Local Journalism Initiative
A previous South Okanagan Secondary School math teacher will soon make the move to teach in a remote, northwestern Ontario First Nation.
Nathan Woollard spent two weeks completing the Teach for Canada program, a selection-based program that trains a cohort of teachers once a year to move to and teach in remote First Nations communities in northern Manitoba and Ontario.
Woollard, originally from the Lower Mainland, got one of his first tastes of Indigenous education during his four year stint teaching at South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver. He taught math at the school, where local Indigenous students and non-Indigenous were mixed into one classroom.
“It really (helped) to kind of inform the direction I went with my teaching,” said Woollard, noting balancing the backgrounds of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students posed a challenge he enjoyed and eventually pursued.
Woollard also experienced teaching Indigenous students at Rutland Senior Secondary School in Kelowna. From playing stick games to participating in cultural discussions in after school First Nations programs, Woollard developed a keen interest in First Nations education.
But it was more than just his previous teaching experience in Canada that landed Woollard a spot in this year’s Teach for Canada cohort. The program looks for teachers who can demonstrate a real commitment to the community they teach in, which Woollard has unique qualifications for.
He also spent a year in Bhutan, a small country in the Himilayan Mountain range between India and China, teaching in a small community. This experience, Woollard believes, has prepared him for moving to a small, remote First Nations community here in Canada.
“Coming back (and) focusing in First Nations education, I thought it would be an interesting fit to take my previous experience working in a small community and getting to use my talents to kind of help out the gap in education equity in Canada,” said Woollard.
He will be one of three teachers at the 45 student high school in Lac Le Croix. Although a change from South Okanagan Secondary School, he’s excited about the opportunity to really focus on the needs of the students.
“One of the things that really excites me is the flexibility inside the school to be able to offer curriculum delivery based on student needs rather than by mandatory grade levels,” Woollard said. “We can put all of our focus on delivering to the needs of our students rather than bureaucratic things getting in the way of that.”
Woollard completed the tw0-week Teach for Canada curriculum in July. The program focuses on training teachers and helping to place them in remote, northern communities in need of educators. The program teaches language, culturally-sensitive teaching techniques and trauma-informed teaching, among other topics specific to First Nations education.
A requirement for acceptance into the program is a minimum two year commitment, so Woollard will be making the move northward until at least 2022.
The program has placed over 100 teachers in over 20 First Nations communities since it began in 2015, with hopes to expand to place educators in communities across the country.
