Something on my Mind: Confessions of a Teacher

As you have read here before, I think one of the noblest professions on this planet is that of a teacher. When you read "teacher," I assume you are thinking of a classroom teacher. That's essentially what I'm saying, though there are other types of instructors that I admire.

I have always held that view, even when I was just a student and had the highest regard for some of my own teachers—a Mr. Redmond. There were other types (=non-Redmond) that I have endured, and perhaps you have, too,

Now to be clear, I have absolutely no time for classroom teachers who abuse their power and influence over impressionable minds, indoctrinating them in areas that are hurtful and harmful. That would include any number of ideologies that run contrary to common decency, common sense, and common conventional thinking—and I'll leave it at that.

I have always admired (and even tried to emulate) those teachers who inspire, instruct, and illuminate, for the good of their students. But those who incite and confuse them in the face of the common good are not worthy of their vocation.

The above paragraphs could become a three-part series sometime, but I am taking a fairly simple approach, limiting my comments to this column.

I was a teacher for over a twenty-five years, running the gamut of full-time, part-time, and substitute. Over a span of forty years of working, teaching was only my third (of three) full-time vocations. That was because after I graduated from UBC with my B. Ed., the last job I wanted to do was teach.

It wasn't till twenty years after I graduated that I finally ended up in a classroom. I got the paper that said I was qualified to teach in 1977, but I found I needed twenty years of life experience to flesh that out. "Life experience" meant raising my own kids, living in a practical world (as opposed to a book-learning one), and being a student of the school of hard knocks, that rounded out my own education.

Technically, I am a "certified" teacher. That means I got the valid paperwork to teach; whether I was "qualified" to teach is another matter! Getting that paper does not mean I am a teacher by any means. It just means that I have taken the appropriate training to teach.

Now, having been out of the classroom for three years, I often reflect on my teaching career and wonder to myself: Was I ever any good at teaching? In what I thinks makes for a good teacher, I think so.

The so-called jury of students, parents, and colleagues, scattered from San Salvador (El Salvador) to Kamloops and Langley, (BC) to Bow Island and Medicine Hat, (AB), would have some say in that. I believe I would come through fine, with supporters and detractors in both sides.

By the way, my best years were right here in Bow Island, teaching at Cherry Coulee Christian Academy.

In addition to the degree and experience, there are many other qualities that are equally important to teaching. Enjoying being around kids is one. Patience is certainly a key ingredient. And I think a wide streak of creativity in methodology is up there.

For me, those so-called boxes didn't all check off, but I came fairly close. I liked most kids I taught, I struggled with patience betimes, and I was occasionally creative.

I have often thought of what made a good-to-great teacher when I was a student back in Richmond, BC. I remember fondly Mr. Redmond and Mrs. Matthews, in particular. I think their genuine warmth and kindness stand out in my mind. But in my case, if I were anything like them, my warmth would be more "heat," as in temper; and my kindness that could be construed for "weakness."

Looking back, I certainly measured up in what made for a good teacher. I still think my greatest training for the classroom was the responsibilities I had at home. With nine kids of my own, we pretty well had our own classroom! We all know that there are many habits and rules in the home that apply to the classroom.

With the recent election of the UCP, I sincerely hope that parental choice in education will be restored. This is vital in a healthy, balanced educational landscape. As there are many types of teachers (good, bad, and ugly), there are also many viable types of education models (public, charter, day, home, and everything in between).

And in all those models, parental involvement and choice is ideal, which brings me to where I really see the value in the private and home school options, each of which entail a high degree of parental involvement.

Me, a teacher? I would probably give myself a passing grade.