Inside Scoop: Kailey D. Simon

Kwe’ msit wen, ni’n teluisi Kailey Simon. Hello everyone, my name is Kailey Simon. I study psychology and minor in Indigenous studies at Dalhousie University. I am a teaching assistant for “Mi’kmaw Language I,” “Mi’kmaw Language II,” and “Introduction to Mi’kma’ki.” All three of these courses were a mixture of seminars and lectures and delivered in-person this past academic year.

My roles and responsibilities as a teaching assistant included, but were not limited to, answering emails, writing notes and posting them to Brightspace, as well as emailing them, etc. Some days I felt as if I were working all day. Being present in class twice a week, three times a day, on top of being a student, was a lot to take on. I wish the pay was better for the amount of work that was required of me.

I am so happy that I was a teaching assistant, though, because I loved contributing to class conversations, and speaking about my experiences as a Mi’kmaq woman. Being a Mi’kmaq teaching assistant is indispensable to my teaching development and I am truly grateful for the opportunity—being a teaching assistant means a lot to me and my future goals; it has taught me how to be a better teacher than I previously was. I have wanted to be a teacher since grade school. I have taught powwow dancing since I was 14, as well as teaching about Mi’kmaq culture. I was also a project coordinator at the Indigenous Centre on campus, so this work came to me naturally. Although it was more responsibility than expected, I loved it. The instructor and students were so kind, which made class something I looked forward to attending. I am so grateful for them.