Teaching Metaphor

Here’s the truth. I barely studied in high school, and this continued on to university. I did well in first year, where much of the content was similar to the things I learned in high school. In second year however, it all fell apart. My GPA dropped, along with my confidence, and I started to really doubt myself. When registration opened for the Fall semester of my third year, I saw that there was a forestry course that counted as credit in my biology program. It was taught by Dr. Lisa Poirier, a name I recognised. I first met Lisa in first year when I did some volunteer research work for her and Dr. Dezene Huber, counting bugs under a dissecting microscope for an urban biodiversity project. Our personalities meshed well then, and I knew instantly that I couldn’t pass up the chance to take the course. Since it was a forestry course, I needed special permission to take it without the pre-reqs. Lisa not only encouraged me to take the course, but saw it as an opportunity for me to learn in an environment different to what I was used to in the biology program. She even lent me a textbook to read over the summer so that I could be more familiar with some of the terms used in class. It ended up being one of my favourite courses throughout all of university, and for the first time in a long time I felt challenged by a course in a way that I wanted to rise to the occasion and meet it, rather than shying away and settling for minimum effort.

A year later, I received an email from Lisa. She was looking for someone to help her develop open online resources for that very forestry class I had taken, and thought that I was well-suited to it. I’ll admit I was a bit confused; I got a decent grade in the class but nothing special, and I wasn’t even a forestry major. Why me? We met and discussed the project, and I agreed to join her. Was the result exactly what I had had in mind? No, in fact there are many things I could have done differently that I would have knowing what I know now, but therein lies the beauty of it all. I was given a chance by an educator who believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself, and because of that I took a chance on something that I normally wouldn’t have. At that point I had already decided that I wanted to be a teacher, but that interaction truly solidified that decision, and I honestly believe it saved my university career.

I’ve chosen this image of an olive branch for my teaching metaphor. While “extending the olive branch” traditionally means making peace after conflict, I see it as representative of reaching out, especially to those who need it most. As an educator, I hope to be able to reach people no matter where they are in life, and to help them reach their potential.