Teaching good training for a prime minister
I remember well that as a teacher-trainee in the 1960s, I was, to echo the recent Conservative anti-Trudeau campaign, “just not ready.” No new teacher is really ready and those who think they are ready, by definition, are not.
Becoming a teacher, as I learned, involves years of experience, some very good days punctuated by more than a few not-so-good days.
So what about our new ex-teacher Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who taught math, French, humanities and drama between 1999 and 2002 at an elite Vancouver private school, West Point Grey Academy, as well as at a public school, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary?
What skills could an ex-teacher (and a drama teacher at that) bring to the leadership of our country? If Trudeau proves to be ready, notwithstanding anything else in his background, will his experience as a teacher be part of his preparation for the highest office in Canada?
Let’s think about what we know about successful teachers.
The most successful drama teachers with whom I worked all displayed predictable characteristics. First, they all had the ability to develop co-operative relationships. Teaching drama always involved the ability to take diverse individuals and have them work closely together for a prolonged period on a common goal that would then be subject to public scrutiny and appraisal. Not a bad skill for a prime minister. But the very best drama teachers shared a common characteristic with all great teachers, especially publicschool teachers at any grade level of any subject: They took all who came under their care and treated them equally, regardless of background or socio-economic class.
Imagine a leader whose only demand on the collective was that they respect the process and others’ contribution to that process.
The great teachers are the ones willing to take the weak as well as the strong and say to them: “Come with me and I will make you great. Trust me, because I trust you. Together we will reveal a potential within you that even you do not know you possess.”
When I think about those characteristics, having a former teacher as our prime minister begins to make sense.
And what kind of a teacher was Trudeau? Reddit is an entertainment, social networking and news website. It is essentially an online bulletinboard system and recently invited posts from people who had experienced Trudeau as a teacher.
His students remember him as flexible, imaginative and, above all, effective beyond the confines of the basic curriculum.
“He was our substitute French teacher,” wrote one “and I remember the day 9/11 occurred … every other teacher in the school just kept right on teaching, but he told us it was not a day for that and instead we talked about the global ramifications of that event and how we thought and felt about it. He reminded us not to judge a group based on the actions of a few extremists.”
Another common characteristic shared by all successful classroom teachers is that they personify a culture of respect that flows in every direction: teacher to students, students to teacher, students to students, and everyone to guests.
Beyond classroom teaching, successful teachers nearly always demonstrate positive relationships with other adults.
People who have never worked in schools underestimate the amount of time that teachers spend with other adults in the school. Relationships with other teachers, administrators and parents are a big part of the job.
Great teachers, like great leaders of any kind, from school principals to prime ministers, don’t work in isolation — there is always a degree of genuine humility expressed by a willingness to depend on colleagues as a source of information and advice.
I mentioned the steep learning curve I had faced in my first teacher practicum.
Educational theory backed by 16 years in school as a student was all well and good, but standing there facing a class of 30 or so Grade 11 boys, I knew that philosophy would not get me through the next hour or so — especially as my university supervisor was about to walk in the door and observe.
“Don’t worry about it, sir. We’ve got it covered,” said one young man. “When you ask a question, if we know the answer, we’ll raise the right hand; if not, the left hand. Either way, you get a really responsive class.”
No doubt, Trudeau will remember that, as a teacher, the best advice sometimes comes from the most unlikely sources.