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Educators are going the extra mile to ensure their students become more than just graduates, but also citizens in the real world.
Two educators who have been putting in the extra work are teachers Kyle Jantzen and Trudy Berschied, who work at Saskatoon’s Lawson Heights Elementary School.
Berscheid is the English as an additional language (EAL) teacher at the school, while Jantzen is the grade four homeroom teacher. Together, the two are facilitating the school’s green team program.
Students are taught the importance of composting, and how they can make an impact on the environment in their own homes.
Aside from the program, which runs weekly at recesses and lunch hours, Berscheid runs an after school sports program mostly from the EAL program and their mitten club.
“I like doing it because I know it’s good for my students,” she said. “You develop different kinds of relationships with the kids, and with the parents and staff when you do that.
“It’s a different kind of community that develops when you have those kids of extra-curricular (programs).”
During their mitten program, they raised around $3,000 for charity. The students were taught how to sew them, and learned about the different types of charities around the area.
Jantzen is also quite busy day in and day out. On top of the green team program, he is the coordinator for the student leadership council and he’s the coach for the boy’s basketball team.
“I feel like (school) sometimes gets a little bit too focused on English or Math, or Science (and) not developing them as a citizen so much,” he said. “It charges me up knowing that we are creating citizens as well as educated learners.”
When it comes to putting in that extra time, Jantzen says his elevated work ethic comes from when he was a student.
“I do it because I wanted this type of volunteerism when I was in school,” he said. “I’m sometimes viewed as a peer with them. (It’s) a little bit of an escape to help them (manage) anything they might be going through, and another adult in the school that they can trust.”
Educators are not paid for the extra time that they put in for the students, but are offered one extra day off if they spend 75 extra hours one-on-one with students.
Feb. 9th to 15th is Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week in Saskatchewan.
