Today and tomorrow are non-instructional days, since it is what they call "Teacher's Convention" (for my music teaching friends, it's just like OMEA but for ALL teachers, any subject and grade, in the northern Alberta Peace Region). There are keynotes, presentations on different subject- or teaching-specific topics, and a little walk-around fair where you can steal free chocolates by pretending to be interested in everything that everyone has to say.
This morning's keynote was my long-time source of admiration and inspiration, Craig Kielburger. Last year in my job hunt I definitely looked up some jobs with Me to We and still to this day think it would be such a fulfilling job. I never actually ended up applying, mostly because I felt under-qualified and under-educated about social issues. The possibility of finding in that field simply fell to the back of my mind...until the keynote address we had today, when it came back to conscious consideration. So what if I don't know everything about social activism? The things I love about teaching are connecting to youth, making a difference, and helping people learn. So why not seek out a career that does all of those things AND eliminates the parts of my teaching job that I don't like (ie overwhelming paperwork, staff meetings, assessment, etc)? I'm seriously considering a career path change; not because of this particular keynote, but rather as a result of self-reflection upon it.
I even waited after his talk to meet him in person and ask him a few questions. It was the first time I've actually met someone famous, and I was kind of star-struck in a weird way, even though he was one of the most welcoming and soothing people I have ever talked to. I guess that's what he does best. Didn't even think to get a picture or an autograph or anything, but Malika was there to vouch that it really did happen. Stay tuned for more updates. Job applications (teaching and otherwise) are one on my 'to do' list, which only seems to be growing and growing at this time of the year...
Rrroll up the Rim update: I am 3 for 7!!! How's that for odds?! So far it's been 2 coffees and a donut, so I'm still waiting on that BBQ. I'm not going to be greedy and hope for the car; I mean really...let's be realistic here. But I'd even go so far as to say that I would settle for the prepaid mastercards; I think I could probably deal with that. Lastly, I thought I'd be a friendly reminder to anyone who's not quite as 'on the ball' as me...(ie no one...) that this weekend is Daylight Savings! Spring your clocks ahead an hour at 2am on Sunday, March 10th. To continue on with the bright side of life....
...although this means we lose an hour of precious, beautiful, revitalizing sleep, it means that the sun will set later in the day. So although we have to go back to 8:20 sunrise (ie waking up in the dark); it'll be light out until 8pm (notably, about an hour later than back home)! So hurrah for that!! I've been comparing day length with that of Kingston lately, and this is the time of year where day lengths are actually pretty comparable. Kingston's days get about 3 minutes longer every day, while GP's get 4 minutes longer. The closest comparison in sunlight hours that I can find is on St Patty's Day (for those of you unfamiliar with this holiday, it's the one that happens 2 days before my birthday...), when the respective day lengths are as follows:
GP: 11h 59m 34s Kingston: 12h 00m 41s
After this, beginning on March 18th, GP will officially be having longer sunlight hours than Kingston. How's THAT for being positive?! Until Next Time, B. P.S. Next blog will be a sort of Q and A about teaching in Alberta. I've had quite a number of inquiries about from friends and acquaintances back home who are thinking about making the trek out here, in an attempt, I'm guessing, to escape the madness that is teaching in Ontario right now. Thanks for your questions in advance, and if you have any more, please post them in the comments or message me on facebook and I'll be sure to address them!
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