Few of us are able to look back on our formative years without reflecting on a teacher who played an integral role in the person that we’ve become today.
In many cases, it is our teachers who have inspired us to pursue the careers we’ve developed or helped us become the people we are. For many of us, teachers kindled an interest in a subject that eventually became a rewarding career. It is our teachers who created a love of learning that fostered a desire to expand our horizons. And it is our teachers who helped open our eyes and minds to people and ideas to which we might not otherwise have been exposed.
It is for those reasons and others that Black Press is once again partnering with Staples, with support from Camosun College, to recognize those passionate individuals who go above and beyond for their students. Each week the Gazette is highlighting the achievements of extraordinary educators in Greater Victoria as part of our Great Teachers celebration.
The passion for teaching shown by previous honourees – such as music director Andrea Blair from Gordon Head middle school and high school music director Jamie Davis from Spectrum – inspired past and present students and parents alike to nominate them with stories of admiration, respect and genuine affection.
We encourage you to get involved this year and recognize a teacher who has played an important role in your life or the life on someone you know. You’ll find a quick link to the Great Teachers nomination form at saanichnews.com/contests. There, readers can submit stories about the awesome teachers in their lives.
The nomination period closes May 29, and the three honourees for 2016 will be announced in June in a special supplement that will include the nomination letters. It’ll offer a chance to get a better sense of how these special individuals make an impact.
We hope you’ll join us in recognizing the achievements of those special teachers who devote so much time and effort to help our children reach their goals.