“Why the Community-Based BEd program works for me”

Marsha Larson is a single mother of six who lives in Barnwell, a town on the Crowsnest Highway between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat in southeastern Alberta. She’s a teacher’s aide at the community school, and while she enjoys it, she longs to lead the class.

But for Larson, taking part in a full-time education program is out of the question — it simply doesn’t fit into her life.

In the past, because of geographic, financial, or personal constraints, people like Larson didn’t have the option of earning a teaching degree while remaining in their own communities, as nothing existed that allowed them to do so.

Today, because of an innovative program launched at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education, Larson — along with 19 others — is a new student taking the first step to becoming a teacher.

Larson stopped by to chat about Werklund’s Community-Based Bachelor of Education program, and why it works for her.

Audio:

• Quick Chat (8:32)