Welcome to the Personal Profile of Brian Alden

1. Welcome to the Personal Profile of Brian Alden B.A., B.Ed.

2. About Me I have lived in Nanaimo for the last fifteen years; however, I completed the majority of my public school education in Vernon, British Columbia. Immediately after graduation I moved to Vancouver Island. Wanting to further my education, I enrolled at Malaspina University-College to pursue a degree in Education. It was during that first year of university that I found out that I was going to have thefirst of my three amazing children: Maya, Koen and Isla. I spent time volunteering with Scouts Canada and as a coach for the Junior Boys basketball team at John Barsby Secondary School. These experiences were very rewarding, and reaffirmed my desire to be a teacher. My wife and I have aspirations to travel and teach overseas in an effort to expand the experiences and horizons of both ourselves and our children.

3. My Education • Bachelor of Arts Vancouver Island University - 2007 Major: Geography Minor: English • Bachelor of Education Vancouver Island University - 2012

4. Field Experience Last year I was provided the opportunity to work with students at Cedar Community Secondary School. I taught a range of subjects and grade levels including: English 8, English 9, English 8/9, English 10, Social Studies 11, and Planning 10. Each experience was wholly different from the other and presented a unique dynamic of personalities and abilities. I embraced each opportunity to develop rapport with the students and help them realize their goals in the classroom.

5. Field Experience I have just completed my final practicum at Nanaimo District Secondary School and had the opportunity to teach English 9 and English 10 classes again. This experience was very different from my experience at CCSS last year. I learned many things in my year five practicum that I was able to put into practice during my six weeks at NDSS. I had the privilege of working with two master teachers who helped guide and support me throughout this experience.

6. Philosophy of Teaching When I envision myself in a classroom I get excited at the prospect of cultivating a learning environment where it is safe to share ideas, where learning is fun, and where there is a partnership between myself and the students. It is easy to imagine that in an environment like this the students will develop a greater understanding of the world around them. I truly believe that with effort, dedication, guidance, and co-operation this is entirely possible. The acquisition of knowledge is extremely important and the facilitation of a positive, safe, and well structured learning environment is key to fostering this developmental process. The process of learning is extremely complex and requires insight, caring, understanding, and adaptability on behalf of both the teachers and the students. It is also extremely important to recognize the vital role that parents play in the learning experience of their children. Proactively initiating this relationship with parents is a powerful tool to get the parents involved, and keep the students more accountable. I hold the vision that my classroom will be one filled with stimulating conversation, positive collaborative interaction between students, teacher, and parents, and fun, but structured work.

7. Value of Parenting The most important role that I have assumed in life so far has been that of a parent. My three children are the center of my life. They teach me new things every day and they astound me with their intelligence and capacity to learn. Being a parent requires that I be on my game all of the time. They naturally challenge the world around them as they try to make sense of it all, and I am constantly bombarded with questions and teachable moments. It never stops, and I honestly hope it never does; if this is the case then I know that I am doing my job well. I must embrace these moments to not only provide them with the tools they need to interpret their world critically and with an open-mind, but to take the time to reflect and learn from them myself as well.

8. Professional Development • Non-Violent Crisis Intervention • Developed skills in effectively dealing with the variety of violent and non-violent crises that occur in the school environments. • Restitution Workshop • Developed skills that will help me guide students toward self-regulating their behaviour and learning processes. • Participated in School District #68 Professional Development Days • In school training focusing on technology in the classroom and developing innovative and engaging activities for students

9. Personal Interests I enjoy many personal interests and share many of them with my family. We enjoy road trips, camping, swimming, fishing, hiking, and exploring. Pretty much anything fun and exciting is fair game for us. I enjoy playing guitar (which I now share with my son), my wife and I enjoy growing our own vegetablesand trying to be as self-sufficient as possible (which we also now share with our children), and I enjoy playing a variety of team and individual sports. My interests are wide, and I can rarely find enough time to fit them all in, especially as I am always seeming to find new ones!

10. Volunteer Work Scouts Canada (2003) Group Leader Ages 5-7 Leadership Training (Camp Caillet) John Barsby Secondary School (2003) Assistant Basketball Coach Junior Boys Basketball Pleasant Valley Elementary School (2012) Grade 1 and 3 classes Working with students in classroom setting

11. Contact Me Email brian.alden@shaw.ca Telephone Home: (250) 591-4216 Cell: (250) 667-4216