When Pareen Gill, Artsci’04, was in elementary school in Collingwood, Ont., she was the only student with brown skin. She was bullied for several years and would often come home crying and feeling like she didn’t matter.
Fortunately in Grade 4, she was taught and helped by her most influential teacher, Mrs. Ann Boucher. This educator always went above and beyond for her students. Boucher soon recognized that Gill faced racism by a peer and helped her by showing unconditional support, telling her, “Pareen, you are a special little girl, be proud of who you are.” She made Gill feel like she mattered and encouraged Gill to begin embracing her Punjabi ethnicity.
This unwavering love and support inspired Gill as a child and helped pave her future as an adult. She went on to become a teacher because she wanted to be like Boucher – helping make a positive difference not only academically, but more importantly, in the social, emotional, and mental well-being of young children.
“Mrs. Boucher made me feel like I mattered when nobody else did,” says Gill. “I thought if she could do that for me, then I want to do that for others. I don’t want anybody to feel the pain I felt as a young girl.”
Today, Gill is a Grade 3 teacher at Nottawa Elementary in Collingwood, Ont., and has received national, provincial, and municipal awards and praise for her dedication to bringing equity and inclusion to her classroom every day. It is her mission to bring out the best in all her students and to make them feel like they matter. In 2019, she received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence after being nominated by four parents from her 2018-2019 Grade 3 class.
For International Women’s Day this year, Gill was asked by a superintendent from her school board to prepare a short video message to help empower young girls and women. Gill’s video message was then shared with thousands of people on the Ontario Ministry of Education’s social-media channels.
In Gill’s classroom, lessons in character education and being a good person are a daily focus and considered just as important as learning core subjects such as math and language.
She focuses on her school board’s 10-character traits, which include empathy, integrity, respect, and cooperation. If a student has completed a task in class, Gill encourages them to be the teacher and guide another peer who might be struggling. This creates an environment where everyone supports each other and is valued for their contributions.
Another passion of Gill’s is teaching her students about social justice issues such as recognizing Orange Shirt Day (the impact of residential schools on Indigenous children), Black History Month (the remarkable achievements of African Canadians), and International Women’s Day.
“We need to teach our children about social justice issues that have happened, that are happening, and that may happen,” says Gill. “We must educate ourselves about the past and how we can create a better and brighter future for our children and all Canadians.”
Gill also shares a story from her Queen’s days as an example of overcoming adversity. She received her BAH after four years and then wanted to follow her dream of becoming a teacher, so she applied to the Queen’s Faculty of Education, but was turned down. She also had applied to three other Faculty of Education programs but was again turned down. She only received a conditional offer from Trent University and was eventually accepted.
“There is strength within adversity. I would not be where I am if I didn’t ‘fail’, and I am so glad I did,” says Gill, who now teaches her students that ‘FAIL’ has a special meaning – First Attempt in Learning. ”If things came easy – if I wasn’t bullied as a child or rejected by several teacher’s colleges – perhaps I would not be who or where I am today.”
