Skip to content

Back-to-school memories of favourite teachers

Teachers have a profound influence on our lives. They show us everything from how to construct a proper sentence to how to treat other people.
chalkboard_290

Teachers have a profound influence on our lives. They show us everything from how to construct a proper sentence to how to treat other people. In honour of the first few weeks of school, reporter Heidi Ulrichsen asked some Sudburians about their favourite teachers.

Cory McPhee , manager of public and government affairs for Inco. Ltd.

MCPHEE It was John Goodwin. John was my journalism professor at Cambrian College. My time there was really what started my career that led to where I am now, and I really appreciate the effort that John put in to helping shape the students that were studying under him.

John was a very soft-spoken man, and he seemed to have a lot of experience in the field. He was very fair and very measured. I never saw him lose his cool. But he was also very tough.

There were certain rules that you had to abide by in journalism school, such as if you spell someone's name wrong you automatically get zero. But they were good rules and necessary rules because you can't afford to make those mistakes when you're out practicing your craft in the real world.

Mike Foligno , head coach and general manager of Sudbury Wolves

FOLIGNO  Mr. Maccorito from Lasalle Secondary School. He taught gym and health. He was very conversational and made you feel really welcomed. He made you feel like he really cared about you as an individual. He gave me good direction.
He expected our best every time. In a gym class, especially being athletes, we kind of got to think that we knew it all. But at the same time he expected discipline and his students to behave in a certain way. In health class he expected us to have really good grades.


 

Gary Kinsman , social activist and professor of sociology at Laurentian University


KINSMAN

If there were two particular people that influenced me the most, it was when I was doing graduate studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto.

One of them was Dorothy Smith, one of the foremost feminist sociologists in Canada. She was also my thesis supervisor. The other person was Phillip Corrigan. He was also quite an influential professor for me. This was all in the 1980s, which were the formative years of my intellectual perspective and activist commitment.

What they showed me was that you could do work in the university setting that was relevant to changing the world and was about producing knowledge for people involved in social movements and activism.

Roger Strasser , dean of Northern Ontario School of Medicine

STRASSER The favourite teacher that springs to mind helped me with my family medicine residency - Dr. Michael Brennan. He took every opportunity to push me and stretch me and encourage me to learn more and improve and strengthen my knowledge and skills.


That was combined with an enthusiasm and energy, which was infectious, really. I learned from him how to be a caring, compassionate family doctor.

I also had another teacher around the same time who I learned research from - Dr. Martin Bass. I didn't think I was all that interested in research, but he taught me how to be a researcher. He had this infectious enthusiasm for research which would turn a dinner party conversation into a research project.

Andre Rivest , Greater Sudbury city councillor

RIVEST I liked all my teachers, to tell you the truth. But one that inspired me was Francois Bradley. He taught at Ecole Secondaire Hanmer. He was a science teacher. His teaching skills got me so intrigued with science that I proceeded with my science studies. I did four years at Laurentian in sciences.


You couldn't get lost with him. He led his students exactly where he had to. There were no questions. I fully understood all the time. He was a people person with high school students.

Tony Anselmo , owner of Records on Wheels and chair of Downtown Sudbury

ANSELMO Mr. Pearson. He wasn't one of my teachers. He just taught at the high school I went to - Sheridan Tech (now Sudbury Secondary School). He had an ear and he would listen. I found a lot of other teachers back in those day were too wound up in their own world and didn't listen to kids. Whenever I had a problem or something was bothering me I could go in there.


He wasn't even a guidance counsellor. He was just an all-round good guy. He taught machine shop. I was in the arts program. But here I am going to a guy who was a shop teacher. I modelled myself after him by being a listener too. I handle situations pretty similar to him with an open-door concept. If you've ever been in my store, it's the corner talk place.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.