TFO TEACHING AWARD
Not just a gym teacher
October 1, 2009
Nicole Baute
Five or six years ago, a five-year-old girl approached Alain Deschamps and asked him innocently if he ever wanted to be a real teacher.
His colleagues at École élémentaire Champlain would be the first to say he is already that and so much more. Deschamps himself says, perhaps not really meaning it, that he's "just a gym teacher" but they describe a dedicated, resourceful and compassionate man who has earned not only their respect, but that of his young pupils.
The 39-year-old teaches phys-ed from Kindergarten to Grade 6 at the Welland school and is the winner of the TFO Prix d'enseignement, a new award sponsored by Ontario's French-language educational TV network.
Born into a family of teachers in Sturgeon Falls, a small French Canadian town near North Bay, Deschamps says he fell naturally into the family profession. "I still see the world pretty much through the eyes of a child," he says. He has been teaching since 1998 and arrived at Champlain last fall. At a French school where 90 per cent of parents are anglophone, getting students to speak French in the classroom – or the gym – is a significant challenge, says principal Denise Bovine.
But Deschamps takes an active approach, awarding a monthly trophy to the class that speaks the most French.
"He's very involved in the school and the community on so many levels," Bovine says.
Last year, he organized a dance-a-thon for Grades 4, 5 and 6 students, and brought in a guest speaker to introduce the students to the Diablo, or Chinese yo-yo, she says.
Deschamps says the kids often come looking for him with questions about sports or training – and that he has gotten many kids hooked on cross-country running, his favourite sport.
Colleague Mario Brouillard says a lot of kids at the school come from single-parent homes and lack male role models. .
"Alain is a good role model for these kids," he says.
More on World Teachers' Day.
Toronto Star