COMMENTARY — Teaching the educators

By 1992, I had spent 25 years as a teacher, yet my knowledge of the mining industry was, to say the least, inadequate.

Words such as “exploration,” “extraction,” “processing” and “reclamation” were ones for which I rarely found a use.

School library books were woefully outdated — some by as many as 40 years — and other resource materials were virtually non-existent.

My state of awareness changed in the spring of that year when I attended the pilot workshop for a mining resource unit sponsored by the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) and held at Terry Fox Secondary School in Coquitlam.

Imagine the amazement on the faces of the teachers who attended the workshop when they opened the kits to find print material, rock samples, posters, slides, videotapes and more.

Access to this unit allowed me to increase exponentially the quality of information I was able to pass on to my students. Further enlightenment began with my involvement in a 4-day tour of Manalta Coal’s facilities in Alberta and British Columbia. For the first time, I saw the vastness of the industry and was able to connect what I had seen in print and on film with what existed in the field. My knowledge expanded dramatically and my interest was piqued even further.

As more opportunities for teachers to tour mines and take part in mining-related activities presented themselves, I availed myself of them. My involvement at this level continued until the spring of 1995, when Philip Wright, a friend and colleague, asked if I would like to join him in presenting the workshops to teachers. I jumped at the chance. Not only have I been able to learn that material in great detail, I have also had the opportunity to visit additional mine sites when workshops were presented in their vicinities.

When British Columbia’s ministry of education introduced compulsory career and personal planning courses for grades 8 through 12, Phil and I were presented with an opportunity to break new ground by building upon the knowledge and experience we gained from the MABC education program.

We are currently involved in the production of a video and accompanying lesson plans, which teachers will be able to use to acquaint students with career opportunities in mining and related industries.

In addition, I, along with other teachers involved with the MABC education program, attended a 4-day mining course that allowed 45 teachers at a time to participate in the mining program of the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Tours of corporate offices and mines in the Kamloops region were part of the course, which was an outstanding example to other provincial industries of how to make educators aware of what is going on in the resource sector.

Not every teacher who participates in the MABC education program will choose to involve himself to the extent I have. However, the information these teachers are able to acquire and share with their students is substantial. It cannot be denied that peoples’ attitudes change as they begin to understand the nature of this business.

— from the “Mining Quarterly,” the publication of the Mining Association of British Columbia.

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