Section Two: Teacher Candidate Background Experiences

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances.

The real mistake is to stop trying.

- Burrhus Frederic (B.F). Skinner

Introduction

As much as I would like to say that I always wanted to be a teacher would be stretching

the truth way too far. The road I have travelled for my education has been a long, winding and

confusing road to say the least. It is a road that has crossed two countries, three states and one

province. To say that I always wanted to become a teacher is not exactly telling the truth either. I

always knew that I wanted to educate and help others in some way, shape, or form after I was

done my baseball career, but I always thought that it would be in the field of health and nutrition.

It wasnt until I was told in my 5th year of undergrad by a principal friend of mine that I should

look into becoming an elementary school teacher because children relate positively well to me

and I work great with them. I pondered what he had said to me for the longest time and I finally

decided to switch directions and focus on becoming a teacher.

In this Teacher Candidate Background section of my portfolio I will provide evidence

regarding my education background, work experience, philosophy of education, school

observations and classroom applications. To complete this section I will showcase an exhaustive

resume of previous educational experiences and serve as context of my unique and accomplished

educational background. Through the guidance and instructions, I was given in the M.S.

Elementary Education at Medaille College, along with my positive character, yearning to

constantly educate myself, my background, and educational journey, you will see what I trust is a

teacher candidate who exudes all willingness to be the best educator I can be for my students.

Educational Background

I began my earliest education at cole lmentaire Catholique St. Marguerite Bourgeoys

in Brantford, Ontario. I was enrolled in an all French school because my mom is from Lyon,

France and wanted me to continue to speak French and learn the language. I grew up speaking

both French and English at home because my dad was a native of Brantford, Ontario, and could

maybe speak two words in French, Bonjour and Merci. French was something that both of

my parents, and especially my dad, encouraged me to continue throughout my education. I am

glad that they made me go to an all French school. I didnt know it at the time, but I was

acquiring something that was going to be valuable to me for the rest of my life.

Learning a second language and being bilingual, I gained extremely beneficial language

and career experience early in my childhood and moving forward in life and education,

especially living in an officially bilingual Province like Ontario and Canada, whose official

second language is French. As an educator, I now know that my mind was able to decipher

phonetic codes much simpler and make word associations in deux (two) languages. This allowed

me to communicate with my mother and her side of the family in their native tongue, as well as

have a conversation in English, in the same room, with my dads side of the family. I was like

the United Nations in our home, I brought different people together. People ask me, was it hard

to do math or science in French?, is it hard to learn two languages?; in my case, it wasnt. I

found it easy and fun. I thought I was a superhero because I could solve math and science
problems in French and English. I have always been a big proponent for students learning

multiple languages, and starting them as early as possible I believe, can only benefit them more.

Research has shown that learning a second language form an early age not only benefits a child

linguistically, by being able to interpret and articulate in various languages, it has also shown

that it can benefit a child cognitively as well, such as, better problem-solving skills, enhanced

memory, critical thinking skills, and much more (Top Five Reasons, 2014).

Following elementary school, I moved on to Assumption College School, a Catholic

secondary school in Brantford, Ontario. Although I didnt continue my French throughout my

entire high school career, I did finish all four years of high school French by grade 10. This

something that I have never regretted because I continue to this day to speak French at home and

with anyone I run into who is French. Looking back on my French education, learning a second

language has given me an invaluable skill and sets me apart from others when applying for a job

regardless of what field its in. It was in high school that I began competing in other sports

besides baseball. It was also when I started to take health and physical activity very seriously and

began doing my own research on fitness, health and nutrition. I started writing and creating my

own diet plans for myself and my dad. This correspondingly links up well with my philosophy of

education, because I believe that by promoting and incorporating healthy lifestyle choices into

our classrooms, i.e. healthy eating and physical activity, we can increase our students learning

potentials. Research suggests that incorporating both physical activity and proper nutrition into

the classroom positively effects better attention, increased on-task behavior, and improved

academic performance (Kohl, 2013).

 Next stop, college and university. I have had a unique post-secondary educational career.

I have gone to three different post-secondary schools, 2 on full scholarships and one not, all

because of baseball. I began at Roane State Community College in 2011, played for two years

and transferred to Missouri Baptist University where I played for one year, and finally finished

up with two years at the University of Guelph. But, for this part I want to focus on one school in

particular and the people that helped me come to the realization that I want to become a teacher.

It was early October 2010 when I went down on a visit to Roane State Community

College in Roane County, Tennessee. This was my shot. This was going to be the time that I

prove to everyone that I was right when I told them I was going to play professional baseball.

This was the first step. I signed my letter of intent and received a full scholarship to attend Roane

State Community College. Now all I had to do was perform the way I knew I could perform and

the way everyone else had projected me to perform, and I would get drafted and be on my merry

way to accomplish a lifelong dream of pitching in Major League Baseball. I had always thought

that playing professional baseball was my calling. After a poor start to my first year I began

taking my studies that much more seriously. Up until that point, school came easy to me and was

an afterthought, even though I was told to always work hard at school because I need a backup

plan.

Fast-forward to my second year at Roane State Community College. We had a

professional showcase tournament in Memphis. I had worked hard all summer to get my arm and

my body to where it needed to be to perform the way I needed to perform to show my stuff and

be recognized by scouts. I had blown everyone away at the showcase by throwing 94 mph and
striking out all six of the batters that I faced. My coach told me he was approached by the area

scout for the Kansas City Royals who told him that they would be keeping an eye on me and

would like to see how I continue to progress moving forward to the spring season. I was ecstatic!

Finally, everything I had worked for is paying off and scouts are finally starting to notice.

Jumping forward to my first start off the mound in the spring season. Our season opener at

Jackson State Community College. I was throwing the best game I had ever thrown. I hadnt

given up a hit in five innings and I had struck out 10. I came out to start the sixth inning and as I

threw the third pitch to the second batter all I heard and felt was this explosive feeling in my

elbow. I dropped to the ground in pain like I had never felt before. I knew exactly what had

happened, I tore the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in my throwing elbow. I knew from that day

forward, even after surgery, scouts would no longer look at me the same. It was then that I

finally realized and understood what everyone was telling me all along, baseball isnt forever.

After my surgery, I helped work with younger children on their pitching fundamentals. My head

coach was so enthralled by how well I worked with children and how well they responded to me.

He was the first person that suggested I become a teacher and was one of my biggest supporters.

I consider my baseball injury a curse and a blessing. Its a curse because I lost a

childhood dream; but its a blessing because I finally gained a greater understanding and

appreciation of the importance of education. It gave me the opportunity to start coaching and

share my knowledge of the game with children who love the game as well. While coaching, I

began to realize that I really loved teaching children what I know. I loved seeing the look on

their faces when what I was trying to teach them finally clicked, the fantastic ah-ha moment.
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child have a breakthrough moment with

something they have been struggling with for a while.

Baseball has given everything to me. Playing baseball in university while going to class

full time has also provided me with skills that I will have for the rest of my life. Balancing both

my education and my commitments to baseball was full of fun academic challenges that I had

never experienced before. Because of this I learned great time management and organizational

skills, as well as invaluable teamwork skills. Like my coach always preached, Baseball is 10

percent physical and 90 percent mental. Skill alone will only get you so far, having a good work

ethic and a strong mind will set you up to be successful.

Work Experiences

I have a vast array of diverse work experiences varying from a canoe/kayak instructor

and river guide to serving and bartending. Working as a canoe/kayak instructor and river guide

for a year, I personally experienced how great leadership/guidance and solid teaching skills can

greatly aid in the molding and evolution of children. Throughout my school, work and life

experiences, I have learned so much about myself and about how much knowledge, guidance and

patience (especially patience), are essential tools for teaching children the educational and life

skills they will need to succeed.

When I was in my 3rd year at the University of Guelph I began to volunteer my time to

tutor a boy, who was in grade four in French. This boy had so much trouble understanding

French and could not for the life of him understand what his teacher was trying to teach him. His

mother, a family friend and head of the chemistry department at her high school, gave me a
phone call to ask if I had the time to help tutor her son. She had told me that her son had looked

up to me for a long time because I played baseball and I had done so at school in the United

States and played professional baseball for a little while. She thought that because he looked up

to me and because I was bilingual in French and English, that I could help tutor him and help

him succeed in French. When I went to tutor him at home for the first time we went through his

worksheets that his teacher had given him. We dissected sentences, we tried to identify verbs and

we did a little bit of reading in French. The whole time we were doing this he just seemed

frustrated and uninterested. He was making the same mistakes over and over again. To be honest

he seemed bored. When I drove back to Guelph all I could think to myself is, how can I help this

boy understand that he can do this? How can I make him less bored about learning French? And

it clicked! I realized that maybe he felt this way because the worksheets had nothing on them that

interested him. The book he was given was not something he liked either. I came back a week

later with all of my French sports, action, adventure and mystery books that I had gotten over the

10 years I spent in all French schools. I decided to prepare some engaging activities to go along

with these books to help him learn. We worked with these new books and new activities and he

began to understand everything he was doing. Over the course of the semester he increased his

grades in French and his teacher had given him praise on all the hard work he had put forward to

better himself. This was a satisfying feeling for me as someone who helped him along the way.

While tutoring and coaching baseball I have developed a unique personal philosophy of

education. I have realized that all children are unique and learn in different ways, my philosophy

is to adapt my lessons to each of my students unique leaning styles to provide the best

opportunities for each and every one of them to succeed. My work experiences have helped me

become a well-rounded person and has allowed me to gain a variety of skills that will assist me
in the classroom. Although not all of my work experiences have been working with children, I

believe that skills I have gained over the years will allow me to teach effectively at the

elementary level. My academics in conjunction with my work experiences, I am poised that with

what I have learned at Medaille College I have the skills and practices that will allow me to be

the best educator I can possibly be.

School Observations and Classroom Applications

One of the keys to becoming a good educator is to act like a sponge and thoughtfully pay

close attention while conducting school observations, fieldwork and/or student teaching

experiences. While writing my portfolio, I have not yet conducted my student teaching, but, I

have amassed a wealth of experience and knowledge during my classroom observations at

Norwood Park Elementary School and Ridgemount Elementary School. Volunteering at these

schools gave me the opportunity to witness the different types of learners as well as the different

levels of capabilities in the classrooms. These experiences while observing in these classrooms

has given me the opportunity to prepare myself for what I will encounter in my own future

classroom as well as help me prepare lessons that are more effective for educating my students.

Reflecting on my previous observations and experiences has allowed me to grow as an educator

and become a better more effective teacher for my students.

I was blessed to have been able to volunteer and conduct classroom observations in two

different classrooms. I first volunteered at Norwood Park Elementary French Immersion School

in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB). The second school that I

volunteered at was Ridgemount Elementary School, also part of the HWDSB. Forthcoming are
some of the most prominent experiences and observations I learned during my time at these

schools.

Norwood Park Elementary School

The first school that I spent some time at was at Norwood Park Elementary School in

Hamilton, Ontario. It is a Grade 1 Grade 8 French Immersion School. I volunteered in a

number of different classrooms, the Gymnasium, the Learning Resource Room and I helped with

intramurals and sports as well. The schools vision was A future in which all students achieve

their full potential in a bilingual, diverse and safe environment (Board, n.d.). As soon as I

arrived at the school and began volunteering and working in the different classrooms, I was able

to build a great working relationship with all of the teachers. Not only did I build a strong

working relationships with the teachers, I also formed strong relationships and connections

almost instantaneously with the students. Forming these relationships were essential because

there were various amounts students in every classroom that were high needs and required either

supplementary instruction or behavior management. My time working at Norwood Park was an

amazing one that allowed me learn about myself and grow as a future educator.

The biggest piece of information that I gathered from working at this school was that you

need to keep the students engaged and that you need to build a rapport with your students. While

spending time in the different classrooms of various grade levels at Norwood Park, I noticed that

the teachers would create engaging lessons, and fun activities that kept students on task. I

observed that in most of the classrooms, especially Mr. Ss classrooms, students were eager to

answer questions and eager to learn. He challenged the students and engaged them by using
multiple intelligences. To go along with keeping the students engaged, I also observed that the

teachers all built a rapport with their students and took an interest in their lives outside of school.

I asked some of the students why they liked their teachers and the overwhelming answer was that

they really appreciated when the teachers asked them about their night after school or how their

sporting events went, and took an interest in their lives. Its amazing how much can be learned

by just taking the time to listen and take an interest in your students. By doing so I am able to

meet the needs of each unique individual learner. An example of this would be that I shared

something about myself with the students and they in turn shared something about themselves

with me.

Technology is extremely important in the classrooms of today especially since

technology is the future. In the classrooms, I used technology by working with students on the

Apple iPad. Each iPad had educational apps on them for the students to use at their disposal

whenever they had free time in the classroom. For differentiated instructions, I worked with a

student who was ADHD and I was able to use different instructional methods to help with his

learning.

During my time at Norwood Park I was able to observe and experience different

classroom management strategies. Mr. S had a clear agenda written on the board for the students

to see what they would be doing during the day. He also had clear classroom rules for the

students to follow. A behavior management strategy that I observed in Mr. Ss classroom was

assigned seating. He used assigned seating for in-desk activities as well as round table activities.
This is a great way to reduce problems or concerns that may occur during the hectic time when

students are changing work stations. My time spent at Norwood Park will never be forgotten.

Ridgemount Elementary School

My time spent at Ridgemount Elementary School was quite different than my time spent

at Norwood Park. The school population was much different. The school population at

Ridgemount come from lower income homes, single parent families, and a vast amount of ELL

students who come from non-English speaking countries. Once again, I spent my time

volunteering in a number of different classrooms, the Gymnasium, the Learning Resource Room

and helping with intramurals and sports as well. My experience at this school was an amazing

one, the rapport that I was able to establish with the teachers, the principal and the students were

all immensely beneficial for my future in the classroom. I learned a lot from all of the teachers

and the students alike and was given the opportunity to experience many different classroom

skills and strategies that I would be able to use in my classroom.

Being that Ridgemount had a large number of students that came from lower income

homes, the school implemented a healthy snack program for when the student arrived in the

morning. Because according to Maslow and his Hierarchy of needs, physical needs for food and

shelter are greatly important for students learning abilities and if they are not met the learning

abilities of the students will diminish (McLeod, 2016). I witnessed this theory at Ridgemount

with some of the students who arrived groggy and tired and had not eaten breakfast. With the

healthy snack program the students, no matter what their family situation, was able to grab a

healthy snack such as and apple and granola bars whenever they were hungry. The difference in
the students attention and engagement after they had a full stomach was astonishing. The

healthy snack program is a great program because it allows all students, not just those who come

from lower income households, to have snacks at their disposal when they are at school. It is a

great way to not separate the students and it also helps to eliminate the bullying that may occur

for those students who dont have a lunch to bring to school because they had no food left at

home.

At Ridgemount I was able to work with students in a one on one and group setting, when

the teacher allowed me to. I was able to incorporate technology to help the students learning by

suggesting educational videos to the teachers that they had not used before. I was also able to use

an IPad in Mr. Ps class to record a story that the students had created together as a class. We had

the students draw pictures to go along with a story that they had wrote as a class. We then had

the students use the IPad to take pictures of their drawings and then we had them read and record

a part of the story that went along with the picture. At the end, we put all of the recordings

together and had a movie day where the students were able to watch what they had created on the

projector in the classroom. This was an amazing project that we all enjoyed creating together.

During my time volunteering at Ridgemount I was able to witness many classroom

management strategies that I will most definitely implement in my classroom. Two of the most

memorable strategies that I witnessed were routine and group work. Routine was first and

foremost the most important strategy that I had experienced. Routine is a great strategy to help

because it sets clear expectations for the students and they knew what to do and when to do it.

This was also important for the students in the classrooms who were ADHD as it helped keep
them on task and it gave them a point of reference if they got off track. Group work was a big

part of each classroom as well. This was great because it allowed students to collaborate together

and bounce ideas and suggestions off of each other. This also helped eliminate most of the

talking during independent work time.

My biggest takeaway from Ridgemount Elementary was that of teachers and students

being culturally responsive (CRT). This was evident during my time there because there was a

student in a grade 4 classroom that was observing Ramadan. Instead of being teased for not

eating at school and for not being like the other students, students were interested as to why he

was doing what he was doing. Mr. S took it upon himself to allow the student to answer the other

students questions and he also took the time to educate the students about Ramadan himself.

This was an amazing display of CRT in the classroom and I will one day bring that same

approach to my classroom. This was a great display of Ridgemounts motto, Reaching New

Heights. I will always remember my time at Ridgemount Elementary School as a pleasant and

extremely memorable one.

Classroom Application

While reflecting upon my classroom observations and experiences at both Ridgemount

and Norwood Elementary, I have learned that to be an effective teacher you need to always be

willing to learn, and learn how to be flexible and accommodate to your students learning needs.

Teachers can always learn from their mistakes and successes. As teachers we can go to

workshops and develop ourselves and learn new teaching skills and techniques as well as

improve in areas that we are lagging in to benefit ourselves and our classrooms. I learned that
classroom management is essential. We need to promote a healthy, safe and respectful learning

environment for our students by building rapport with all of the students in the classroom. I am a

big advocate for group work as a technique to use in the classroom. Group work is a great way

for students to work, discuss and investigate together. This is a great teaching style that allows

the students to be active participants in their own learning. They can teach themselves and create

their own path to discovery by empowering and allowing them to make mistakes on their own to

further their own knowledge. To guide students in the right direction, the teacher can ask

questions during the lessons to get an idea of where the students comprehension of the concepts

or tasks are at.

One of the biggest observations that I made that I would like to apply in my classroom is

that of flexibility and accommodations. As a teacher, I need to be flexible with my lesson

planning because not every day is going to go as smoothly as I would hope. Being able to

witness all of the unique learning needs and learning styles of each unique student will benefit

me when I am planning my lessons and accommodating to my students unique individual needs.

John Deweys philosophy of education was that of a naturalistic approach to learning, meaning

that knowledge gained is from people being active in their own environments; that people learn

by doing (Field, n.d.). Consequently, a suitable method is to use a mixture of hands on and

project based learning (What is Project Based Learning (PBL), n.d.). I wholeheartedly believe

that empowering students in important for a successful classroom which is why I want to

develop the type classroom that encourages strong, independent, empowered learners.
Philosophy of Education

As an educator, I cant seem to wrap my head around coming up with my own personal

philosophy of education because of how multidimensional and diverse our education system is

today. Making a big picture statement about education today is in a way wrong and narrow

minded. That is to make us believe that education can be looked at as a general issue rather than

individual matters. As students in the Elementary Education program, we have been taught since

the first day we came to class that everything and every situation we will come across in our

careers will be one-off or unique, and that our methods of teaching and our techniques for

helping students learn will need to be incessantly changing and perfected all at the same time.

A hard task to accomplish, but one that is feasible for those whose hearts are in it for the

students. Even though this is what I believe, there are still some proclamations about education

that I dont believe in; like the fact that we are supposed to educate our students by filling them

with information that has been lectured to them, and make them regurgitate this information on

assessment after assessment. To me this is just not the way to go about educating our students,

especially when our students are individuals who learn in many different and unique ways. I am

an enormous believer in people who chose to be different to change the world for the better and

reach as many people as they can; from Gandhi to the Dalai Lama, I support uniqueness. By

uniqueness I mean I support the many different styles of learning that come into each and every

classroom, and I will plan my units and lessons around each and every one of these learning

styles so that I can make sure I give the best opportunity to every student to learn the best way

that they can.

 Since I have to make my own philosophy of education I would say that it would be that;

teaching young prosperous students is a challenge that should not be taken frivolously; to

discover new ways to positively influence as many students as possible in something that THEY

believe in and that THEY are passionate about in their lives. Not only do we need to focus on

educating the minds of our students, we should be asking ourselves, How can we educate the

hearts of children? - Dalai Lama (About Us, 2012). We should want to teach our students to be

compassionate, loving, tolerant, respectful members of society, that can contribute not only by

using their minds but by also following their hearts and creating some good moving into the

future. To achieve this in my classroom I will include a couple different methods of teaching

such as kinesthetic leaning and the student-centered approach to learning so my students can

learn by doing.

I believe that in order to be successful in educating young students and being able to

access and help students achieve their full potential, a teacher must be able to come into the

classroom and feel ethically obligated to provide the best opportunities that they can to allow

students the chance to reach the highest standard they can possibly achieve. By expecting the

best out of your students, and by teaching them the tools to problem solve, and to think deeper,

you are creating independent learners who will understand that with hard work, perseverance and

commitment, his/her students will thrive with success and rise above and conquer any obstacle

they may face; and if they struggle to rise above, it is my duty as an educator to equip them with

the skills they need to work through those obstacles and grow from those trials. But, because the

way that education and the education system are set up today, it would be incredibly difficult to

apply my philosophy. This is certainly a challenge worth accepting.

 Today we tend to view education in two completely different lights. One, we look at

education through the economic eye. Two, we look at it from societies viewpoint. Essentially

what I am saying is that, what we have come to believe the education system to be is that;

smart people can only be fabricated or produced in the classroom. We have come to believe

that the more education someone receives, the higher education, the more prestigious the

education, the more successful that person will be, hence, the smarter they will become. The

problem with this is that, where is the passion in our students? How can we, as educators, teach a

student if their heart is not in to it. The idea of teaching is to teach someone what they are

passionate about. Isnt it? To do so, I will need to find out what my students likes and dislikes

are; their different learning styles and what makes them tic, what is IT that gets them to put

their all into their work. By doing so, it will allow me to tailor my lessons, units and my teaching

style to best suit each one of my students. No matter the age, each and every student is passionate

about something and the key as a teacher is to figure out how to find that passion within them.

Two of my favorite quotes from the Dalai Lama point directly to this; the first quote is;

We have to think and see how we can fundamentally change our education system so

that we can train people to develop warm-heartedness early on in order to create a

healthier society. I don't mean we need to change the whole system, just improve it. We

need to encourage an understanding that inner peace comes from relying on human

values like, love, compassion, tolerance and honesty, and that peace in the world relies on

individuals finding inner peace. (Dalai Lama Quotes, n.d.)

The second quote really hits the nail on the head with regards to my teaching philosophy

We all want to live a happy life and have a right to do so, whether through work or
 spiritual practice. I'm subject to destructive emotions like anger and jealousy the same as

you, but we all have potential for good too. However, our existing education system is

oriented towards material development; neglecting inner values. Consequently, we lack a

clear awareness of the inner values that are the basis of a happy life. (Dalai Lama

Quotes, n.d.)

We as educators need to teach our students how to better themselves and help to develop them

educationally, but what we also need to, I think, is that we need to help guide our students

towards their passion, teach them about the inner values that are the basis of a happy life.

(Dalai Lama Quotes, n.d.)

Resume

Casey Bouillere-Howard
3 Kimberly Court
Brantford, ON, Canada, N3T 6M3
(519) 802-1150
caseyhoward717@hotmail.com

Qualifications
Fluently bilingual in written and oral French and English
Punctual and reliable
Comfortable working in a team or independently
Reliable and productive
Remarkable analytical and problem-solving skills
Able to multi-task and balance priorities; meet deadlines
Hard working and quick learner
CPR and First Aid
Smart Serve Certified
Smart Board Certified
Valid G class drivers licence
Dedicated

Education
Medaille College 2016-Present
Currently in 3rd Semester of Teachers College, Elementary Education,
Masters Program

University of Guelph
Bachelor of Arts, General 2014-2016

Missouri Baptist University 2013-2014

Majored in Health Science

Roane Sate Community College 2011-2013

Awards & Certifications

School Violence and Prevention and Intervention (New York) 2017
Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (New York) 2017
DASA Training 2017
Graduated with Honours from the University of Guelph 2016
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHIMS) Certified 2016
First Aid and CPR Certified 2014
Athletic Scholarship, Missouri Baptist University 2013-2014
Deans Honour list, Missouri Baptist University 2013-2014
Presidents List, Missouri Baptist University 2013-2014
Athletic Scholarship, Roane State Community College 2011-2013
Deans Honours List, Roane State Community College 2011-2012, 2012-2013
Athletic Scholar Honour, Tennessee Community College Athletic Assn. 2012-2013
Smart Serve Certified

Employment History

Montanas Cookhouse, Woodstock Ontario 2005-Present

Server/Bartender & Line Cook
Server/Bartender: Responsible for greeting customers; taking orders and relaying to kitchen; serving food
according to special dietary needs and requests; cleaning tables, dining areas, and bathrooms; adhering to
sanitation, safety, and alcohol beverage control policies; taking inventory and maintaining stock levels;
resolving customer complaints.
Line cook: responsible for cooking, portioning and plating aesthetically appealing and savoury food.

Cooper D W Contracting Ltd May-August 2015

Labourer
Operated Machinery and helped install water mains, gray water pipes and sewer drains
Responsible for directing traffic.
Responsible for setting up and tearing down traffic signs before and after every shift.
Responsible for grading ground level at proper angles to ensure proper installation and flow of water through
pipes.

Brantford Minor Baseball Association 2009-2014

Umpire
Officiated all divisions from 6-18 years of age.
Was responsible for ensuring player safety; advising players and coaches of mistakes that were made;
explaining ways to improve on those mistakes; trained new umpires.

Grand River Canoe and Kayak, Paris Ontario May 2012-September 2012
Kayak/Canoe Instructor & River Guide
Was responsible for guiding small and large groups down the Grand River in a safe and exciting manner;
ensuring safety of customers by instructing and showing proper kayaking and canoeing techniques; explaining
the importance of communication and concentration to avoid dangers on the water.

Volunteer Work
Montanas Cookhouse, Woodstock Ontario 2006-Present
Server
Responsible for preparing Christmas and Thanksgiving meals; transporting full festive lunches to elementary
schools; serving meals to students and families who would not otherwise get these meals.

Ridgemount Junior Public School, Hamilton Ontario 2014-Present

Classroom Assistant JK-Grade 6
Responsible for evaluating and assessing student work; overseeing lunch time and recess; learned a variety of
teaching styles and classroom management skills from teachers; assisting teachers with the preparation of a
variety of classroom lessons; teaching struggling students in a one on one environment.
Elementary & High School French Tutor
2014-Present
Responsible for educating students in written and verbal French; practiced oral communication through
conversations; generated worksheets for students to complete and helped them prepare for tests and exams.

Assumption College School, Brantford, Ontario, Canada 2015-Present

Brantford Minor Baseball Assn., Brantford, Ontario, Canada 2015
Responsible for coaching pitchers through a variety of drills; develop skills, demonstrate techniques and build
confidence in players; motivate and give constructive criticism to players throughout games.

References Available Upon Request

Conclusion

We have now come to the conclusion of Section Two of the M.S. Ed. Portfolio. In this

section I have showcased my educational background and my work experiences, as well as my

observations acquired in different classrooms. I continued by providing my philosophy of

education and the connections made with different experts and theorists in the field of education.

I finished by providing my resume with all my work and educational experience, my skills,

awards and certifications, that have allowed me to grow as a confident, professional who is ready

to pursue a career as a positive, encouraging and motivational teacher. While reflecting on all of

these sections I have laid out for you, I have realized one key thing, teaching and learning are

unique for everyone, there is not right or wrong way to do either. What we need to do as

educators in be able to adapt and accommodate. By doing so we will be able to accomplish so

much more in our classrooms and we will we be able to create a positive change in the learning

environment and the current educational system.