiles. Smiles and laughter keep me working in the field. The most challenging component of working with individuals with special needs is lack of education from those surrounding us. It takes a lot of understanding and acceptance for people to support the work we do with students and the more we can educate them on how influential our work is, the better.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? In my opinion, a critical issue that needs to be addressed in the field of Special Education is the need for funding to address early intervention. Although IDEA Part C partially funds early intervention, the more attention and therapies we can provide for at an earlier age, the better chance of individuals not needing interventions later in life; or for as long of a time span.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? Chocolate. There will be times, situations, and issues that will make you want to cry and moments that will make you question your choice of profession. When those moments arise, open your always stocked drawer and pop a chocolate in your mouth. Savor the flavor and laugh. Laugh because it will make you feel better and embrace the moment. It will happen again and you will always learn to keep more chocolate on hand 🙂
July 13, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: My name is Dr. Frances Kapp and I have earned 3 degrees in education. My first degree is a B.Ed. degree that I graduated with in 1961 from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. My second and third degrees were earned at Gonzaga University. They are an MA degree in Administration and Curriculum which I graduated with in 1989, and a Gonzaga Ph.D. in Educational Leadership which I graduated with in 2000. I also received the School of Education award in leadership in 2000.
  2. What are you doing now?: My current role is in writing. I co-authored a book with Dr. Kieran O’Malley called Watch for the Rainbows, True Stories of Educators and Other Caregivers of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, which was based upon research from my doctoral studies at Gonzaga. My career for many wonderful years was in teaching, and I am a retired elementary science teacher and researcher.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I chose the MA program at the School of Education at Gonzaga because I wanted to open the door to opportunities to expand my career in education. Some possible areas of interest for myself included curriculum, research, and administration. I also had colleagues who had taken Gonzaga educational programs and they spoke very highly of Gonzaga University and the educational programs and courses offered. I chose the Ph.D. program at Gonzaga University because I had enjoyed the Gonzaga MA program tremendously and also because I wanted to further my university training and education.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? I was influenced by and am grateful to many wonderful educators at Gonzaga University. I was greatly influenced by Father Patrick Ford who strongly encouraged me to continue on with my educational studies after completing my MA. Father Ford was the dean of the Graduate School and later the academic vice president during my years at Gonzaga. He was a very kind man, very spiritual, a superb speaker, and really interested in the success of the students that he worked with. He was inspiring and instilled people to help others.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? My greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga was to take time to enjoy your studies, work hard, and pass that knowledge and training on to the students that you work with.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect of working in my field was in being able to help students learn successfully. I took pride in observing students smile and succeed in their efforts.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? A critical issue in education today is funding as this is necessary for successful programming.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? My advice for future education professionals is to put your heart with your work and enjoy what you are doing. Education is a very important field to be in and offers many rewarding career possibilities.
July 6, 2017 / / 0 Comments
  1. Tell us about yourself: Adam Membrey. I earned a Bachelor of Education in Special Education in 2009.
  2. What are you doing now?: I just finished my 5th year teaching Deaf students with special needs in the Special Needs Department at the Texas School for the Deaf. I have taught Elementary School, Middle School, and will be lead teaching High School-aged kids next year. We really are unlike any other program in the country in the way we serve our kids with the needs they have.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? As a freshmen at Gonzaga, I took a “Children with Exceptionalities” class with Dr. Barretto. The class covered interesting material, but what stuck to me the most was the atmosphere in the Special Education department. It had a different, slightly funky, but ultimately inviting feel to it. When I found myself in a moment of crisis at the end of my sophomore year and needed to move on from my English Major (Sorry English Department! You guys were great!), I knew I would be entering the right program with Special Education. Everything that happened beyond that only reinforced how great a decision it was.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? Randy Williams taught me that I could have fun while being a highly-productive, effective teacher. Tim McLaughlin taught me to back up my files multiple times, but to never lose sight of the relationships I build with my students. Kimberly Weber opened my mind, taught me to relax, and gave me life lessons when I needed them. Anjali Barretto taught me to get on my knees and be at the students’ eye-level (and not just because I was tall and she was, um, not-as-tall). I now realize that everything I learned from my Special Education professors had very little to do with instruction itself – that would be the easy part – but with how to survive in Special Ed and what to not lose sight of. I needed to learn how important the intangibles were, and they each gave me masterful examples of that in their own way.One particular memory that sticks out to me is a time I came into Dr. Barretto’s office. I was actually there to whine about something that had nothing to do with class or teaching, and she simply smiled and asked me, repeatedly, “So what’s the problem?” It didn’t matter what I gave her back, she asked the same thing. I shortly after realized that the answer didn’t matter. She simply wanted me to think about it for myself, take stock of the situation, realize it wasn’t a big deal, and to problem-solve from there.It was a great lesson that I learned in my time at GU.
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? My junior year at Gonzaga, I took a fantastic class with Dr. Joe Albert, “Leadership and Storytelling.” Throughout the semester, we each had to tell a story about ourselves – something personal, something about our family, and then something about a greater thing we were a part of, be it a group, a department, or a company. The whole class made me realize not only how important stories are, but how we use them to help us explain the many things we see – both fair and unfair – in our daily lives. Dr. Albert also taught me how I could take any situation, no matter how dire or depressing, and reframe the story into something meaningful and propulsive. I can’t tell you how many times I have been in the Special Ed field and a teacher has practically withered as they told me about a student’s heartbreaking situation; I would do my best to help reframe the story so that we had something to build on. I use this storytelling muscle and awareness every single day – with myself, my friends, my family, the world that surrounds me. In my time since graduating Gonzaga, I have been confronted by, and a part of, so many difficult situations, and all of them were made survivable by using storytelling. It truly is one of the greatest tools anyone can learn to use.
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect is when I look at mu students and realize I have created a special place for them where they not only feel comfortable, but welcome. Where they can be who they are, can communicate the way they want, and they can be silly without fearing judgment. So often the kids we work with in Special Ed are constantly looked down upon by people of all ages and stages in life; they can only thrive from a place of comfort, and that’s what we can provide them.The most challenging aspect of our field is not the paperwork (though it sucks) or the parents (they can be our best ally), but the attitudes of the adults around the students. So often I’ve had to get adults to understand just how much the student is capable of; but also to understand their limits and to work with them. What is most heartbreaking of all is when I’m in an IEP meeting in which lawyers and advocates are involved and I see a whole table full of adults arguing for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with a student and everything to do with their own ego preservation. They are not there for what’s best for the child; they’re trying to one-up everyone else. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen as often as it could, but it still happens far too often.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? In Special Education, there needs to be an adjustment of expectations. There are still way too many programs that expect so little of their students and allow them to become too comfortable at their baselines when they are capable of doing much, much more.In Deaf Education, the situation is so much more complex. There are so many factors that affect progress – both in increasing it and shooting it down – but the primary one, to me, is the politics of it. The fact is that 90% of deaf students have hearing parents, and we are still struggling as a whole to figure out how to serve those students and parents best so that the child has an opportunity to lead the best life they can. I love ASL and teaching with it, but I also recognize it is not the best language for every deaf child and certainly every set of parents. We have to roll up our sleeves and be flexible in how best to give a child a language, and to help the parents support that the best way they can. There is so much exciting progress in the field of Deaf Education, but there is still so far to go.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? Learn not to take it personally and keep yourself in the moment. Starting out as a teacher, the hardest thing is to not feel responsible for a program or a student not doing well as you think they should. It’s even harder when that student directs their anger or frustration or whatever it may be at you – you are simply a target, but it feels personal. And that can be agonizing. So my suggestion to future education professionals is to remove your ego and yourself from the situation as much as possible. Know you will often unfairly be a target or used as a scapegoat for others’ issues, but never, ever lose sight of the fact that you can dictate the atmosphere in your classroom and you have control over the relationships you develop with your students. You can make your job as wonderful and as difficult as you want it to be, and it starts with calming the storm within you so that the seas are smoother for everyone around you.Also: never, ever be afraid to ask for help or say you don’t know. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. Pay attention to what you don’t do and do everything you can to fill that gap on your own. You will feel stupid sometimes, and that’s okay. That’s normal anytime you do something new and complex. But don’t ever stop asking for help or talking to people who know more than you do. And then, after that, it becomes that great Maya Angelou quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Rhonda Johnson, 2017 Wardian Award Recipient

July 5, 2017 / / 0 Comments

In the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration, the instructors travel to each cohort’s city to teach on site. In Williams Lake, British Columbia, the population is made up of 3 First Nations as well as the descendants of European settlers. Rhonda, and others in her cohort, helped the instructors learn and understand the dynamics of the area. From the first day of class, Rhonda advocated for and celebrated the many ways our cohort was diverse – professional role, gender, race, and age. She very graciously responded when others were less gracious and consistently showed the attitude of a learner.  She was committed to learning from everyone and every situation. She was also able to raise the tough questions. Several of her instructors trusted her to facilitate discussion of these questions with the group. In these ways, she was exceptional.

But what really set Rhonda apart was her commitment to support everyone else. She was aware of every candidate’s needs in the group and wanted each person to succeed. Instructors were also on the receiving end of this support. In our program, each candidate completes a 5-chapter capstone which is analogous to a thesis. When I would call to check in on her progress in the capstone, she would ask how I was doing.  So she showed care and commitment in supporting me!

Throughout her personal and professional life, she spends all of her time supporting individuals.  But she also interacts with the larger system, seeking to improve them.  In her Oral Exam, she told me, “I’m done waiting for someone else to do those things!” Congratulations to Rhonda!

-Dr. Elaine Radmer

 

 

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