An Okotoks foods teacher has been challenged by an unprecedented school year but impressed by the youth in her classroom.
Kathy McElroy has taught in the foods lab at Holy Trinity Academy since 2009, after spending time at Notre Dame Collegiate, England, and two British Columbia communities: Mackenzie and Prince George.
She said becoming a teacher was a natural fit for her personality.
“I was the person growing up who organized kids’ activities and liked to babysit and really enjoyed kids,” said McElroy, who has been teaching for more than 20 years. “I think I just really enjoyed being around kids.”
Her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern British Columbia was in geography, and while she has taught a range of subjects and grade levels it was while working as a substitute teacher in Mackenzie in 1997 she was asked to take on foods.
“They asked if I could cook and I said I could, and they asked if I wanted to teach foods and I said, ‘Sure,’” said McElroy.
Over the course of her career she dabbled in foods classes alongside core subjects and classes like graphics and design, and when the opportunity came up in 2009 to teach in the kitchen full-time at HTA, she took it.
This year has been like no other for a foods lab, with COVID restrictions changing up the way the class runs. Typically cooking labs are done in groups to spread out the preparation work, but this year students had to work alone at their stations.
When school first went virtual in spring 2020, the options classes were hit hard, she said.
“They really had to take on a different role,” said McElroy. “We had to pivot a lot. It was difficult to wrap your brain around online or from home, with a hands-on course.”
She said there were a lot of challenges in the beginning, because while activities could be provided to food students in 2020, they were not allowed to have them cook at home for safety.
Back in the classroom, individual stations meant purchasing more equipment, reducing the number of labs in a semester and changing up recipes to ones that were easier for one person to tackle in an hour.
“It was really challenging. There were a lot of hurdles, but it was interesting because learning all of that really has opened my eyes to lots of different things we were able to do in the kitchen because of it,” said McElroy.
She said teachers tend to revisit lessons and themes over the years to tweak them slightly or update methods, but overhauling the entire course was something she’s never had to do before.
“In the end, even though it was a lot of stress and a lot of work, you’re better for it because you’re continually learning how to do things differently,” said McElroy. “That said, it’s been the most exhausting year of my career by far.”
One of her greatest takeaways from teaching in a pandemic year was the adaptability and resiliency of teenagers.
At the beginning of the school year she said there was some concern over whether students would want to wear masks or follow COVID protocols, but those worries were quickly assuaged.
She said witnessing how easily students dealt with constant changes and adapted to new restrictions or at-home learning as needed was inspirational.
“They’ve been so accommodating and honestly, I look back on this year and I am just so proud of the humans they are,” said McElroy. “I think they’ve handled it better than some adults.
“They’ve been through a lot and had to make so many changes to their education, and they’ve lost so many different experiences, but those kids have stepped up and been amazing.
“Really, they’ve been terrific and I think that is, for me, so memorable for this year.”
While this has been a challenging and tiring year, McElroy said it has not changed her passion for education and working with students.
Developing relationships with students is one of the best parts of the job, she said.
“I like connecting with kids,” said McElroy. “Holy Trinity has a great way of permeating love in this building and I really do love that feel.”
