Finding your people

For nearly 20 years I have been looking for my teacher community. And for the past year and a half, even in my Bachelor of Education program, I've still felt on the outside. Inspired by project-based learning, gifted education, and homeschooling, I have formed very definitive ideas about the kind of teacher I want to be and the kind of classroom I want to create. And through it all, I felt very alone.

Then, this year, a brand new school in Kitchener, Ontario opened up. Just under 2 hours away from me, the entire vision of the school is based around inquiry and project-based learning. Finally, I found a place to which my philosophy of "teacher as mentor and classroom as workshop" aligns perfectly. In reading the vision of the principal, I felt as though I personally could have written every word. Everything in me wishes I was close enough to work at his school, but that is not the case. Instead, I suppose I will take it as another step and avenue of support as I continue to forge my own path.

If you're wondering, here's the vision of Groh Public School and principal Helmut Tinnes:

Groh P.S. will be a world class school with a community of autonomous learners engaged in meaningful inquiry and project based learning opportunities on a globally-oriented campus.
To create this vision, there will be a combination of three essential elements to prepare students for secondary school in advance of preparing them for the workplace:

• a freedom-based, open and inclusive learning environment

• enhanced project-based learning opportunities through inquiry

• interaction with the larger world – to collaborate with students around the world

If you have spent much time with me, well, ever, then you'll probably smile a little reading that and know that yes, I've finally found my people.