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My Arrival on the Planet
I arrived on the planet as the youngest member of a family with five children and two parents who were both teachers. -
My Schooling Begins
Having enjoyed "playing school" with my older brothers and sisters, and having my members talk about "the job of school", I was excited to finally start my own school in kindergarten. I was even more excited than having this giant balloon! -
Schooling at Bentley School
All twelve years of my education were completed at Bentley School. For the most part I enjoyed school - with the exception of junior high. My father was my Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, my assistant principal, and coach. -
Graduation from High School
I graduated at the end of the 1970s and decided to follow in the footsteps of my parents and become a teacher. -
Red Deer College - Part 1
I began my teacher education program at Red Deer College and was involved in the Education Undergraduate Society as President in my 2nd year. I completed three rounds of field experience: one at Lindsey Thurber High School, one at Joseph Welsh Elementary School, and a two week placement at Eastview Junior High School -
Transfer to University of Calgary
I completed my degree at the University of Calgary where I completed two rounds of practicum: one in high school at Okotoks, and my final round at Westpark Junior High School in Red Deer. -
My First Teaching Job
After graduating and subbing for two months, I was very excited to obtain a full time teaching job in the County of Lacombe in Eckville where I taught Social Studies and English. Yes, my first teaching job was filling in for Jim Keegstra -
My Journey Into Administration
1988 was a great year. The Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup, and I received my first administration and counselling job at Mirror School, a small K-9 school on the east end of the Wolf Creek School Division. It was also the year that I became a parent - which would be my best learning yet on how to be a teacher. -
Teaching in Australia
My wife and I were fortunate to take part in a one year teaching exchange to Queensland, Australia. With its "student-centred" approach to teaching, this experience would transform my teaching -
My Journey to Clive School
My next school was to Clive School, another K-9 school where I was blessed to be part of a dynamic professional learning team that focused on cooperative learning, literacy, problem-solving in Math, and differentiated instruction. I became Assistant Principal here and by this time I had three children who were now starting to begin their own educational journeys. -
University of Lethbridge - The Next Stage of Learning
My learning journey took on new adventures as I embarked on obtaining my Masters of Education from the University of Lethbridge. My cohort-based program was a wonderful experience where I completed many projects to advance my learning while working full time and raising three small children. -
Red Deer College - Part 2
Upon graduation from my Master's program, I was fortunate to return to my RDC roots to complete a two year secondment as Coordinator of the Middle Years Education Program, a collaborative degree between Red Deer College and the University of Alberta. It was here that I truly learned the value and benefits of middle years education. -
Becoming a Principal
Following my two year secondment, I was excited to return to Clive School as the Principal and created a program called WinWin where I was able to utilize the best practices of middle school philosophy to meet the unique needs of young "at risk" adolescents. This was a very successful program that helped create a community of peace at Clive School -
Red Deer College - Part 3
After 20 years of teaching and being an administrator in Wolf Creek School System, I made the difficult decision to resign so that I could once again return to RDC but this time as a full time faculty member. The opportunity to work with adult learners and future teachers was too good to pass up. My learning continued with new courses, and travel opportunities including four trips to Kenya with RDC education students. -
AISI Coordinator - a new role
In 2008, I took a one year professional leave so that I could return to my former school division and become the Acting AISI Coordinator of Instruction and Assessment. Rather than working with pre-service teachers, this central office position allowed to work closely with veteran teachers in the classrooms. It was during this position that my interests in student engagement and instructional design were sparked. -
Red Deer College - Part 4
My return to Wolf Creek helped me to decide that it was time to begin to pursue my Doctorate Degree through the University of Alberta. I was fortunate to obtain a one year sabbatical to pursue my course work. During this time I also did some contract work for the Red Deer Public District Office, and for the Central Alberta Regional Consortium. I still am convinced that I have the best job in the world and I look forward to further learning.
