Lake Babine Nation Student Teachers Secure Global Placements

Three student teachers from the Lake Babine Nation have been awarded competitive international teaching placements through the University of British Columbia (UBC). The placements, part of UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP), will provide these educators with invaluable global experience as they complete their studies in northern British Columbia.

Jordan Williams, Clarence Williams, and Nick Erickson were selected from approximately 350 candidates within UBC’s Faculty of Education, with only 41 placements available across the province. The trio, currently based at the program’s field centre in Burns Lake, received the news during a morning class, eliciting enthusiastic reactions from their classmates as emails announcing their selection arrived.

Clarence Williams will travel to Shanghai, while Jordan Williams and Nick Erickson will head to New Zealand, having identified those countries as preferred destinations during the application process. Clarence expressed that his interest in technology and education made China an attractive option. A former employee of the Lake Babine Nation now residing in Fraser Lake, he is keen to explore how technology is integrated into youth education and how values are incorporated into daily learning. He aims to bridge gaps between modern and traditional communities, particularly through technology that supports Indigenous language preservation.

Nick Erickson, focusing on physical education, aims to promote greater sports participation among Indigenous youth. “I want to incorporate athletics into my teaching and bring Indigenous kids back to sports,” he stated, emphasizing the role of athletics in health and personal development.

Jordan Williams will immerse himself in Māori culture near Auckland. He hopes the experience will inform language revitalization efforts in his community. “They brought their language back much more than a lot of Indigenous cultures in Canada,” he noted. “I want to learn how they did that and how we can apply those lessons here.”

The three placements are set to last for three weeks, beginning in June 2024. According to NITEP manager Natalie Simkin, the Community Field Experience (CFE) is designed to expose teacher candidates to educational settings beyond the traditional classroom. “The primary purpose of the CFE is to allow teacher candidates to experience teaching and learning in a new context that enhances their formal teaching experience,” Simkin explained. The program also introduces students to various education-related career paths.

Education director of Lake Babine Nation, Beatrice Michell, highlighted the hands-on learning opportunities these placements offer. “They’ll be interacting with new educators and engaging with different cultures and languages in ways they haven’t experienced before,” she said. Michell added that while witnessing the students receive the news was memorable, the real beneficiaries will ultimately be their future students.

This initiative reflects a commitment to enhancing educational experiences for Indigenous students and preparing them to serve their communities with a rich understanding of diverse cultural contexts.