Miss Aleda!
Miss Aleda > Ms Milne
I have never radiated professionalism. I have been in professional roles, and I have not failed, this is true.. but I have never been the business woman. I ran a house painting business and painted all the houses myself to a “good enough” standard to avoid disciplining my painters and eventually to avoid paying painters altogether. I ran a cupcake business during covid and I would stay up until 2am frantically baking trays and trays of cupcakes in my family-used kitchen, leaving a huge mess for my dad to clean up in the morning. I’ve been the student teacher at most of my placements showing up late or hungover or “winging” a lesson because I forgot to plan that far in advance. I enjoy these business endeavours, and I hope to be in very professional roles in the future, but my method of operating a business doesn’t scream Ms Milne, it screams Miss Aleda! Another recent realization of mine.
I started teaching today! In my university program, you choose either the older or the younger school stream when you apply. I chose the older, grades 7 and above, originally ruling out younger kids entirely because I didn’t think I had the patience for them all day everyday. Which, I do still stand firm on for middle school (grades 1-8). However, this is my first placement with little kindergarten children. They’re 4 and 5 years old, and they’re adorable! It’s so comforting to have little people want to hug you and talk to you all day. It’s hard being in a new city across the world by yourself — definitely more challenging than I thought it would be. This especially surprised me because I love alone time — I beg for alone-time at home — so proximity seems like a new thing I’ll have to stop taking for granted. I think it’s proximity to the right things or people that determine comfort. One could argue I’m closer to more people here than I ever was at home, simply based on population density, but they are not my people or familiar surroundings. This placement has been a saving grace, in a way, by adding structure and socializing to my days.
I’m working at an international school, only a half hour walk from where I’m staying. All the teachers in early years, the section of the school that I’m in, are young women, which is awesome! All english speaking as well. One from Australia, one from New Zealand, one native to Paris, and I’m sure the origins only expand throughout the rest of the school. The teacher I am directly working with is the oldest by tens of years. She is the head of early years at the school, and her resume is beyond impressive. She started a school in…. Kazakhstan? Somewhere around central asia and the middle-east. A vast territory to “narrow” it down to, but she’s worked all over the area. She was responsible for turning an empty building into a school and classrooms. What an incredible thing to say you accomplished. The head of primary years is a Queen’s alum, so that’s neat. Although, he showed up to school one day with his vest on inside out.. way to represent, Dwayne. I now feel the pressure of carrying Canada’s reputation on my shoulders, as most of the kids haven’t even heard of it! They also can’t figure out how to write the number 2 either, so I’m not too offended. We’ve spent a full week on it. You could probably close your eyes and scribble and be closer to #2 than they are. Patience being tested, for sure.
The children themselves come from all over the world. A large number are only here for a matter of months, or 1-2 years before moving on to the next country. By the age of 4, they already speak two languages, and are learning their third. There are some who are still solely fluent in their mother tongue, which makes instruction and discipline a bit more challenging. There are these two little Korean twins who don’t understand much english, and watching them pick up the concepts or sounds that we're teaching has been amazing and quite entertaining. There’s a second set of twins, much more annoying, perhaps because they can actually speak, and they’re so competitive that they will cry if something is not exactly even between the two of them. You pushed my sister higher on the swing, you read my sister’s book and not mine, you drew a donkey for my sister and not for me (donkey in question has been uploaded here, and I’m not entirely convinced they weren’t just crying because of how ugly it is). To be fair, it’s much better than their masterpieces. I was given this wonderful portrait. A kind gesture, but not worth the nightmares it has given me.
Miss Aleda in pencil crayon. March 2025.
Early years learning is centred around play. It’s a super interesting pedagogy that I’m excited to delve into more. I have an idea to take this play and inquiry-based instruction style and adapt it to more advanced and complex concepts so older children can learn this way as well. This has been done already, in small scales and niche ways, and I want to invent my own. Play would look different, obviously, but kids of all ages learn better when they have autonomy and can answer questions with experimentation and experience, not by guessing “B” because they feel they haven’t guessed it in a while so it’s probably the right answer.
Back on track. I didn’t realize how banal some of the realizations at this age can be. This week, we learned that the same amount of water does not always fit in different sized containers. We learned that water does not hold it’s shape when the walls of a container are taken away. We learned that Miss Aleda only has two hands, which means only two people can hold her hand at a time. This was a devastating realization. So many tears were shed, and the kids were crying too. Haha. Seriously though, this did cause quite a few meltdowns, none of my own. They all call me Miss Aleda, and it’s a heartwarming sound to hear kids giggle your name all day. Overall, a very rewarding placement for far, and a new perspective to Paris.
- Miss Aleda
