My Teaching Journey

              Hello, my name is Kasia Kubara, and welcome to my EduBlog! Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to grow up to become a teacher. In high school I took a course called “Living and Working with Children Co-operative Education” and it was my first insight and experience into the real world of teaching. I loved my Co-op! My mentor (a grade 2/3 teacher) provided me with guidance, feedback, and support. I wanted to become a teacher just like her. After high school, I enrolled into King’s University College at UWO, where I completed a double major in Childhood and Social Institutions, and Sociology. In my final year at King’s I knew I had to apply to Faculties of Education to pursue teaching and to get closer to starting my teaching career. While researching universities I came across a two-year Bachelor of Education and Early Childhood Education (B.Ed/ECE) joint degree/diploma program through the University of Windsor and Lambton College. It was a hard decision to apply to a two-year program instead of a one-year. Questions such as: “Do I really need to get an ECE diploma? Will this be an advantage for me?” caused me to reflect on my decision. With Ontario’s government implementation of Full Day Kindergarten across the province I ultimately decided to go ahead and take the B.Ed/ECE program. With kindergarten classrooms now having a teacher and an early childhood educator, I thought my chances of getting hired by a school board would increase if I had both credentials.

            I am very content with the decision I made! I really enjoyed the Early Childhood Education portion of the program as it provided me with more hands-on experiences with parents and children. During my full-time studies I had the opportunity to work on-call for the Ontario Early Years Centre, the Parent and Professional Resource Centre, and I was honoured to be nominated by faculty to work as a B.Ed/ECE Student Ambassador. Following my graduation in spring of 2013, I was hired fulltime as an ECE with the London District Catholic School Board. I had my first classroom and I shared it with a teaching partner that has been in the field for many years. My teaching partner was a mentor to me. She shared numerous resources with me and taught me the hands-on things that I did not learn in teacher’s college. She challenged me to teach the grade 7/8 After School Math program at our school. Being qualified for JK-Grade 6, I never thought I would enjoy teaching the older grades. I was wrong! It was a nice balance to work with the youngest of students every day to teaching the oldest ones twice a week. I knew I had to register for additional qualification courses in order to become qualified to teach a wider range of students.

         In 2015, I made the transition from ECE to occasional teacher. Even though I miss having my own classroom, I thoroughly enjoy seeing what other teachers have implemented into their classrooms. I love learning new strategies, new ways of intertwining lessons, and how to incorporate technology. I take pictures of bulletin boards and learning goals I see posted around the classroom and/or hallways. I am currently completing AQ courses to challenge myself and stay current in my practices.  Occasional teaching has allowed me to network with teachers and professionals within my school board and community.

       

My perspective on teaching: While completing my Bachelor of Education, one of my professors stated: “if a student fails to learn, it is your [(the teacher’s)] fault”. To this day I remember this quote, and I agree with it. Educators need to be able to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of every student! I believe I have the dedication and determination to help children succeed and to change their mindsets. As a child I immigrated to Canada with my parents. They stressed the importance of education from a young age, and have inspired me. Fortunately, many people have inspired, supported and believed in me and my decisions. I now want to “pay it forward” and be the person to believe in, support and inspire my future students. I have a passion for teaching, and life-long learning! I cannot wait to have my own classroom!