Mr. Baptiste and the Creation of EPIC
Mr. Baptiste just like the his students grew up in Oliver and went to Southern Okanagan Secondary School and graduated in 2007. After high school he continued on with his education at UBC Okanagan where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Bachelor of Eduction Degree. From here he was hired right away Similkameen Elementary Secondary School, which was the same school he did his practicum at. While he was there he taught Mathematics, PE, and with his passion for woodworking was able to teach a couple of shop courses as well. After his first year he was then able to get another job at SOSS, where he continued to teach Math and wood shop. It wasn't until his third year where he was asked by his principal Marcus Toneatto if he wanted to help develop and teach a new program that he wanted to introduce at the school, as a means to try and help engage their struggling Aboriginal students. Marcus envisioned an outdoor, experiential program that had strong connections to Aboriginal content and ties to the community. Marcus believed Mr. Baptiste would be a good candidate for this position, as he possessed many skills that would be as asset to this type of program. Also being a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, he felt that his connection to the culture would be a great way to infuse Aboriginal content into the courses that would be taught and get the community more involved in the students learning. From here we created a team, which consisted of: Mr. Baptiste, Marcus Toneatto (Principal), Tracy Harrington (Vice Principal), Rachelle Goncalves (Teacher Librarian), and our Aboriginal Education support staff. From here they brain stormed and developed how they wanted the program to look. After the acronym EPIC (Experiential, Project-base, Indigenous, and Community) was created the program was born. We realized that this program would be suited for all learners, so we opened it up to all our grade 9 and 10 students. Mr. Baptiste finished his Master of Education degree through UBC, which focused on Outdoor Education. He plans on using what he has learned to try and improve the EPIC program and make it a better learning experience for his students.
Here's a link to the Masters degree program that Mr. Baptiste took through UBC and the professors that ran it when he completed the program. UBC MEd in Curriculum Studies - HOPE Ed Joy Butler Hartley Banack LeAnne Petherick |