Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

Linda Leone: Championing Relationships Across the

Lifespan
My connection with Camosun College started in 1979
when I enrolled as a student in the Early Childhood
Education and Care program (now called Early
Learning and Care). I completed the Certificate in
1980 and the Diploma in1985. When I was a student
in the program, the curriculum was weighted towards
children's art, children's literature, story time activities,
children's dance, and child development. We also had
courses that touched on administration and guiding
children's behaviours.

In 1991, when I was completing a degree in Child and

Youth Care at the University of Victoria, I chose to
complete a practicum at Camosun College. I wanted
to gain experience teaching adults and to explore how
the ELC curriculum had changed in the almost ten
years since I’d been a student there. I discovered that
there were still courses on teaching and caring for
Linda in her early days at children, but the scope of the curriculum had
Camosun broadened. There was an emphasis on values,
beliefs, bias and culture. Also, there were courses
focused on working with families, and working in an
integrated setting with other professionals. We still read stories, set up
environments for art and play, but now we looked at this through a lens of
understanding of how culture influences children's learning and growth.

After seven years working in the field and completing a B.A., I became a part-
time teacher in ELC. In 1995, I became a full-time continuing faculty and in 1997
I completed a Masters of Education at Simon Fraser University. I worked as an
instructor teaching and developing a variety of courses. The course I taught most
frequently was Developmental Perspectives which was initially called Child
Development. I loved teaching. At the time, we had a two year Diploma program
with a Certificate exit after the first year. I adored meeting our new students every
fall. Each year, we welcomed thirty-two to thirty-three domestic students and one
or two International students into the first year. This was augmented by fifteen to
twenty students who entered second year. I loved the energy, the potential, and
the mystery that comes with starting new relationships. When I retired I
anticipated, rightly, that these relationships were going to be one of the things I
missed most.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

As a teacher, my greatest satisfaction was watching the transformation that

happens as a learner gains competence. In Early Childhood Education we have
a saying: "meet them where they are." As instructors of early learning and care
we wanted to model this construct of teaching. We endeavoured to meet our
students where they were in their learning journey. I also savoured the
friendships I developed with many students who then became colleagues in the
field. It was joyful to go to practicum sites and see the people that had graduated
from our program working in the field, mentoring students. To me, learning
happens in relationships, so getting to know a person, learning with them, was a
wonderful experience, simply exciting.

During my time as a teacher in ELC,

there were two significant influences
on thinking and curriculum
development in early childhood
education. The first came out of
California with Elizabeth Prescott
and Magda Gerber, whose theory of
early learning and care was focused
on learning through play, respecting
the child and seeing the child as
competent. The second, the Reggio
Emilia approach, came from Italy. It
is an educational philosophy that is
child-centred and uses self-directed,
experiential learning with engaged
teachers. Learning happens within
meaningful relationships with co-
workers, children and their families.

Over the twenty years I was at the

college, we revised Camosun’s ELC
curriculum many times. The folks in
the Department and College
Curriculum Committees knew us
well! We also had the opportunity to
share our curriculum as part of an
international education project, with
the University of Danang Teacher’s
College, in Viet Nam.
Personnel from Human Services Department
on Denise’s 50th birthday, 1997
Top: Denise Davies, Marion Christie, Karin Macaulay
Second Row: Maureen Creed, Jan Carey, Linda Leone
Third Row: Avril Peters, Angela Henry, Maureen Drever
Bottom: Colleen O’Dowd, Mary Ellen Meunier
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

Linda with colleagues from the University of Danang, Teacher’s College

Around 2004, I took on the role of Program

Leader, following in the footsteps of our beloved
Denise Davies. Program leading carried a lot of
responsibility. While I had an extremely supportive
faculty and administration to work with, I found it
overwhelming at times because I was only given a
20% release to oversee a two year program. This
was in addition to taking on special projects as
well as sitting on a Provincial Articulation
Committee and being involved with Professional
Associations. The special projects included
developing a Family Child Care course for the
Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, as well as
developing on-line offerings of ELC courses. I
think the biggest “aha!” for me as Program Leader
was learning how to ask people for assistance,
and learning how to delegate. Denise Davis

The first course I developed for on-line offering was

Developmental Perspectives. Our on-line courses were very popular because,
under the current regulations, a person who has completed an ELC course was
able to work in an early learning centre. As I developed courses for on-line
learning, I truly grasped the importance of engaging the learner in meaningful
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

tasks. I was blessed with a wonderful tech crew and we were able to devise
learning "moments" that required the students to complete a task related to the
content. The students would report on their "discoveries" and then continue to
move through the course. Students loved this feature. There was always a lot of
sharing. Eventually, I joined with Toni Hoyland in getting the entire ELC program
on-line, except for practicum. Students are still required to complete a practicum
with a mentor, an instructor supervising, and weekly seminars on campus.

During my time at Camosun, one of the most profound moments for me

was seeing how much support we received when our program was
jeopardized due to funding cuts from the government. Funding cuts
impacted all secondary educational institutions after the B.C. Liberals were
elected in 2001. Many early childhood education programs across the
province were cut. At first, we were told the entire ELC program would be
cut because it was offered in the community at Sprout-Shaw College. Our
community, the people working in the field, the Camosun College Child
Care Services, our colleagues from other institutions, along with the
community of Camosun, all came to our aid. There was an outpouring of
letters. People, including our Program Leader Denise Davis, spoke to the
Camosun Board of Governors. Finally, a compromise was reached: we lost
our second year only. Fortunately, a few years later, the second year of the
program was
reinstated.

During the 1990s, I

served on the CCFA
Professional
Development
Committee. I enjoyed
this work. It was
interesting to learn
about other faculties
within the college and
I was so impressed
with the calibre of
teachers throughout
Camosun. There were
people accessing
funds to write books,
or present cutting
Dear friends from Linda’s days at Camosun edge knowledge in
Seating: Colleen O’Dowd, Mary Ellen Meunier, Denise Davies other countries. I
Standing: Nancy Dobbs, Linda Leone, Karin Macaulay
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

learned how to assist people in applying for funds so they could take courses and
share their knowledge with others. This was a collaborative committee. I learned
a lot about the art of reaching consensus.

I have so many special memories of working at Camosun College. The

most significant outcome of working at the College was the special
friendships I made with colleagues. Every year, at the end of the semester
after the students were launched, the Human Service faculty would choose
a place to have a picnic. We often met at parks like Point No Point and Mt.
Doug. We would relax and enjoy each other's company reflecting on the
past year and thinking forward to the next. Many of these colleagues are

Linda with her husband, Aldo, at the Grand Canyon

also retired. I continue to treasure my time with these dear friends and look
forward to meeting with them regularly for coffee or a walk.

Shortly after I retired in 2012, my husband and I made a road trip that took
us to the Grand Canyon. We were gone over a month and it was lovely to
just wander. Since we had taken the opportunity to travel in Europe before
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

retirement, we didn’t Linda with her sister-in-law, Linda Nazarko, in Quebec

feel drawn to return.
For some while, I had
wanted to see the
autumn colours in
Quebec but, while I
was working, we were
never able to travel in
the fall. So, it was a
real treat to finally
make this trip. It is a
journey I will long
remember.

In retirement, I have become a committed volunteer. After completing the

Teaching English as a Foreign Language course through UVIC, I
volunteered with the
UVIC English Language
Linda with her husband, Aldo, and sister-in-law, Nancy Hall
overlooking the Pacifica Municipal Pier, Pacifica, California
Centre. My husband and
I are big fans of opera,
so it’s no surprise that I
also volunteer with
Pacific Opera Victoria.
When I was still working,
I often looked out of my
office window to watch
the Greater Victoria
Shakespeare Society
rehearsing on the college
grounds. Now that I
have the time, I have
been volunteering with
them. I have also
volunteered at the Fringe
Festival. Volunteering
within the arts community has been very rewarding for me and I am able to
meet so many interesting people, including a number of young people. I
missed young people after retirement, so this has helped a lot.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2020

Before, COVID-19 reared its nasty head, I had made a habit of going twice
a year to visit my parents and my brothers who live in Pacifica, California,
which is about twenty minutes south of San Francisco. It is a great place to
go in June as that is when the humpback whales travel up the coast. It is
possible to sit on the pier and watch these magnificent animals as they are
passing by. This year, however, I wasn’t there to see them.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, my husband and I have adjusted to a much

slower pace. We have completed a few projects like cleaning out file drawers,
updating files, and general deep cleaning of our abode. I have a small allotment
garden in the strata complex where we live which has kept me busy. My husband
has a few radio shows on CFUV, 101.9, UVIC Community Radio and he is
broadcasting from home. We take long walks which have allowed us to discover
more about our neighbourhood. My grandchildren are adults and they have been
wonderful shopping for us during the COVID 19 lockdown. My stepdaughter
works as an essential worker, so, unfortunately we weren’t able to visit with them.
Now that things are opening up again, we are beginning to widen our circle and
have begun to see our family for picnics.

On June 22nd, Aldo and I celebrated our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary by

driving to Chemainus and enjoying lunch at the Thai Pinto. Life is good.

Linda with her family

Left to right: Linda, Aldo Nazarko (Linda’s husband), Dylan Fyfe,
Lisa Nazarko, Carly Fyfe