Chiu's Ways That Go Beyond

It is time for another tribute post for one of my co-workers. I received her permission to write about her and it's long overdue.

I have worked with Jenny Chiu for a very long time. She was already a fixture at the school when I arrived there in 2004.  Right now, we are co-teaching together for a partner unit addressing community and I am enjoying our time together maybe even more than the kindergarten students are with two adults in the room. It gives me the opportunity to witness the considerate, good things she does on a regular basis.

I could talk at length at how no-nonsense, frank, flexible and funny Jenny is. I could mention how she works hard and is willing to admit when she doesn't have all the answers or how she might do things differently. These are all part of her personality. What I want to focus on is how Jenny Chiu puts her family, friends and students first.

This focus on helping those around her is not new behaviour. Back when Jenny Chiu was a primary division teacher, she took extra steps to help her students be successful. I remember that she had a student who we'd now call a "reluctant speaker" - in the past, we called them "selective mutes". Chiu made a point of visiting this student's house, where he felt more comfortable. She played Beyblades with him and developed a positive relationship with the family. During those home visits, he spoke to her. Chiu wasn't required to do this; she wanted to because she knew that school was a stumbling block and she wanted to help him communicate without anxiety.

Even just this school year, I've seen Chiu bend over backwards to help families and friends who are struggling. She arranged to have important documents translated. She negotiated so that truant students could make it to school closer to the regular start of the day. She phoned families to plead with them about their decisions relating to in-person and virtual school so that they could make the most beneficial choices for the students. She has offered to take students into her class so that other educators could catch their breath - even though she herself has her hands full with students in her own class with special needs. 

Jenny Chiu still keeps her expectations high for her students. She has her students counting in French and English during attendance and constantly challenges them to "look, listen and think". Her inquiries with her students involve intriguing concepts that are often dealt with in older grades, such as structures and stability. She works hard and so do her students. She expects nothing less from her fellow teachers. Together, during this partner unit, we've pushed ourselves to have students conduct video interviews, take photos on exploratory walks, build a 3D replica of the school, and articulate how young people are just as much a part of various communities as the adults (who are traditionally the sole focus of "community helper" units). 

Jenny and I were chair people together, about "two principals" ago, and we also served with Kerri Commisso as union stewards for two years. It is a pleasure to work with Jenny because I can count on her to be honest, observant, insightful, and dedicated. We can't all be like Chiu (and I should explain that we got in the habit of calling each other by our last names when we had 3 people named Diana and 3 people named Jenny in the building - it was hard to distinguish so we became "Mali" and "Chiu"). It's probably a good thing we aren't all like Chiu - but I hope everyone has at least one Chiu-like person in their school, someone who is a champion for those families and students that aren't always the easiest to understand or assist.