My name is Tianna Frost and I was born and raised in Williams Lake, BC. I am from Tl’etinqox Band (Anaham) near Williams Lake.
I graduated high school from Lake City Secondary in Williams Lake in 2017. After high school I followed my love of history and started my Bachelor of Arts degree at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) which I finished with a major in History and minor in English in the spring of 2021. Now I am completing my first year of the Bachelor of Education program at TRU.
I have aspired to become a teacher since I was in elementary school. Growing up I did not have an ideal home environment; however, I did receive amazing support from my teachers over the years. Their support allowed me to envision a better future for myself. My personal experiences growing up will allow me to connect to vulnerable students and help them create and achieve their own goals. I want to be able to provide the support that I was shown, to all students in the future by creating a classroom environment that is fun, educational and safe. Specifically, my work teaching children about horsemanship and riding in a rural setting has allowed me to realize my passion for teaching but also my desire to work in a small community such as a First Nations reserve in order to support the long-term vitality of the community and be able to support First Nations students and their learning. My volunteer and work experience with children has shown me how smart, resilient and kind children can be and how as teachers we need to teach students academics but also teach them lessons that will help them excel not only in school but in life.
Additionally, I have a passion for the outdoors including, hiking, biking, fishing, hunting and more. I believe this will influence my future teaching practice and already does play a role in my teaching philosophies. Having an appreciation for our environment is something that must be fostered in the classroom and can be done through the use of resources such as The Seven Teachings, The Medicine Wheel, Circle of Courage and other Indigenous teachings. Also, creating meaningful experiences with outdoor activities can create a lifelong love of health and activities in addition to sports and games in Physical Health Education.
My passions continue to cross over from my life outside school and in school specifically with language. I am currently trying to learn my traditional Tsilqot’in language due to my passion for language revitalization. Loss of identity in school for Indigenous students is a large problem that needs to begin to be rectified through teaching and can begin with language revitalization. After I finish my Bachelor of Education, I hope to complete my Master of Education which will allow me to have higher educational positions and hopefully help allow me to be in a position to advocate for change in the school system to benefit all students.
