Where did I come from?
I was born in Longueuil, Québec, Canada. I lived in Charlevoix for 4 years when my parents decided we were moving back to the Montreal region. I have been living on the south shore since then. At the age of 15, I decided I wanted to be a lifeguard. After training for a full year, I was able to work during a summer. I did not stop since then and lifeguarding has become a huge passion for me, alongside with music. Having started music at the age of 12, I fell in love with it. After 5 years of taking music classes in my high school as well as benefiting from private instruction on my first instrument - the piano - I decided to go into teaching so that I could instill a passion in teenagers in the same way my high school music teachers did it for me.
Why teaching?
Where it all started...
Being enrolled in the International Baccalaureate in high school, I had to complete a few hours of community service every year. As soon as I was in Secondary III, I was allowed to help Secondary I students with their homework after school. I really enjoyed my time and I did not want the year to end! This is when I discovered I found joy in seeing someone's eyes illuminated with a spark when they understood a concept I had just explained.
Being enrolled in the International Baccalaureate in high school, I had to complete a few hours of community service every year. As soon as I was in Secondary III, I was allowed to help Secondary I students with their homework after school. I really enjoyed my time and I did not want the year to end! This is when I discovered I found joy in seeing someone's eyes illuminated with a spark when they understood a concept I had just explained.
This just did it for me...
When I was in Secondary V, I was approached with one of my teachers who asked me if I was interested in helping a Secondary IV student with his Math and Physical Science. She explained to me he had Asperger's syndrome and made it clear what my work with him would entailed. As I really enjoyed helping people, I took on the challenge. I tutored this student for the full academic year. He was extremely bright. He could read a math problem and give you the answer within seconds. My job, however, was to make sure he would write his reasoning on the paper; it was no easy task! Also, I had to persuade him that handing his exam copy in first would not mean he would get the best grade! I was extremely happy with him since at the end of the year he ended up passing both subjects with grades higher than 75%!
When I was in Secondary V, I was approached with one of my teachers who asked me if I was interested in helping a Secondary IV student with his Math and Physical Science. She explained to me he had Asperger's syndrome and made it clear what my work with him would entailed. As I really enjoyed helping people, I took on the challenge. I tutored this student for the full academic year. He was extremely bright. He could read a math problem and give you the answer within seconds. My job, however, was to make sure he would write his reasoning on the paper; it was no easy task! Also, I had to persuade him that handing his exam copy in first would not mean he would get the best grade! I was extremely happy with him since at the end of the year he ended up passing both subjects with grades higher than 75%!
Then I was definitely hooked...
When I first started teaching swimming, I loved it. The contact I had with the kids, the trusting relationship I was able to build with them and progress they were exhibiting through the semester was my real pay. And it paid much more than the money! I enjoyed being able to help them learn the skills to be able to swim better! They were so happy at the end of the semester when they found out they had passed their level! I then moved on to teaching lifeguarding which became a real passion to me. There, I would see my students for a total of sometimes 40 hours during a semester and my job was to get them to become lifeguards by the end of their training. Seeing them evolve and transform into qualified individuals was extremely rewarding. Also, I realized this clientele was one I really enjoyed working with. All these skills I learned now transfer into my teaching career and you can read
about it some more in my Lifeguarding section.
When I first started teaching swimming, I loved it. The contact I had with the kids, the trusting relationship I was able to build with them and progress they were exhibiting through the semester was my real pay. And it paid much more than the money! I enjoyed being able to help them learn the skills to be able to swim better! They were so happy at the end of the semester when they found out they had passed their level! I then moved on to teaching lifeguarding which became a real passion to me. There, I would see my students for a total of sometimes 40 hours during a semester and my job was to get them to become lifeguards by the end of their training. Seeing them evolve and transform into qualified individuals was extremely rewarding. Also, I realized this clientele was one I really enjoyed working with. All these skills I learned now transfer into my teaching career and you can read
about it some more in my Lifeguarding section.
