Meet The Teacher
My name is Arnel Penaso. My wife and I have been happily married for 18 years and God has blessed us with three wonderful children. I completed my first degree at SFU with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Math. After working in the tech industry for three years, I realized that God is calling me to a different path. I went back to SFU and completed my degree in Education.
I am now in my thirteenth year of teaching, eleven of which are with Grade 7s. I spent my first year of teaching as an EA in a Grade 5 classroom. After my in initial year, I was hired as a Grade 7 teacher at a small school in Vancouver and worked there for seven years. These seven years were crucial for my professional growth as a classroom teacher. During these seven years, I discovered that many of the ideas and theories I learned and read about in university were difficult to implement. Not only were they impractical but they were difficult to personally adapt into my own pedagogical practice. So, many of the practical strategies that I learned and have come to apply, even to this day, were either shown and modelled by my mentor teachers and administrators, or they were from something that I learned from Pro-D sessions, or from books that I read which were written by fellow teachers.
However, in the twelve years of my teaching career, I have come believe that children need to be taught holistically where there is a balance between the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual development of the student. This starts in creating a social community in the classroom, where each member, including the teacher is responsible in fostering a learning environment that is safe, fun, caring, diverse and faith-filled. I have also come to believe that the classroom is and should be an extension of the domestic church, which is the family home. As such, faith should be integrated in almost every activity (and discussions) and learning opportunities in the classroom. Finally, I have also come to believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to prepare young men and women who are faith filled but at the same time who are also critical thinkers, so that they can be become responsible citizens. All of these, I believe, help ensure that my classroom genuinely adhere to the Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools that Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller expounded in his book "The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools".
Some of my passions include: enjoying the outdoors (camping, hiking, backpacking) which I constantly wish to do more of with my family; integrating technology in the classroom; and early church history.
I am now in my thirteenth year of teaching, eleven of which are with Grade 7s. I spent my first year of teaching as an EA in a Grade 5 classroom. After my in initial year, I was hired as a Grade 7 teacher at a small school in Vancouver and worked there for seven years. These seven years were crucial for my professional growth as a classroom teacher. During these seven years, I discovered that many of the ideas and theories I learned and read about in university were difficult to implement. Not only were they impractical but they were difficult to personally adapt into my own pedagogical practice. So, many of the practical strategies that I learned and have come to apply, even to this day, were either shown and modelled by my mentor teachers and administrators, or they were from something that I learned from Pro-D sessions, or from books that I read which were written by fellow teachers.
However, in the twelve years of my teaching career, I have come believe that children need to be taught holistically where there is a balance between the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual development of the student. This starts in creating a social community in the classroom, where each member, including the teacher is responsible in fostering a learning environment that is safe, fun, caring, diverse and faith-filled. I have also come to believe that the classroom is and should be an extension of the domestic church, which is the family home. As such, faith should be integrated in almost every activity (and discussions) and learning opportunities in the classroom. Finally, I have also come to believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to prepare young men and women who are faith filled but at the same time who are also critical thinkers, so that they can be become responsible citizens. All of these, I believe, help ensure that my classroom genuinely adhere to the Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools that Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller expounded in his book "The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools".
Some of my passions include: enjoying the outdoors (camping, hiking, backpacking) which I constantly wish to do more of with my family; integrating technology in the classroom; and early church history.