By Nicole Findlay
April Hiderman is tapping into both her career and educational experiences to coach a new generation of students.
Each year, the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies’ Early Childhood Education program selects one outstanding student as its TA. Hiderman, a fourth-year student has been working with the second-year Child Studies students.
Shelley Parlow, professor, Department of Psychology, and Tina Daniels the program coordinator identified potential in Hiderman that she herself did not recognize.
Although she is working on her honours thesis, she was concerned that she did not have the experience or knowledge necessary to assist other students. She had overlooked the additional experiences she had gained through the years she spent working in the field.
Prior to enrolling at Carleton, she had been a supervisor at the school when she realized that neither the pay nor the job itself lived up to her expectations. What she really did enjoy was programming and working with children, but in climbing the administrative ladder she had become distanced from the children she’d set out to work with.
While a diploma in Early Childhood Education provided a good foundation, she felt she needed something more. Carleton’s Child Studies program appealed to her because it is the only program offered specifically to Early Childhood Educators in Canada. Its interdisciplinary approach combines the psychological and sociological perspectives on children’s issues, she’d need to progress in her field.
Her decision to pursue Child Studies was reaffirmed when she was chosen for the TA position.
“Dr. Parlow has been a great mentor in this whole experience and has taught me much of what I need to know about being a good TA,” said Hiderman. The work has taught her about course planning, assignment marking, and class instruction.
Her experience as a TA has led her to consider teaching on a permanent basis.
“My first step will be to apply to teachers’ college in Ottawa, North Bay and the Toronto area,” she says. “Until then, I will keep my doors open for the next challenge or adventure that comes my way.”