Help Teach

Episode 28 - Excellence Through the Arts
[00:00:00] Mihai Covaser: Welcome, learners and learned alike, to Help Teach!
[00:00:09] Hello, and welcome to our community audio project. I am your host, editor, producer, and project co-lead , Mihai Covaser. I'm also a youth living with a physical disability. My most formative experiences living with a disability have come in the Canadian public education system. Many students, like me, with physical, emotional, or mental challenges go through their years of schooling lacking the supports and accommodations they need to partake of the same opportunities offered to their peers.
[00:00:39] The vision of this project is to provide educators in Canadian classrooms, students with disabilities, and members of the general public with the tools and knowledge that they need to make our institutions more accessible and inclusive for all. Join me and a diverse cast of guests as we explore perspectives on disabilities in education in this podcast series.
[00:01:02] One last message for you teachers tuning in: listen in each episode for our key takeaway that you can implement in your classroom today to help us further this vision.
[00:01:14] Hello and welcome back to Help Teach! I mentioned last time that this year has been great for new experiences and opportunities, but the new academic year has also proven to be a time for reconnection and finding old friends, it seems.
[00:01:31] Those friends and connections have been pivotal in my childhood, setting me on a good path socially, and supporting me through my most trying times, especially in education. We bonded over many imaginative games and classroom shenanigans, but perhaps most significantly, and lastingly, over our love of music.
[00:01:52] On this very meaningful episode, I am excited to be speaking to one of these connections from my grade school journey - my principal from the former George Pringle Elementary School - about the vital role that the arts can play in opening doors to education for all students. Without any further ado, John McMahon, welcome to the show.
[00:02:14] John McMahon: Thank you, Mihai. It's great to see you on Zoom meeting here and reconnect with you.
[00:02:20] Mihai Covaser: You as well, John. It, uh, it really was a pleasant surprise for me to hear from my mother, who met your daughter actually through the medical program, that, uh, you know, that this connection could be sort of reignited and that you might be interested to come on to the show. So I really appreciate you coming on to talk.
[00:02:41] John McMahon: Yeah, not a problem at all.
[00:02:44] Mihai Covaser: As I do with all my guests, I'll just start by asking you to introduce yourself, let us know a little bit about you, and, uh, shortly after that, we can get into our sort of main discussion for today. But, uh, please.
[00:03:00] John McMahon: Sure. I will attempt to keep this brief, but I'll just preface it by saying it's kind of by way of a winding road. And meaning that I never was clear as to ever becoming a school administrator, it wasn't something that I foresaw. I probably had a tough time in school as a student, sitting still, and probably following a few of the rules myself. So to find myself in the principal's role was, was kind of a funny journey.
[00:03:31] But, uh, after high school I actually started in Sciences at Capilano College. Uh, I took time out to work at Woodward's where I became a manager at the store. Uh, eventually I returned to education. It was a love of music that pulled me back to it. And I completed a bachelor's degree on viola at UBC.
[00:03:50] And then later, uh, began teaching and discovered I really did love teaching. It was really exciting to see what happens when that light goes on for a student. When that aha moment happens. So that fed something in me. And I continued on that pathway and went and completed a teaching degree. Then, following that, I worked as a music teacher in Vancouver.
[00:04:16] Uh, at the same time, I was also performing. I was in several bands and performing groups in Vancouver and loved music. Uh, I continued on in music. At some point, someone said, you need to be a classroom teacher. So I thought, well, okay, I guess I could try that too. Uh, always did love something new. And trying, uh, different things was always in my, uh- I guess my path, and then through that I taught all levels, pretty much, K to 12, taught in Vancouver.
[00:04:44] And then someone tapped me on the shoulder - and this is usually the way it happens - and tapped me on the shoulder and said, you'd be good at this. I never thought, "here comes the administration." So you know, "you'd be a great leader!" Okay, well, I guess maybe, I haven't given it much thought, but the next thing you know I'm in, doing a master's degree in school leadership.
[00:05:02] Uh, first position was a VP in Vancouver. And then later I went on to West Vancouver where I worked at Eagle Harbor Primary. That was an interesting one. It was L. A. T., librarian, music teacher, and vice principal, on to Rockbridge Secondary in West Van. And later we decided, because I have four daughters, and we thought we want to uproot and move to the Okanagan where it's a better life, and it's been an amazing life for us here.
[00:05:31] So I worked in the Okanagan, I worked there for 20 years as an administrator. And then, most recently, the last six years, again, the winding road, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, "you would be really good in real estate." And I always kind of had an interest in it, so I thought, "why not?" So I went to the Sauder School of Business, and, uh, completed that.
[00:05:54] And then started with Royal LePage. I've been doing that for six years now. And that's kind of where I am. That's the pathway right up to you today.
[00:06:04] Mihai Covaser: Yeah, it's interesting how people can spot things in us that we might not expect or, or necessarily know are there. Kind of guide us in different directions.
[00:06:14] John McMahon: Yeah, and that's something I'll come back to, I think, in our conversation that seems so important to me is the tap on the shoulder. The word from somebody; it doesn't matter who it is, it could be a friend, it could be the custodian at the school, it could be anyone. A few well chosen words, the power of words, of a simple statement to direct the course of somebody's life, we, in understanding the power of words, I think, are far better equipped to treat people the way we need to treat them. Choose your words carefully.
[00:06:48] Mihai Covaser: Yeah, that's a very good point. I mean, as someone that speaks publicly, as I would say, you know, 60, 70 percent of my chosen, uh, you know, advocacy work and so on. It's, uh, you definitely learned that lesson the hard way, if not, if not the easy way, you know.
[00:07:07] John McMahon: Yeah, for sure.
[00:07:08] Mihai Covaser: I just also wanted to ask: so as I, as I mentioned, you know, we met at George Pringle Elementary , where I did most of my, um, you know, schooling until, uh , middle school, which I know is a bit of an unfamiliar concept maybe for some of our listeners in different jurisdictions but we had three sort of different schools. We had our K to 6, 7 to 9, and then 10 to 12. But while at George Pringle just as I was finishing and my brother, uh started attending you started a special program there, uh in music, a fiddle program for the students of of George Pringle Elementary. Could you tell us a bit more about that? How it came to be and and what inspired it?
[00:07:50] John McMahon: All right, well, you'll you'll test my memory, but it's such a good memory that it's an easy one to recall. That was 11 years ago. I was at George Pringle and beyond the fiddle, certainly arts was always important in education to me. But what inspired the fiddle, I began playing fiddle with my grandfather and it had always been important to me.
[00:08:10] Music has been a passion. And I had taught violin at a smaller scale at Helen Gorman Elementary where I was principal previously. And at that time I had begun to look at the idea of infusing arts into the curriculum. And it's there that I first kind of reached out to somebody at UBC, her name was Sharon McCoubrey.
[00:08:33] And, uh, she began to work with us and we worked with the staff and began to integrate not only music, but arts across the curriculum. And what we saw was some very positive effects. This was kind of my testing ground and leading up to coming to George Pringle. Uh, I think George Pringle was so ripe for the arts. What I discovered was, it was this sense of coming in and thinking, well, how will the staff react with me coming in with this kind of agenda of saying arts is incredibly important, and we need to infuse that into education, and in fact, having evidence to support the impact that could have on students' lives.
[00:09:17] Mihai Covaser: Yeah.
[00:09:17] John McMahon: But coming there, it was wholeheartedly embraced. Uh, I found that, you know, teacher after teacher and conversation after conversation, and that's usually the way I started in school. I'd meet with the teachers individually, find out what their goals were and the topic of arts I would bring up, and there was nobody saying, "oh no, we don't think arts is important." No one. But what did exist was barriers for them to be able to pursue it in understandings of precisely how do you accomplish infusing arts into education?
[00:09:53] Mihai Covaser: Interesting.
[00:09:53] John McMahon: So, um, fiddle was only one component of it because that was my passion. And I think one of the things that's really important is to understand that people have their own gifts, their own talents, their own arts. Students are no different from teachers.
[00:10:11] It's seeing the person in front of you, recognizing the talent and the strengths that they have.
[00:10:17] Mihai Covaser: Right.
[00:10:18] John McMahon: Fostering those to come to the forefront. So with fiddle, um, that was mine. And I think that's sort of leading by example. I'll start a fiddle program. Um, I did have help. I had Shamma Sabir, who's one of Canada's finest fiddlers, who came on board to play a big role in it.
[00:10:36] And of course, Mr. Joe, the music teacher. When I was away or had an admin meeting I had to go to, Mr. Joe stepped in to teach the violin. And, uh, yeah, so it was great having that support.
[00:10:47] Mihai Covaser: Yeah. Yeah. My friends and I all remember Mr. Joe so fondly. Um, like I said, music was- it really sparked a passion in us to be able to sing in his choir and to play music with him and, and to play music with you.
[00:11:02] I mean, talk about changing someone's life. My younger brother, that's how he started on, that was his first string instrument experience. And since then he's gone on to become, you know, an, an internationally competing double bassist at, uh, age 16, you know what I mean? I mean, yeah, age 13, 14, he really, he, he was already there.
[00:11:25] Like he, he just really took to it like nothing else. So, um, that was a really special moment for us. You did touch on something that I think is going to be really important for our conversation coming up here, about seeing the person in front of you, and about tapping into the, the talents, and you know, the natural sort of inclinations of, of the students, and even the staff that you're working with to really create some positive effects.
[00:11:54] Just before we get to that, we're gonna take a quick break. Don't go anywhere, audience members. We'll be right back.
[00:12:09] [MUSIC STING]
[00:12:10] Welcome back to Help Teach where today I have with me John McMahon and we are talking about really the transformative effect that the arts can have in an educational setting and that's where we're going to be spending the rest of our time for this episode. So, you mentioned this: using the arts to open doors, um for students.
[00:12:33] I want to ask about that. How do the arts open doors for students to really participate meaningfully in their, uh, education? Like, what have you found integrating the arts to do for students once you saw how you could do that effectively in George Pringle, for example?
[00:12:52] John McMahon: Yeah, and I think opening the doors for students, the important word in that sentence is doors in the plural.
[00:13:01] Mihai Covaser: Mm.
[00:13:02] John McMahon: Arts, particularly at George Pringle, because they were embraced so fully and so many of the teachers brought their own talents, uh, to the forefront. In addition, we also had the community members stepping in to help, and I'm talking about artists that come in, right? In that whole environment, it was absolutely magic.
[00:13:25] And I guess to back up, one of the things that we were able to do to really launch the program, once I understood, there certainly was an appetite. And again, as I said earlier, teachers invariably support arts but may have hesitancy in, how do I do that? They may not see themselves as artists, as painters, as, you know, spoken word, but with encouragement and support, you open up that opportunity, you open the doors for them.
[00:13:53] So it's not simply that you're opening doors for students, you're opening doors in a much broader way to the teachers who will successively, year after year, incorporate that into their practice and influence, you know, year after year of students who come through their, their classes.
[00:14:12] But specifically around the arts, what we did at Pringle is we had, first of all, a great facility. So we had a kiln. We had a multipurpose room. We converted the back of a space to become a theatre.
[00:14:27] Mihai Covaser: Right.
[00:14:28] John McMahon: We had one of the staff members who was a, uh, special ed staff who didn't interact a great deal with the majority of the teachers. She came forward to say, I'm a ceilidh dancer. So the next thing you know, we have ceilidh dancing going on.
[00:14:41] Mihai Covaser: I remember that too, actually. Yeah.
[00:14:45] John McMahon: So, uh, you know, it was absolutely fabulous. We had, um, if I name names, Jessica Balehowski there was passionate about theater, came on board with that. We had teachers who were using, um, music to teach math. We had, uh, visual arts, all sorts, even P. E. if you think about it, P. E. can be used to teach mathematics.
[00:15:09] So all of this began to happen by just creating the environment of safety and recognizing the talent in the staff and secondly, bringing in the resources to assist and help them and part of that came from a grant at the time that we had applied to, ArtStarts, to become an arts infusion school.
[00:15:30] We were one of the only ones in British Columbia. And what happened was they sent an artist in to work side by side with a team of teachers to specifically design the curriculum- to embed in the curriculum, not to change it, but to embed and infuse it with power through the arts.
[00:15:49] Mihai Covaser: That's really interesting. Yeah, I mean, as you say, the hardest part for a lot of teachers, uh, is often to give up the, the security and the predictability of, you know, the, the curriculum template that they, that they usually have, because- don't get me wrong, like, I've said this on many episodes before, I'll keep saying it, being a teacher is a hard job, and it can be difficult to go above and beyond, um, the curriculum that, that is given to you and to feel like you're doing that in a way that, that justifies you going beyond those boundaries, right?
[00:16:27] Um, but I think that that's really significant that you say that bringing people in to share knowledge and to just build a sense of community and of safety can really help them to, you know, move past that, that mindset, um, and and support students in a different way.
[00:16:44] John McMahon: Yeah, I think what it does is, once you begin to infuse the curriculum through the arts, something begins to happen with the students.
[00:16:57] And this is the whole crux of this, or why it's so important. You're focused on this creative, kind of open mindset of these kids exploring who they are, of becoming more interested. Down to the bottom line, engagement is heightened through the arts. So when you think of that, okay, teachers are under a lot of pressure.
[00:17:19] It's a hard job, as you said, sometimes they will perceive it in that way, certainly because in the classroom, not everybody is fully engaged. Well, what do kids do when they're not engaged? I'll ask you that question.
[00:17:33] Mihai Covaser: We, we goof around and then we have to be split up and we can't sit together because we're joking around because we finish our worksheets in five minutes.
[00:17:43] John McMahon: Yeah, and I could name the other individual, I don't know if that's appropriate, it began with the letter T, but um, yes, if you're not engaged, you'll find something else to occupy your time. And I can guarantee that's not something that the teachers will enjoy.
[00:17:57] Mihai Covaser: Yeah. Yeah. We were - this individual and I, who are still best friends to this day - uh, we were, we were a little bit problematic.
[00:18:04] I get like, I get it. We weren't thinking- I mean, of course at that age, we're not thinking like, "oh, we're ruining the classroom dynamic." We're really just trying to find, like, an in to sort of express ourselves among the, the stuff we're asked to do, you know?
[00:18:20] John McMahon: Yeah, and that's the key here is that you want to express yourself. You're finding a way for you to fit in because whatever you have in front of you may not be as engaging as it needs to be in order for you to, to be inspired and stay on track with your own learning, you know, empowering you through the arts infused in that education. So an example I could give you is a story.
[00:18:45] Going back to my own experiences as a teacher, and I was put in a school as East Vancouver, and I will name this individual because he doesn't mind, and it's probably good for his business. But anyway, there was a student who was placed in my class purposefully, and the principal at the time said, well, he hasn't really done very well anywhere, and we think he might be a good male role model, and I can tell you, in those days, this is a long time ago, that was an appropriate phrase to use, the male role model, I don't, don't think it's used in today's, uh, lexicon, anyway.
[00:19:21] As his role model, essentially, what it was, is he was the most severe in terms of behavior, of not finding his place in schools, of having a lot of challenges and difficulty with the teachers that he had been with previously. So that class was impacted by his presence there for sure, but it was an interesting experience because I think that's probably the earliest stage when I began to think, "I need to change the way I teach" versus "I need to change the student."
[00:19:51] Mihai Covaser: Right.
[00:19:52] John McMahon: He is what he is. And when you recognize people are who they are, and you become more adaptable or flexible, you individualize your education for those students. You need to consider who sits in front of you. And his name was Brent Kobayashi. So Brent, his thing was he didn't write. He wouldn't do the schoolwork that was in front of him.
[00:20:14] He wouldn't do the prescribed curriculum, so to speak. But what he would do is he'd doodle, he'd doodle hour after hour, he'd write on desks, he'd write on, so of course I'm going to give him paper at least to keep the janitor's job a little easier. Anyway, Brent, I gave him half and half journals if you know what that is.
[00:20:34] The top half is just a blank page, the bottom is his lines. And I said, you know what, I think you really enjoy drawing. Okay, now that's important because that's a connection for him. He's being recognized for what he does do. And he, he said yes. He kind of nodded. He- I don't know if he knew really what to make of me in those early days of the relationship.
[00:20:54] But he began to draw on the top side of those journals. Now, every student in the class was handing in journals. All of them looked a little different. Some would do, uh, you know, little notes. Other would draw a cartoon. His was purely drawing. And so what I began to do was to respond to his drawings. And I would ask questions.
[00:21:14] "This is a very interesting drawing. I wonder what this is about." And I would send it back to him the next day and he'd take that thing home. And lo and behold, guess what he starts to do? He starts writing. And he writes because this is important to him and he wants to communicate. And have me understand what he's trying to do.
[00:21:34] Mihai Covaser: Right, right.
[00:21:34] John McMahon: And the more we went back and forth, and the more response he got, and the more he was given the latitude to do something he loved doing, the more he did it. And he had a talent, and recognizing he had that talent. So it was probably about six years ago, I got the email from Brent Kobayashi.
[00:21:52] And it's funny how they remember at some point. "Oh yeah. I remember that guy." And it said, "I used to think I was a bad kid. I didn't feel I fit in anywhere in school. And then I had you for my teacher. And I remember how you changed the way I thought about school. You were the first person to see me, the first person to understand what I love doing and what I was passionate about." And today he said, "I now run a graphics firm in Toronto, employ 25 people, and I want to thank you for seeing me as to who I am." You know, that's, that's the importance of that understanding and drawing out. It's certainly in this case was an example of arts and the power of allowing someone to express themselves creatively.
[00:22:48] Behavior disappeared with him. I had no issue with him for that year. He was great.
[00:22:53] Mihai Covaser: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. No, I mean that, that's a really, that's a really beautiful story and I would be happy to, uh, to direct our audience to, to Brent and his work, uh, in the episode notes. We haven't mentioned this specifically or explicitly, I should say, yet in the episode, but I hope that it's clear that this relationship extends to any student that feels they can't or aren't encouraged to fully participate in the classroom. Um, and because, of course, this show is meant to give teachers tools to support their students with diverse abilities more specifically. And, you know, the exact same principles apply. I mean, you were talking about gym class, for example, as an avenue to teach other subjects.
[00:23:39] And for someone like myself, who, you know, was not able to participate in gym class, like that can be, that can be significant, you know, not being able to have access to the same, um, educational experience as my other peers, but it really didn't take much to adjust things and to present things in a new way for me to be able to start participating, you know? I mean I remember some of the best, um, some of the most encouraging things that I've heard from PE teachers is, for example, you know, I can't run laps around the gym, but because I was so- so I used to use walking aids of different kinds, canes and the like, and I used to use my arms and my hands a lot to sort of support my, my walking and my mobility.
[00:24:29] And that resulted in some, you know, uh, pretty strong, uh, upper body control and mobility at a younger age, right? And some of the teachers that you know, so what really encouraged me to participate in just regular physical exercise routines that I usually found kind of intimidating was just them saying "wow," for example, "you seem to be really strong in your upper body. Can you do- can you show me some, you know reps of this exercise as opposed to what everyone else is doing and that does take a little bit of an extra step forward, but especially when you start there and then you move to opening that conversation up to, "okay, what do you think? What exercise would you like to do that you think is similar to this, or what?" And as soon as you start to engage that creative and critical mindset in the student, things just, it, you know, a lightbulb switches on, right?
[00:25:23] John McMahon: Yeah.
[00:25:24] Mihai Covaser: And, and being able to be engaged in the process, like you say, is what allowed me, for example, to now be on track for my second degree, uh, black belt in para taekwondo, because for years I've just been going to taekwondo and adjusting everything that has to do with kicking into weapons forms and stuff like that, and, and that creative and critical sort of mindset of, uh, of adaptation, it takes practice, but it can be, uh, it can be encouraged very early on in a student's experience, you know, with just the right, the right words of encouragement.
[00:25:59] John McMahon: You know, it may seem simplistic to say, but it's, it's, it's this mindset on the part of a teacher to, to understand that it's not one size fits all.
[00:26:09] Then there's diversity in the room, and because there's diversity, the instructional practice is also diverse. There are options, choices, and pathways for all students to be engaged and succeed regardless of physical, mental, whatever differences we have. There will be strengths, finding them helps you to design.
[00:26:32] I like the idea first of diagnose and then prescribe before you bring curriculum in and say "here's my package. We're going to do a worksheet number 20 and everybody go forward." I remember another student [unclear] was the name. He had the longest last name in history, I think he had 13 letters; at least my history, I've never come across one.
[00:26:52] He was doing quadratic equations in Grade 6 with me. Now that wasn't in the books or the curriculum. I remember a conversation with a high school teacher as he went up to high school saying, "Why were you teaching him quadratic equations?" And the answer was he was ready for it. And the high school teacher said to me, "well, what am I supposed to do with him now?"
[00:27:15] There's no limit here! You take him from where he is, to where he needs to get to. You design this for the kids that are in front of you. So classrooms for me became, um, multi-faceted to allow success for all students, regardless of who they are or their particular gift. There are lots of choices, and I think that's where education is most powerful: when all can succeed, all can pursue strengths. And in your case, obviously the upper body strength, and what you were capable of doing, and I knew you well on the playground. And you certainly are strong.
[00:27:57] Mihai Covaser: Yeah, and it and it was really nice to be able to tap into that and I think that takes us really nicely into sort of the key message or the key takeaways that I want to share in this episode, one of which we've repeated a few times but bears repeating is recognizing the individual sitting in front of you, right?
[00:28:15] I mean we we don't need to sort of further repeat ourselves, but I think it's just worth noting that it's a very different- it feels so different as a student and I can guarantee you it doesn't matter how old the student is. They feel the difference when they're- it's a teacher giving you what they know to give you and, and sort of mitigating the issues that you're bringing to the classroom, which is a very like problem-oriented language as opposed to just seeing you as a student and, um, you know, and, and recognizing what you want to do and what you can do and guiding you forward there.
[00:28:55] Um, but the other item I think is really that simplicity is key to, to employing a student's creativity, um, to everyone's benefit in the classroom, not just their own. And, you know, I wonder if maybe you want to tie us off by sharing one of your favourite stories about a, a sort of shy but very talented, musically gifted student of yours, uh, who went on to do, to do really great things.
[00:29:23] John McMahon: I will. And I think just before I tell that story, one of the things is, is people that are listening to the podcast and wondering, "okay, that sounds good, but how do I accomplish that?" You know, it's, it's a big challenge. And, you know, you touched on - in our conversation earlier - on administrators. How do they accomplish it?
[00:29:45] Uh, currently there is a program and it's one I was very proud of starting it 11 years ago, was Excellence Through the Arts, where resources come in from the outside community. Storytellers, drumming, illustrators, watercolors, spoken arts people, and work side by side with teachers to support them. Teachers need support, administrators need resources.
[00:30:10] Sadly, this is a little plug, I understand that it's gonna be, uh, the last year for this program, it's lasted almost, uh, just over a decade. And the reason is because, well, funding. And the arts, um, unfortunately, and I think sadly, are often relegated to, let's do some fundraising for the arts, versus seeing it as an integral part of education.
[00:30:33] And the power of it, again, so profound, and I will end with that. Just a brief story and it's interesting how it can profoundly change someone's life. I was music teacher slash librarian slash learning assistant teacher at Eagle Harbor Primary when I first met Mikayla. At the time, Mikayla was quiet, shy, and I think dealing with things that were very hard for her at the time.
[00:31:03] In a way, 'shut down' would be the expression I would see in that moment.
[00:31:09] Mihai Covaser: Right.
[00:31:09] John McMahon: Feeling, uh, there must be something I could do. Now, as a music teacher, one of the things I was tasked with was, let's put on a musical. So, Christmas time is coming, and this is when, of course, I think, let's do a Christmas play.
[00:31:24] And this particular play that I'd chosen, the animals come to life and sing at Christmas time. And I needed to audition, but yet I didn't feel I wanted to put people through auditions at, you know, that young age. So instead what I did is I had a big group choir sing. And as they're singing, what I'm doing is dividing them in groups.
[00:31:43] So I divide them in half and I'd listen again. Then I'd figure out where I felt the appropriate voices for those characters were coming from.
[00:31:51] And then I would divide again, divide again, until I could narrow in on the voice. Sounds a little like that show, but not quite the same format. And what I discovered was, is a sweet voice coming from one of those groups.
[00:32:07] Absolutely beautiful. Yet it's extremely quiet and I couldn't figure out, well, who is this? So dividing, moving a little closer and listening intently, trying to figure out who is the singer I'm hearing here until I figured out who it was: Mikayla , very quietly singing, head down, and yet what I heard was absolutely beautiful.
[00:32:32] So I talked to her after and said, you know, I really would like you to take a role in the play, and would you consider singing at the Christmas show? Her answer was "no" at first, and real reluctant to kind of go forward. I encouraged again, said, "You really have a gift, and it's wonderful to hear you sing. What would it take for you to sing at this Christmas show?"
[00:32:53] And she said to me, " If you were to sit at the front row, then I could do it." So I said, okay, no problem. I'll sit in the front row and you can sing. So she did. And though the performance, maybe she was still showing the shyness, a little timid, she did it. And her voice was extremely beautiful and very sweet.
[00:33:19] And all these years later- now I hadn't heard from her, but all these years later, eventually I hear from her. It was now going back about six years ago.
[00:33:28] And Mikayla got in touch with me to let me know what she was doing. And she said she was now singing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She said that she would be performing in West Vancouver at the Kay Meek Theatre.
[00:33:44] She said, "I'd love it if you could come down and hear me." And I said, "I'm there. Oh, I think I'm gonna be there. That's awesome." I was so, uh, happy to hear this news about where she had ended and she said, " Okay , uh, the tickets are on me. There's only one condition." And I said, "what's that?" She says, " You have to sit in the front row."
[00:34:07] Now I did sit in the front row and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried. It was so beautiful. And such a huge moment, um, to see her and then just shining in that way and singing so powerfully and beautifully. You can find her on the internet too, Mikayla Sager, and probably put it in the show notes, but she's a fabulous, uh, mezzo soprano. And, uh, well worth hearing.
[00:34:39] Mihai Covaser: Yeah, I mean, I, I love that story and, uh, it just shows how, how important it is and, and how much impact like, like we keep saying you can have just by, again, some, some pretty simple strategies: just inviting students to, to try something that they might hesitate to do, but that they have a talent for.
[00:35:02] And that's really what I think this episode is about and how the arts can really, can really tap into that. So yeah, lovely story. Well, John, it's been such a pleasure to have you on the show and talking about this. Um, I, I think it'll really resonate with a lot of audience members and hopefully they can feel a little bit more encouraged to try and do this for themselves, for their own students, uh, in the future.
[00:35:29] So, um, wonderful to connect with you and, and thanks so much for your time.
[00:35:34] John McMahon: Likewise, Mihai, it's great to see you again.
[00:35:38] Mihai Covaser: You've just heard another episode of the community audio project, Help Teach. I'd like to give a huge thank you to my other co-leads on this project. Payton Given, Maggie Manning, Élise Doucette, and Alexis Holmgren, all youth leaders at the Rick Hansen Foundation, who I'd also like to thank for their continued support in this initiative and others.
[00:35:57] My name is Mihai Covaser, I am your host, editor, and producer for this podcast series. Thank you to Every Canadian Counts and their # RisingYouth Initiative for funding this project and for allowing us to put out our vision for change into the community. You can find all transcripts, episode notes, and links to other resources on our base site, helpteach.transistor.fm, or listen to us wherever you find your podcasts. If you have any questions about the show or would like to get involved, now get in touch at helpteachpodcast@gmail.com. That's helpteachpodcast@gmail.com. Tune in next time for more great conversations and key takeaways that you educators can implement in the classroom today to make it a more accessible and inclusive place for all. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you next time!