Winkler and area homeschoolers got an inside look at the world of radio broadcasting last week when they toured Golden West Broadcasting in Winkler. They also took the opportunity to tell us what Easter meant to them.
The visit was organized by Jerilynn Peters, one of the homeschooling parents involved with the group. The families meet monthly at the community centre in Reinland and frequently go on educational field trips throughout the region.
“This was a field trip that really stood out,” said Peters. “We try to explore different industries in the community, and when someone mentioned the radio station, I thought—yes! I know someone there and this would be a great learning opportunity.”
Learning was part of the tour
The tour gave both students and parents an up-close experience with the operations of the radio station. From exploring the technical side of radio production to understanding how broadcasting reaches different communities and provinces, Peters said the group walked away with more knowledge than expected.
“I’ve listened to the station for years, and I still learned things I didn’t know,” she said. “The kids were fascinated—one even left saying he wanted to work at the station someday after getting to press a button on the sound board!”
A chance to be on the radio
The visit also included opportunities for students to engage with broader topics like public speaking, work ethics, and adapting to technological change. A few of the children even recorded Easter messages and school day calendars.
Reflecting on that opportunity, Peters added, “I was pretty pumped you gave us the opportunity to do that and to push aside the Easter Bunnies and the chocolates and think about deeper things. Just even going over the questions with my kids at home before we went, just being like, ‘OK, let's think about this. Why do we celebrate Easter? As a Christian, what is the joy that we have, and why is that?’ I think that was a good kind of time to just think about that and to process that for the kids.”