We want to give you a peek inside our Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program. Coaches taking part in this academic-year-long journey have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program. Where possible, we have shared the course and the action task to give context for the guest post.
Read Toni’s Reflection
It’s kind of funny now, but at first I was so overwhelmed by work, that I felt like this course was another added thing. Turns out this was one of the highlights of my first year at HCOS. The first goal I set was to set time aside each week to do the work and stay committed to keeping on top of the course work.
The milestones kept me on track during the course. I looked at each one as a step towards completion ( in the good sense). I am the type of person who likes to have goal posts, so the milestones were good for me in that sense. They also created space for me to stop and reflect on a continual basis.
My biggest area of growth has been my confidence. I came into the course wondering what the heck I was doing here and felt very ill-equipped. Over the course of the year, I have realized I have so many strengths that make me a good candidate for being a coach.
I think one of the key Aha moments I had was when I realized that coaching is a process. Just like any other learned skill, its going to take patience and time ( one of the First Peoples Principles of Learning). I need to be patient with myself as I learn the steps and the language and its going to take time to earn trust and become confident in myself as a coach.
My learning was guided by the building of these artifacts. I like to have conversation flow naturally, but now that I have a better understanding of how coaching language is used, I knew having a guide would help me be more confident during a coaching session.
I know that being prepared also sets me up for success and when I have success, that also means the person I am coaching will also be successful. I want that for both of us.
I am very appreciative of the tools that I am learning and taking away from this course.
I suck at keeping data. I know its so important and its one of the goals I have set for myself for next year. I am going to spend some of my summer time creating data spreadsheets that work for me. I have three different jobs with HCOS so I know that keep track is going to be so beneficial. I actually wished I had kept better data when I was working on my Learning Journey Reflection.
The Learning Journey was super hard for me. I had to put my Growth Mindset hat on and lean into it. I used the phrase that I used while teaching grade 2/3 — Sometimes you have to struggle well. I feel like I did that with this video. If I were doing it again, I would definitely keep more video and get testimonials. I am going to ask for them for the fall so I can go into the new school year with them. I should have listened to Kim and asked for them. I let my worry get in the way.
It was so incredibly helpful in creating space for me to come and speak. The best session I had was when I didn’t talk about work but was coached about something personal in my life. That coaching session set me up to have a positive interaction with someone I could have ended up in conflict with. It gave me confidence to have a moment with the person that turned out really good.
We have a number of coaches at HCOS, so I am not an island. It is fantastic to be part of a team who is all working towards the same goal.
I am going to continue coaching but I have also been given a new role within HCOS as the Indigenous Family Liaison. I am super excited about this position and all the ways I am going to be able to support teachers and families in this role.
Watch Toni’s Video
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