Every student represents a success story waiting to be told, a B.C. educator told a national congress on rural education in Saskatoon.
Tom Hierck, assistant superintendent of the Sunshine Coast school district in Gibsons, B.C., said he believes in building positive relationships with children.
“If we can continue to focus on the relationship end of things, that’s what’s going to drive the success.… Once we build that piece, it’s easier to do all the other great academic stuff,” he said March 30.
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The former teacher and principal, who taught high school science and math before moving into special education and distance education, focused on the opportunities and impact that anyone in the education system can make in students’ lives.
He said educators need to focus more on nurturing students’ individual talents, abilities, interests and passions. Fostering strong academics should not trump nurturing students.
Hierck said educators have a re-sponsibility to every child to create hope.
“When we eliminate hope, we create desperation. All of us, regardless of where you’re living today in Canada or the United States, we see the horror stories, we see some of the headline grabbers and it’s not the fault of the media. It’s a byproduct of what’s going on right now,” he said.
“The more desperation we create because we’ve eliminated all those positive avenues, the more likely it is people make poor choices.”
Hierck said educators should not be discouraged because every day provides an opportunity to help at least one student.
“Even if I get it wrong today, I get a chance to go back tomorrow. I’m a teacher and I make a difference. It’s a message I think teachers need to hear over and over. They are the difference makers. Sometimes we get caught looking for the huge turnarounds and often times, it’s in a more quiet, subtler mode.”
Hierck said it comes down to relationships.
“Nobody remembers the fabulous lesson where we learned how to conjugate French verbs. They remember the person who took their time, who was there.”
Congress chair Brian Keegan said the event, now in its 15th year, focuses on rural education and bringing together educators from across Canada interested in sharing ideas and networking.
“The key focus of why people are here is how can they make sure that there’s a quality education delivered in the communities that are more rural and maybe perhaps smaller schools,” he said.
