Originally posted on February 7, 2024

I remember my first day of Graphic Arts 10 at Walter Murray. Our teacher took us on a tour of the various rooms to show us all the equipment that we’d learn to use in his class. I was so afraid to touch anything after that day. Probably because he introduced everything a little like this:

“You see this machine? This is where you’ll expose your screen printing gels. Don’t lift up the lid too fast though or it will explode. If that should happen, please clean up your blood, then come to my office and I’ll call 911 for you.”

Eventually though, we learned everything we needed to know to get started and half of us began working on our first screen printing projects and the other half were developing their first roll of film. For many of us, a life long love of photography developed – pun intended!

As I walked through the crowds of teachers on 8th Street today protesting the provincial government’s education cuts and low teacher wages, it was hard for me to forget those first days of learning photography. So many family photos that have gone up in people’s houses happened because a teacher taught me how to take a picture. Photos taken by me that have ended up in various newsletters and websites are thanks to a passion that grew from a teacher giving me permission to be creative in a way I never knew before.

The truth is that I owe a lot to teachers. My life long passions for music as well as photography are due to having the opportunity to learn and explore them in school. My family couldn’t afford private music lessons or a personal darkroom so I had to rely on teachers.

So when teachers say that something is wrong or that they need something in their schools and classrooms, I support them. That’s not to say that I’m completely uncritical about public education. I’ve had my fair share of problems and problem teachers throughout my educational career and feel that they’re are issues that need to be addressed but overall, teachers deserve everything they need to do their jobs. Everyday, they are, in some way or another, shaping humans into the people they will become and that’s powerful. Since I’ve started teaching music, I’ve gotten a taste of this and I’ve found a new level of respect for those who spend their days educating the next generations.

Here are some of the pictures I took this morning.