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Taylor believes he’s sending a strong message to students about getting involved in world affairs.
Teacher of the Week: Robert Taylor
Mac High teacher takes pride in the example he attempts to set
The Gazette
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Taylor believes he’s sending a strong message to students about getting involved in world affairs.
Teacher of the Week is a new weekly feature spotlighting a local educator.
Name: Robert Taylor
School: Macdonald High School in Ste. Anne de Bellevue
Grade: 7 and 8 for phys- ed; 10 and 11 for media
Experience: 14 years
Extracurricular activities: Coaching football, hockey, golf, badminton
Hobbies: Training, running, weightlifting
Most recently read book: Emma’s War, about an aide worker in Sudan in the 1980s
Robert Taylor doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk.
Both as a teacher at Macdonald High School and as a lieutenant in the navy, Taylor strongly believes in leading by example.
If he asks students in his physical-education class to do push-ups, they know he can do more than what he’s asked for. And when the school focuses on global citizenship, Taylor can proudly refer to his career in both the army and navy as well as his new venture as a United Nations military observer.
Now on a year break from his job as a physical education and media teacher at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue high school, Taylor has just finished pre-deployment training in Kingston, Ont. He will begin a six-month post as a military observer in Sudan on Nov. 22.
His wife is a bit nervous about his heading into a country known for upheaval and violence, but she supports his decision. His three children, however, are a bit upset about him missing Christmas.
“I love both the teaching and the military,” said Taylor, 42, who has worked out a deal with the Lester B. Pearson School Board to have one year out of every four off to fulfill his military duty. He has done missions for NATO that involved teaching English to NATO officers in Macedonia and Turkey.
But he admits that heading into war-torn Sudan is one of his riskier missions.
For example, in July, suspected Janjaweed militiamen ambushed a UN convoy in Darfur, killing seven peacekeepers and wounding more than 20. But Taylor believes his training will keep him safe.
Taylor was first in the army for eight years before he decided to join the navy, which he’s now been in for 12 years. As a reservist, he’s expected to train two nights a week and devote some weekends to his naval duties. He works as a maritime surface operations officer. He’s the navigator on the ship, responsible for reading charts, radar and making alterations to the course.
When his year off was approaching, Taylor made the decision to go to Sudan at least, in part, because of his students.
“We talk a lot about global citizenship,” he said. “I thought about going to Sudan and what a great message that would give the school community.”
He said at least one of the reasons he continues his work in the navy is because it shows his students how important it is to serve their country and get involved in world affairs.
The school board, he said, has been very supportive and is helping him set up a website to communicate with students and even do live feeds from Sudan.
Although he understands the danger of what he’s doing, he feels well-trained and prepared and is very proud about this new mission.
“I will be patrolling and monitoring the area and reporting back to the UN,” explained Taylor. “I won’t be armed. As a military observer, I must remain neutral.”
He’ll be able to communicate with home either by Internet or by satellite phone.
As for the living quarters there, it definitely won’t be the Ritz. He’ll either have quarters in a shipping container with electricity but no running water, or he’ll have to live off the economy, which means renting a hut or house, which mostly do not have electricity or water.
“The container is the best option, but it’s not always possible,” Taylor said.
This is Taylor’s first mission for the UN and he’s really looking forward to being part of something so important.
“I will come home with lots of stories for my students, that’s for sure.”