There are many different types of parenting. Mine was... not a type at all. I have been asked a few times, about how I got my boys to this point. Get ready for an upside down world!
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I owe a lot to this man. See a young Dylan facing the camera with a huge grin? All because of this teacher. See the children clinging to him? It was grade six graduation, and he was leaving the school to go teach at another, somewhere in a smaller country town, along with his wife. Despite the 'no contact' policy, despite any other PC rules, no one could stop those kids that day from climbing all over him, and hanging off him, in an effort to prolong his departure.
He taught me - as a parent - a lot of things. About screwing the system and the curriculum and the one-size-fits-all approach and seeing each kid as an individual, with different skill sets and different patterns of learning, let alone differences in developmental stages.
He screwed the system. Every kid was important to him, not as a part of the class, but as a person in their own right. Dylan's final year of Primary School was a major turning point for him. See, this teacher recognised Dylan's affinity with computers and pretty much left him alone for the year, sitting all day, almost every school day, in front of one of the few computers in his classroom. Now you might consider this irresponsible, Dylan missing out on other aspects of the curriculum. Funny thing is, my boy won the top Academic award for his final year, a most coveted Scholarship, and was admitted to the Accelerated Program in High School. All because of this one man.
He was young, he was enthusiastic and he was eccentric. In a world where male teachers - in this country at least - are a vanishing breed, he served as an admirable role model and left a lasting impact on many young lives. He was impulsive, often taking the kids out of the classroom and just walking the street observing people, or sitting under a tree and chatting about all manner of subjects beyond the curriculum. He 'horsed around' playing with the kids, being a kid himself, or he gathered them around him and played the guitar, as they chose songs and sand along with him.
He cared. Look at his face. He loved each and every one of his young charges and they loved him back. His face always had a smile, no matter the troubles outside of the classroom.
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Here's another photo. Look at those young faces and the adoration shown him. Look at the kid crying, gripping his hand. Many tears were shed that day, boys and girls alike when it was time for final goodbyes. Graduation took second place to this one man, this teacher who captured young imaginations and nurtured each one, and made each student a better person, for having known him.
