Memory is a strange thing…

Some periods of my life are crystal clear, and some very blurry. I also suspect that my creative mind has played with some of my souvenirs at times… Changing a little bit here and there, changing characters, changing who did what, and who said this or that.

When I started thinking about launching the Kind Hearted Challenge, it was in great part because of one of these long gone memories that had surfaced suddenly and for no reason.

As a little girl, I wasn’t popular among the other kids (to say the least). But I had an odd easiness to bond with adults. I don’t know if I was bullied because I felt more comfortable with grown ups, or if I seeked their friendship because the other kids didn’t like me… But it is a fact that I was very close to my teachers in most of my primary school years.

One of them, in particular, made quite an impression on me, and he is the person I am sending a letter to, for the Challenge.

Mr Lebel taught 5th grade. He was one of the few male teachers, back then. My class was a specially turbulent one, and many teachers had pulled their hair out trying to tame the group, year after year.

He could have used ”force” to keep us quiet and put, but Mr Lebel had an incredibly kind nature. He didn’t let boys just be boys in the class, but he always had a nice way to get what he wanted out of us. After a couple of months, he had won pretty much every kid over, although there were still the occasional fight in the playground, at recess, or messing around in the backrow, during class.

I only have vague memories of that year, because it is so far back in my past, but two specific events come to my mind, when I think about him.

As I said, most teachers had trouble with us. So when Mr. Lebel’s anniversary came up, we asked our music teacher to help us surprise him. We had music class that day, and we told the teacher to go to Mr. Lebel and tell him to come and get us back, because we were too dissipated. This wasn’t suspicious at all, as it happened quite often. And when Mr. Lebel entered the room, half exasperated, we were ready to sing him a semi-melodious ”Happy Birthday”.

Mr. Lebel wasn’t much for punishment as a technique to get his way. He prefered to reward good behavior. Every teacher’s worst nightmare, when dealing with my class, was taking us to an activity outside the school. I can’t imagine how tiring it was to look over us in a museum, or out camping. But Mr. Lebel’s magic worked even out of school, and after one of these outings, we were on the bus, heading back when he asked the driver to make an unexpected stop. We were all worried, because stopping before getting to school usually meant getting yelled at, because we had been too turbulent. That idea seemed unfair, as we were all pretty quiet. You can imagine our surprise when the bus stopped in a McDonald’s parking lot, and Mr. Lebel got each of us an ice cream cone! He hadn’t promised anything if we behaved, but he had decided to reward us for doing so…

That’s just how he was… Incredibly kind, patient and generous. He was obviously pasionnated with his job, and I hope he kept teaching for a long long time!

I spent many recess times chit chatting with the man. I wonder what 5th-grade-me had to say back then, but I remember feeling close to him. I was almost sorry to graduate at the end of the year… Of course, there was still 6th grade, before I’d move to high school, and I would see Mr. Lebel everyday, but it wouldn’t be the same. He would have a new class to take care of, and that sucked!

The next year came, and only a few weeks into 6th grade, I learnt that my family was moving to Africa.

When the time came to say goodbye to our class mates and teachers, Mr. Lebel had something for me. Knowing all too well that I was a real bookworm, he had bought me a book. A novel, that I still have today.

I couldn’t guess it, when he put the book in my hands, but he was offering me far more than just a story to discover. The book was intended for teenagers, and I understood that he trusted a maturity a little beyond my years. That was such a boost for my ego, to know that someone I admired believed that I was cleverer than the candles on my birthday cake would suggest.

But I never got to thank him for that…

We moved to Guinea, and when we came back to Canada, I never dared trying to get back in touch. We didn’t have The Internets, back then…  Which probably didn’t help either.

But today, as part of the Kind Hearted Challenge, I am sending a message in a bottle, to see if Mr. Lebel remembers the little girl with the braces and the large glasses, that came to hang around with him during recess.

He probably won’t after teaching to so many little girls… And it doesn’t matter. He will know that I remember him, and that he made a difference worth mentionning, in my life!

 

 

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Oh, and by the way…