It has been a while since I've taken the time to sit down and write an article for The NOTL Local. The last several months for me have been interesting, to say the least. This long overdue written piece is not for the sake of providing you readers with an update on my life, as my journey is no more important than any of yours. Rather, it is a reflection of personal and professional lessons along the way in life, with nature as the ultimate teacher. It feels ironic to write that, as I am currently in an online school program through Niagara University to become a high school biology and geography teacher.
One thing I've learned in my recent high school placements is that many teachers are educators of not just their subject area, but life in general. Teachers have a pulse check on society's next trends and characteristics to come, as the youth of today are tomorrow's voters and vehicles of change. As I juggle intensely demanding online classes, due dates, a lack of work and a litany of personal developments, I have been fortunate to learn from the teachers of the classroom and the teacher of nature on how to navigate these shifts and challenges in my life.
The one year, totally-online teachers college program has been tough on me, I must admit. The work itself has not been difficult at all, however, the excessive screen time certainly has been. Screen time is the bane of my existence. Funny enough, I don't have issue with watching a good Netflix series, video editing my Hidden Corners nature documentaries or playing a late night video game. What distinguishes online school from those types of screen times is that it obviously requires a certain level of professionalism and focus.
During the three hour online class segments, you interact with people on little 1x2 inch screens. They're real, but they're not there. There is a lot of talking with very little interacting. I also wouldn't say the material is exactly stimulating, either. By the time these classes end, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. When you feel as if you've been hit by a truck, it becomes difficult to muster up the steam to write an essay or online test or two after that. When all is said and done, I've admittedly felt like my tires were deflated by the end of most nights. Hopping onto the screen just one more time to write an article for The NOTL Local has been tough.
Having said this, in two weeks time, all of my assignments, quizzes and online meetings will come to an end. The remainder of my schooling will strictly be in person within one of our local DSBN high schools. On that note, let me inform you about the interesting trends I have seen through the lens of different high schools over the past few months.
The first thing to report is that there has been a paradigm shift in the education system as of late, and especially in science. There used to be more emphasis on memorization and the regurgitation of curriculum essentials. There are enormous amounts of new words, definitions and terms that get introduced to students in biology and geography, and sometimes at an appreciable rate. It's like students back in the day (I can't believe I'm saying that) were assessed based on their ability to learn, retain and spit out the information for the sake of spitting it out. Now, there is a new philosophy in education which I admit has actually grown on me.
These days, students are being assessed more on their ability to understand and apply the knowledge they are obtaining to real-world scenarios. There are far fewer drill-and-repeat assessments, as strategies are shifting toward applicability and bigger-picture learning. I, for one, actually appreciate this tectonic shift in education. I can guarantee that each and every one of you reading this remembers a time in their educational journey where they said, “I'm going to memorize all of this stuff only to never use it again.” And, you were correct, as was I.
I believe this new education system's mandate change was largely brought on by three factors: the hangover effect of COVID's lockdowns on student learning, the exponential increase in newcomers to Canada (and their associated language needs), and the increasingly pervasive influence of social media.
The first factor interrupted and lowered the expectations of education. The surge in newcomers, the second change, has spread teachers and administrators more thinly as we strive to ensure students of all language abilities have an equitable learning experience. The third factor, social media, has literally rewired the younger generation. Studies have shown that social media and smart phone addictions have led to shorter attention and retention spans of the human brain. Therefore, society had to adapt, and so has the education system accordingly.
I, for one, understand and welcome this response. Today's students would not be able to stay afloat in science, geography or other academically heavy subjects in ways they used to be taught just five years ago.
I am currently a student of the system. Just as I try to provide solutions and helpful tips to high school students about managing their workloads, time and energy, I had to recently take a bit of my own medicine. However, two of the best teachers and healers in life are nature and the great outdoors. By my own standards, I have not recently given myself enough permission to get outside, take breaks and get back to my roots in a land of roots, rocks, water and wildlife. After a particularly heavy week of assignments, I finally gave myself that pass to go outside for a day and not even get close to my computer screen. I grabbed my camera and took a leisurely photography stroll in Niagara Falls.
I played tourist in my own backyard. I shut out the noise of due dates and draining online meetings, and my only focus was to walk around the city and photograph the waterfall, the people, buildings and wildlife at my own pace. I was just being me without pressure again, and it felt amazing. As enough water poured over the brink of Niagara Falls to fill one million bath tubs per minute, I felt my personal batteries recharging at a similar rate. How funny, I thought, that I would be the first person to recommend a healthy outdoor walk to someone else, and barely take one myself for the past several months.
Did you know that there are beavers and a couple of beaver lodges just a few minutes of a walk from the brink of Niagara Falls? As we like to say in Canada, if you're a busy beaver, remember to take a moment to not be so busy.
I look forward to writing more articles again once my school assignments conclude in a couple of weeks.
