As we look back on two years at KG Education, we wanted to share the story of how we began working together 13 years ago. Leah and I were both Kenton girls from birth, arriving nine years apart with a shared family background (we share great-great grandparents on the Hunter side). Although Leah and her family were always part of my life, we didn’t have much to do with each other growing up due to the difference in our ages. That all changed when I heard that she had decided to become a teacher. I was working the door at a Cougars hockey game in town, and I asked her about her program. The conversation ended with me asking her to student teach with me. Little did I know it at the time, but that student teaching placement would change the trajectory of both of our lives.
Collaboration, Co-Teaching & Friendship
Leah was a fabulous student teacher and we connected instantly. She was as driven and passionate about education as I was, so I invited her to join me when I applied for the Microsoft Innovative Teachers program. Our project “From Tuned Out to Zuned In” was selected, and next thing we knew, we were off to a Canadian Innovative Teachers conference in Winnipeg.
The travel didn’t stop there–we were invited to share our project at the Microsoft Education Global Forum in Hong Kong that fall. Leah booked in for another student teaching placement with me and we were on a plane to Asia in November! It was during our time as Microsoft Expert Educators that people began calling us the “Kenton girls” (which eventually led to our name, KG Education, when we started this adventure in 2019).
I always believe that true friends must meet two criteria:
👜 we have to be able to shop together
✈ we have to be able to travel together
🍷 bonus points if they’ll drink lattes and wine with me
Our early adventures proved that Leah and I were compatible on all fronts, and a friendship was born.
Our First Microsoft Global Forum
Our trip to Hong Kong and Singapore with Microsoft Education changed our lives. We were 2 small town girls who had barely travelled—a trip like this vaulted us right into the big leagues of international jet-setting. 😉 We travelled with a group of Canadian educators and Microsoft staff (many of whom were very savvy travellers–the kind who ordered passports with extra pages) and they were incredible mentors. So what was so amazing about this trip?
🌏 It was our first time in Asia, and our minds were blown by the lights, the markets, the hustle and bustle, and the foods we’d never seen before. There was a world outside of Manitoba, and what a world it was.
👜 We learned that we were shrewd barterers. Our favourite place to visit was the Night Market, and we loved haggling with the vendors for the best designer knock offs (totally embarrassed at my fake Chanel craze but we thought we were the cat’s meow at the time). Perhaps the reason we learned to drive such a hard bargain was because Leah’s debit card got taken by an ATM and we only had 100 Hong Kong dollars between the two of us, but that’s another story.
🍎 We discovered that we loved connecting with teachers from all over the world. We learned that teachers were doing incredible things, many with much less than we had in Canada. Teachers as a source of collaboration and inspiration really influenced our teaching practice and laid the foundation for KG Education years down the road.
💡 We discovered that our ideas had merit, and were indeed innovative. Our project made it to the Global Forum finals and we were interviewed by all kinds of TV crews. Our heads were turned and it was the most thrilling experience ever.
🚇 We learned that we could ride the subway in Hong Kong and Singapore and navigate our way around massive Asian cities. We might’ve been from a town of 200, but with guidance and good map reading, these huge city-countries were our oyster.
🧳 The travel bug had bitten and there was no going back…
Join the Microsoft Innovative Educator Program
Applications are open from May 6 to July 15, 2021 for the Microsoft Innovative Educator Program. Get the details at: https://education.microsoft.com/en-us/resource/1703c312
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