Guest blogger Gaylene Racette-Markel

My teaching career at Ranch Ehrlo

I have taught for Ranch Ehrlo for about five years.  I received my education degree from SUNTEP and started my teaching career at the school on Carry the Kettle First Nation.  Then I came to Ranch Ehrlo, where I started out teaching at Schaller School.  I taught there for three years and then moved to Elsie Mironuck, and then Judge Bryant School, where I have been for two years now.

As an aside, I actually left for a year to teach in the public school system, but missed the Ranch and came back “home” where I enjoy teaching and find it more fulfilling.  What I missed most, was the administrative support provided by the Ranch Ehrlo education program.  The staff support is strong and I just feel more part of a team.  I love how, at Ranch Ehrlo, all separate branches of the agency work together to commit to seeing a youth change. 

The difference between Schaller School and in-town classes

As a teacher at Schaller and then in-town, I have been witness to significant growth and behaviour changes in our kids.  We get to see the light turn on and see the kids integrate into the mainstream.  I get to see the confidence they have gained.  It is wonderful to witness.

The biggest difference in teaching the kids at Schaller and then in-town is that their behaviours have stabilized for the most part.  So, at our in-town classes, we can focus more on the academics, rather than constant behaviour management.  That is not to say that there aren’t still behaviour issues, but they are less.  The kids will also start to integrate into the mainstream school through activities, classes, and involvement and they eventually become fully integrated into the mainstream school system if possible.