At the heart of Oak Learners are the teachers that work with students every day to create an environment for the learners to excel with every project, task, and endeavor they complete. We wanted to interview some of our teachers and showcase their perspectives on their teaching field, get to know them better, and see what inspired them to become a teacher.
The first interview we did is with Maggie Robertson, an elementary teacher at Oak Learners who started her journey at the school as a Eco Camp Counsellor in the summer of 2021. Enjoy!
Q: When and why did you get into teaching?
A: I officially got into my field in 2019 when I started my Bachelor of Education at Western University, however, I’ve always loved being in a teaching/facilitating position. While Oak Learners is my first professional teaching position (2021), I’ve taught dance classes since I was a teenager and I’ve been so lucky to turn that passion into a career.
Q: Can you give an example of how you see personalized learning making an immeasurable difference in the life of a child or their family?
A: “Personalized learning can look like a lot of things, from topics of interest for a student to the methods in which they take in that learning. I’m learning that there’s a balance between the two so that students can be exposed to a variety of learning methods AND topics that they might not have ever considered as well as getting their learning needs met.
I’ve seen this in my short time at Oak Learners specifically where we combined the Math curriculum with a very hands-on group project making a Little Mimico Model. Many of the students thrive in that hands-on environment which helped us deliver important measurement and shape skills as well as incorporate other aspects of learning such as community and teamwork. This combination helps provide students with an accepting environment to learn, create, and make positive memories associated with learning!”
Q: Has there been a teacher who made a difference in your life?
A: “Yes! I had a dance teacher during my high school years (who was coincidentally also a high school teacher, but at a different school than my own) who not only provided great dance instruction but was also a warm, welcoming, and accepting mentor figure for many of us in her care.
Her name is Sam Crosby and she still teaches high school to this day! I LOVE seeing what she and her students get up to in class through her social media. She really helped inspire me and continues to inspire me to be a teacher and an overall great human.”
Q: What are the most important traits for someone in your job?
A: “For me, it’s to be open-minded. That’s probably a cliche thing to say about any job, but I really believe that if you’re not an open-minded teacher then the job will be 10 times harder.
Every student is going to come in with a different story that is probably way different than your own so staying open-minded to their life experiences and taking time to understand them will help build a stronger relationship with them and help them stay more open to learning as well!”
Q: What passions or hobbies do you have? Do any make their way into your job?
A: “I’d say my biggest two are dance and reading right now and those definitely make their way into my job! I love when I get a chance to dance around with my students and as an elementary teacher right now, we definitely do a lot of reading.”
Q: What challenges do you face and how do you overcome them?
A: “My biggest challenge right now is work-life balance, especially given the pandemic! Something I’ve realized lately is just how important it is to have things to look forward to outside of work (whether you enjoy your job or not) and the pandemic has made having those things a lot more difficult. It’s a work in progress and I try to overcome it by sharing these challenges with close friends, family, coworkers, and even professional help to find that balance.”
Q: What brings you happiness while working?
A: “The people at my job! I love how supportive all my coworkers are and the students are so fun and sweet and having fun and sweet moments with them throughout the day brings me joy. :)”
If you’re interested, Oak Learners has great day school and tutoring options. You can check out the day school where students learn all kinds of skills and build on them with personalized study habits. If you want personalized one on one tutoring online or in-person sessions as well, Oak Learners offers private tutoring here! Good luck with studying!
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