I miss my colleagues back in St. Thomas. They were a good crowd, always happy to help with a great attitude towards kids. Yeah, there were some turkeys in the mix. We had a principal that never should have left Grade Three, where I’m sure she was a competent teacher at one time, and a vice-principal that spent her days auditioning for the role of either Jack or Roger in Lord of the Flies, depending on whether or not there was a full moon that night.
But your colleagues are where where you live in this profession, and they are solid then you are going to have a good year no matter what else is going on. I was fortunate to have some really great colleagues in the course of my career, four of whom are pictured here at my “retirement” -lol! They have been settling in to another year in Ontario, just as I am getting mid-terms out the door in Malaysia, and I wish them all the best.
So to all of my colleagues back in St. Thomas, thank you all so much for being such a great group of teachers. Your dedication and your friendliness have always been such an encouragement to me, and I have so many fond memories of all our years together. If you ever get a hankering to experience what teaching is like on the other side of the world and think you might like to take a year’s leave of absence to find out, I would bend over backwards to help you to land a teaching job in Malaysia. Just log on to the link below for information on the Queen’s Job Fair in Kingston Ontario and fill iin the forms on the site. I would be happy to give you a hearty recommendation!
http://educ.queensu.ca/careers/torf/eligibility.html
Home Thoughts From Abroad 
September 13, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Steve, thanks for thinking of us. I certainly miss you as well. The first week back went very smoothly–for myself, I think it was the best back-to-school week I’ve ever had. As for your comments about admin, I will have to save that for an email. I still work in this board! 😉
September 14, 2009 at 10:16 am
Point well taken. I am so happy to be out of Thames Valley I forget that others need to be more careful. I will try to be more diplomatic in the future!
September 19, 2009 at 5:05 am
Just checking in. Forgot you had this site up. Hope all is well with your teaching. Im not going to lie, you three were the best teachers I had had by far. That says alot since I am now in grade 12 getting ready to graduate. You all made the classes enjoyable and knew how to put a smile on our faces. Keep up teh amazing work where ever you teach. -Lindsey Taggart
September 19, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Lindsay, it was nice of you to drop by. Teachers are well paid for what they do, but the bonus is hearing that we made a difference to someone’s life. Thank you for letting us know we made a difference, and all the best as you head out to university next year.