My name is Kyle Prevost and I started my Master’s Degree journey back in 2011, after a few years of teaching at Birtle Collegiate. I am still at BCI and currently teach a smattering of humanities courses, as well as physical education and have recently found myself eyeing a long-term career niche as a business and finance educator. I enjoy coaching everything from basketball to badminton, engaging my students’ minds at every opportunity, and cold rainy days with a good book in hand.
Like nearly any journey worth taking, my academic path has certainly veered off of the straight line I had anticipated when I first started at Brandon University. Truthfully, perhaps the most valuable thing I learned during my time here in BU’s hallowed halls is that I don’t want to be a school administrator. That might sound odd given the fact that I hope to receive a credential that would qualify me for just such a position; nonetheless, as I learned more and explored what the world of administration has to offer I have concluded that “School Principal” is not likely a title I need to have any time soon.
I appreciated gaining a more thorough understanding of the importance of good administration in a school and how that should look. I gained these valuable insights not only through what appears on my transcript, but also through less formal channels. I’ve met many people who share my passion for finding what really works in the wacky illogical world that is public education. Learning from their experiences and wisdom, as well as from the considerable expertise of many of my professors, has been some of the best professional development I can imagine engaging with.
Before taking these 36 credit hours I had only the vaguest of ideas about how law, leadership, curriculum, institutional structures, and staff dynamics all fit together to produce the final product we show our students every day. I believe I now have a much better understanding of all the forces at work within my classroom and beyond.
Finally, I appreciated the flexibility of the Master’s program and that it allowed me to indulge in exploring two passions of mine within the world of education. As a direct result of much of my course work I can now speak with some authority on the drastic need for a personal finance curriculum and the connection between male teachers and male readers. Researching these passions forced me to prove what I thought to be true due to anecdotal evidence, as well as to refine my arguments so that they could be articulated properly.