by Jillian Glousher
October 4, 2018
What does it take to set-up an, essentially, pop-up classroom?
The classroom space for this year’s intake of the Cambridge Bay Pre-Employment Training Program is located inside a local lodge. The conference room is spacious enough to include the participant work spaces and a small, make-shift kitchen area. There is also lots of natural light (while the light lasts, of course).
When I initially entered the classroom, my mind filled with ideas for the potential of this space. A project like this takes an incredible amount of effort from those working astutely behind the scenes and a few very busy beavers at the office in Ottawa had been working diligently in the weeks leading up to my departure, packing and shipping 11 well-secured boxes of classroom supplies. As I cut away layers of packing tape, unpacked, organized (and re-organized), and set-up, I began to realize just how much detail was involved in the preparation.
Slowly, over the course of my first week, the room began to evolve; supplies found their homes and the classroom layout started taking shape. I believe everything in life is a work in progress so I suspect it will continue to evolve as time goes on.
In addition to the more administrative duties, Week One also included applicant intake interviews. A dynamic group of young adults from the community came to meet me to identify their interests, goals, and availability for the program. I also hired a Classroom Assistant who, I was excited to learn, was a graduate of last year’s adult program.
Together we will work to select the young adults who will take this three-month course. We hope this course will improve confidence, self-awareness, and motivation so they can move forward in a positive way. It is sure to be a learning experience for everyone involved, perhaps especially for me. Setting up the classroom, we are full of hope, and nerves, looking forward to all that lies ahead.
Jillian Glousher
Instructor, Cambridge Bay
PMC Pre-Employment Training Program
More about Jillian here