Teaching Practical Hands-on Experience for Student Success
“They told us to dream our dream when we came here,” says Lenore Lindeman (BA/BEd ’99), Victoria Park High School teacher in Lethbridge. Here students blossom in a non-traditional learning environment designed to accommodate individual needs. “Maybe they have a child or are working,” says Lindeman. “Or have academic challenges.” Personalized programs combine distance education, guided independent study, classroom instruction, and work experience.
“We have lots of options for kids to get credit in different ways,” says Lindeman. “Cosmetology, Bike Repair, Photography, Outdoor Education and more.”
Lindeman’s dream is simple. “I want to go to work and do the things I love with kids.” She majored in Art, which she integrated into core subjects after graduating from the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Education. “The ability to do that made me realize there were other things I loved and wanted to share – things that make me healthy and happy in my own life and that kids should be doing too, if it appeals to them.”
With her administrator’s support, Lindeman used extra time while supervising PSIII students to pursue a hairstylist’s license. She also worked evenings and holidays for over four years to get the required training and apprenticeship hours. She now includes hairdressing in a Cosmetology program that attracts students from several high schools. “Because I have journeyman status they can use those hours towards apprenticeship if they take up hairstyling,” she says.
She also acquired a teaching certificate in yoga and runs a yoga program at the school.
If she notes a particular interest among her students Lindeman will learn a skill in order to teach it. “We need to be responsive to kids and change programming accordingly,” she says. “I’m going to get certified in gel nails because students can take modules in that. They don’t end up as certified estheticians, but sometimes trying a new skill in high school can spark an interest that leads to a career path.”
The success of Stepping Away, a program in which teens gain hands-on experience in various trades, inspired Lindeman to work jointly with Winston Churchill High School to initiate a similar program for cosmetology and esthetics. “Girls from WCHS come to Victoria Park High School every day for a couple of hours to learn about personal hygiene, hair, nails and anything to do with taking care of yourself.”
One of her dreams is a program in which students become certified in Cosmetology by the time they graduate high school.
“I took my education degree so I could support myself if all my other interests didn’t pan out, and I ended up just bringing them into the classroom,” says Lindeman.
By dreaming her own dreams, Lindeman is helping others dream theirs.
To watch video, visit: http://bit.ly/TdPlNi
For more information contact:
Darcy Tamayose
Communications Officer
Faculty of Education
(403) 332-4550
Turcotte Hall - T1H 417