Education

I was a high school teacher in my home country. When I moved to Canada, I wanted to continue in my field, but I encountered some barriers. The first one was my levels of English and French, which were not enough to continue with my education or work so, as soon as I arrived, I registered myself in French classes. The second barrier was my socioeconomic status because, even though I saved some money before I came, it was not enough to cover the cost of living for my family. Everything in Canada costs three times more than in my home country.

During my first year as a newcomer, I studied French but I couldn’t finish it. The reason was that I couldn’t find a place to leave my daughter, who was 7 years old at that time. Then, I had decided to stay at home during her vacation time to help her slowly make the transition of moving to a new country. When she started school again, I had to find a job to help to pay the house bills, so my studies had to wait until I had another opportunity.

I started to work at a daycare because it was easy to find a position there, even if my speaking level was not so good. It gave me the opportunity to practice French and develop my work skills in a new place. I enjoyed my first job a lot, but I realized that my salary was lower as a result of my lack of certification. It was at this time that I did some research about what kind of options I had. Then, I found an opportunity to study in Newfoundland and Labrador because the Newfoundland government was giving grants and supplements to anyone who wanted to study Early Childhood Education and work on the field for at least 2 years. I didn’t have to think too much about it and applied to college to obtain my diploma in Early Childhood Education. I took the online courses because I wanted to study and work at the same time. After three years, I obtained my diploma and the certification to work all over Canada. However, in recent years, the benefits and perks as a worker have changed a lot. I have access to dental insurance, contributions to my RRSP, and my salary has increased by 50%.

After some years working as an ECE, I realized that my field offers other options of work. ECEs can work in the government, doing research, being directors of children’s institutions, etc. However, again I am confronted with the barrier of my limitations of language. Thus, I’m here again to study English with the LINC program that offers flexibility and a lot of practice to students. 

Overall, I think it is very important to learn English or French to help prepare us better in the world of work and give us the opportunity to continue with our education.