Six years ago, I started teaching at CVCEC, I was a substitute teacher. Although I had many years of work experience in the construction field, the complexity of teaching was a new task for me. At the end of the module, I was offered and accepted to teach another module and once again my practical experience was a huge plus in the classroom. But it still wasn’t enough and while I enjoyed it tremendously, I realized I had some more learning to do, in order to become the teacher I knew I could be. To be able to teach other competencies (modules) of the carpentry program, I became a part time student myself, but not without my own fears. When I was younger, I was never the perfect student as I liked to be active and preferred to take part in all the “hands on activities”. Therefore going back to school as a student, being in a classroom, doing shop work and exams, made me realise and remember, how stressful it was and can be as a student when preparing for final exams. After going through these same steps and completing the DEP in Carpentry, now I’m better prepared to relate to my students’ stress and anticipate their challenges nearing the end of modules and when approaching exam time. All of this I believe has made me a better teacher!
Stephane Samson (carpentry teacher)