Patrick: Rad Teacher Who Makes a Difference

I sat down with Patrick Magee-Jenks to get some answers to really burning questions. If you have ever taken one of Patrick’s classes, you’ll know that he teaches from the heart. Why? What is it about him that so many students appreciate? My guess is that no little thanks is due to his incredible personality, sense of humor, and commitment to his fellow humans. Sometimes he even lets us make him angry, and the resulting conversations make us better people.

My interview with Patrick started off with a light topic: why he became a teacher.

Patrick: I went into education for a lot of reasons. First of all, I don’t like desk jobs! [laughs] So I couldn’t do that. I had a degree with sociology, which was pretty much useless… um, and it also aligns with my kind of worldview and personal ethos, which is, in part, influenced by observations that young people are pretty much a disenfranchised group and the educational system, in general, is an oppressive institution. And I felt like there are so many different elements of that, like the school-to-prison pipeline is a very real thing. And the way that schools work to reduce someone’s agency - I feel are very contradictory to my opinion and value of education, and being a life-long learner, and I wanted to work with education in a way that would make it empowering for young people instead of oppressive to young people.

Like so many new teachers, Patrick also seems to get along with young people. In fact, there seems to be a connection between them that is solid, permanent, and sincere. He shares his secret:

Patrick: I think my secret is that I like young people, and I’m inspired by them, and I think that I have a lot in common with my students. And I treat them like human beings, and I think that they’re usually really responsive to that and they feel appreciated and respected, and valued by those things. And I think that helps me maintain good relationships with my students.

It is this respect that undoubtedly attracted him to Trillium. But one has to wonder if some other school wouldn’t steal him away. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, though:

Patrick: Because of the community here, and the way that we teach, and the freedoms that we have… We don’t have these kinds of opportunities – I mean, a lot of other teachers don’t have these kinds of opportunities to create their own curriculum, and to have the freedom to create their classes in a way that works for them and works for their students, and that I get to know every single student in this school … beyond just name and face recognition, which I think, is the most a lot of schools can really hope for. But I’ve got a good connection with everybody who goes to this school, and that means a lot to me.

Then one thing I like about Patrick is that he gives a lot of thought to what makes his students tick. Through taking their perspective, he can fully answer the age-old question: how can I get from here to adulthood in the fastest and nicest way?

Patrick: Are you talking about as a student? [NB: Yes.] I think it has a lot to do with finding what you’re passionate about, and what you’re curious about, and exploring your curiosities, and which kinds of questions you really like to be investigating… and what kinds of problems you feel like you want to solve. I think it’s much less about what the end goal is and more about the process to get there in the most fun.

Patrick places a lot of weight on having fun. And when he stops having fun, that’s when we’ll have to worry.

Patrick: I really like the idea of myself being a long-term teacher person because I think I have the patience for it – um, but on the other hand, like, I don’t know where my energy levels would be and I’ll still have fun. I’ll be doing this until it’s not fun anymore.

May he never stop having fun!