I was out driving to an appointment today and noticed quite a few groups of students out on field trips and it reminded me of a conversation I'd had with my neighbor Carrie, who is a grade school teacher, that the school year is winding down and made me think of teachers I've had in the past who left an impression on me.
My grade three teacher Mr. Horn was the first of several who saw something in me and didn't give up when I wasn't quite ready to be the student I could be. Given that I work with numbers on a daily basis it might come as a bit of a surprise to learn I hated math with a passion, so much so that I had convinced myself that I was too stupid to do basic multiplication tables. Luckily for me Mr. Horn harbored no such illusions and spent countless hours helping me learn my math and also instilled in me a sense of self confidence to tackle things as they come up and not hide behind a self proclaimed ignorance.
Mrs. Mienke from grade six encouraged my love of the written word through writing stories and my thoughts down in a journal and reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I think this blog is partially her doing as it goes back to those days when things at home were not going as well as they should have been and I would express my anger and fears in my journal rather than hold them inside where they would fester and make a preteen into a bitter teen. I'm happy to say that my son has followed this pattern by writing his own stories and using books to explore the world around him, without the issues that made me do that many years ago.
In high school it was Mr. Schwandt who offered me an outlet and set me on my future when he talked me into talking primary accounting in grade 11. Again with the numbers right lol Mr. Schwandt was going through a very bitter divorce and custody battle for his daughter but not once did he let those feelings effect how he taught his business classes nor the words of encouragement he had for every one of his students. It was him who made me think I could not only succeed at university but continue onto pursue a graduate degree when the time was right.
I was one of literally hundreds or thousands of students each of these teachers had in a class and I wonder if they ever knew the incredible impact they had on us and especially this man as he transitioned from grade school onto high school and further into life as a man.
We call people hero for a lot of reasons. Some spend hours with our children helping them learn, some wear the badge of a police officer, the stethoscope of a doctor or nurse, some respond to accidents in an ambulance, and some wear a uniform and man the watch at all hours of the night safeguarding us from those who would do us harm.
I've been fortunate enough to date one such woman and had several other hero's make a positive impact on my life through simple acts of kindness.
So next time you see someone you consider a hero take a moment and smile at them and say thank you. It's not much but I bet it will make them smile back at you.
Marcus
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