I entered
grade seven an awkward and unsure adolescent. That was when I met my physical
education teacher. Our first class began with Mr. Mair initiating his new crop
of students with a three kilometer run to the highway and back to the school. As
I jogged amongst my peers I remember thinking, “I’m going to hate this class.”
When we got back Mr. Mair pulled me aside and asked for
my name. After I told him he said, “Stefano, I know you can run faster than what
I just saw. I bet you’re the fastest runner in this group. You just don’t think
you are.” Now I knew I was going to
hate this class.
A few days later we had our second gym class, which began
with a run to the highway and back. (This was to be a theme until the snow
started to fall). This time, before I ran, Mr. Mair tapped me on the shoulder
and reminded me of his previous comments. I ended up coming in second! I
couldn’t believe it. I felt pretty good. I beat everyone except Dalton. And who
could beat Dalton anyway? That’s when Mr. Mair reminded me that I was the fastest runner in the class. Six weeks
later I was coming in first every time, often thirty seconds ahead of Dalton.
Later that year Mr. Mair convinced me to try out for the
school basketball team. I ended up the only grade seven student to make the
team. He encouraged me to start cross-country running. He had me help organize
sports activities at noon hour. He even found me a job assistant coaching an
elementary basketball team.
Mr. Mair’s influence took me from a runner in the crowd to
the leader of the pack. Nine months later, at the school track meet, I entered
all eleven events. I won the gold for my age category and broke seven school
records – 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, 1500 meter, 100 meter
hurdles and high jump. The interesting thing is that Mr. Mair didn’t train me.
He simply believed in me, helped me believe in myself, and gave me opportunities.
The following year I finished grade eight and won the school
award for both “Athlete of the Year” and “Citizen of the Year.” Granted, we
were a small country school, but it felt great to beat out everyone from grade
seven to twelve. I also won the perfect attendance award, but I’ve never found
this one much of a bragging point. J
Mr. Mair left New Sarepta after my grade eight year. I
only had two years with him. As far as I was concerned, no gym teacher would measure
up. Mr. Mair taught me confidence, perseverance and leadership, and not just in
sports. What he taught me transferred over into the way I have tried to live.
One teacher can have such an impact on the life a student. Mr. Mair was that
teacher for me.
A few years ago I decided track down my old gym teacher
and let him know the effect he had on me. I found him at another school and fired
off this email:
John Mair, (Dec. 7, 2006, 2:48pm)
I have wanted to do this for a long
time and have finally gotten around to it. I just wanted to thank you for the
impact you made on my life when I was a scrawny junior high boy at New Sarepta
(1987/1988) when I was in grades 7 and 8. You probably do not realize how much
you helped me believe in myself and gain self-confidence by encouraging me to
run and play basketball and telling me I was better at these things than I
thought I was. Your pushing and believing in me influenced me greatly and
spilled over into my life in general. I just wanted to write you and say
thanks. I am currently 33 years old and married. I have three preschool kids. I
am the lead pastor at Greenfield Baptist church in Edmonton and have been at
this church for six years now. Anyway, I just wanted to send this your way and
hopefully give you a bit of encouragement. I don’t know if you even remember
who I am, but that is ok. Just be encouraged in your work!!! It is good to see
that you are still teaching and influencing teens. Sincerely, Stefano Piva.
I received back the following
response:
Dear Stefano (Dec. 8, 2006, 12:56pm)
What a great surprise to get your
email yesterday! It was so nice to hear from you. I often think back to my days
at Sarepta (with great fondness) and wonder what ever happened to ……. Good to
see you are doing important work, work that I am certain you have a great
passion for.
I do remember our days out in the
fields of Sarepta or in the gym at noon hour or in PE class. It was and still
is a pleasure teaching students like yourself. It’s what makes my job enjoyable.
I am now teaching in Beaumont. I have
one Social Studies 9 class and the rest of my day is spent as an assistant
principal. It has been a great school to be at. I have coached just about
everything (volleyball, basketball, football, track and currently curling!) My
kids are now 22 and 20 and going to university and my wife is still teaching
too, in Sherwood Park.
Great to hear from you, Stefano. I
really appreciate your kind words. I do hope our paths will cross again. Best
of luck in your work. Merry Christmas, John.
Who was a teacher/mentor that made a significant impact on
your life? How?
I have two teachers that came to mind right away.
ReplyDeleteThe first was my Humanities 10 teacher, Mr. Westlake. He was a really interesting teacher who looked for creative ways to teach students who learned differently. We often had choices for projects and even how we wrote our exams. He was so personable and made great connections with students. My friend Sana and I often visited him for a chat after we finished grade 10. He was always encouraging, always treated us as equals, and had the gift of gab. He was probably the single biggest influence for why I went into teaching and I still consider him the best teacher I ever had. I was never able to tell him that, because the week I went in to let him know that I was in teaching school, I found out that he had retired the week before. Maybe now I'll have to track him down. He also challenged me in my reading and writing levels - before his class, I was thinking about studying sciences!
The other teacher is Miss Nabata. She was my Art 12 and Writing 12 teacher. I've mentioned her before because she collects toy bears and is a unique soul, but she was also a very important person in my life in high school and beyond because she let me volunteer in her classes when I was working on my undergrad and had hopes to be a teacher. We get along so well and she always pushed me to try new things in Art class and even with student teaching. Plus, she was hysterical and made classes so fun. I'm so thankful for her mentorship as I trained to be a teacher!!
My Greatest Mentor was Pastor Eduardo
ReplyDeleteI've been through tough times when I was in high school and he was always been there for me. He was the one that also encourage me that serving God is the most fulfilling passion you can do in this world. since High school I always want to be a Pastor, though it is not the path where the Lord put me at right now. I believe that it always never too late to reach for your dream in life. I am also grateful for Pastor Stef, you're empowering message gives us encouragement on how to live a fruitful and Christ-like life in this world. serving God is a privilege and being part of a great community is a blessing. Hope and pray that someday God will calls me to that dream I have as a speaker of hope and encouragement for Him. God bless everyone.
Who comes to mind is my violin teacher, Mr. Fraser. He a hard task master tapped my fingers if I did not have them placed correctly. Because he was so tough and well respected by others, I valued his opinion of me. I being disciplined and a hard worker, meant our personalities meshed, too. At one point, forever remembered by me, he said that my ability was on par with our concert mistress, she a tremendous talent. He figured if I kept working hard, I could reach her level. For a 15 minute lesson a week, my only time with him, and those words being something not realized because of my parents divorce, it is amazing that even the potential that he saw, gave me confidence for other tasks in life.
ReplyDeleteWe never know which words will impact another, some for good and some for bad. This is why we need to watch our words and encourage others.
(Veronica Milton - Wagner, Concert Mistress of the Victoria Schools Symphony was amazing, playing Scheherazade and Capriccio Español with finesse even in Grade 12- she the reason we achieved 100% at music festivals. Roni played professionally all of her life...many from that orchestra did. She just passed away and was put to rest at the beginning of April.)