Interviewing my teachers at Montcalm Secondary School gave me an opportunity to learn some different perspectives and approaches to teaching as well as reflect on my own experience as a student and think about what my teachers meant to me for all the of the things they have done for me. It was a pleasure to meet with some of the teachers who have had an influence in my life as supportive and encouraging mentors. I spent the most time interviewing my old French teacher who was also my high school guidance councilor. For privacy reasons I will refer to them as my guidance councilor.

      One of the things that interested me most about Montcalm was the sense of community that the school has, and this was mainly created by the friendly and familiar atmosphere the teachers have cultivated. The teachers at Montcalm are much closer to each other compared to other schools. The teachers are friends with each other and this has really created a sense of family and made all the teachers easily approachable. I had asked my guidance councilor if they thought that this observation was important or beneficial to teaching within the school; they replied explaining that they do think that it is important, not only because it is important to get along with others and your co-workers, but because it is a good way to model relationships and teamwork for the students. As a student at the school, I reflected on how this sense of community and family and I realized that I still find it very easy and welcoming to return to the school because the school has always felt safe. If I end up teaching in a school, I also hope to work in the same kind of environment and cultivate the same sense of community and security for my students; I continued by asking for advice on how would one connect with other teachers. Their simple response was to just use natural social skills to make friends and approach and share interests with others to find common interests. Everything else comes naturally as long as you create genuine friendships.

      Next I brought up a discussion of music. I was curious to know how non-music teachers felt about teaching music in schools or how important or beneficial they think it is for the students. To my surprise, my guidance councilor had actually played up to grade 8 piano when they were growing up. They explained that they think that music is wonderful in many ways in terms of learning because of the many transferable skills learning music provides. Learning music creates good habits of work ethic and practice, and they believe music is often a good outlet for students to express themselves whether it is artistically or emotionally. As a guidance councilor, they are a strong support in helping students in emotionally, not just academically. They believe music is really good for improving mental health, whether you are creating music or just listening to music. As someone who had a lot of mental health struggles, I can really resonate and confirm those sentiments. Music has always been a great outlet for me and music was one of the things I really felt I still had going for me during the peaks of my struggle. This was one of the reasons I had chose to go into music. I had asked if they continue to play the piano or create music; they do not, so I asked if they wish they still did. They told the story that they were mostly forced into learning piano by their parents and had become fed up with continuing as a teenager. Looking back, they do wish they could come back to learn and play again. I've heard from my music teachers that people who had given up music to pursue something else often wish they could return and create music again. I found this interesting, and I can imagine how they feel when I think about a future if had not gone into music. I think I would have a feeling of emptiness if I gave up singing, so it makes me kind of glad that I had decided to pursue my voice in the end.

      Another topic we discussed was how teaching had changed and effected their parenting, specifically being a guidance councilor. Teaching teaches the teacher to be more open-minded I think. I think teachers have to be open to accepting when a student has decided to go down their own path, and that teachers have an important job guiding students to find that path. Teachers have to tread that careful line between guiding the student choosing their path for them. In my opinion, its important that we don't impose too many of our own personal values and instead try to give unbiased guidance as best as we can so that the student ultimately makes the choice. Naturally, this would transfer into how someone raises their children and allows them to become much more open minded having the experiences of a teacher for many students, which was something I never had considered before. I already have a lot of respect for teachers, but I think I have discovered a new level of respect for teachers.

      The thing that was most appearent to me was that, not just my guidance teachers, but all of my teachers are still very supportive of me. They were happy to see the progress I've made not only in school, but in life and were all extremely welcoming and that really reminded me of the sense of community within that school. I was actually asked to come in and talk to the current vocal music class about what its like to be a part of the music faculty at Western. The experience felt inclusive rather than intrusive and I was happy to be able to have that bit of time share my experience.