- Tell us about yourself: My name is Tiffany Hawkins and I completed a Master of Education in Leadership & Administration ’17
- What are you doing now?: I currently serve as a Vice Principal.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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!!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Tag: leadershipandadministration
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Dianna Easton; I was blessed with the privilege of earning a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Administration, in Calgary cohort 23, in July 2016.
- What are you doing now?: Currently I am a grade three teacher that loops with her students into grade four, and then rotates to grade three again to pick up and new set of students for another two years. I teach in a public education setting, in a complex and diverse learning environment. This year, I also accepted a Learning Leader position with our administration team to help promote and further our schools development plan, as well as lead development in task design and Professional Learning Community protocols and collaboration. The Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA) also granted me an opportunity to work for them within their professional development seminar cohort, delivering requested ATA workshops and seminars throughout the southern part of Alberta.
There are three other roles that I have taken on as well, because of my love for learning and the need to continue to ask questions and develop a deeper understanding of culture and leadership. Starting in June 2017, I will be beginning my doctoral program in Leadership Studies with Gonzaga University. Dr. Chris Francovich is my academic advisor for my doctoral work. I am incredibly honoured to have this opportunity. Dr. Charles Salina, has also hired me to begin working with the Adjunct Assembly and help support and teach the Gonzaga Master’s Program in Alberta. Dr. Sherry Martens, the Associate Dean of Education for Ambrose University, has also invited me to be a sessional teacher, teaching elementary mathematical conceptualization courses to support Alberta’s mathematical drive to increase student performance and achievement.
- Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? The drive behind my choice to attend Gonzaga University stemmed from a summer seminar, in which two inspiring leaders conversed and shared their views and levels of thinking that touched my heart and caused me to ask deeper pedagogical questions that stirred my curiosity. The following Monday, I asked a question about pursuing a master’s level education. Before I knew it I was conversing with Dr. Charles Rose, and I began classes that weekend. In conversing with Dr. Rose and Dr. Martens, I realized that the face-to-face learning was where I wanted to be, as I was so (and in many ways still am) very unsure of my thinking abilities, qualities and capabilities. Yet, the supportive and highly knowledgeable people I have come to know and love, as my professors, believed in me. It was all I needed to begin to question and to view learning and teaching differently. It was the catalyst to my opening my mind and finding strengthen therein.
- What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? I truly believe in the cohort model, as sharing and listening to each other helped me to gain strength within my own thinking processes, but also with my perspectives and in my understandings/interpretations of events, experiences and opportunities. The notion of a lived experience only begins to touch the surface of the profound effect my master’s journey with Gonzaga has given me. My life has sincerely and irrevocably has been changed because of my association, interactions and professional relationships with Dr. Dan Mahoney, Dr. Sherry Martens, and Eric Perrault.
These three key individuals have influenced my understanding and desire to continue to question and consider ways to become better, to drive change, and seek after continued learning. Mr. Perrault introduced me to the notions and questions of cultural impact and consequence, which spurred my capstone inquiry and drove my interest into increasing cultural understandings of others. The impact of this course alone has changed my thinking and perceptions immeasurably. Coupled with the untold support and encouragement that Mr. Perrault and Dr. Martens gave me as I began to write, to explore my thinking, and notions of educational problems of practice that I found to of worth, was incredible. The knowledge and generosity of time given to help strengthen my self-confidence and encourage deeper thinking, really was truly profound. The unwavering and interest that Dr. Mahoney gave to my questions and conceptualizations was and is a profound gift and blessing. Dr. Mahoney was able to help me reframe and consider complex interactions and philosophies of interpreting ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ that allowed me to see beyond the immediate and into the possibilities of what could be with change and dedication to service and servant leadership. It was through Dr. Mahoney’s influence, support and gentleness, that I found the strength and desire to explore the reasons for why I fear leadership. The process was very personalized, which allowed me to dig deep and help me learn to write from my heart.
Simply put, my life has changed. My way of thinking has changed. I have been shaped and molded into someone I never thought I could be. It is so totally exciting and thrilling to continue this journey and to explore other ways that I can make a difference in the lives of those I teach!
- What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? The greatest lesson I have learned at Gonzaga is the power and influence of servant leadership. So many individuals I have been blessed to associate with and learn from within the master’s program exemplify and embody what servant leadership is all about. The kindness, generosity, compassion, and passion have given me hope to work with increased determination for what education is all about – reaching potentials, building confidence, teaching and learning about thinking, and developing relationships that spur exploration, risks and trust; which all allow for failures, mistakes and increased probability of finding the heart of the matter (truth). But to also understand ‘others’ with different views and lenses, with increased care and appreciation. The collective and collaborative nature of working in education is complex and often times overlooked as political structures influence the design and needs of public education. In understanding that change is possible and that change matters, hope and willingness will prevail to endure within a changing structure(s)/understandings.
- What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect of working in education is to see the smile and eyes sparkle of child who has just discovered for themselves, that they can make sense of the world around them.
The excitement and enthusiasm children have with a natural curiosity and willingness to question events, experiences and happening around them is a motivational factor to continue to find ways to help children be the best learners they can be, with self-confidence, advocacy and appreciation. I would be remiss to not acknowledge the profound affect and effect the collaborative and influential nature of working with wise and profound leaders can have on one’s perceptions, perspectives, and interest in advancing educational practices and remaining student-centered.
The most challenging aspect of working in education, is understanding the influence of politics, organizational constructs, and interactions of our government with the institution of education. How does one teach all day, interact with children all day, and then at the end have others making decisions politically, financially, and socially that directly impact the way in which a child can be educated without voice, without collaboration, without time? How can teachers help other teachers and parents navigate the complexity of educational systems to enable teachers to be active, to progress, and to help parents be informed and a part of the educational experiences of their child in a meaningful manner? How can professional teachers help complacent teachers move forward and seek further knowledge and learning themselves without relational trust and personal interactions with decision makers and policy makers within a hierarchical system?
- What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? The critical issues I see that need to be addressed within education include building a better sense of community for immigrant families to help them transverse the complex educational system within Alberta, Canada, so that parents can advocate for their child’s needs; but to also be aware of the various supports and options to help support learning success for all students. But I also believe that teachers need help with learning how to pragmatically shift between notions of teacher practice and professionalism within an organization, and to develop more advanced levels of cultural awareness to ensure rich and engaged learning experiences and opportunities for all students. As I have stepped into a Learning Leader position, and have begun to work with our school’s administration team, another layer to helping develop teacher competencies would be to help foster and develop leadership skills in others.
- What advice do you have for future education professionals? The advice I have for future educational professionals is to enjoying changing your view and perspective. That higher learning is exciting and will only enhance and shift your teaching practices to meet the needs of all the students who enter your classrooms. Leadership is a mindset and way of thinking that broadens understanding and heightens differentiation to lead to more engagement and richness of thought/activity/purpose. The culture of learning is the best avenue to meet your students with and begin to develop relationships based on trust and security. Moreover, I firmly believe that educational professionals need to ask themselves and others questions, to deepen conversations, to shift thinking, and to never settle: keep expectations high and think your way through the various notions, changes, and conceptualization shifts and paradigms asked of you: be comfortable with change, and be an agent for change.
- Tell us about yourself: My name is Robert Wall. I earned an MA of Arts in Administration, Curriculum and Instruction in 1994.
- What are you doing now?: ? I am retired from teaching. This was after 36 years in in the classroom and for 22 of those years I was a Vice-Principal. After that I was seminar leader and student teacher supervisor for eight more years at UVic (University of Victoria). I presently work on set construction for a theatre group, Peninsula Player, in Victoria, BC, and playing with my two grandsons.
- Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? My neighbour, Dr. Joe Kess, head of the Linguistics Department at UVic, recommended it highly. Kess was a graduate of Georgetown University and knew that Gonzaga had a positive affiliation with it. He felt that there would be very positive and supportive feel to Gonzaga’s Education program as well.
- What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? This is a difficult question. I believe I model the personal qualities that a school community should expect from an individual. I always wished that I could do more and always strived for that. The following people offered realistic and innovative new teaching models and ideas that I was able to merge right away as the MA program progressed as well as after the program was completed: Matt Cadman, Dr. Jon Evavold, Dr. Monica Schmidt, Dr. Dick Sovde and Dr. Deborah Nieding. They were all great role models!
- What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? I had been called an “Educator,” “Master Teacher,” and “Idea Man” by Principal reports in the nine schools I had worked. Gonzaga gave me the feeling from, ‘I think I can’ to a definite ‘Yes, I can improve my teaching and administration skills for my school communities.’
- What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? I was always a ‘Sunday night pacer’ as I planned for the next week to come. I always found that if you planned well you could almost always bring fun, new ideas and enjoyment for the students, staff and school community. Sometimes that required change or a new way of doing something. So, for me change was always the ‘challenge.’ That was one of the reasons I asked for nine school transfers so that I could challenge myself. Each school was like starting teaching all over only in a different school environment.
- What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? ? I like being with kids and find a school ghost-like when the hallways are empty without them there. Like Victoria, many cities do not have a large percentage of students by population. I think it is extremely important to promote stronger understanding of the amazing talent younger people in schools are to the general public, sometimes the school’s parent communities, business, the press and government at all levels.
- What advice do you have for future education professionals? To best answer this question I am going to use some quotes from my farewell retirement speech. “To me a school, my definition, has always been an ‘Information, Intergenerational, Transfer, Environment’. Or, I would say, a school is a building of four walls, with tomorrow inside. A school is more of a spirit than a physical structure… Young hope walks its corridors. Young dreams climb its stairways. Young ambitions fill its classrooms. It’s youngest building in the world. It’s a school my favourite place.” So, being an educator is hard work, challenging, and you need to work as hard as you can every year for your students. And if you do, you will find teaching to be one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and important jobs in the world. As Cicero wrote, “What noble employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of instructing the younger generation.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tell us about yourself: Angela Busenius, Masters of Educational Leadership and Administration. I graduated in 2017.
- What are you doing now?: Clinical nurse educator for the hemodialysis units in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap area.
- Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? My husband completed the same program just before me. He had an amazing experience with it and I found out they accepted students outside of the education stream. It seemed like a great fit.
- What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? My fellow classmates as well as 2 of my instructors, Dan and Joan. All of these individuals have shown me unwavering support and love throughout the program.
- What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? The greatest lesson I have learned is courage. Courage to take chances. Courage to grow and put myself in uncomfortable situations. Courage to express my feelings and support others in their journey.
- What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding part of my job is my patients. I have the privilege to care for people every day and hear rich stories about their past. I have the opportunity to help people even when they are in the last moments of their life.The most challenging part of my career is the structure and politics of being in an overstretched public service environment. We want to do so much for our patients and are bound by limited resources and too much demand placed on the system.
- What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? Seniors need to be cared for and given the opportunity to live the last portion of their lives in comfort. Too often our seniors live in poverty, unable to obtain basic necessities such as proper food, medication and secure housing. They often live at risk as the resources aren’t available to keep them safe.
- What advice do you have for future education professionals? We do what we do because it is our calling in life. We are privileged to care for our citizens. Stay true to your heart and remember why you entered this amazing field.
- Tell us about yourself: Christina Gauley, M.Ed Leadership & Administration, class of 2017.
- What are you doing now?: I am currently a Fine Arts Specialist teaching at South Sahali Elementary in Kamloops, BC. I teach all students K-7. I am moving into a new role as District Fine Arts Coordinator, beginning in September 2017.
- Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I originally hesitated to choose a program that I thought was gearing me into Administration, since that was not my intended path. I chose to apply to Gonzaga because I had heard from other teachers in Kamloops, including Music Specialists, who found the program to be extremely beneficial regardless of how one intends to pursue leadership. I love that Gonzaga manages to create a cohort-based classroom for distance education; it is a marvelous way to provide the support and community needed for taking on this kind of degree.
- What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? My thesis advisor, Dan, is one of the most outstanding teachers I have ever met. I was constantly amazed at his quiet ability to get us to do what seemed originally like an insurmountable task. I feel so grateful for his faith in me that I could find the inner strength to take on the challenges I’ve faced in the last few years, and in his support of all of us in our cohort. Also, the discussion and perspective I have gained from working so closely with 12 other educators, and from tackling difficult subjects honestly, without holding back, has allowed me unexpected growth. I feel so lucky to have gained the insight and expertise from the rest of my cohort.
- What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? In my undergrad studies, I was a very successful crammer. I procrastinated projects, essays, and studying for exams, and then locked myself in the library until I had produced something I deemed worthy of handing in. I was frightened at the start of this program, because I knew that I couldn’t do that. I work full-time, and I am a single mother of three young children – there could be no all-nighters. There was no way I could lock myself in the library; assignment deadlines would overlap with report cards, kids would get the flu, life would be difficult, and I would still have to make it work. In one of our first courses, one of our professors said something that I took as gospel and used unfailingly throughout the program: “Write one sentence every day.” So I did. Usually the one sentence turned into more, but on the toughest days, one sentence was all I could handle. But I didn’t miss a day, and I didn’t miss a deadline. My children still felt loved, and I managed to earn my masters degree by following that simple guideline. So my most valuable lesson is that it turns out you can actually climb a mountain one step at a time. You literally just have to keep walking, and it actually gets done. It is such a liberating truth to learn.
- What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? The most rewarding aspect is to see joy and pride on the faces of children who have succeeded in creating something that they didn’t think they could do. Teaching music and performing arts, I encounter a lot of kids who think that they just ‘aren’t musical,’ and I love taking that challenge on to find out what they actually love about music, and hook them into loving more. The most challenging thing is living and working in a culture that undervalues the arts. Many school boards and governments pay lip service to appreciating the arts but when it comes down to it, our North American culture sees the arts as a delightful extra, a piece of dessert but not a meal in itself. Arts advocates link musical study to improved literacy skills in an attempt to ‘legitimize’ studies in the arts, but in doing so we contribute to the problem: do you see reading teachers convincing parents of the importance of literacy so that it improves their piano skills? Of course not. I don’t mean to belittle the importance of reading, so much as point out that the study of the arts is important because music, drama, dance, and art are part of what it means to be human.
- What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? Part of what I am excited about in my new position next year as District Fine Arts Coordinator is to work with general classroom teachers in infusing their classrooms with music, drama, dance, and art. I am hopeful that as more general teachers incorporate arts studies into their classrooms, our culture can begin to see the way the arts influence everything that we do. I am also excited to work with specialist teachers in helping them become stronger advocates for arts education, and help them inspire colleagues to collaborate and weave arts into other areas, rather than quarantining them to the theatre, dance studio and music room.
- What advice do you have for future education professionals? Find what you love about your job; what you value the most. Do the soul-searching required to know the deep answer to that question, because once you know what you really care about, decisions become so much easier. Every choice can be boiled down to those core values, and once it’s all aligned, it’s so much easier to see the path ahead. It is totally hard work to figure it out, and it may get kind of messy. But it is completely worth it. Know what you love, and make it happen.