STANDARD 2

Educators act ethically and maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession. Educators are role models.

Standard two of the Professional Teaching Standards consists of a professional demeanor, following ethical guidelines and being true to who you are. Teachers are held to a higher standard which is why it is important to be aware of what you post online and how you act in the community on and off duty. Demeanor with coworkers and with students is of utmost importance and I believe in teaching with my passionate energy and authentic spirit.

In my future classroom, I would teach my students the impact of having positive role models in my life who shaped me to be the person that I am today. Depending on the school and demographics, some students may not have positive roe models that they can look up to, however they can be supported with positive role models in the school and community. I want to provide a welcoming space in my classroom where students can build connections with one another as they navigate through their educational journey.

My little brother is a positive role model in my life. He was always someone who I went to for advice and looked up to as he was always calm and responded with active listening. My brother was someone who always valued relationships and connections with people. His curiosity for life was something that I envy as I thrive to be more positive and upbeat about life the way he was always spreading his contagious energy to those around him. He always wanted to make people laugh and feel heard. Watching my brother make the ones around him feel valued, I learned the importance of connection.

I remember my brother always trying to tell my sister and I to not get drawn into family drama. He would always want our relationships with our extended family to remain positive and free of negative energy. When there was conflict, he would try to mediate and give advice to me. Although he’s younger than me, he was always wise beyond his years. He was the type of person who did not want to have negative energy with anyone and would always go out of his way to strengthen his connections. It was the little things, my brother would compliment others with a genuine comment that felt heartfelt and from there, deeper conversations would follow. He also had the ability to decrease tension with his contagious laughter, silly jokes and imitations of various voices. I’ve learned to take time to laugh, smile and tell jokes while deepening connections with the people around me.

Over the years, I have tried to disengage from family drama and focus all that energy into positive and fun activities that I enjoy which remind me of the lessons that my brother has taught me. My brother would always comment on my creative abilities. I used to sketch in high school and stopped for a long period. However, over the past few years, I’ve started to paint again and each time I finish, I can just imagine my brother’s heartfelt comments of how talented I am. Its moments like this that fill my heart with gratitude for receiving so much love and I wish to pass on all that positive energy to my future students as I discover their amazing abilities. When I was working with students in the past three years, and I would comment on their artistic abilities, it reminded me of my brother and his passion for spreading kindness and love into peoples art. I continued to spread love and encouragement in my interactions at Claro as I worked with various students who shared their artistic abilities.

Having grown up with someone who constantly lifted others up, it naturally made me more positive. Forgiveness and letting go of anger is something I am working on. I look up to my brother because he was always able to see the goodness in others and in the moments when people treated him badly, he chose to remember their goodness. I think that that is a very tough skill to master and it takes time, patience and self-reflection. Something I have been trying is, reflecting on my behaviour and I have found that it helps me realize where I am and where I want to be. Each time I find that I learn something about my own behaviour and learn strategies to avoid “reacting” in the moment.

The biggest lesson I learned from my brother is the power of connection. He lived and breathed to connect with others and when he passed away I saw at first hand, the power of connection. All the amazing connections he made in his short time on earth, all the people who he had made a positive impact on attended his funeral and they all came to honor him. Months later, I would hear stories of how my brother made a positive connection with them, it made me realize the impact he had on the lives of so many. I feel honored to be his sister and I am determined to keep his positivity alive by spreading as much love and light into the world as I can. I think as humans, all we want is to make a difference in the world and I feel grateful to have seen how my brother made positive impacts in all the people he met in his life.

My brother is a big part of who I am, who I am striving to become and who I wish to become. I am still growing each and every day as I learn new things about myself. I think the greatest tool that supports my journey in self-growth is writing in my journal; reflecting on my day, interactions, behaviour, thoughts and emotions. It helps me reflect on my personal growth along the way. I honor my progress and all my efforts in striving to be a better version of my self each day for myself, my students and the world.

What I want to focus on with my students is striving to be the best version of themselves. Teaching my students the power of self-reflection, learning to be okay with change and mistakes, be open to growth that is scary and to challenge themselves.