25 years with GHSD

Times Reporter   

 

It’s been 25 years since Michelle Rushford stepped into a classroom run under the Golden Hills School Division, formerly the Wheatland School Division. She began teaching Grade 5 students at the then Gleichen Elementary School. Over the 25 years she has taught at four schools: Gleichen, Westmount, Samuel Crowther middle school and Wheatland Elementary, where she has now been for 13 years, five of those as associate principle. 

Rushford doesn’t see herself leaving teaching any time soon, not while the passion to engage young learners is still there. 

“I’m still passionate about it. When I started teaching I had this idealistic view that teachers shouldn’t stay past the point of being passionate about education, and so I said maybe I wouldn’t remain a teacher for more than 10 years … but I still get so much energy from the students, I still have that passion for sure and I see myself as being able to maintain that passion for an indefinite amount of time,” said Rushford.

Rushford has taught every grade through her years as a teacher, but has spent most of the time teaching Grades 5,6,7. 

“I love the middle years. I love that age of student, they’re challenging in a way that I enjoy, they’re just on the brink of so much,” said Rushford. “There’s so much potential and they’re old enough to carry on conversations about the real world and they’re becoming so aware of real issues, the potential is just incredible in that age group.” 

For the past three years Rushford has been working on her Master’s Degree, finishing up this past year. She is excited about being able to put all of that knowledge to use at Wheatland is an opportunity she finds exciting. 

The school division has grown so much over the time Rushford has been with it. Technology, of course, has been one of the biggest parts. There are good and bad things with the growth, everyone used to know each other back then, but now thanks to technology communicating is easier. 

“I’ve seen so much happen over the last 25 years, things just change exponentially in the smallest time frame now, and you can either shy away from it and cower at the thought of this quick pace or change, or you can embrace it and roll with it and that’s what I chose to do. I used to be more hesitant and more cautious, I still am careful but I do embrace it, I mean you might as well,” said Rushford.

Though we often think kids are so different from when we were kids, Rushford said that’s not necessarily the case. The kids are still the same, just with different ways of expressing themselves. 

“The fundamental aspects of children have not changed, the basic things about kids, and the basic things about education have remained the same I think we just have so many other tools now in the toolbox that it helps,” said Rushford. 

Future plans for Rushford don’t include leaving the division any time soon. 

“Never say never for sure and change is good but it’s such a dynamic community here already there’s so many things happening and Golden Hills School Division is so cutting edge already, they’re leaders in so many changes in education already that you can stay in one place and still experience so many different opportunities without having to move your home base.”