It’s Not the Time in Your Life, It’s The Life in Your Time” (Bruce Springsteen).
My life as History
The Most Important Thing in Life is Family
As a young child, I lived with my immediate family and my maternal grandfather. My earliest memories were of him working in the fields on our small hobby farm on Panorama Ridge. I can still remember the smell of hay for the livestock and the sight of his worn coveralls. He would come in for dinner with small scratches on his head from barb wire. He was a tough old British fellow. He was always a large part of my life growing up: making us breakfast while our parents were at work, picking my sister and I up from school, taking us for walks on the beach promenade and coaching my youth soccer team. My grandfather was a great person who instilled the importance of family in us. He would share stories of our many relatives in England, and his emotional and resilient truths of the War allowed us to appreciate the grit we needed in life. Angela Duckworth, author of Grit, would say, “No whining. No complaining. No excuses” (Duckworth, 2016). He was also a major influence when I decided to begin my journey in education as a living. I can recall having the opportunity to speak at his funeral. As I hurriedly jumped right into the body of my speech forgetting to introduce myself, I could imagine him saying, “you didn’t mention your name, Christopher. My goodness.”
Determination
From a young age, my father worked as a labourer mainly installing carpets for a living. As he could see this wasn’t a career path that wouldn’t be sustainable for him, he decided to enroll in evening courses at KPU focusing on sciences. As I turned seven years old, my father was eventually accepted into medical school in Toronto. When the time came for his enrollment, our family was ecstatic, but we also knew what was ahead. Our dad would be living 4000km away from us for the next four years. At the time, our young family didn’t quite understand the magnitude of life without dad. At first, it seemed like almost a novelty. Our mom would take us out for Fun Fridays, enjoying a Boston Pizza treat with a movie. However, the following years were difficult. I can remember the day we said a very emotional goodbye as my dad left to drive across the country.
As my other constant role model, my mom chose to work full time in continuing education, all the while taking evening courses in Education. Both my parents graduated, with honors, years later, and we began our lives together once again. It was through these experiences I observed the drive and determination my family had during challenging times.
“Famous for our Sunshine and Borsch.”
As my parents both changed careers later in life, we also made a move across the province. We relocated to a small town nestled in the Kootenays called Grand Forks, British Columbia. It is a beautiful little city surrounded by mountains, rivers and nearby Christina Lake. As we made this change, we faced the usual challenges (i.e., meeting new friends, leaving extended family). Additionally, we recognized the luxuries city life provided just weren’t quite available anymore. However, one of the most important aspects of one’s home, the sense of belonging, may not have been quite so obvious. It was through community events, club sports, outdoor recreation and getting out of one’s comfort zone that helped make it feel more like ours. As this change certainly influenced the trajectory of my life, I believe it is my awareness of belonging and community that was greatly persuaded by this change.
Life Partners
Many years and life lessons later, I graduated with my first degree in Arts. An enjoyable undergraduate degree with endless athletics and physical activity; a key to a balanced lifestyle and relationship. As I began to ponder my options after graduation, I was always being pulled to education. However, the biggest supporter in my life was not a professor or mentor, it was my life partner. Throughout any endeavor, Monica has always provided an ear to reflect, a partner with appropriate advice and a constant shining light in moments of difficulty. We met in college and continued our courtship throughout university. Although her alma mater (UBC) could be considered our greatest rivals (SFU). As we continued our relationship, we both pursued careers in the public sector industry and we began our life in a seaside town. As we have faced the usual challenges, I have always looked at Monica as the flawless partner to take this crazy journey we call life. One of our favourite places on earth is the top of a ski hill while being pummelled with fresh powder.
And then there were 4.
As every parent knows, there are moments that shift one’s life path and then there is having children which completely changes one’s being. The day I became a father, I became a better person. Everything I did from that moment on was about my children. My kids are five and eight years old now, but since having these little miracles, I feel a life of meaning, a life for someone else. My children were both born at Peace Arch hospital where they were immediately placed under the ‘bili’ lights for jaundice. In fact, our youngest was readmitted because his bilirubin was far too high, and there was concern. Unfortunately, but also very common, our children’s first days were under a tanning bed-like environment. Luckily, this experience was short lived and our kids have been thriving and healthy ever since. I continue to love experiencing the joy in their “first times”. Currently, they are playing soccer, participating in dance and enjoying our local elementary school. One could say these are our golden years. Being a father has also helped me look at teaching through a different lens.
Leading the Learning
After about 15 years of teaching students in a variety of levels (grades 3 - 12), I decided to make the transition to administration. Through careful planning and consideration, I submitted my application. At the time, I was leading many school-wide events, hosting school-based workshops, initiating district action inquiry projects and focusing on collaborative inquiry for our school planning process. After many conversations with my support system, I took the plunge. In less than a year later, I was hired a vice principal. Since then, I haven’t looked back. It has been a steep learning curve but an incredibly valuable experience and has also led to a change in my life path. One of the most amazing lessons I have learned has been through the works of Brene Brown. She states, “be the person whom we long to be—we must again be vulnerable. We must take off the armor, put down the weapons, show up, and let ourselves be seen” (Brown, Daring Greatly). The benefits of this change has not only improved my leadership competencies, but also me as a father, a husband and a member of the community.
Authorial Biography
Looking back approximately 15 years, I completed my first degree in Arts at Simon Fraser University. As I enjoyed coaching and volunteering at my mother’s schools growing up, I always knew that Education would be an area that I would pursue. Therefore, my next degree was a Bachelor of Education at SFU. Throughout this program, I met many wonderful people, learned from great mentors and was drawn to the passion I had for professional growth. I began teaching in the Surrey school District where I enjoyed working as a teacher-on-call for a just under a year. In this time, I was lucky enough to work in several short-term contracts in a variety of diverse communities and grade levels.
After many years of teaching and developing one’s craft, I began showing an interest in leadership. I displayed instructional leadership by engaging in district projects, attended multiple dinner series seminars, sparked school-wide events and displayed organization leadership during my final years of teaching. It became clear my next steps were to administration and our Professional Masters of Education at Queen’s University. Currently, I have just finished my third year as a Vice Principal and eager to pursue new goals.
As mentioned, I am a father of two and my interests encompass family time and recreation. We enjoy skiing and snowboarding in the winter at any of the fabulous mountains in British Columbia. Our favourites are Sun Peaks and Big White. Summer activities usually include mountain biking in Whistler and Squamish. As well, I have always enjoyed competing in most sports (basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball, baseball, soccer, etc.) and continue to be enthusiastic about fitness.
Looking back at my most significant people, events, and challenges, I can simply see that my life’s path has been constantly influenced by supportive family. The importance of family has always a constant reminder of my grandfather, hard work and determination was imparted on me by both of my parents, meeting my supportive wife and eventually having two wonderful kids have influenced my life’s path significantly. Family has always been the driving factor.