This Golden Hour

116. Erika Barootes and MaKami College

• Timothy Eaton

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In today’s episode, we get to spend time with Erika Barootes from Alberta. Erika is the Director of External Relations and Department Head for Applied Politics and Public Affairs at MaKami College in Edmonton, Alberta. In our conversation, we explore the intersection of homeschooling and post-secondary education, focusing on how MaKami College is opening its doors to homeschool students and removing traditional barriers to admission. We also discuss why homeschool students are often well-suited for careers in politics and public affairs, citing their strong work ethic, community and civic involvement, and early academic achievement. Erika explains that Makami accepts a variety of transcripts, portfolios, and assessments, making it easier for homeschoolers and non-traditional students to enroll. This episode highlights the importance of documenting learning and building a portfolio as key strategies for homeschoolers seeking post-secondary opportunities.


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Erika Barootes:

they're keen and ready. And the grit I know from a lot of those demographics too are also the roll up your sleeves, get stuff done that are also make ideal candidates to get into public affairs and politics. So sometimes you might not. Think that there is the exact connection, but I'm unlike the types of people and the types of families that are homeschooling are so well tied to the type of individuals that are very successful within politics and public affairs.

Timmy Eaton:

Hi. I am Timmy Eaton, homeschool father of six and Doctor of Education. We've been homeschooling for more than 15 years and have watched our children go from birth to university successfully and completely without the school system. Homeschooling has grown tremendously in recent years, and tons of parents are becoming interested in trying it out, but people have questions and concerns and misconceptions and lack the confidence to get started. New and seasoned homeschoolers are looking for more knowledge and peace and assurance to continue. New homeschooling. The guests and discussions on this podcast will empower anyone thinking of homeschooling to bring their kids home and start homeschooling and homeschoolers at all stages of the journey will get what they need and want from these conversations. Thank you for joining us today and enjoy this episode of This Golden Hour podcast. As you exercise, drive clean or just chill. You're listening to this Golden Hour podcast. In today's episode, we get to spend time with Erica Bardis from Alberta. Erica is the Director of External relations and Department Head for Applied Politics and Public Affairs at MCee College in Edmonton, Alberta. In our conversation, we explore the intersection of homeschooling and post-secondary education focusing on how MCee College is opening its doors to homeschool students and removing traditional barriers to admission. We also discuss why homeschool students are often well-suited for careers in politics and public affairs, citing their strong work ethic community and civic involvement and early academic achievement. Eric explains that AMI accepts a variety of transcripts, portfolios, and assessments, making it easier for homeschoolers and non-traditional students. To enroll this episode highlights the importance of documenting learning. And building a portfolio as key strategies for homeschoolers seeking post-secondary opportunities. Welcome back to this Golden Hour podcast today. We are very delighted to have with us Erica Bardis from Edmonton, Alberta.

Erika Barootes:

Hello, Tim, I'm so excited to be here.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm excited you're here and I'm grateful that you've clarified before the interview how to pronounce your last name, so very good. Yeah. Like

Erika Barootes:

the college name and my name are little tricky. Yeah. So you get bonus points.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Let me just introduce you a little bit. So Erica is the Director of External Relations and the department Head for Applied Politics and Public Affairs at EE College, which has campuses in Edmonton and Calgary.

Erika Barootes:

We do and then I know we'll get into it, but we also have several of our programs that are online so that you can do them from the comfort of your own home or in your community.

Timmy Eaton:

And we will get into that. I thought it'd be cool for the audience just to know how you and I met and how we connected and,'cause this is unique'cause. You don't homeschool right now, but but you have had exposure to homeschooling on your own. And then we met at the ah, HA conference, which is the Alberta Home Education Association Conference in May. And that's how we connected for this interview. So what were you doing there and what was the interest? And tell us about that.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah, so as you mentioned, I'm the head of the Applied Politics and Public Affairs program at MCee. I was there in that capacity to get out the word. We just launched this program. We did a pilot in January, a pilot in May, and actually I teach later tonight for our official cohort that just launched. And so we were really trying to figure out who our student. Could or would be. Mm-hmm. Um, And get out to a bunch of different conferences to talk about it. I did learn that we will be back at a HA but next year we're gonna bring more of our programs. So we do have massage therapy, healthcare aid business admin, medical office admin, personal trainer early learner childcare. I'm missing a few, but I think master instructor and, I think that's it. I think I read a bunch of those

Timmy Eaton:

on the website so that people can look that up, all the different offerings that you have. Yeah.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah. So thankfully one of my team members is a registered massage therapist, so there was a few students at the ah H that she was able to speak to. So I think we'll have a bigger presence there next year. Because we are a publicly funded post-secondary. But we are an independent academic institute. So some of our requirements and how we govern ourselves is different than maybe some of the other ones. So first with the applied politics and where we're expanding it have introduced homeschooling policy or acceptance of homeschoolers. And it would be if you have transcripts under the Alberta curriculum, great. If you have your own transcripts as those are becoming more popular, we'll work with that. Or just confirming that you have the admission requirements to enter our programs, but we're really about working with. The potential or prospective student and figuring out how to bridge and get them into the program and removing those barriers for folks. Yeah. That's how we met. I think your daughter sold me some kits that I gave to my step kids. She has a Oh, cool. No she has her painting and like little craft kit thingies that she sells. So yeah, that was

Timmy Eaton:

Hazel a little. Yes. And she called it hazelnut and she like does these little craft things, so that's cool. I didn't, I don't remember that you did that. That's cool.

Erika Barootes:

Such good branding. So I really impressed by her. But then your table was right beside we got talking and Yeah. Here we are. Yeah, that's why we're at a h overall. So it was the larger MCee benefited, but we were there to get the word out about our applied politics and public affairs program.

Timmy Eaton:

And what I like that you're saying is that and I think it's indicative of the trend that's going that way is that more and more post-secondary institutions of all kinds like yours are opening themselves up to home education students. And maybe speak to this, but like in your case with this applied politics target, you go for homeschool families'cause they're obviously a likely demographic. Is that accurate?'Cause why would you be at a homeschool conference? Except that it's a good target audience. For the type of thing. So maybe explain that to my audience.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah. I looked at a lot of policies on how post-secondaries kind of integrated homeschoolers. I know there's a few that did some tests. I know that homeschoolers finish usually earlier than others. That very active in their community and keen to continue their education. Sometimes there is, hurdles or challenges if you are still young. Yeah. And maybe don't wanna also move away from home and transition into that university life when you're 14 or 16 years old. And that you do have commitments at home. And so where it also appealed is like they also have really good marks. So I was looking at some of the studies and realizing that these are also people with a lot of work ethic, that I admire, but also from having a career in politics. Know that a lot of it's hard work and passion that can really help boost your career. And so I did see that in the world of say, politics and public affairs, like I said, the motivation is passion. Obviously, these individuals that are graduating early and want to continue their education. Likely from home would be an ideal demographic for us because our program is online and in the evenings. Yeah. And so whatever else you got going on in your community, they're also community focused. And we teach a lot about advocacy community efforts, stakeholder relations, a lot of things that I think fit well for the demographic of homeschool that are very community focused and really focused on giving back. And then thirdly, they're keen and ready. And the grit I know from a lot of those demographics too are also the roll up your sleeves, get stuff done that are also make ideal candidates to get into public affairs and politics. So sometimes you might not. Think that there is the exact connection, but I'm unlike the types of people and the types of families that are homeschooling are so well tied to the type of individuals that are very successful within politics and public affairs.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. That's something I found, like I, at University of Alberta, I did, I wrote a dissertation on homeschooling. And that was one of my findings was, and I didn't realize that, that homeschool families and students were uniquely involved in civic affairs. And I didn't know that. Now, after 17 years of homeschooling our kids and being in the world, I've been exposed to that, but I didn't realize how much they were. So this really is, I think, a good fit for a lot of people. My kids are just starting to do like a debate class. Debate is really huge in a lot of places in the states and I think more and more in Canada. And so that kind of goes along with that as well. But, and then a ton on history. History Plus History Alive is Daniel ERs. He was at the same conference and they talk a lot about that. And I dunno if you've heard of Tuttle Twins.

Erika Barootes:

I did at the conference, but I don't think I would be able to explain it into justice. Yeah.

Timmy Eaton:

Tuttle twins is like this growing thing, but it's outta the states, they are educating young kids and students about just the issues of the day. And maybe a lot of people didn't anticipate that, and I think it's cool that you guys at MCee really targeted. And research to find who would be likely candidates to be in that. So what's been the response? Do you have an idea of the response of homeschooling families that are like looking into it?

Erika Barootes:

Like I said, we're very new. Yeah. Um, like We're just at the beginning, because we have campuses in Edmonton and Calgary, that's how we've been promoting. I was doing two things at the concert. I was also information gathering. Yeah. Because we're also hoping down the road to do some dual credits, which I think will be a good opportunity to test the subject knowledge or bridge that with. As you work towards graduating high school and be a feeder into our program. But one thing we did change when we originally started in January was in class in person. And so we just recently switched to an online model, which I think also opens up the opportunity. So this is the start besides being at the IEA conference of reaching out to the homeschooler network.

Timmy Eaton:

And

Erika Barootes:

talking about both, like we need to know what would be beneficial from a dual credit if we wanted to pursue that. But also that again. Like you said, the civic passion and the engagement is bigger than people think.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Erika Barootes:

and like I said, if you're community focused and you understand how to collaborate and advocate for what you want, those are some really tangible skills that transfer. Very nice. Into the world of public affairs. We also wrap our two year program around with a lot of transferable skills. Conflict resolution, client management, event planning, files and record management. So you're learning, how government operates or sometimes doesn't, but. How the government structures work, how a bill becomes law, a bunch of those things. And then we go into some of the more business practical skills and end with the more tangible, if you wanna go into campaigns and elections or how to build an advocacy campaign, which I've seen the homeschooler industry do very effectively. Yes. Yes. And so I do think it also exposes you to how government works and how to influence public policy, which I think would be great for everyone to learn, but I definitely see this as something that can help back into to the network of homeschooling as well.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. In, in the history of home education, the reason why it's even legal in all 50 states and all provinces it there was a precedent set in Western US. H-S-L-D-A, which is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, and we have that in Canada as well, in Ontario, actually Peter stock. I interviewed him on this podcast. He's the president of H-S-L-D-A Canada, and I'm just giving that as an example of what you're talking about as far as advocacy. And they also take on the legal issues that a lot of homeschoolers face. And so I bet you could partner with them in, this particular program of the applied politics. One thing I was wondering especially in post-secondary, you're used to certain agendas that universities will have. Like I'm just saying I think that everyone, that's not like a surprise to people or something. Is there a particular worldview at MCee that aligns with homeschool families. Not that it's one way, like there's homeschool families all over the spectrum as far as their worldview, but is there a particular one that is espoused at MCee?

Erika Barootes:

What I would say is, I think where we were ta alluding to this before we started recording, but our mission is about creating opportunities for all students and removing barriers. And I think our traditional schooling system creates sometimes more barriers. And so what I respect about parents that choose to put their kids in homeschooling or even into the charter and independent programs that wonderful that we live in Alberta and we have a choice in education, but that there's some traditional things that just don't work for some people or some families. And so like we do at MCee is remove barriers. Sometimes that's for newcomers. Sometimes it's for single parents that need to go back to work, and we work with them to support their families. Sometimes it's someone that's very involved in their community and can't afford to like physically and maybe financially go away to school, so they need to. To be located at home or they're very young graduates and they want to continue their post-secondary, but it's not a time in their life where they can relocate and I think that we try at mc me to really remove any barrier that's impeding someone from having that post-secondary experience. I have a poli-sci degree and nothing I ever learned in poli-sci prepared me for a career in politics and public affairs. And then I went into politics and nobody taught me any of my jobs. Nothing. It was all learned in the moment in high stress environments. So that can age you pretty quickly. Yeah. And so this is teaching people what they need to know. And even if you don't go into that field, a lot of the material we teach, like everyone should have to take this. Just knowing how government works, knowing the levels of government, knowing how to advocate and have your voice heard in a way that it will be heard are some really great skills that even if you're, 14, 16, 18, 25, 30, whatever it is where you don't know what you want to do, a lot of these skills will be very tangible in whatever path you choose or you wanna, be a part of, like I see not-for-profit sector also being a big part of our student demographic. Cause a lot of times you're a jack of all trades. In politics we see a lot of grassroots movements. And I've seen that from a lot of very strong communities. Especially outside of Edmonton and Calgary. And so again, when I think of who, who could really benefit or who would be very successful, I felt that individuals coming from homeschooling or get or done attitude, and that helps in politics.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. No, I I love the emphasis you're putting on just like applied stuff. There's so much stuff that we learn and all learning is good, but you do wanna know that things are going to be practically applied in real situations. So you mentioned previously that the idea of, toying with the idea of dual, a lot of homeschool students are looking for dual. Like all my kids, I've had three graduate now and my. Fourth child is doing concurrent classes through university. And so we always are looking for that because, and I think everyone should like it's economic. It proves to you that you can handle a post-secondary academic class and course level. Or a course load and that kind of thing. So anyway, I think that's a really good idea. As I was looking at like Macee college, like just like vision and the mission and stuff like that. There are just so many principles I felt like aligned with a lot of homeschool families and everybody will be unique. But one of the things that talked about was a positive learning environment. Can you talk a little bit about that? What would somebody encounter in regards to a positive learning environment?'cause if there's one thing that distinguishes homeschooling. It is that like the learning environment is so vibrant and you're not squelching their love of learning and that's one of the beauties of homeschool. So how does that work into MCee?

Erika Barootes:

I would say, I think where we differ, and one of the reasons I actually wanted to come work at MCee, I, if you asked me 10 years ago, will you ever work in post-secondary? I would never imagine it. Is that we recognize that unlike my university experience, I went, got a student number. They didn't care about me from start to finish as long as I paid my money. And if I graduated great for me, they'll gimme a certificate and congratulate me as I walk across the stage. I did graduate so yay for me, but nobody was there to support along the way. Like I said, our demographics vary from newcomers to people wanting to go back and get a career change. Individuals dealing with wanting a second chance, things like that is a very different path for all those students. So when we say a positive learning environment, we are confident that every one of our students will succeed and we will do whatever we can to help them do that. And we have departments within our school that. Help students with work-life balance. They help them with counseling for them or their family as they transition back into being a student. We have tutors and mentoring that will help if they need extra supports on either a. The curriculum or just again, on managing expectations of what's required within a course? Our instructors are very hands-on and again, I would, I don't wanna brag, but go above and beyond I think what you'd think is a traditional Yeah. Experience and is that because

Timmy Eaton:

of class size or is that because of manageable relationships in a class size? I think it's just a

Erika Barootes:

philosophy of what happened. So this the college was started because. The Pav COVID family who are our founders came over from Serbia or former Yugoslavia and were maybe not treated or recognized for their skill sets. They had a really hard time integrating, they very much valued community, and so I think it was like if we don't have community, we'll build it and we're gonna give people chances. So the mom, Luba, is her name had a lot of medical and health related skills. She then went and became a massage therapist. And started teaching. And so again, that's where I think our tide is maybe newcomers or individuals again, that know they don't wanna go into get a degree and that they wanna go into the workforce and care about healthcare. That's, a lot of our programs are healthcare related.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Erika Barootes:

They started building that out 24 years ago, and it all came from moving from a different country, wanting community and a chance. Yeah. Wanting a chance and having someone believe in you. And like I always say, in the world of applied politics, you don't need a degree to get your dream job. There's a lot of people that know where they wanna go. And they wanna go into that field, whether it's more of a labor or a diploma or certificate. And so that's how we've built all of our programs out. But I think the positive component is that we. Truly do invest in our students and seeing them through, like their success is our success. And I think that's where the positive environment maybe differs from other post-secondaries.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Well Said. And again, that matches, I think a typical homeschool philosophy. And I like how you really line that out as far as it's positive in the sense of it's like to me the word was support. There's a lot of support in helping people achieve,

Erika Barootes:

we say wraparound services. Like you're almost hugged through the program, not in a coddling way, but in a, we're always gonna be there for you. Yeah. And again, we'll, we're crossing the finish line with you.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Thank you. Another thing I noticed was this idea of transformational or like transforming power of education. And that really aligns with homeschool philosophy because there are very traditional or cultural ways to see education and we've we've made that a certain way in North America. Another thing that you guys espouse is innovation and technology. Which is common amongst, institutions. And you have to and a lot of things that we're doing in schools are archaic. And so that appeals to parents who want their kids to have a better education. So can talk a little bit about the idea of transforming power of education.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah, so I think as we talked about, I think there's some flaws in the traditional system that they don't speak to every student or every lifestyle or every family need, and we call ourselves the disruptors because one, we used to be a private career college, and so it was very business savvy, entrepreneurial and structure and lean, you look at, I'll say the other post-secondaries and they're quite bureaucratic and dependent, maybe on more handouts than their own revenue. Yeah. And so moving into this space has been very unique, I think, and learning. Obviously as a now publicly funded institute, this the increasing opportunity it gives us because we are already doing it and so the innovation in tech all come into to that. But I do think the transformation is you don't have to do it like every other post-secondary. You don't have to do it like every other school. The Applied Politics is a first of its kind in Canada. And I don't know that a U of A would've been interested'cause they have a PoliSci program and there is a program similar at Carleton, but it's a master's. And I was like. I don't need a master's to do what I did. And don't get me wrong, I appreciated my university experience. Yeah, the theory was very interesting. But when it came to the practicality of how I use my degree and how I find a path I think another thing for transforming. That we do is all of our programs have what we call practicum, but work integrated learning. So in my program, the applied politics, it's 500 hours. I think our massage is 2000. There's components and all of that so that you're actually ready to work upon. So it's like almost like an apprentice

Timmy Eaton:

model.

Erika Barootes:

Yes. Yeah. We have two practicums that are small of 80 hours. I call them teasers into the industry. You can see if you like it, you could be working on a local campaign. You could be working for a local community operation. Whether it's, religious, cultural, or kind of social service based, whatever that looks like. Arts, it doesn't matter as long as you can take some of the components from class and tie it back in, you could be working, like I said, for a political party. You could be working for government for any of the caucuses. Lots of opportunity. Private public sector. And so it's to expose you to see.'cause I think sometimes you learn by doing what you don't like more than you learn what you do

Timmy Eaton:

totally. And

Erika Barootes:

so giving them that. The last practicum is done after all your courses are complete, which takes about, I'd say 14 months of the two years. So it's not a full two years and you can blast through it. There is some asynchronous, so I think that's really appealing for the self-starters within homeschooling and, but we also say the secret sauce is that you get to meet people with differing views, different experiences, learn how to have political discourse which the whole world could use more of, and learning to agree to disagree and do it respectfully and how to understand that other perspective that will actually strengthen your position or how you strategize what you're trying to either advocate or a policy change or anything like that. And so I say the secret sauce is that we have instructors from across the political spectrum across the industry. And so even through that, you're learning people's pathways into this field. And you're almost auditioning for a job in some Yeah. When you're having new instructor. So I think our funnel into the industry is also unique to the world of politics in any way, whether ours is more practical compared to theory. But I also think, at the end when you have 340 hour practicum, ideally it is the job you would have afterwards anyway.

Timmy Eaton:

So in doing it through MCee at least the applied politics you can be marketed more easily to relevant industries or relevant opportunities because you have the hours, you have the background. How are you establishing relationships with those potential jobs? I'm pounding

Erika Barootes:

a lot of pavement. Thankfully my 20 years, in politics, obviously I worked for one side of the ideological spectrum but have built relationships across all party lines because everyone realizes the need for this. So I think in the last, by elections we had people working for various different parties. The municipal election our students are really involved in right now. And then the whole purpose is like, how do you apply this back to what you were learning in class, right? Yes. So even in our class and discussions in our evening sessions, it's all about how do we apply this? What does this mean for your career? I just say, I'm not here to waste your time. If we're done our conversation in two hours, go have at her. If you wanna stay on, we could be here for three. It's no different to me because I want them to get the experience that they need to be successful. And so lots more flexibility. Again, not fitting in the box. If you gotta show up here Tuesday, Thursdays for two hours and it's a whole semester. Our programs are also designed that we kind of work in sequential order. Yeah. And so our students will take the progression of. CLA courses. And so it's more a linear to give you those skills and build on those skills throughout the program. And then it also adds for you getting to meet different teachers along the way.

Timmy Eaton:

And graduating as far as somebody looking at an accredited, more and more homeschoolers don't really care that much about that. Honestly. And not to be too, I think

Erika Barootes:

society doesn't like a piece of I

Timmy Eaton:

totally, I have a piece of

Erika Barootes:

paper. Great.

Timmy Eaton:

How many conversations have I had in the last two months? I'm telling you about people going and they're not blowing off universities. They're saying it's a joke or something, but they are saying that to utilize things in a very practical way to say, how is this going to benefit me instead of me just taking it for whatever reason or to say, I have a degree. What do they come out with Mamy with?

Erika Barootes:

Yeah. Our pride is that our graduation placement rate is very high because of the practicums, the relationships they built.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. Like I

Erika Barootes:

said, I'm working on industry relationships. I haven't had anyone that hasn't said, I don't want one of your practicum students. This sounds amazing. So awesome. It makes me feel really good, but it also makes. Me feel very positive that every student will have a successful placement or if you have connections in your community and it's going to prove to be beneficial for you. We're very flexible in that regard across MCee spectrum of all of our courses, you can find your pathway. So again, you take healthcare aid, you're gonna become a healthcare aide, you do personal training. We have relationships to get you into that field. And so ours is if you wanna do it and you wanna get a job in it. We'll get you across that first. We're gonna help you. Yeah. But we're also, we'll also got the connections to to place you so that you leave with not just a piece of paper, but a job.

Timmy Eaton:

Is it realistic that there could be scenarios where somebody. Like you said, it could be like, really catching on to stuff and not necessarily complete the program but plugged into a job in the midst of their learning.

Erika Barootes:

Oh my gosh. So I just hired one of our students from the first practicum to be our applied politics coordinator. So yes. She's finishing her studies and she'll go through but. But you

Timmy Eaton:

saw something in her that you're like, dude, we need to hire her. We

Erika Barootes:

can embrace these skills. We can. And one of our other students and all of our tutors for the program are students.

Timmy Eaton:

Very cool.

Erika Barootes:

And so it's a way, a lot of them are like, we'll take practicum hours, but we'll just do it'cause we wanna give back. And like I said the community even within MCee, I think is so strong. And the culture that's created here, that, again,, we've got each other's back again, something that I, I don't see in the. Edmonton public school system.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. So what would be like, if you were to give us like an ideal description of what would be like an ideal picture of a student coming to the applied politics program?

Erika Barootes:

I think, the biggest thing is passion to be a part of something bigger than yourself. So being able to wanna advocate for change, and that doesn't have to be the loud person, like I was always the loud one. But you can be a silent leader, right? A quiet leader.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. Oh, yes. And

Erika Barootes:

so if you have that ability and that passion to be able to influence change, whether it's at your hyper local level, provincial, federal, international, whatever it is, it's all needed. Exactly. As long as you wanna be involved in that change or be a part of the change you wanna see that is the ideal person. So if you're sitting there being like I might someday run for politics, or I find this. Interesting. But I don't know if there's a career or I really understanding how the decisions that impact my life every day, how they're made. Yes. And who gets to decide that? And if you loved your trip to the legislature, maybe that you took as part of your. Curriculum or understanding or discussing elections and getting involved in municipal or federal or provincial politics. Apparently we have a lot of those different things happening all the time and especially Alberta. We had a bunch of by elections this year. If you got involved in anything like that or you're very community focused. I would say that is the ideal. And if you know that you wanna either stay in your community or do this in the evenings you're working full-time. That program, the program is ready for you because it is built for people, doers, busy people. I said, if you want something done right, ask a busy person. That's the people that we want to see get engaged and that just wanna be a part of something bigger than themselves. And so you don't have to be like I've been in a political party, or I'm actively a member, or anything like that. It's actually more about the public policy, the advocacy, the knowing how to influence change. That's the critical thing to bring to the table, so that's the ideal student. And like I said, lots of people do great things in their community. They just don't know how. Maybe to sometimes move the needle fully.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah,

Erika Barootes:

That's where we come in.

Timmy Eaton:

And how to mobilize things. One thing I've always been frustrated in because I grew up in the States. I grew up in Chicago, but then I moved here as a, as an adult in my late later twenties. And the system works differently. Because I haven't dedicated like myself to really getting down to the nitty gritty. I don't actually know. How decisions are actually made, like who actually mobilizes things. And I've learned more in the last few years. And I think that's a great thing that makes that clear, that MCee that's this program that's gonna be able to help people do that. I was just wondering like you and I talked beforehand about like you actually had a little stint with home education. Do you wanna tell our audience a little bit about that? What was your Yeah, it was a grade three. What was your brush with homeschooling?

Erika Barootes:

Yes. I shockingly was very chatty and I was a student that I don't think fit into the traditional system. I was a grade ahead in math. I would get my work done and instead of. Having the liberty to do something else or just be able to operate in that space. You're very confound. It was like, we're doing this class lesson from here to here.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Erika Barootes:

And if you're done stare at the wall, and so I would maybe disrupt other people. And so I spent a lot of time in the hallway. That is actually how. My math jumped.'cause I would just take my math book in the hallway and go independently work through it.

Timmy Eaton:

Wow. And

Erika Barootes:

so I got ahead and so after that my mom was just like you're spending so much time not in the classroom. It didn't impact my grades, but she was like let's just. Pull you out for the rest of the year? I think it was

Timmy Eaton:

cool

Erika Barootes:

about half the year and I was in French immersion, so I will say that was maybe a little trickier. I watched a lot of tin in French and went to the library and did that, but took my test at the end of the year and my grades were actually higher, Wow. Than most of our class. And so it was like my mom had a schedule, I remember. The one thing I took away was like I had to do these times, tables and get really fast. The faster I was done, the faster I got to have re my version of recess, or I could be done for lunch or I'd be done for the afternoon. And so the incentive of working hard. Really paid off that you don't have to sit, I still struggle with a nine to five type job because I'm like I'm done. I've done all my stuff. Can I go play? Or can I go do something else or let me be a part of all these other things? So I think I, and we have I have a stepdaughter that. Is probably the same, like the traditional system is really not letting her flourish because of how she learns and her energy levels and just, being able to let her learn the way she learns.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. And

Erika Barootes:

so I am so happy that Alberta has choice in education. But yeah, my mom yanked me out and it was all. To me to be independent and make sure that I did the work and when the work was done, the work was done. And there's a lot of hours in a day that I think at a traditional school where you could redirect it to be far more effective. Oh my, so goodness.

Timmy Eaton:

First of all, that's so cool. Of your mom who like, yeah. Yeah. Was like involved enough to go, let's do something different here. And then you're right, like the, one of the beauties of home education I think and I'm always reluctant and I think homeschoolers are reluctant to be like, we did our school, because then it makes it sound like a. Learning is confined to something specific. But I do understand what they mean. They're saying like their book stuff or their more structured stuff, if they're into unschooling, they don't worry about that. The real unschoolers who are like no, we totally go by interest. And it's like when you want to, and. If you ask me to read to you, I'll read to you, but very interest driven. But just the idea that like in a regular school day, especially when you add waking up early, taking a bus taking a bus home, extracurriculars, there is like so much you can cover in a homeschool day. Especially if you're pretty, dedicated to, yeah. To that way of doing it.

Erika Barootes:

And I think one thing I really appreciate is, like I said, not everyone's gonna go to university. Some people are gonna wanna work with their hands. Some people are gonna wanna be behind a textbook.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. And

Erika Barootes:

our traditional system does not allow for all learners to thrive. And I think people figure out earlier on than maybe our system allows for of being like. That is your passion. That is your realm. Let's build those skills as opposed to try to make you a generalist in everything. I have a degree which in arts. I'm a generalist anyway. I got a piece of paper and I was probably no better off besides having a piece of paper. I think the world is shifting more towards recognizing skills, ability for definitely character and we're seeing less people may be looking at that traditional university pathway. Even the government is pushing more towards labor and trades and all of that. But yeah I was really proud when we put together our homeschooler policy which really is just. Prove that you're able to enter our program and like I said, we have people that are coming from other countries that don't have transcripts either. We look at more the individual and assess their skills and, through, through different, more organic assessments. But we're about finding people that A, want to succeed and b, have the passion to learn. And I think you can teach anyone then.

Timmy Eaton:

I love that you're saying that I, the two things that I think that attract me to homeschooling is mm-hmm. one, the love of learning, and two, how to learn. Because those two things, if you take that into any industry or any post-secondary, whatever. That's what people wanna know. So especially with a constantly changing world, you wanna know that people know how to learn and that they love learning. And a lot of that, again, this isn't to bad mouth, a traditional system, but it's just a reality of it because it's such a social scene. It's school's about friends, like everybody knows that. And there's cool things that happen in schools. I know that, but like overall, it's squelch is learning. I've been teaching for almost 25 years. And I do it through religious education, but it's tied to a public system and and yeah, like it's just obvious. And I know some of it's just kids trying to be cool, but like you ask kids. Hey, how do you like school? I hate it. And it's just this attitude that accompanies it and that doesn't exist in most homeschooling situations.

Erika Barootes:

But I think some of the stereotype is that, yeah, you're in your home, you're only hanging out with your brothers and sisters and you're not exposed to anything else where I know, a lot of the extracurricular, you're out and about in the community. No, we outsource

Timmy Eaton:

like crazy.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah. And I think that's like when I had my experience, this is long time ago. I won't date myself, but couple decades. And so that wasn't maybe the same exposure. And it was also for not a long period of time. Yeah. One of my team members, her whole family homeschools, her sister, we ran into her sister at AIA and like to know Oh, cool. How they're part of a broader. System or network, right? Like I, I dismiss people that are like kids should go to school and be integrated. And I just think you can get that many different ways, right? Yeah. And sport. Extracurricular. All of that I don't think is limited just because where you sit in your classroom or how many days a week you're in one place versus the other. And so that's the other thing is we don't wanna remove people from those types of communities. And again, putting this online you're online with a bunch of other people. I love this outta my voice. I think as you've learned through this system I do like to talk, but our students are in breakout rooms the whole, most of the time to have yes. That those constructive and critical thinking systems and navigate that and recognize your own bias, right? What bias are you bringing? And this is really applied politics, but yeah open, open

Timmy Eaton:

your eyes to new stuff and world, you and whatever. Yeah.

Erika Barootes:

Yeah. And so our goal is to, expand outside of Edmonton and Calgary, but also expand across Canada and have people bring and share their different experiences and views, because I think that's also a very great skill for people wanting to anywhere, but specifically wanting to get public affairs where sometimes you can. Have your blinders up because of whatever your personal views are.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah.

Erika Barootes:

And it, we're not asking anyone to change who they are, but it's just recognizing that I think is a, as a very. A positive skill to society as a whole.

Timmy Eaton:

And that's what good education is to challenge your thoughts and to, like you said, critical thinking and I think it's just so cool that MCee is setting a good example to other institutions that they should be open to capturing a bigger audience because they're not so confined to a particular admissions test or something like that, but that there's a portfolio that you're open to the real principles of deep learning and effective learning and love of learning. I think that's just really cool and cutting edge.

Erika Barootes:

I'll share my policy with you as well. Yeah. So I think that you'll have that as reference for all your listeners, it is a port, it's, you know, you get to select, so there would be just an assessment exam if you don't have any formal transcripts, if you do have formal transcripts that are equivalent to Alberta or Alberta. Great. That's all we need. But if you don't, then there's also like interviews and reference letters from people that have helped you portfolios. And then some assessments if you need to prove that you have a certain competency in math and yes English. We're not here to trick students or make it hard to get in. We're here to say, how do we work with you to get you in? And I sit here and I'm like, from what I know about the homeschooler, the homeschool families. If they're hard workers, they're dedicated. And they bring. Community and passion to a lot of the stuff they do. I was like why wouldn't I want those kids or like those people that in most cases, a lot of times it's kids in the program.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. And I think I was like, I want

Erika Barootes:

people that wanna be successful and will do the work and wanna be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. Yeah, it's a no

Erika Barootes:

brainer.

Timmy Eaton:

And I would say from the homeschool side of things, that, that really sends a clear message to us that that we need to be good at keeping portfolios and to keep records of everything that we do. I like we are in our family. My wife is so good at this, but you to document everything, document every book you've read, document everything you've written. Take pictures of everything because that portfolio becomes a more qualitative, effective thing to present. And then obviously, like you said, and then be ready to take some competency tests and approve that way as well.

Erika Barootes:

When you get into your professional career, that's the time we start building a portfolio. Absolutely not. You can start building it now.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. And

Erika Barootes:

that actually I think, sets. Like people apart, that is a place where I know several charter schools will start to do portfolios. The only ones I can think of is if you're trying to get into an art school that you have to show your portfolio. Yeah. Why not do it with what you've learned. As opposed to just saying, I graduated from this high school in Yeah, in Edmonton I had GPA and whatever. Nobody has ever asked me my GPA in university or high school. Like I swear you just to get in and then

Timmy Eaton:

Yes, I know. And I always find it funny that my master's degree and my doctor degree were like like I got straight A's because I did the work and then in my bachelor's degree was the hardest one for sure. So anyway, but

Erika Barootes:

that's'cause that's where we learned to learn.

Timmy Eaton:

One of the questions I keep asking people at the end, how was this interview for you? Like how was that for you?

Erika Barootes:

It was really, I don't wanna say easy, it was just really relaxing and fun to talk about it. I love talking about the program. I love talking about what we've built and talking about how different sectors that maybe don't see themselves in the program could, or even at MCee as a whole. And yeah, it was really fun.

Timmy Eaton:

And also if people are in my class

Erika Barootes:

The first thing is we talk about what's in the news, and then it's so interesting to watch. People's opinions come up.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Yes. And I'm like,

Erika Barootes:

okay. I was like, is that fact or your bias? And they'll be like, oh, it's my bias. And I'm like, great that you acknowledge that. Or I'll say, this is how the liberals feel. This is how the conservatives feel. This is how this Totally. And I, or I'll always say this is my opinion, or something like that. You asked my opinion, I gave it to you. Exactly. No, I think

Timmy Eaton:

that's good. I think that's good. The thing that I find myself asking the two questions I find out when people feel very strongly about something or say something. My first two questions are who do you listen to frequently and why do you trust that source? And I find that, that tells me a ton about all of us, like who do you listen to frequently? Because the majority of us are regurgitating. We operate from principles, but we're regurgitating what we hear on whatever, avenues that we go down and listen to. And so then the question is, why do you trust that over something else? And there's lots of answers we could, that would be a totally other conversation. This

Erika Barootes:

is something we do in class that's what source did you use? Yeah. And then go find three sources that contradict or Yeah. Support. Like you could find the information to validate your view totally if you want to or. People are busy. A lot of times they just go and the first thing that they hear, they take it as scripture. Yes. And that's not the case. Or you default like I do a lot of media'cause I am still a political pundit. Yes. And. There's outlets where I'm like, oh, these are not my people, or these are, and so it's just, yeah. It's interesting that you're like, based on too, like the outlet or the source of information also has a stereotype of who their listener is, which, yeah. If you think about it should be everyone broadly and there's no bias, but that's not how the world works.

Timmy Eaton:

It's been an awesome conversation. Thanks for taking time today. And then can you just let everyone know how do they contact you or connect with you, what do they do and then where can they go to learn about macie?

Erika Barootes:

Yeah, so macie college.com, so M-A-K-A-M mi college shop com

Timmy Eaton:

and we'll put all this in the notes.

Erika Barootes:

Okay, perfect. Yeah, and if they go to programs, they'll see our whole list of programs, learn a little bit more about us. I'm on all. Social media channels I'm usually just retweeting political stuff, so I might be a little boring. I do have a podcast called The Discourse, where myself and someone that used to work for Rachel Notley, so we come from the right and the left of the spectrum, talk about issues of the day and try to do it always in a respective way. So the Discourse podcast, you could find me or my last name, B-A-R-O-O-T-E-S. She ain't very common, so if you plug it in, you'll probably be able to find me across social media platforms.

Timmy Eaton:

Okay. Perfect. Thanks again for taking time. Have a great rest of your day.

Erika Barootes:

Thank you so much. This was great.

Timmy Eaton:

That wraps up another edition of this Golden Hour podcast. If you haven't done so already, I would totally appreciate it if you would take a minute and give us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. It helps out a lot, and if you've done that already, thank you much. Please consider sharing this show with friends and family members that you think would get something out of it. And thank you for listening and for your support. I'm your host, Tim Eaton. Until next time, remember to cherish this golden hour with your children and family.