Another Level

So our beloved football team in the province, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, did the unthinkable and managed to obtain the coveted Grey Cup for the 2007 football season. Now you might be thinking, "what does this have to do with teaching?" Well the scenario is like this. After the game a group of us decided to jump in the car and head downtown to take part in all the celebrating and displays of Rider pride that have been building up for the past 18 years. We were sitting in traffic when all of a sudden two young men came running up between the cars wearing some shorts, a t-shirt and waving a Roughrider flag. Now this was nothing out of the ordinary, as far as that night went, but when one of the the young gentleman came closer he sort of hesitated for a minute and made eye contact with me. Well if it isn't one of my students. I could tell he didn't know what to do and was waiting to see what my reaction would be. Of course my teacher thinking kicked in and I thought, "ok, what is the appropriate thing to do?" But then something kicked in and I went with my human instinct to share in the recent fortune and common victory that was our capture of the Grey Cup. So I proceeded to roll down my window, reach out my hand for a high-five and yell out a "GO RIDERS!" Is it possible that a communities love for a team or a sport can transcend the lines between teacher and student. For a moment I wasn't the "teacher" and he wasn't the "student", we were equals, tied to our common bond of cheering and supporting a team that is interwoven with our culture and community. When I saw the young man the next day in class he shot an awkward smile my way and I winked and smiled back. The question still rolls around in my head, "should I have been more professional?" Looking back I wouldn't have changed anything. If we want to build relationships with students we have show who we really are and allow ourselves and them to show some vulnerability without fear of judgment or repercussion. If this one moment in time, where we shared something as equals, opens up the opportunity for a student to feel more comfortable with opening up and communicating then all I have to say is, GO RIDERS GO!

John Gormley on winning "the Cup"