Life is looking up for Leslie Baker. Her schedule is packed as a first year instructor at the Mount, working towards a PhD in History, but it's made even more challenging as a young mom.
“I came to the Mount because my sister went here and it seemed like a really positive environment for women and women with children,” says Baker.
Leslie’s path to university is not a typical one. “I was at a crossroads in my life because I didn’t want to go back to work after I had my first son, and I wanted more for him,” says Baker. “Education was the way and this is where I went.”
Distance learning classes gave Leslie the opportunity to spend more time with her boys. “I think there is a great advantage to anything you can do by distance. Especially if you are at a stage in your life where you have other things going on that can affect your time getting in to class.”
Leslie often took advantage of doing homework around her kids’ schedule. “There is great value to working whenever anyone is sleeping. I did a lot of my work in the middle of the night when they were passed out,” says Baker.
Taking a distance course is no light task. “I think you have to be committed to it because if you’re not going to sit down and watch the recordings and do the work then you’re not going to do well,” says Baker. “But if you’re committed enough that you can set aside the time and appreciate the flexibility then I think they (distance courses) are fantastic.”
Having taken distance courses at the Mount, Leslie is excited about potentially teaching one. “I’d be more than happy to be teaching a distance course because I think it does broaden and open up so much,” says Baker, who appreciates the online teaching resource, Moodle. “I’m using Moodle a lot, even within my in school classes. I can see how that would be very helpful for distance. It’s not just watching the videos anymore, there’s that ongoing interaction.”
The journey from student to instructor has been long but rewarding for Leslie. “I look back now and go ‘Did I do that?’ I think I’ve gone through it recently enough that I can understand where they are coming from a lot of the time,” says Baker. “I’m trying to make teaching as interactive as possible and as enjoyable as possible. "
It’s been equally rewarding for Leslie’s kids. “They are really excited. My youngest ran in and gave me a hug, he said ‘yay, congratulations Mommy’. For so long they saw me on the other side of it, so it’s pretty neat for them to see me as a teacher.”