| Job Category | Education and Training | |
|---|---|---|
| Employee |
Rebecca Life Skill Instructor Education and Training |
|
| Ministry | Ministry of Education | |
| Region | West | |
| City | Brantford |
Before I joined the OPS, I … worked in lots of different capacities. I have a degree in Slavic Studies and graduate work in theology. I worked as a rehabilitation teacher for various CNIB offices and also for a community grass-roots organisation in Toronto called BALANCE, which does marvellous work teaching vision impaired adults how to access and integrate into the local community.
I began my career in… the same position I am now, Life Skills Instructor, though my job is developing and taking on greater dimension.
A day in my shoes… from 7:15 to 8:30, I work in one of the residences, overseeing the students’ morning routines, teaching where I can. There is a lot of opportunity to reinforce independent living skills during breakfast, personal grooming and organisation school supplies.
From 8:30-11:45, I teach one-on-one student classes in the Life Skills Room; workings on whatever the students need extra attention with. This might include teaching how to tie a bow, teeth-brushing, dialling a telephone, hand-writing, learning left and right, dressing skills; Canada’s Food Guide; friendship skills; leisure activities that are more difficult to learn with a vision disability; and self-advocacy.
11:45-12:45 I am again in the residence, helping kids get their lunch, focusing on table etiquette, social skills and time management.
In the afternoon, I teach courses for staff development, relating to blindness. These vary from practical workshops on how to teach students the tasks they need to learn, to sensory development or the psychological impact of vision loss. Understanding low vision and eye conditions is another aspect of staff development. I also have more students, both in the primary and secondary grades and the skills I teach vary widely. My shift ends at 4 p.m.
The OPS has given me… scope for developing my own creativity as a rehab teacher, as I am developing a curriculum for the life skills programme, various useful assessment tools, the staff development courses and broadening the resources of the Life Skills department.
I have chosen to work for the public service because… people are drawn to work in this field because serving the students is important. I am a graduate of the School for the Blind and know that I have a valuable contribution to make here. Our students need positive role models who are vision impaired and who can show them that there is life beyond their student days.
The thing that has surprised me the most about working for the OPS is… how much I learn every day from my job; from working with the kids; the creative challenges I meet and how the job continues to be such fun.
Outside of work, my most memorable achievement is/was... that I learned Welsh in three years, mostly from studying it on the Internet. I went from not knowing a word, to trekking across Welsh-speaking Wales on my own with a white cane, a map (which I made tactile with the help of some nice people at a B&B; and a suitcase, for a week). I am also the music director for a small Orthodox church and it doesn’t get more challenging than that!
