Sometimes, it takes a loss to realize the value of what we have, or the potential of what we can create.
When Greg Lawson died on Saturday after a battle with cancer, the loss reverberated throught the community. He’s not a mayor, member of Parliament or corporate owner. He did not shape legislation, build a high-rise, found a company or stir up controversy.
No, he taught children, one at a time, year after year, for 20 years in Parry Sound schools. He did so with dedication, learning about each boy and girl – their hopes dreams and aspirations, or their hurdles, trauma and debilitations.
He taught them to overcome the latter, strive for the former. Because, reading and arithmetic aside, that’s what the greatest teachers do.
We’re fortunate to have so many great teachers in our school system. While we face the controversy of provincial Bill 115, and its potential repeal, amid teacher protests and labour unrest, we can all become carried away by the complexities of politics and bargaining.
What remains the essense of a good education system, are good teachers. It’s so very simple, and yet so very complex as those who shape such a system must provide what teachers need, within financial means. Legislators and labour leaders must each fight for what is right, and what is fair.
All the while, they have to avoid eroding the inspiration and dedication of every teacher, every Greg Lawson in the making. More than that, they have to create and maintain an environment in which a Greg Lawson can thrive – without the burden of too much bureaucracy, too many standards or overwhelming restrictions.
Greg Lawson is only one. And yet the outpouring of support shown by students of all ages shows how much one person, one teacher, can make a difference.
He leaves behind lives changed, shaped, inspired. But hopefully he also leaves behind a reminder.
Picture him doing a birthday dance on a desk, most likely besmirching some sort of rule about such things. Imagine him dancing on behalf of all of us, motivating us all to become the best teachers we can possibly be, and allow our friends, neighbours, staff and co-workers to do the same.
That’s how we can all make a difference that will last a lifetime, or several.