Teach, Write and Challenge
As a teacher . . .
After volunteering to teach in Sarawak with CUSO, I taught junior and senior high school sciences in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, seconded me from the Vancouver School District. I became a faculty Associate and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education. I trained and assessed future teachers in the field and instructed a Science Methodology Course at the university. I returned to the classroom to continue teaching high school sciences.
My pursuit of excellence in teaching science was rewarded in 1984. I was selected as one of 10 teachers in Canada to be honored as an exemplary teacher of science. My reward was a summer of genetic research at Kingston University in Ontario. DNA Research was in its infancy at the time.
The following year I was awarded "Outstanding Science Teacher" in British Columbia. Being recognized by my colleagues throughout the province was a special honor.
Donna accepts the award
for "Outstanding Science Teacher."
As an author . . .
I co-authored Probe 8, the textbook for Grade 8 Science students in British Columbia. It was published the same year I received the award for "Outstanding Science Teacher in B.C." Probe 8 has been revised to reflect curriculum changes. Nevertheless, it remains the recognized textbook for all grade 8 science students in British Columbia today. (2022)
Have Fun! Get Fit! Smile!
My challenge was to improve my fitness level while encouraging both men and women to do the same. At the time, I had completed a two-year kinesiology program that applied knowledge to practice at Simon Fraser University. So I started a fitness company that helped pioneer fitness to music. The class became exceptionally popular, so I set up another gym in a different part of the city. Even with the new gym, I barely accommodated the demand. My"heaven" was having men and women exercising and celebrating their fitness "gains" together. At the time, men had their fitness programs with other men, and women had theirs. The summer months were a lot of fun! I led an annual "Fitness on the Beach" exercise program hosted by the city of Vancouver.
Hey, Willie Nelson. . . Here I come!
I pedaled my 10-speed bike from Vancouver to Los Angeles to see a Willie Nelson concert. I was training a competitor for the upcoming Ironman Triathlon Race in Hawaii at the time. He accompanied me on my journey. Bicycling was not yet popular. I never saw another bike during the entire trip except that of my trainee. We biked all day and ran in the evening. When we were near the ocean, we swam. Unfortunately, upon our arrival in Los Angeles, we found out that the concert had been postponed. We missed the concert, but the training was worth the trip. We flew, not biked, back to Vancouver.
Painting soothes the soul.
I have painted two collections of oil paintings that were sold through an art gallery in Ottawa, Ontario. The first series was "About the Horse." The second, "Old but Beautiful," portrayed run-down buildings on the prairies during the depression. By the time I had finished both series, I had used up the last of my Gramma's oils**. I absconded one of the paintings from the second series for Dad. Dad said it reminded him of a church near the farm where he grew up in Saskatchewan. When Dad passed, I retrieved the painting. Yes, it was faded and a bit tattered. But it still hangs on my wall today. The painting I'm referring to is on the left.
**Gramma was a phenomenal realistic artist. She taught me how to "see," feel," and "portray" the inner beauty of the horse. She was an artist, a master of both oils and watercolors. She enjoyed portraying the beauty of her mountainous surroundings on canvas. I spent as much time as possible with Gramma in Nordegg, Alberta, the same coal-mining town in which I was born.
The painting on your left was my first oil painting. The horse lived next door to Gramma. I sketched an outline of the head first. Then, under Gramma's discerning eye, I mixed and added the colors to complete the picture. I made several trips to and from the live horse to blend the colors that, according to Gramma, "created a warm feeling." I was thirteen years old at the time. Yep! this was my second challenge! Thank you, Robert Browning!
The paint on the picture has dried and cracked. Other than that, it has aged well.