COLUMN: Viewpoint – Reflecting on school in Steinbach

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/09/2023 (998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

School starts this week and we are fortunate to have such a dedicated and professional team of educators ready to open their Manitoba classrooms to our children. A number of teachers who guided me through my Steinbach school years stand out in my mind because of their positive impact on my life.

I moved to Steinbach when I was in Grade 3 and attended classes in the tall white wooden Kornelson School building which stood where the current City Hall is located. Mary Kihn was my teacher and despite having a class of 40 students she made me feel special and helped me adjust to a new town and new classmates. I loved the colored pegs she kept in her husband’s old tobacco tins. I finally understood math problems when I used those pegs to figure them out. One of our projects with Mrs. Kihn was to compile a class book of our families’ favourite recipes. We sold the books to raise money for the Red Cross.

Esther Toews was my Grade 4 teacher at Kornelson School and she encouraged us to memorize poetry. Sixty years later I can still recite the entire ballad The Song My Paddle Sings by Emily Pauline Johnson thanks to Miss Toews.

I loved my Grade 5 teacher at Southwood School Helmuth Klassen. He taught us how to stage debates and we made these huge plaster of paris maps of Canada. We discussed current events in class and it was Mr. Klassen who first gave me the idea I was a real writer. He took a story I wrote for him about a storm we had in Steinbach down to The Carillon and asked them to put it in the paper. They did!

In 1966-1967 I was at Woodlawn School and Melvin Toews was my Grade 7 teacher. He published a magazine at his own expense about Canada’s 100th birthday. The magazine had stories in it written by every single one of his students. We studied medieval history in grade seven and Mr. Toews staged a medieval banquet with us. We all dressed up like lords and ladies to attend. I can still remember the pale blue floor length gown my mother found for me to wear.

In high school I struggled mightily in mathematics class and if it hadn’t been for the extra help and endless patience of teachers Alfred Penner in Grade 10 and Tony Rempel in Grades 11 and 12 I never would have passed my final math exams.

Aileen Gunn was in her first year of teaching when she was my grade ten English instructor. She made us write so much! I loved that! She was very affirming of my stories and essays. The fact I have become a published author no doubt is due in part to her kind encouragement.

Elbert Toews devoted countless hours to directing high school musicals. Having roles in both Oklahoma and The Red Mill were highlights of my secondary school career.

Art Reimer taught me American history in Grade 10 and Jake Epp Canadian history in Grade 11. They were both incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects and instilled in me a lasting interest and love of history. It was Mr. Reimer and Mr. Epp who organized my grade twelve class trip to New Orleans an exciting and memorable adventure that many years later I described in a radio feature for the CBC.

I was very lucky to have some great educational experiences during my school years in Steinbach. I hope the kids starting school next week will have plenty of them too.