Thanks, Mom!

 Calvin Monty

Reprinted from the ATA News, volume 43, number 17, May 5, 2009.

Growing up in the small town of Wildwood meant that everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew (or thought they knew) everyone else’s business.

During my teen years, my three siblings and I had friends over often to eat dinner, watch TV and fix motorcycles—our house was like Grand Central Station. Some of our guests were teenagers who were not thought of highly by others in town. Some of these kids did misbehave, but, nonetheless, my mother greeted them, welcomed them into her home and treated them as if they were good. And in return, they were very good for her!

Mom would have our friends help her dig up and carry potatoes in from the garden, water flowers, carry groceries, and clear their plates and cutlery from the table. I would always hear: “Yes, Mrs. Monty,” “Please, Mrs. Monty,” “Thank you, Mrs. Monty,” “May I help you, Mrs. Monty?” This was amazing behaviour, because I didn’t think that some of these guys knew what manners were.

One evening at dinner, my mom asked me if the rumours she had heard about my friend John were true. I said yes, and immediately defended him. Mom sat and listened and never said a word. A few weeks later, my sister ran for Klondike Queen (Wildwood had its own little Klondike Days with penny tosses, gambling wheels, a parade and the crowning of the Klondike Queen). The winner of the Klondike Queen was the girl who sold the most raffle tickets.

One night, as my family counted the money my sister had collected from the sale of tickets, John stopped by to see if I could go out. I couldn’t, but my mother asked John if he wanted to help us count the money and tickets. My eyes bulged from their sockets. In no time, my mom had John rolling coins and counting bills. Mom asked him if he’d like to stop by the next evening to help us finish counting. A huge smile spread across his face and he said yes.

I was jealous whenever John and my brothers’ friends called my mother Mom and treated her with heaps of love and kindness—they would do anything for her. I would think, Hey, that’s my mom; go find your own! She, however, had more than enough love to go around. She treated my friends as though they were unquestionably good, and they went out of their way to meet her expectations.

Last April, I attended an international conference entitled “What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things That Matter Most.” The featured speaker, Dr. Todd Whitaker, a professor at Indiana State University, has published in the areas of teacher leadership, instructional improvement, and change and leadership effectiveness. The most important of Whitaker’s fourteen things that effective teachers do with their students is to “treat them as if they are good.”

My mother didn’t have a university degree and she never published anything, but she was the best teacher a child could have. Let us always remember to treat our students (and others) as if they are indisputably good, and they will meet our expectations.

Thanks, Mom!

Calvin Monty is principal of École Corinthia Park School, in Leduc.

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