Professional Standards for BC Educators – Standard 1

Professional Standard 1 acknowledges that the students must always come first. In order to prioritize students needs, as educators we must acknowledge our position in the relationships with our students and ensure we are acting in ways that give our students have the best chance of success. Standard 1 requires educators to establish a safe space in their classroom where students are free to express their individuality.

Individuality should always be encouraged in classroom culture as it makes our community more vibrant and allows students to learn from each other. For some of our students, school is their sole safe space and it is our responsibility to advocate for them and protect their wellbeing during their time in our classrooms and in our schools. In doing so, we must never take advantage of our students in any way as these behaviors diminish and destroy our classroom community and safe spaces that we as teachers strive to build.

Although not explicitly mentioned, Standard 1 is related with reciprocation. If we expect students to respect us, we must show them the respect they deserve through abiding by Standard 1 and valuing our students as learners and as people.

This is my drawing of a lunar new year lantern similar to what was displayed in my practicum classroom.

One thing I was adamant about learning more about embedding local Wet’suwet’en culture into the classroom going into practicum. I brought this to the attention of one of my CT’s and she assured me that although focusing on local culture is important, it is also important to be inclusive of all cultures. This is especially true of the cultures existent in our classroom.

When I first started visiting Division 9 at Muheim prior to the beginning of my practicum, the class had just finished a unit on lunar new year and had the classroom decorated accordingly. The students created their own paper lanterns that the students decorated and were placed around the classroom and they learned some of the traditions that go along with the celebrations.

I was extremely fortunate to have two CT’s who demonstrated an excellent balance of local culture while embedding cultures from around the world as well as other Indigenous cultures aside from the local. I intend on taking this approach into my practice as an educator. I recognize the importance of incorporating various modes of representation in my future classroom. I want all of my students to feel seen and to feel proud of their personal identities. I want them to see how their individuality contributes to our classroom culture. This is essential in establishing a safe and trusting classroom for our learners.