Elementary education is what prepares youth for their high school and post-secondary endeavours. Grade 7 students are still figuring out who they are before they embark on their high school journeys and with an educator like David Twigg the transition is made much smoother.
Twigg began his teaching career at St. Jean de Brebeuf in 1991, after graduating from the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University in Kingston. He finds it hard to believe how fast time flies, and has been fortunate to spend his entire career in what he describes as “A wonderful, faith-filled school community.”
Twigg notes that he always enjoyed school, learning, and had many positive experiences in the classroom, with inspirational teachers of his own.
One teacher that stands out most to him was Valda Schaller, his high school history and Latin teacher.
“She was strict and demanding but in hindsight, she was teaching us the skills to be successful. It was during her classes, I learned the value of organization and being timely. Her courses were more about instilling a love of classical history and ancient civilizations, than the Latin language itself,” he described.
He recalls a grade 12 trip to Greece to see the ancient wonders of the world, where Schaller had purchased some clay pottery for a class lesson he will never forget.
“An unforgettable memory while there, was seeing Schaller buying a variety of clay pottery in an Athens market, only to see her later purposely smash the pottery into pieces,” he explained.
Her class was in disbelief at what she was doing. Schaller later explained that she was going to use the broken pieces and bury them in sand during a simulated archeological dig back at school.
“What a hands-on activity! It was from her that I learned that you have to be passionate about what you do and students will be engaged,” he said.
Throughout university, Twigg held summer jobs with Ontario Provincial Parks as a park interpreter. In this role, he presented educational programming to park visitors and also led the Junior Naturalist program with children.
“I enjoyed interacting and teaching the children. I thought it would be rewarding to pursue teaching as a career," he said.
One of his most memorable moments over the years, was when he helped his Grade 7 class with their production of Romeo and Juliet.
His class was filled with talented actors that year, and ended up creating two versions of the play with two different casts. They presented their work to parents in a dinner-theatre format over two nights.
He admits he had never organized such a large production before, and was blessed to have a class of very creative, self-directed learners.
His class even had one of the student’s fathers, play the musical score on the piano and a student’s mother help sew costumes from the Shakespearean era.
“It was such an amazing collaborative effort,” Twigg recalls.
Twigg expresses that “It’s very humbling to be recognized as having an impact on the students we teach. Teaching adolescents can be challenging and you sometimes don’t see the influence at that moment, but it’s when you run into former students in the future and they share their successes, that you realize that as teachers we make a difference.”
The one thing Twigg thinks is important to teach young students is the virtue of kindness.
“Kindness and manners never go out of style,” Twigg says, and that the world needs “A caring generation of young people that can work together to solve problems.”
What is special about this career to Twigg is that “Education is constantly changing and each student brings unique learning styles to the classroom.” He believes that teaching affords many opportunities for both creativity and resourcefulness to help meet every student’s individual needs. The classroom is a dynamic environment in which everyday is a new challenge. “It makes teaching exciting and rewarding!”
Twigg believes that “All students are ready to take on new ideas, knowledge and values in a caring, supportive environment.”
Being an Intermediate teacher, Twigg believes that it is important to encourage students to be independent learners as they sort through a variety of choices in their lives. He expresses that “Adolescence is a time of tremendous growth and it’s important to validate all the changes they are going through” to assist them in realizing that actions have consequences.
Twigg would describe his teaching style as structured. He believes routines help students be successful, organized and resourceful. Over the years he has drawn from a variety of educational resources to try and make lessons in the classroom as engaging as possible.
The best advice that Twigg gives to his students and young learners: “Value your education, as it will open the doors to a world of opportunity. I would encourage anyone to pursue a career you are going to enjoy. Be passionate about what you do in life and it won’t seem like work.”
