Memories 8: Grade 6 / age 11

My teacher in grade 6 was different, he was passionate in a way that was completely unknown to me.  He approached everything with such gusto and enthusiasm and he was both authentic and inspiring.  In Mr. Hoy's class I felt like I could and would do anything I wanted with my life.  We were in grade 6, and we still had a circle time.  We sat on the floor at the front of the room and talked about current events and Mr. Hoy would read to us, we got minor marks for participation, but that wasn't why everyone participated.

Even the "tough" kids spoke up when it was their turn; one time it was this guy Tim's turn to share a current event and he obviously hadn't prepared, eventually he blurted out "The Blue Jays Won the World Series", even though it had happened months ago.  We all laughed and its actually a fond memory, but my point, he participated.

Mr. Hoy was observant, he was the first teacher to notice that I didn't know my times tables (remember back in grade 3 when all we did was play?) and send me to learning assistance.  Very early in the year, he seated me next to a boy who had downs syndrome.  Jaime was a year older than me and a very sweet guy.  He loved Wrestling (WWF), The Canucks and playing basketball and he loved to chat and tell stories.  He also angered easily and threw chairs on a whim; most of the other kids just seemed to aggravate him.

We sat together for most of the year, although other kids might have, I never saw it as a bad thing.  It made sense to me that I, who enjoyed Jaime's company (for the most part) should sit with him.  When I was around, I was respectful and kind and so was he, which meant far fewer outbursts, which is truly better for everyone.

Jaime taught me about respect, about acceptance and about seeing a person for WHO they are; truly taking the time to try and feel their feelings, live their experiences and understand their perspective.  When you do that, judgment becomes much more difficult.  My Mom started that lesson very young, but Jaime exemplified it for me. 

This is post 8/15 and is part of Mommy's Piggy Tales

Make sure you check out all the other great posts here!