TORONTO STAR TEACHER AWARD - HONOURABLE MENTION
Ponytailed teacher made English `cool' and fun
October 1, 2009
Kristin Rushowy
EDUCATION REPORTER
Be both master and model.
Years ago, that advice was given to Glenn Hayes by a colleague about how to be a great teacher. He took it to heart.
The high school English teacher – who retired last June after 19 years at Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora – is a published poet who brought his love of literature to his classes, while encouraging students to write their own stories and verse.
He was inspiring and fun, both students and colleagues say, from his academic hippie vibe, his round glasses and grey hair pulled back into a ponytail – only unleashed on special occasions and the last day of school as an incentive to get kids to come to class – to the courses he pioneered in Canadian literature and another combining film and literature.
Hayes oversaw the student newspaper, founded a poetry magazine and each summer invites students, staff and alumni to his house for "poe-becues," where everyone brings a dish and a poem.
His image was even painted into a student mural in a hallway at the school, clothed in a brown monk's robe writing a script.
"He's extraordinary," says Helen Lacroix, Cardinal Carder's head of English, who nominated Hayes. "A teacher who loves literature as much as he does makes it magic."
She rhymes off all of the things he's done with students: taking them on a Catcher in the Rye tour in New York, seeing four plays in three days at Stratford, and being the lone high school class year after year at the Griffin poetry awards, where students mingle with big names such as Margaret Atwood.
"He makes the idea of writing and reading poetry really cool," adds Lacroix. "Too often, you think of English as a dour subject, but fun happens in his classroom."
Students recall Hayes' Canadian breakfasts during Can-lit classes – which, in one case, turned out to be mostly a collection of sticky sweet desserts – and bohemian day, when they wore casual clothes instead of their uniforms.
Chitrita Chakko, 15, says Hayes would sometimes yodel in class, or sing people's names as he walked down the hallways.
"I really enjoyed coming into his class and having him right in front of me," says Grade 12 student Michael Till.
Kimberly Pinto, a Grade 11 student, once submitted a poem to Hayes for a class assignment. He then submitted it to a contest, which she won. She now plans on studying English at university.
Hayes, married for 39 years with two grown daughters, began teaching at age 32 and kept at it for 30 years before retiring. "Once I started teaching, I realized this was the place for me," he says.
More on World Teachers' Day.
Toronto Star