Finding Joy in Learning: Reflections from the prime minister’s award recipient
Hearing the news
I first found out that I was selected for the 2023 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM in June. I had initially missed the call, yet again, and had to call the Prime Minister’s Award (PMA) Team back. I was exceptionally taken aback by the news.
Is this real?
What do you mean I got it?
Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?
These were all questions floating in my head. As educators, we don’t do what we do for the accolades. We do it for the students. I remember when my nominee first informed me that they were putting together my nomination package, I told them to go ahead without thinking that I would have any chance of being selected. There are brilliant educators across Canada who are continuously learning and refining their practices to meet their students’ needs - why would my teaching practice stand out in such a sea of awesomeness?
We were told to not share the news with anybody until the official announcement from the PMA office.
So we waited. Months passed, and we still hadn’t heard any official announcement.
The announcement didn’t come until October 5, for World Teacher’s Day, coupled with the announcement for next year’s nomination.
The recipients for the Certificate of Excellence were invited to Ottawa for two days and attend the National Ceremony. In addition to attending the ceremony, we were also asked to prepare a 20-minute presentation on our best practices, that they lovingly called “PMATalks”.
my time in ottawa
The first day in Ottawa was the first time I got the chance to meet the 18 (out of the 19 selected- one recipient could not attend) recipients of the Certificate of Excellence. It was such a surreal experience because I had learned so much about these people from their biographies and what they do in the classroom. We started the day by introducing ourselves. The prompt given to us by Beth Clarke, the PMA manager, was “tell us something unique about ourselves” and instead of sharing something superficial or funny, we all shared our stories and backgrounds. There were tears and laughter - and the vulnerability we offered first thing in the morning to a group of strangers is what bonded us together.
I shared how my grandmothers valued education despite being told not to learn.
Hearing their stories and meeting the recipients made so much sense - of course these people are the best teachers in the country! They were beautiful people, inside and out. The passion and love they had for the work that they do, the care that they have for their students, and the humility we all share as teachers was evident. I had found my people.
Our PMATalks were at the Executive Boardroom. It was the first time that I had felt official, alongside with our name tags that had our names, school, and province flag.
To summarize our work in 20 minutes is no easy feat, and overall what I appreciated as a common thread in all of our presentations was the shared value in letting our students speak for themselves. When students have agency over their learning, beautiful things happen.
Cari Wilson, a Teaching Excellence recipient from British Columbia, also happens to be an Apple Distinguished Educator. Her organization Girls with Superpowers supports girls in robotics and coding. Unlike me, she blogs weekly and shares resources. Check out This and That Tech Tips on Tuesdays!
Amarah Ishaque and I graduated from the same high school and shared our high school STEM experiences. She is doing amazing things by incorporating AI in her own math teaching practice.
finding joy and igniting curiosity
The light in their eyes was so inspiring to me. Random Acts of Kindness, we all agreed, are important in making our students feel seen and heard. I was given a swag bag from Ann Marie Vanneste as she shared her own hurdles in education, and how she continues to advocate for her students. She wrapped up her presentation with a final thought “Never stop looking for the beauty in every child you teach. Remember someone found it in you.”
She challenged us to jump through actual hurdles while shouting the names of students that we wanted to connect with.
During Ann Marie Vanneste’s presentation, we were asked to jump over our teaching hurdles while remembering the students whom we wish to connect. I believe she titled this picture as “joy.”
I was the penultimate presenter, which meant I presented on the day of our National Ceremony. The days leading up to my presentation were stressful to say the least, but in the morning I had found an eerie sense of calm, because I know that I am supported by teachers who understand me.
Me trying to break the ice before my presentation. It is not easy to sit and listen to inspiring talks after talks - I am still reeling from all the teaching ideas and activities I learned from the recipients.
I get really passionate and animated when I talk about ways to instil curiosity in our students.
I showed a wide repertoire of my students’ passion projects. Passion projects are essentially opportunities in which our students can dive deep into their own passions while they learn. What I’ve chosen to do is have them refine a digital skill - so as examples, I have students writing programs to gamify learning about chemistry, designing jewelry to best represent three-dimensional configuration of molecules, teaching the world about food chemistry via social media platforms, etc. The applause that I received on behalf of one of my students when I showed their music video on naming rules was a confirmation of why I do what I do: to continue to instill a sense of wonder in my students’ chemistry education journey.
The recipients listening intently to my PMATalk.
A few hours later, we all dressed up to meet the man of the hour - Justin Trudeau.
We had a great time rehearsing and cheering for each other before his arrival.
We used Early Childhood Educator Naho McDonald’s certificate to practice walking on the stage, looking at the photographer.
Dean Vendramin and I were the two 2023 Teaching Excellence in STEM recipients. After being presented with our certificate, we practiced taking a group photo with PMA manager, Beth Clarke, who was in-place as the Prime Minister.
The photo that every single National recipient of the Certificate of Excellence treasures.
What I appreciated the most about meeting the Prime Minister was his gratitude and admiration for the teaching profession. The genuine conversations he had with the recipients, finding commonalities, and understanding our backgrounds was a testament in the significance with which he places educators in his mind.
We did a 0.5x selfie, a trick I learned from Sadie Aldis when I met her over the summer.
We were so grateful for Trudeau for taking the time to get to know us.
In addition to meeting the Prime Minister, I also met evaluators, like last year's recipient Gerard Lewis! Their sincere congratulatory messages and appreciation for what we do in the classroom were so genuine. I met the Paul Dufour, son of Fernando Dufour, and he gifted me the 3D Periodic Table of Elements. I now hold a historical piece of chemistry education, simply because a science policy maker saw something in me.
“So you teach chemistry, eh?” he asked after the reception and proceeded to gift me the ElemenTree. These Random Acts of Kindness are what makes a teacher feel seen and valued.
reflections
Before we departed Ottawa, we were asked to reflect on what it means to be nominated, what the last two days mean in our teaching practice, and what are our highlights.
It’s a testament to who we are as educators to be able to bond and connect in such a short amount of time. I take comfort in knowing that there are 19 other educators in Canada who know me, who understand my teaching practice, and who are pushing themselves to be their best, authentic selves. I couldn’t have asked for a better cohort of folks, and this includes the 54 Certificate of Achievement recipients.
These educators are beautiful human beings inside and out.
These Early Childhood Educators continue to inspire and foster empathy in their students.
Dean is also an Apple Distinguished Educator himself. We bonded over dad jokes and his love for integrating thinking routines in his math classes.
We not only unintentionally coordinated but are also into a whole lot of fun.
Being nominated and knowing the work that went into the nomination package means the world to me. I am forever humbled and grateful for people seeing the magic and light in me, and for wanting to recognize my teaching practice. It was a tremendous honour as a teacher, and this is only the beginning of my teaching journey.
The nomination for 2024 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence is open - nominate an inspiring, dedicated innovative educator and make a difference in that person’s life now.
All photos were taken by the amazing Patrick Doyle of Ottawa Photography.