Tanya's October Reflection
What goals have you set for yourself during your work term at U+/YRES? What steps did you take to make sure these goals are on track?
One goal I have set for this term is to further develop my communication skills. I believe that improving and maintaining your communication skills is a never-ending journey as your way of communicating with others varies from audience to audience and also depends on the situation. You might need to be more direct and formal with certain people where abbreviations are not accepted, and with a few others you have to use emojis to come off as more friendly and approachable – usually the case with Gen-Z individuals. I take steps to improve this by taking on any community outreach and networking opportunities as I can as communication is a skill that requires hands-on practice. I also enjoy connecting with like-minded people of similar passions as well so it is a good experience for learning, professional growth, and doing something that I like. I also improve this by reflecting on whether my task instructions are clear enough, and seeing how many and what type of questions are being asked by individuals regarding the instructions. It is a good sign if they can follow the instructions without minimum supervision, as it means the instructions were clear enough to provide them with sufficient guidance.
What’s an unexpected skill you developed over the work term so far and how do you envision this bringing a positive change to your career?
I do not think there is an unexpected skill that I developed but there is one that I was not expecting to use so frequently, and that is the skill to fake it till you make it. This skill is heavily used on Mondays as I have to teach math from 5 PM to 8 PM to different grade levels. Working with children will always have its ups and downs and it can get exhausting after working long hours the days before and on the same day. Additionally, sometimes students can become tough to handle if they are upset about something and do not know how to process it and are unable to describe it to the teacher so the teacher cannot fully understand their situation. Sometimes, a student in my Grade 1-2 class at 5 PM would not be having a good day, make a disturbance in the class, and require extra support, which drains me by the time 7 PM rolls around but there’s still one more hour to teach. There is a special needs student in my Grade 3-4 class as well that requires more attention and accommodations, and there is a large range in math knowledge and competency for that class so preparing for and teaching their class takes extra time and effort to accommodate everyone’s needs. The final G5-6 class have a lot of energy and I am usually worn out by the time their class starts, but they are so engaging and love the class activities so I just have to smile and tough it out for the last hour. This skill is also used on some other days when I have interviews or meetings all day long, have many long work days grouped together, etc. I guess the good news is that there is always an end!
If you could have a super power that’ll increase the efficiency or quality of your work, what would it be?
I want the ability to control time, namely just to be able to stop time. I do quite a bit of design work, such as designing math lesson slides and worksheets, brochures, and other miscellaneous deliverables such as certificates and flyers. Being able to control time can increase both my efficiency and the quality of my work because it may seem to other people that I can get the job done quickly, when in reality it is because I can stop time to have more time to complete the task. It will also help increase the quality of my work because with that extra time, I can spend more time designing and making content.
Please give a shoutout to someone who deserves employee of the month and briefly describe why.
Every employee deserves a shout-out:
Christina for leading and delivering the LEGO programs under our sister company YRES across different York Region schools with various classes, and helping Zhen out in her tasks.
Zhen for managing the YRES virtual class registrations and marketing, organizing our meeting recordings, support Christina in all her programs, etc.
Jessica for stepping up in managing different projects like Toastmasters for Seniors and volunteer management.
