In the picture I drew I decided to put the medicine wheel and the four directions as an ode to how engaged TREC is with the Indigenous community and how TREC has a Four Directions Advisory Committee for their program. 

I put Goal #1 in the South section of the medicine wheel because it represents the mental aspect of the students and their awareness and understanding of themselves and the point of this goal is to ensure each student acquires foundational skills. 

I put Goal #2 in the West section of the medicine wheel because it represents the emotional aspects of the students and their social and emotional well-being which ties in with their goal of strengthening partnerships. 

I put Goal #3 in the North and East section of the medicine wheel because both these quadrants represent the spiritual and physical aspects of the students and I think that ties in really well with the connections and skills they learn while at TREC. And as I mentioned before, the point of this goal is to connect each student to their interests and passions.

For our Theoretical Frameworks of Education presentation, we have been focusing on the Twin Rivers Education Centre.  This Type 3 Alternate Education facility supports students who are unable to achieve the goal of graduation in a ‘regular’ school setting.  TREC also states in their Second Goal that they aim to connect each student to at least one outside agency so that the student will have the necessary supports to be able to engage in their learning.  Our idea for this activity was the result of a question that we felt the article did not sufficiently answer: what is an outside agency?

For this activity, Teacher Candidates will be put into groups of three.  From there, they will receive a student profile that entails the student’s age, gender, race, interests, the reason for attending TREC, and other pertinent information.  The goal of the activity is to have the Teacher Candidate research and collaborate together to find at least one outside agency for their assigned student. All of the student profiles were created with “stereotypical”, and diverse, circumstances that one may come across at TREC, and it’s important that all students feel connected to an agency for them to be engaged in their learning and to pursue their end goal of graduation.  Teacher Candidates must work together to find as many outside agencies as possible within the time constraint before agreeing on one agency they all believe would be beneficial for their student. Further, Teacher Candidates are also encouraged to critically think of any possible critiques for their selected agency, or perhaps critiques for other agencies resulting in them not being selected.

We chose this activity because it is directly related to what TREC teachers and support workers may face on a daily basis.  With an incredibly high student turnover rate, one that occurs both monthly and annually, students need to be connected to outside agencies as fast as possible with the hopes of it being the “right fit.”  We also selected this activity because it may serve as direct practice for future teachers in case we are ever put into a position where a student is asking for help or guidance, and it is good to know what resources are in the nearby area.