The ‘Teacher’ Part

Hello, I’m ‘The Penny Teacher’. The ‘teacher’ part is pretty obvious because as you can guess, I’m a teacher! Being a young Canadian elementary teacher especially in Toronto, Ontario is not an easy market to be in, but I had chosen the path because as a student, I don’t remember ever having a safe, positive, and supportive space. Ironically, even throughout my university years studying to become a teacher (I studied Music Education in my undergraduate studies before going on to Teacher’s College for my postgraduate studies), some of my professors would use ‘tough love’ as a motivational strategy, and let me tell you, that strategy does not work with me. As a student, I looked up to my teachers as the expert and a role model, so if the feedback you give to me is, “If you’re not good at math or science, then you shouldn’t have started to playing music in the first place.”… excuse me? Well hey, I don’t understand, but if you’re telling me that I wasted more than half of my life studying something I shouldn’t have been studying and you’re the expert, then I’m going to believe you. I’m hurt and disappointed, but I’m going to take your word for it. Needless to say, that professor barely gave me a passing mark for the first two mandatory years I had to study with her. After the end of the second mandatory year, I opted out for obvious reasons. Luckily I did have 2 very supportive professors that recognized my strengths and weakness, and was able to accommodate and teach me in a way that makes sense – with understanding, kindness, empathy, and mutual trust and respect. This was also the year I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Thankfully because of those 2 professors, I was able to get the accommodations and was connected to services to help me cope. Finally, after 6 years in what was supposed to be a 4 year undergraduate experience, I published my Honour’s thesis, graduated on the Dean’s Honour List, got accepted into Teacher’s College, where I had also graduated not only on the Dean’s Honour List, but also with a scholarship in … wait for it… Physical Education. 

Physical Education was definitely not a scholarship I thought I’d get especially since I couldn’t play sports to save my life and my average mark for gym class from elementary school up to high school was a consistent B-, I was shocked, but I had a hunch as to why I got the scholarship…

Since I am an elementary teacher, I am required to teach all subjects, including Physical Education and Health. Now, back when I was in elementary school, we definitely did not talk much about health other than the Canada’s Food Guide. However, the Physical Education and Health curriculum in Ontario places an emphasis on the importance of mental health in addition to physical fitness. The general overall learning goal for Physical Education and Health is to give students the tools needed to live actively and make lifelong healthy choices so that they can continue living a healthy lifestyle. Physical fitness is more than your ability to move, it is also very much connected to your mental wellness. Health is an all encompassing term and to be “healthy” or live a “healthy lifestyle”, both physical and mental must be taken into account simultaneously. As you could probably guess, my dedication to ensuring I provide a safe, positive, and supportive space for my students only grew from my own personal experiences as I always placed mental health at the forefront of everything I do.

After graduation, I was immediately hired onto my ideal public school board and in less than a year, I just happened to fall into an assignment that allowed me to teach… wait for it…. Physical Education and Health (as one of the subjects amongst others). What a coincidence! The more I taught, the more I enjoyed sharing my passion for fitness and wellness with 60+ Grade 2 students that year.

The ‘Penny’ Part

I know, a little odd seeing as pennies in Canada are outdated now, but the idea of a ‘penny’ came to me in a very roundabout way so you’re going to get a roundabout explanation. You see, being a teacher in the Ontario public education system involves a long hierarchy process before you get signed onto a permanent contract position. Permanent contract positions only typically open up if there’s a new school, someone has retired, or someone has quit, so that means the other positions prior to a permanent contract position is basically ‘on-call’. Without getting too much into the logistics of it all, the ‘on-call’ positions can range from one day assignments, to a week assignment, to several weeks, to a single term, and sometimes a full year assignment. So after being on the go all the time with a full term assignment, then getting reduced back down to a daily on-call basis, it was really difficult for me to slow and readjust my schedule based on the extra time I had on my hands. I was in such a lull. I was just itching to do something despite also working part-time on the weekends at a local music conservatory, I just felt like Monday to Friday I had nothing going on! So I decided to reconnect with my passions including baking and fitness!

 

The name ‘The Penny Teacher’ was first attached to my little macaron baking ‘business’, where I had baked small batch macarons to sell seasonally just to give me some pocket money to buy ingredients. Man, let me tell you, baking small batch macarons day and night definitely took up a lot of time especially when the calls for teaching were slow (e.g. before holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas). That Christmas, I baked HUNDREDS of macarons, I was shocked at how I even completed all the orders on my own. I really got into it – I had a little Instagram page for orders (which were filled mainly through word of mouth), I had a bunch of custom boxes, I would stock up on all the baking supplies as well as crafting supplies needed to make my boxes look nice, and I would sometimes hand deliver them! The whole project was so fun because I just loved making someone’s day with a skill that I was trying to perfect.

Since I never revealed my real name, someone had actually addressed me as “Penny”! I guess it makes sense right? Penny is a name – but not my name. I had chosen ‘penny’ on a whim and I didn’t expect it to stick with me, but I guess it did! The original intent of ‘The Penny Teacher’ was a play on the idea of the saying ‘See a penny, pick it up. All day long, you’ll have good luck.’ I had used it for my whole macaron ordeal because my tagline had become, “Baking for happiness, and maybe a lucky penny”, in hopes that in by making people happy through my baked goods, that it would serve as my ‘lucky penny’, a little bit of good luck, a little bit of good karma, a little bit of whatever you want to call it, but I kept looking for a purpose and a passion to make myself happy by making others happy. Of course, the extra pocket change was nice to have to cover ingredient and supplies costs, but I think I just barely broke even.

So while I was managing my macaron orders, I also coached fitness kickboxing at a women’s only fitness kickboxing studio and there’s nothing I stand for more than, you guessed it, providing a safe, positive, and supportive environment for the ladies that join my classes! Empowering women through fitness is a whole other experience that just continues to ignite my passion for fitness and wellness. The relationships I have developed throughout my time at the studio is truly one-of-a-kind and they extend beyond member and coach, it became a support system – one that was genuine, true, and it didn’t matter what was going on in the outside world, as soon as you entered the studio space, you were safe. We smash and kick it out together and for that 45 minutes to 1 hour of the day, we got some time for ourselves to release anything we had been carrying with us throughout the day. Yes, the workout mattered because at the end of the day, it is a fitness studio after all, but what mattered more was the space, the environment. Again, the mind-body connection and the relationship between physical fitness and mental wellness was at play simultaneously. 

As the calls from the school board became less and less busy due to various circumstances (e.g. union strikes, holidays, etc.), I had decided to not only coach more classes, but also enrolled in a Muay Thai martial arts program to help with my own personal and professional develop in addition to a national accredited fitness specialist certification program.

Of course, I cannot go through with my journey without mentioning the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on my careers. When the pandemic hit, I was basically employed unemployed. Since I was not assigned to a classroom, I did not teach any classes with the school board online, I also was unable to teach my group music classes, and I also was unable to coach fitness kickboxing or attend any of my Muay Thai classes at the martial arts gym. Again, just when I thought I had found a rhythm in my passions, I got thrown into a loop. 

It was another readjustment for me and the pandemic became a catalyst for a lot of change, but I was determined to not only maintain my own physical fitness and mental wellness, but I was more passionate than ever about helping motivate those around me with their personal fitness goals and their mental wellness in such an unprecedented time where everyone was struggling and I knew more, now is the time to dedicate my time to helping the greater community the best I could with the skills and time I had. Thus, ‘The Penny Teacher’ website came about.

So in the most roundabout way, the ‘penny’ in ‘The Penny Teacher’ is symbolic of finding a lucky penny, the ‘penny’ being passion and purpose. Additionally, the tagline, “Be your own lucky penny. Be someone’s lucky penny.” is a reminder for me and for others the importance of finding your own passion and purpose, and sharing that passion and purpose with others. For me and my vision for ‘The Penny Teacher’ is to create a central resource for all things encompassing physical fitness and mental wellness; it is the idea of bettering yourself, educating yourself, taking care of your own physical fitness and mental wellness, while also taking a chance to support one another – to be someone’s lucky penny. Although I want to make this really clear, this does not mean I am encouraging you to fix anyone! It is not your job nor my job to fix anyone. However, if someone asks for your opinion, advice, or help, then why not? 

It is so important to remember that I am not an expert in physical fitness or mental wellness despite my titles as a fitness coach and a teacher. I am human and I am figuring out life out along with you. I am a student as well as a lifelong learner. The resources and the thoughts I put forth are not only reminders for my own mental wellness and accountability for my own physical fitness, but I put information out there as a chance that maybe if someone somewhere just happened to scroll by and needed a reminder, needed a little reassurance, a little comfort in knowing that they’re not alone, that I am able to provide that; especially for those who are seeking a safe place to just feel. It is my hope that ‘The Penny Teacher’ resources are chances and reminders to spread kindness and reassurance, and while I do this for myself, I’m hoping it also helps others because afterall, what is needed by some, might just be useful and beneficial for all.

We got you. I got you. You got you.