ITT Success Stories Episode 2: Anjana

You’re listening to ITT success stories, the podcast about our ITT graduates. The ITT program at queen’s professional studies helps prepare internationally trained teachers to teach in Canada. I’m your host Zoe Li, thanks for tuning in.

Why don't we start by, Anjana, why don't you just introduce yourself to the listeners at home? You know, your background, your career, your current position. Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah, I'll start. So hi everyone, my name is Anjana Theresa Agustin. So I'm from originally from India and I've been teaching for about 3 years before moving to Canada and then I moved here in I think 2023 August.

And then part of ITT, International Trained Teachers Program, Kingston, Queens University and it for 16 months. And then like I graduated in January and then I got my job in February in Alberta.

With Little Red River Board of Education. Then I moved here in February. Yeah. And from that on, I'm working here. I'm staying in the community. So it's a little bit long. Actually, it's actually, to be honest, it's from 10 hours from Edmonton.

It's up very up north.

So the school board has three schools and I'm in Sister Gloria's school, Garden River. I teach grade two homeroom. Homeroom is basically you teach all the subjects, all the way from language, math, social science, health, all the subjects, basically all the subjects you teach that.

So yeah, it's been so long as it came from February. So yeah, yeah, I never got that harsh winter yet. Yeah, usually, usually it's really, really harsh winter in up north, but really never got a chance because.

I got here February and it just not that's so bad. So this is gonna be the first main date. So this is about my school, my grades and so far I feel so great.

OK, that's good to hear. Yeah. So you say you were originally, you came from India. What would you say were like the major differences coming to Canada, coming to teach in Alberta versus, you know, teaching in India?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, there is not much major differences I noticed, but I would say yet there is difference. Basically you're a teacher that's not going to change. But in India, I taught the elementary grades too. From there it's basically not that teacher centered, but.

But it's actually more of less student standard and more of teacher standard. And you have the curriculum, you have the syllabus, you have the pre-prepared textbooks and resources. So you basically go through the syllabuses you have, you teach that. So it was more of.

A structured way and assessment also of grades, scores and a little bit of skills. So it was on that way. But the major difference here is I noticed you don't have any pre-prepared resources. You are the master, you only you have the curriculum, right?

So you go through the curriculum, you make your resources, you make your plan, and that's the first thing. And secondly, I noticed the differences in students in India. When I taught for three years, the class was there's not much of students with special needs.

I haven't experienced that at all. So that was a huge difference I noticed. So here actually in class I have students with ADHD, students with autism, students with learning needs. So all are different special needs, different interests, different.

All right.

Perspectives and also the culture. So it's so different. So this is the first time that I'm making teaching students with different levels. That's new for me too. I never done have done that. And lastly, maybe the culture.

Uh, it's you could say, um, I'm not seeing cultural shock, but um, you know, the culture that I grew up with, where I come from, it's entirely different. And this is a indigenous group is have another culture too.

So maybe teaching that may be a difference, yeah.

So that sounds like a lot of adjustments to make. How do you think you kind of, you know, embarked on that journey? What changes have you personally made to your teaching style or just otherwise?

Yeah.

Yeah, there is. I changed my teaching approaches. I changed my teaching styles and actually the part of ITT course actually helped me that a lot because.

During ITT course we had four weeks internship program. So in those four weeks I have had the chance to work with students with special needs. So that experience helped me a lot. So I take from that, I take the learnings I.

Take a lot of information, ideas and inputs or whatever I have and I incorporate it to here so that helped me a lot.

I'll give a big shout out to ITT for that because I never had an idea. Maybe it's all theoretical. When I did BEARD in India, it it was all theoretical, you know, it is students with learning disabilities, students with ADHD. I theoretically learned that, but I never had any practical experiences. So ITT made it possible to give us a practical in person experience in class so that we can, you know, take it throughout a career. So it was a huge stepping stone.

On the topic of the ITT program, what sort of motivated you to enroll, what drew you to the program and, you know, coming to Canada in general?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, that was like, that's my dream. Everyone is dream to build a career, what they like, right? So in my experience, I'm a teacher. So my biggest dream was to move abroad and, you know, extend my career, also learn something new.

So then I researched some universities, some courses. So I saw some administrative side of courses, but I'm not interested in that. My interest and my passion is all goes to teaching, right? So I searched the courses that enhances teaching where I can really do my career of.

Teaching. That's how I found ITT and Cuins and I researched it in Cuins. As anyone knows, all of you know that Cuins is the most prestigious university in North America. So and I went for it and I looked at the brochure and everything and I said OK.

That suits me well. That's go with well, goes with my interest and my passion. And you know, I think that clicked it at the moment I saw the brochure and I applied for it. I got it. Um, or they came and they need, I think um.

The experiences I have and ITT courses, ITT course actually bridged the way to my teaching. I would, I would say that that's that's that was my motivation to take ITT.

Yeah.

Still on the topic of coming to Canada, you know, your transition, how would you say you adjusted in general just to being in a new environment, especially so up north, you know, different culture and everything?

Yeah, yeah.

Yep.

Yeah, so I have heard like when I go job in up north, I have heard different stories like up north. First story would be up north. It's really cold, right? So for me it's like I feel like we don't. We all have some comfort zone. So I was also in my comfort zone. I was in.

I was doing my job. I can, you know, I can go for supply teaching. I had many options. I can go for supply teaching. I can go for, you know, resource person or something like that. But all I want is on a full time teaching job where I can, you know.

Take my, you know, do my trial and error in teaching whatever. So I need a really a platform, a full time platform to figure out that. That's why I decided to move from my comfort zone and ITT talking about ITT ITT actually.

I think they have arranged many job fairs. That's how I get it. So it it I attended many job fairs, many, you know, met with different people. So when I attended the job fair, I I have had the opportunity to meet with representatives from indigenous like up north.

Administrators, they were coming from up north, you know, the principals, the directors, whatever. So when I talked with them, they talked about me a lot of experiences that you can, you know, it's more land based, it's not in the class, it's not, no, it's not included in the, you know, in the four walls.

You can go outside. It's more of a door, you know, you can experience with it, you know, more cultures, you can make actions. So I like that part. So that's how I decided, you know, to go to up north and coming here may be a challenging, you know.

Yeah, it doesn't have any facilities of town because it's rural. There may not be enough stores or something, but for me, I feel great because the school board I'm working with is so great because I don't. I I don't even have a car.

But the school board, they arranges, you know, monthly ones shopping to town. They'll arranges, you know, the school van to go to town, whatever. So I never find they give us unit, they give us all the facilities that what we want.

So it's so good. And yeah, I can see that in the people, yeah, right. So yeah.

Yeah, it sounds like you've had a lot of good experiences teaching there. But if I asked you to choose, right, what would you say is the most meaningful or the greatest part of your experience, you know, working in Alberta with indigenous communities.

Yeah, yeah. The first thing I noticed, I was also scared. I mean a little bit scared at first to come here because I don't know how the people are. It's so far. But the moment I got here, I've noticed that that there are so many people who are welcoming.

And love us for whatever we do. So for us, maybe it's our career, it's job, but for them, the community people, for them, these are the teachers who are coming for them from very far. So you can see that affection, love, connection in them. So the way they, you know the way.

They interact with you, talk with you and we had cultural weeks. So I have had the, you know, chance to meet with a lot of knowledge keepers. Knowledge keepers means the elder community members. So they have, they will walk you through all the community, you know, traditions and cultures they have here.

And I saw moose cutting for the first time. I never have seen moose before, but we had moose cutting. We made Rajas. We did scraping the skin, the deer skin. Yeah, it was. And we built teepees.

It was so hands on. It was so and really, really loved it. And I thought I never maybe get that chance if I'm in the town or something. So it's it's it's all of about cultures, making connection with people. So I really love it and even the.

Even the students too, they love it. They love you. They love you for whatever it is because they're very, you know, this sincere, honest, you know, students. So they they love it. They have this, you know that.

Really. Yeah. I would say, you know, very pure love. We can have everything. So, yeah, I love it here. So, yeah, that's why.

Yeah. OK, yeah. So it sounds like community has been a big transition here. I would say if it were me personally and I was moving to a foreign country, I would be really afraid or nervous that I wouldn't be able to find my community there.

Yeah.

But would you say that you know it hasn't you managed to find it, that people are welcoming where you work?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe not every place is the same. I'm not, I'm not generalizing it, but but it's like, yeah, they the the experiences I experience I got from here. I would say these people make you feel home.

Yes.

Like and I also can say on personal load, I can say that I'm not allowed. I have other friends who are from the ITT course too. So they are here too. So we have this, you know, every week we don't have, we don't have any place to go, right? So every week we, you know, sit together for either for a movie night or we play Uno.

We move to one place to another, so we do that. So we never felt we are away from anything. So and these people too, the community people, they are eager to know about our culture too, because I'm also bilingual. They're also their first language is not English.

And they're learning English. And for me, my first language is not English too. So we have in a way we have a lot of things in common. So they're eager to know our culture too. I think one time we had in my culture, we had a special.

Yeah.

So we wore the traditional dress to the to the school and they were eager to know, oh, what was it? What was the tattoo? And then we we talked about it. So in a way we kind of, you know, you know, we we kind of immersed into their culture and they were into so.

Yeah, it's so good.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I would say ITT helped in that case because when we did the codes, we got a resource person in one of the additional courses and that added a resource person came and she actually went through what is truth and reconciliation.

What the generation trauma is. So we I didn't know anything about that before I came here. So that through the throughout the course we had, you know all the instructors, they gave us an idea about the indigenous group in Canada. So we got that clear cut idea, OK, what they went through and what they need.

You know, so, so we got an idea and I would say all the instructors in ITT program are OCT, you know, OCT teachers and they're all experienced and they actually give you an idea of how the system works, how the classroom works.

So, so we it's so, you know, I got an enough chance to mentally prepare myself how it's gonna be and what what can I expect. So, so, so great. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, that does sound great. All right. So I don't want to take up too much of your time. So before I let you go, I have one more question for you. What would you say for teachers, ITT or otherwise, who are aspiring to work with indigenous communities? What advice would you give them?

I would say go with your instinct, go with what you feel and then there may be so many things that you may need to unlearn and many many things you may need to learn. So if you're willing to take both, you know if you're ready then.

Teaching up north or teaching indigenous community would be a great choice, I would say. So yeah, that's it. That that's very, but I think it has the meaning, yeah.

Yeah, no worries. That was fantastic. Well, Anjana, it's been so lovely to have you on. Thank you so much for taking the time to come on.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

That’s it for this week’s episode of ITT success stories. This show is produced by Queen’s university Professional Studies, I’m your host Zoe Li. Thank you for listening.