This week, the emotions are running high within the research team. After spending more than 60 hours meeting with and learning from the 41 school teams participating in the network, it is not an overstatement to say that the onboarding process has left the team astonishingly inspired and hopeful for what’s to come.
Today, we sat with Gladys, one of our research assistants, to discuss her first impressions of the teams she had the pleasure of meeting during the onboarding process. If there is one thing that stood out for her it would be the sheer amount of passion these teachers and educators emanated and their willingness to go above and beyond to provide a quality education to their students. According to her, it is “clear these educators will stop at nothing to make a difference in their own schools and in the curriculum at large.”
Gladys also spoke of the how these meetings affected her in ways she had not anticipated. She shared that “meeting with them has been an emotional experience […] I have come out of these meetings teary-eyed and hopeful.” As a PhD candidate in Psychology focusing on children’s cognitive development, she felt profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to share a moment with these teams: “It is not every day you get to sit down with a group of educators that are as passionate about children’s learning and well-being as you are […] bringing together over 150 educators with the same level of passion is nothing short of a miracle.”
Finally, reflecting on the past two months, Gladys expressed that her experience thus far has been completely awe-inspiring and that she felt “so humble to be part of this team and this network.” Although there were hints of uncertainty as to what this project entailed when she first joined the team, the onboarding process has left her hopeful for what’s to come in the future: “When joining the CPSN team, I was unaware of the large impact that this network was going to have on the Canadian children’s education system. Now it is clear to me that this network is a powerhouse that will produce a large, long-standing effect on our children’s education.”
Now it is clear to me that this network is a powerhouse that will produce a large, long-standing effect on our children’s education.
Gladys Ayson
Gladys Ayson is a PhD candidate in the Experimental Psychology program at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on children’s cognitive development, specifically their developing understanding of the future. She also works for a non-profit organization that tutors new Canadian children on their English and financial literacy. Her passions include supporting new Canadian families, translating children’s research into accessible knowledge for families, and stemming change in the Canadian education system.