Stephanie Beresh Education Timeline 1987-2022

Chapter 2- 1992/93

While my elementary years started out positive and fun, grade two was a difficult year for me in terms of education. My dad had begun his career as a long-haul truck driver and as our family was part of a small religious community, gossip around our church began to spiral out of control. That gossip made its way into my classroom. It was not the other students that noticed my dad had not been at church, but my teacher. At carpet time in front of the entire class he told me how he had “heard my parents were getting divorced.” After being humiliated by my teacher, I was upset and exclaimed that no they were not, that people made that up. My confidence and feelings of safety at school were broken. This began to show in my work and personality at school. As the years went on, comments on my report card were often about my messiness or lack of organizational skills. I began to doubt my relationship with teachers, that they did not actually care the way they said they did. This was my introduction into what type of teacher I do not want to be. I never want a child to feel humiliated or unsafe because of something that I have said. I do not want them to ever doubt that they matter.

Chapter 4- 1999/2000

Grade nine was an entirely different experience for me. Up until this point I had been in a private Christian school and my experience in the world was ridiculously small. I had my school bubble, my youth group bubble and that was about it. In grade nine I transferred to an inner-city public school. I was old enough to see the difference in the relationships between teachers and students. The number of students that went in and out of classrooms was many in comparison to the small amount of teachers. For the first time in my educational career, I saw students with different behaviors and intellectual differences. I was introduced to overcrowded classrooms and underfunded teachers. There were a few classes that stand out to me, I remember them being engaging and fun, but I do not remember much about the teachers. There was no personal connections. We were just existing. Grade nine was my first year in applications math, this class was a perfect example of a teacher who could care less if we knew what we were doing or not. A short lesson, a paper to fill out and then the TV on the rolling cart came in, and we watched much music for the remainder of that 45 min class. We learned nothing. This was the year I knew that I wanted to become the teacher that made that small difference in someone's life, even if for only a brief few months. Building relationships with your students can not only encourage them to do their best, but it also helps them recognize that they are worth the effort of being in that class. That they are important and this will help build their confidence.

Chapter 6- 2002/03

Once again I switched schools. Leaving the inner-city school to an upper middle class, predominantly white high school. The experience at this school was a lot more like it was in the Christian school. A lot of cliques and people thinking their social status was the most important thing. In this school, the teachers appeared to have more care for their students and really encouraged academics and after-school sports. It was an Art inspired high school, named after the artist Robert Bateman so there was a lot of emphasis on encouraging artistic talents. In regards to education, this year didn't stand out with great teachers or outstanding achievements. This year was a celebration of self. That I had overcome every educational obstacle; that I had shown through hard work and dedication, I could finally graduate and be one step closer to my dream. This was the year I found my voice, and started to challenge dress code and question why it was only relevant to some students and not others, it was the year I found my best friend, my ride or die. I received a bursary towards my educational goals. This was the year I was determined to go to university and start my journey to be a teacher.

Chapter 7- 2014- present

As life would have it , a lot changed between high school graduation and where I am today. I got married and had children, so my educational goals got put on hold. Then my littles started their careers in school. My children began elementary school in 2014 and 2016. This was my first experience seeing the educational system as a parent. The start of the year for my daughter's kindergarten was the teacher strike. While I sympathized with the teacher, not really understanding the hardship they were experiencing, I was frustrated for my daughter and her delay to starting this new journey. I found myself getting irritated that she was missing out on so much. I had to often remind myself that I know nothing of their situations, so I began to research. I started to understand and support why they needed to make the government listen. Moving to Kamloops from the busy coast, it began to be apparent that the funding for the schools was not as high as the coast, with social clubs, and music classes being cut from my children's school, this was when I learned how hard the teachers were working, and how understaffed the schools actually were.

With one EA for every 4 classrooms, I was in awe of how many of these teachers were able to keep their composure and yet, was worried for the children who were being left behind. It was during my children's school years I learned that children were no longer being held back but pushed forward whether they were ready or not. I was saddened for what I had seen while helping in my daughter's class on a field trip. she was in grade two, and one of her fellow peers was in our group. While we explored the zoo, it became very obvious that the young child did not know how to read. This made me sad, as I knew it meant he was not getting the attention nor the help he so desperately needed in class. There were just too many kids, and not enough staff. He was getting forgotten about. This field trip happened the same year I was completing my Educational Assistant and Community Support Certificate. It made me recognize how desperately students need support to succeed, and how it is in the best interest of all students that there be an EA in every classroom. That far too many children are being left behind. It has reminded me to check in with students, meet them where they are and help them find the tools needed to succeed. I also think that advocating for an EA to work within the classroom is important. This way there's a higher probability of success for the students that struggle.

Chapter 8- 2014-present

I began girl guides in 2014, I joined with my daughter as her unit needed leaders. This was my first real taste of leading a group of children. I had 19, 5/6year olds that needed me to plan a meeting and run that meeting each week. Often this included a small lesson and a craft. As the years went on, the groups progressively got smaller as the girls got older. However, I enjoyed planning the meetings and taking the time to work with each guide as they learned and acquired new skills. This was an important step on my path to a career in education as I was reminded that I needed to be in schools, making a difference with kids and needed to teach. Each of these girls needed to feel important and that they were worth being heard. This is important in education also, as it builds confidence. Kids need to be heard and validated, than there is nothing stopping them from succeeding and being proud of their achievements.

Chapter 9- 2017-2022

In 2016 as my youngest started kindergarten I went back to university. It was time I started my journey in education. With limited funds, it was decided that I would start by getting my educational assistant certificate. I was employed October 2017 after graduating from the EACS program at TRU. I was first placed in gr. 9 and then finished that first year in kindergarten. I stayed in the kindergarten classroom for three of my five years at Kamloops Christian School. I worked closely with the teacher to build upon her dream of an outdoor educational program. It started as a once a week 'Wonder Walk' in the afternoons and built into an everyday outdoor education program, no matter the weather learning was happening outside. This was an amazing time of learning and exploring with the greatest team! This was one of the most important times in my educational timeline as this was the final push I really needed to get back to school and complete my Bachelor of Education. The teacher that I worked with everyday, gave me many opportunities to lead the class in activities and lessons, she knew, right away that I was not meant to be an EA, that I was meant to lead the classroom as a teacher. Thanks to her wonderful encouragement, I got the final push I needed to go back to school. Through her mentorship I realized how important it is to take kids outside for learning and how learning can happen in any weather! This is something that I want to implement in my teaching career. I find getting children out in nature opens an entirely new door of education, and in some cases, it comes more naturally to the kids as they don't have the same limitations that you often see in a classroom. Many of the behaviours we saw inside the classroom were nearly non existent outside as the children had a new perspective to learning.

PS- That's my photograph on the side of the trailer!!