A Fond Farewell to Eric Harvie School

 

"No one should teach who is not in love with teaching.

  - Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

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33 years ago, this day did not even seem remotely possible! As I entered my first school in the role of 'teacher', the excitement and anticipation of things to come was so overwhelming I couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave!  Becoming a teacher had been a dream since childhood and I was a little late to the party - already 32 years old, already married (twice) and already the mother of four children. Achieving the goal of becoming a teacher was something I had worked hard to accomplish and I was overjoyed at having been finally offered the opportunity to fulfill the dream of my childhood!

Why would I ever want to leave??

Actually, the truth is that I might never want to stop teaching - every time I sit with a child, read to a class, speak with a learner anywhere, anytime, I am immediately intrigued by the possibilities of what might happen for this learner - what we might discover and learn together. Teaching has been the most fulfilling, engaging and amazing experience and I believe I will ALWAYS want to be a teacher!  I could, I am convinced, happily occupy a classroom teaching position until I am finished with my days on Earth. 

From September 19, 1989 through to today, I have simply loved and enjoyed every minute of being an educator - even the sad hours, the frustrating days, the days I felt like I was spinning both my wheels and the kids as we tried to figure out next steps in learning. I believe in the very centre of my being that EVERY child deserves the best learning experience we can possibly offer - I don't believe budgets, opinions, red tape, shortage of staff or resources or any other barrier should get in the way of offering every child the most accessible, meaningful and engaging learning available. And I have spent virtually all of my 33 years in the profession attempting to make that happen for every child. I am delighted with what I was able to accomplish and frustrated with what I was unable to do for children - because that was a reality I often had to grapple with regardless of my personal convictions. 

I have been absolutely blessed with the best teaching experiences, schools, administrators, students, staff, teachers ever possible. In my entire career, I have never felt diminished, dismissed or denied opportunities - I have always felt supported and capable, as unbelievable as that may seem. 'Right place, right time' managed to happen for me even when I worried or wondered about taking a new risk.

As a result of retiring, people begin listing one's accomplishments out loud and I feel a little overwhelmed when I see it on paper:

- 33 years with CBE

- principal for 18 years

- opened two brand new schools (Cranston & Eric Harvie)

- Canada's Music Principal 2012

- Canada' Outstanding Principal 2014

And a whole bunch of other things like Calgary Young Writers Conference for 31 years, Women in Leadership ATA Committee, presenting at numerous conferences, etc. Seems like it must have been someone else doing all those things while we were also raising five children, welcoming 7 grandchildren, building a cottage and maintaining a family home full of children, sports and activities and also completing two additional degrees!

Then, I stop and I realize that I have not walked one step of this teaching journey alone. Every step of the way, I have been accompanied by amazing colleagues who dreamed as big as me - or bigger - and were willing to take risks on behalf of children with as much enthusiasm and energy as I would ever be able to muster! 

Every step of the way, I have been accompanied by a patient spouse, equally invested in allowing me to pursue every dream and ambition while keeping our family healthy and together. 

Every step of the way, I have been accompanied by children and grandchildren who recognized the value of commitment to learning, to children, to dreams. 

I have been so truly blessed and I am so very, very grateful for all these people who have supported, laughed and cried with me throughout the years - colleagues, friends, family. Without their connection and faith and willingness to work hard too, this would be a very different ending to an amazing career.

I have also been blessed to build daily relationships with so many learners, so many families, so many children whose passions, curiosities and energies needed to be fostered rather than diminished. I never expected or planned to be a principal but, when the opportunity presented itself and I jumped in, I realized the pedagogy I had embraced all my life could now be enacted within schools by likeminded, willing and caring teachers. Peace Education, inquiry, borderless schools, moving learning outside to be more experiential - these were just a few ways we could make a difference for learners. 

I am retiring from CBE to write a different chapter in my life as a Program Director with the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, a non-profit agency supporting immigrant learners and families in Calgary for almost as long as I have been teaching. I will no longer work in schools but I will continue to be connected to them and to children. As I slow my life down just a little to make room for one more grandchild and try to reclaim my evenings and weekends, I am tremendously grateful for all the people, children and relationships that have permeated my life and helped me write such a beautiful story of learning, teaching and growing in life.

It is June 28, 2022 and in two short days I will say a fond farewell to Eric Harvie School, staff, teachers, students and families. This beautiful centre of learning will forever hold a huge piece of my heart and be a filter for learning going forward.  

Thank you to all the families, children, staff, teachers, leaders and colleagues that have made these past six years - the last six years of my teaching career - an absolute joy despite the pandemic and every other challenge that came along. 

I am proud to have spent 33 years teaching and that I can unequivocally say "I am definitely in love with teaching!"

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"I dwell in possibility." - Emily Dickinson 

Lorraine Kinsman, Principal

Eric Harvie School (for 2 more days!)

The Last Big Conversation Post: What happens if we don't deal with learning issues?

 

"Adults who have ADHD but do not know it are at much higher risk than the general population for serious problems. Mood disorders, extreme sadness, and anxiety often occur when ADHD goes undiagnosed. Even if these conditions are are treated, the underlying problem, if left untreated, leads to other problems.

Adults with undiagnosed ADHD get fired from their jobs more frequently, or they impulsively quit, or they underachieve, slowly losing self-esteem, confidence, drive, and joy in life. They often resign themselves to a life with less success and luster than it could have were they diagnosed and treated." - Dr. Edward Hallowell, 2021

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"Left untreated, learning disabilities often lead to debilitating low self-esteem, drug use, teenage pregnancy, crime and lifelong poverty.

80% of students with serious learning disabilities will not graduate

• 60% of teens being treated for substance abuse have learning disabilities 
• 75% of juvenile offenders in NYC have undetected learning disabilities"  - Promise Project, 2021

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"Anxiety disorders have the potential to affect every part of a young person’s life, including their physical health, emotional well-being and social skill development. The combined impact can lead to kids feeling socially isolated, stigmatized, and incapable of being active members of their community.

Mental health has a direct relationship with a child’s physical health. Both physical and mental health influence how children think, feel, and act on both the inside and out." - Dr. Lisa W. Coyne 2021

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It is clear from these three quotes - and I could include data from many, many studies with detailed statistics to corroborate these statements - that not diagnosing and treating concerns that impact learning in schools, or trying to downplay, ignore or inappropriately treat these issues has longterm, potentially devastating effects on children as they grow into adulthood.  What we don't manage in our children comes back to haunt them in adulthood - a sad but true statement.

Perhaps an even more distressing fact is that even when we do attend to learning issues, sometimes the impact of the children's experiences as learners prior to interventions being put in place linger well into adulthood anyway, impacting self-esteem, confidence and adult relationships.  

It is important to take note of potential concerns early in a child's life - even before preschool - and monitor closely. If, as a parent, I notice a pattern through to grade one of inattention, anxiety or frustration resulting from my child not feeling successful with small tasks, there are things I can do to support my child while also monitoring for either an escalation or diminishment of impact on learning. Although grade one may be too soon to seek a diagnosis, it is important to bring a family doctor or pediatrician into the conversation to explore whether there are any biological issues (such as a vitamin deficiency, sleep concern, etc ) that might be at the root of the issue.  Beginning with a biological exploration is essential, in my opinion - there have been many, many incidents over the years where other medical concerns were at the root of learning issues and those are treated much differently. In fact, treatment for ADHD and anxiety differ greatly, and are even more diverse than treatment for learning disabilities.

If the issue is not biological in nature and persists into grades two and three, it may be a good idea to seek further support from a psychologist and/or counselor - perhaps a speech and language therapist or occupational therapist may be appropriate as well. The school can be an essential point of contact at this point because they will be able to offer insights to professionals that sometimes are not as obvious at home. Occasionally - although far less often in 2022 than in previous years - the school will have access to some of these supports and may be in a position to pursue assistance or assessment free of costs.

If a formal diagnosis is made, it will include specific supports and recommendations for your child's  learning needs, regardless if the diagnosis comes from a psychologist, a pediatrician, or some other clinician. For the school, this is the most important information - knowing specifically what interventions and supports we are able to offer that will target the issues most directly.  Often these are shared supports and recommendations for both the school and home to follow - when we say education is a partnership between school and home, this is a great example of what we mean :)

As mentioned in this blog before, a diagnosis may also lead to the creation of an Individual Program Plan that specifically describes the strategies and supports being put in place at the school for your child.  The IPP also means the parents and teachers will meet 2 - 3 times through the school year to share how things are going and if any strategies need to be adjusted. Parents sign off to say they have met with the teacher and may either agree or disagree with the strategies. Usually parents and teachers are able to agree on approaches that support the child both at school and at home.  In Alberta, a formal diagnosis can also mean accommodations may be continued to support student success through post-secondary learning as well - a huge benefit for young adults leaving the school system.

Like everything in life, there are no guarantees.  Having spent 33 years navigating challenging learning situations and concerns with families, I do know early awareness and appropriate interventions can make a world of difference for a child. Every young learner wants to grow up to be as functional, happy, connected and successful in relationships and work - just like we all did when we were young learners ourselves. It is my hope that these last three blog posts on the 'big conversations' will help parents and families understand the processes involved in ensuring every child has a successful learning experience. 

Our kiddos are not all the same and neither are their learning needs. Schools are here to help navigate the journey with children and parents even when it is an uncertain path. 

"It takes a village to raise a child" is an old African proverb. At Eric Harvie School, we like to add "Welcome to the village!"

Lorraine Kinsman, Principal 

Eric Harvie School 

Big Conversations: What Does THAT Mean for My Child?

 

"Psychologists at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver (found)...self-directed executive functions develop most during childhood...and include any mental processes that help us work towards achieving goals - like planning, decision making, manipulating information, switching between tasks and inhibiting unwanted thoughts and feelings. It is an early indicator of school readiness and academic performance...and even predicts success into adulthood. Children with higher executive function will be healthier, wealthier and more socially stable throughout their lives." - Ellen Wexler (edweek.org)

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It is clear to parents and educators that executive functioning is critically important for children of all ages. The indicators mentioned in the quote above translate into skills schools develop learning experiences around - including planning, working memory, attention, flexibility, time management, task initiation, self-control, perseverance and metacognition (knowing what you know and using it to help you learn).  These skills are not, of course, fully developed when children enter school - these are skills that continue to develop and are enhanced throughout children's learning careers and into adulthood.

Like all other areas of child development and growth, executive functions develop idiosyncratically, reflecting each child's physical make-up. And there are neurological conditions and interruptions that may present as children continue through school, like attention and focus issues, anxiety, behaviour or communication concerns, as well as specific learning disabilities. When challenges to learning present for any of these reasons - including delays in appropriate executive functioning overall - schools respond with strategies and supports that are specifically aligned with the evident learning challenges and will often create an Individual Program Plan that details both the strategies and the progress of students through each school year. 

It is important to understand that young learners will often appear to be struggling with attention, communication, task initiation or perseverance or time management as they enter school. While schools will work with families to mitigate these challenges and support learners, the majority of young learners will have adjusted to school and these challenges will have disappeared or been reduced significantly within the first couple of years of school. Issues that persist through grades 2 and 3 are most likely indicators of ongoing neurological, learning or social/emotional concerns that will require a more focused, diagnostic approach to longterm support for learning in school.

Those of us who went to school in the 20th century may have memories of special needs classes, codes and segregated learning for children exhibiting challenges in school of any nature. Those strategies were appropriate for their time but our understandings of how the brain develops, how to best address various indications that might interrupt learning and how to set learners up for success for longterm learning have changed significantly over the past twenty years.  Our students are embraced and surrounded with inclusive learning practices as well as principles of peace education, ensuring best-possible learning experiences in school. Additionally, we work very hard with all our learners to encourage them to be independent thinkers and problem solvers, and to advance positive self-esteem and confidence in all our students. 

Perhaps the greatest advance in the past twenty years has been the acknowledgement and understanding that everyone continues to be a learner throughout their whole life time - brains continually grow and change throughout all our lives.  Universities, trade schools and colleges are aware of this as well and will accept learners with IPPs in school into their programs willingly as students continually demonstrate their abilities to learn with appropriate supports. 

These big conversations between families and schools are sometimes challenging to work through - different perspectives and past experiences always colour the way each of us engages with unanticipated bumps in the road - particularly when those bumps are associated with our children. It is important to approach these conversations with a growth mindset - things will improve and success will be redefined but occur nonetheless. Children's brains continue to grow and change throughout their lives and, as parents and schools work together, new paths and journeys are designed and travelled successfully. Respect, care and confidence in the work we all accomplish in concert together will ensure positive outcomes for learners, families and schools.

I encourage families to contact the school anytime there are questions, concerns or issues that emerge unexpectedly - the stronger our shared bonds of understanding are the greater the opportunities for success will be for learners. 

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"It takes a village to raise a child. Welcome to the village!" - African Proverb

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Lorraine Kinsman, Principal 

Eric Harvie School