Much appreciated

Dear editor:
I read the letter to the editor that was submitted by Mrs. Cunningham to the Fort Frances Times (May 31) on her concerns with the province’s new education polices regarding teachers.
All I have to say is this.
When I was a student at Fort Frances High School, I was probably what you would all consider “unfocused” personified. Those teachers who are still around probably would agree.
That was until it came to Mrs. Cunningham’s grade 12 English class. She made reading and short story writing interesting for me. She helped me discover that there was other stuff going on between the printed words on the page. She made me want to go looking for those things in other books.
She had been my teacher the year before and I skipped her class so much that I was removed from the class . . . but that was my fault, not hers.
So when I started to show some interest and actually get good marks in her class, she said, “What happened to you this year?” in the encouraging sort of way (and when you are 16, you need all the encouragement you can get).
I still remember that she was a very good teacher–one of the best at the high school at that time. So it pains me to see that someone of that calibre would think about leaving the profession due to the circumstances put in front of her as a result of the province’s actions.
She may not know this but after I graduated, I was in the military for several years. I later got out and went to law school, and am now the chief executive officer of the Assembly of First Nations–the national voice for First Nations people in Canada.
I would just like to say you may not feel appreciated by your bosses now but I still appreciate you, Mrs. Cunningham.
Signed,
Dale C. Booth
Chief Executive Officer,
Assembly of First Nations