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Teacher of the Week: Patrick Niiya

He's the kind of teacher who makes kids love school

Karen Seidman
The Gazette
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Teacher of the Week is a weekly feature spotlighting a local educator.

Name: Patrick Niiya
School: Kuper Academy in Kirkland
Grade: 6
Experience: 10 years
Extracurricular activities: Coaching hockey, chess club, journalism club
Hobbies: Photography, hockey fan
Most recently read book: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riorda

Patrick Niiya just wants his students to love learning.
The Grade 6 teacher at Kuper Academy in Kirkland says his goals are very simple. But for parents of students who have been touched by Niiya’s sensitivity to their children’s particular needs, there is nothing simple about the task at hand or the wonderful teacher who makes their children love school.
“He’s so passionate about his work,” said the mother who nominated Niiya as Teacher of the Week. “He brings out the best in each individual child. He’ll even contact students before the school year begins to make a connection with them.”
Niiya, who has been teaching for 10 years, says he was inspired to enter the profession by a wonderful teacher he had at Lindsay Place High School in Pointe Claire.
“It was just fun to be in school. It never felt like learning,” said Niiya, who made it a goal to be the same kind of teacher.
“He makes school so much fun,” said the mother who nominated him. “He makes it easy to learn and the kids love doing his projects because they’re so much fun.”
For his part, Niiya lives to see the comprehension on a student’s face.
“That’s why I love doing labs, because the students get to practice what the theory is all about and there’s a lot of enjoyment in that,” Niiya said.
“Every day is a new adventure because of the students,” said Niiya. “It’s the same curriculum every year, but every year is so different. The job is really never the same, never dull. That’s what I like about it.”
One of the challenges is always discipline, but Niiya works hard to have the right balance between tough and complimentary.
“You have to be able to discipline without losing their respect to make them realize you want what’s best for them,” he said.
Niiya considers it a privilege to teach Grade 6, which is an important year where he believes the students experience a lot of growth and lessons in life.
To mark the transition from elementary to high school, he makes a slide show of the students that tries to capture special moments and accomplishments throughout the year. He’s been known to go door-to-door during the summer to deliver the CD. Rather than considering it a chore during his “off” months, he gets a real kick out of seeing his students after the school year has ended and having some added interaction with them.
“I just love the job and the kids and I think to do this job well, you have to love it,”  he said.