Teacher’s passion still resonates with Gord Hinse
EDMONTON ESKIMO REVEALS WHY HIS FAVOURITE TEACHER WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF HIS SCHOOL YEARS
The lessons Edmonton Eskimo Gord Hinse learned from his Grade 3/4 teacher Mrs. Sylvia Hartley still resonate with him today.
Hartley, who taught at St Gabriel School in Edmonton, “was big on language arts,” says Hinse. Although Hinse was a good reader as a young child, he didn’t really enjoy it: “Reading was something I did at school. It was a necessary evil – I did it because I had to, like all homework.”
After Hartley became his teacher, Hinse began reading because he wanted to. “She really got me realizing how much fun reading was, and how much I just loved to read books. I remember her being passionate about it, and I developed a passion for it too.”
Reading had benefits beyond entertainment. Hinse says, “I just got more comfortable with using the English language, more comfortable with reading, with understanding what I was reading, and using l anguage the way I wanted to.”
That ease with language stood Hinse in good stead in high school and especially in university. Hinse, who has a BA in Native studies from the University of Alberta, notes, “University isn’t easy. You have to study.”
When he first enrolled, Hinse “flunked out.” He says, “I didn’t know how to be a proper university student. Freedom kind of got away from me.”
Hinse went to King’s University College i n Edmonton for a year to upgrade his marks. He then returned to the U of A, enrolling in Native studies. “I fell in love with the faculty and what they were teaching. I found something
She really got me realizing how much fun reading was, and how much I just loved to read books. I remember her being passionate about it, and I developed a passion for it too.”
GORD HINSE, on his Grade 3/4 teacher Mrs. Sylvia Hartley
I loved and just committed to it.”
That hard work paid off: Hinse was an Academic All-Canadian for two years. “Even though I had a lot of success at the U of A with football, one of the things I am most proud of is getting that [designation] for two years in a row.”
Hinse, who played for the U of A Golden Bears for three years, graduated in 2012. Now in his fifth year in the CFL, he’s living his dream.
“I want to keep playing as long as I can. If I can play another five years that would be awesome,” he says, noting that the average football career lasts only three years.
Another goal is going on for more education, “because a lot of degrees combined with a Native studies degree are very valuable.”
“A lot of perseverance got me to where I am today,” Hinse says. “I had my sights set on where I wanted to be, and didn’t let anything get in my way.”