Way back in the middle of my career as a teacher I was working at a Catholic school teaching math to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. It was an enjoyable time when I felt that I was giving back to the kind of education that I enjoyed when I was a young girl. The school had been losing students and had begun to feel rundown but a new principal had turned things around. In fact, she had reached out to recruit me at a time when I was rather content with my job in a public school.
When I told her that I was not in the market for a change in my work she asked me to just come by for a discussion in which she would explain the kind of dynamic that she was attempting to build in the school. So without any thought that I would change my mind I went to see her as a kind of courtesy. It had been a Catholic school that provided me with my first job after graduation when nobody was hiring. I wanted to at the very least give the principal a moment of my time.
The principal was a tiny woman bursting with energy and enthusiasm about her role. By the end of her pitch I had decided that I really wanted to work for her and so I reluctantly turned in my resignation at the school where I had been contentedly teaching for three years. Happily from day one I knew that I had made the right choice. The atmosphere of the place was in keeping with my own philosophies about how to educate young men and women.
The school had certain traditions that I also found to be enticing. One was a yearly International Festival, a gala created and presented by the teachers and students. The idea was that each teacher would draw the name of a country and then create a learning experience for anyone who game for the event.
I was quite excited about the prospect of teaching my homeroom students about a place in the world that may not have been particularly familiar to any of us. I knew that we would have to create a booth with artifacts and information, plan a food festival in the classroom and produce some kind of entertainment that would embody the spirit of whatever country’s name was written on the folded piece of paper that I pulled form the box.
I suppose that I was initially a bit disappointed when I excitedly looked a the name of the country that would be the focus of my students. On the piece of paper was the single word “Canada.” Somehow it did not feel particularly exotic or exciting but I knew that I had to help my students come up with ideas about how to proceed. In the end it would become one of the most enriching experiences of my life.
Almost immediately a student stepped up and told me that his mother was friends with a woman from Canada who had an extensive collection of Canadian artifacts. After a quick phone call the woman immediately agreed to loan us her treasures for our booth. A trip to her home revealed a trove of items that seemed to have come from a museum. These were unique and valuable treasures that the woman eagerly loaned to me and my students along with detailed explanations about what they all were and how they related to Canadian history and culture. She seemed to be delighted to share her collection with the students who also felt as excited as I did when they realized what we would have to show as we educated the rest of the school about Canada.
Next we met as a class to decide what kind of food to present in our classroom restaurant. Several of the students had already done some research and insisted that having a tea time with Canadian tea and biscuits would be the most appropriate way to go. Of course maple syrup had to be somehow featured as well.
For the entertainment the students came up with an hilarious skit about a Canadian Mountie who saved a damsel in distress from a terrible villain. We were set to go and only needed to shored up our knowledge of Canada and practice the skit.
On the day of the event everyone was ready and every aspect of our efforts was a hit. The crowds around our booth were amazing as students and their families and friends got a close up look at wood carvings, brilliantly colored blankets, native artistry, and stunning artwork. There was a long waiting line for the tea time as my students dressed in finery poured tea into delicate china cups and served maple and lemon cookies on silver trays. In the grand finale of entertainment the skit received a standing ovation. At the end of the day my homeroom was presented with first price for their efforts.
We were all over the moon but I reminded the students that without the artifacts and continued guidance of the sweet woman from Canada it is doubtful that our offerings would have been so unique. We all understood that she had to share in our glory and so every one of my students wrote a heartfelt letter of appreciation to her which I delivered when I returned her treasures.
I suppose that since that time I have felt a special connection with Canada. I have gone to visit there many times and found the people to be more inviting than anywhere else I have been. In fact they seem to go out of their way to make me feel welcome.
With the new trade wars and insults that our president has initiated against Canada I have felt a bit of shame. I know the people there to be our friends and neighbors. They are also generous and somehow turning on them in this way has felt so wrong. I hope that this insult will soon be rectified. In the meantime I have attempted to show my support for Canada by purchasing goods from there. It is a small effort but one with a message however mute it may seem to be.
Canada is a really good neighbor. I know this to be so true. It is time we offer an apology and attempt to regain the trust and kinship that has been there for so long. At the same time that great lake that bleeds into both Canada and the United States will always be Lake Ontario for me. Being silly and insulting to Canada simply cannot stand. The very idea of it is wrong.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 