Hi there!

My name is Sidney Rud. I am born and raised in Prince George and have been at UNBC since 2018 pursuing my undergrad degree in English. Prior to that, I was at CNC figuring out my academic path. After working with school-aged children for the past two years in a daycare setting I realized I wanted to work with children. So, having that experience being around kids every day and seeing how their minds worked and how to interact with them sparked my interest in teaching and pursuing the program here at UNBC. As an educator, I set out to be someone who is guiding my students while also keeping the perspective that they, in many ways, are guiding me too. I think this outlook is a good starting place in terms of teaching because the student can show you different perspectives and methods without them even knowing, as well as signalling what works for them. I believe that last piece is important because to be a successful teacher your methods must not only work for you but most importantly the students.

End of Program reflection

Here I am at the end of this program ready to embark on my teaching career. Well, sort of… haha. While I do feel like I am ready to take on my own class I am nervous but also excited. When I look back at the paragraph I had written above I feel like the person who wrote that is not the same person I am now. No, I have not drastically changed in the course of this year and a half but I do feel like I have come into my own as far as who I am as an educator. Does that mean I have this whole “teaching” thing figured out? No, but for me, I feel like I have the gumption and energy to try it out the best I can. I am excited to be jumping into a new classroom and some of the things that I would like to keep in mind for this first year of teaching is to have patience, keep calm and have compassion. I feel that these main qualities are going to be important for me going forward because I want to create an authentic learning experience for my students while also making sure they feel safe and heard in our classroom. This goes for me as well. I do not want to forget to have a life outside the classroom and fosters what makes me happy while creating healthy boundaries for what works for me. I also would like to maintain a sense of exploration and creativity when it comes to my life in general and teaching. I want to try new things and bring these experiences to the classroom to provide hands-on and meaningful learning for my students. Overall, I want to keep it fun for my students. I argue this because if you’re not having fun what’s the point? Fun can appear in a multitude of different ways but I hope my students feel like they enjoy learning with me.