Kaslo principal Dan Miles received a letter four years ago from a former student named Nicole Marek. As he read the letter he scrolled through his mental database, which included over 2800 students over his multi-decade career, and realized he couldn’t remember who she was.
“She said Mr. Miles I graduated 13 years ago and I waited to write this letter, but I just wanted you to know how much you changed my life,” Miles told the Star, recounting a story he shares with his newly hired teachers.
“The thing about Nicole is she was a very challenged student. Her parents were splitting up. She felt unnoticed. I remember she had wild blue hair and piercings. And she said every morning I would smile at her, or make some comment like ‘oh, you’ve got pink hair today’. When she made improvements in soccer I noticed and said something.”
Then, when she was accused of setting a garbage fire, Miles believed her when she told him she wasn’t responsible.
“She went on to say that moment was the anchor in my life, and at that point I knew I has going to be okay. And then she went on to become a child psychologist. It still brings tears to my eyes.”
Miles shares this story with new hires because it demonstrates the educational environment he aspires to create for learners. Essentially, he wants all the authority figures to be approachable, something he attempts to demonstrate with his colourful, humorous ties.
“For me it’s a blend of structure and clear direction with a sense of humour and a sense of caring. That’s part of what my ties symbolize. It’s like a hockey uniform. Any school needs an authority, but that authority needs to be open and approachable.”
As principal of J.V. Humphries and Jewett Schools for the last seven years, Miles said he’s been attempting to making schools feeling welcoming to the entire community, not just the kids.
“A lot of our disengaged adults are disengaged because of their childhood experiences. But now, when you come to our schools, it’s some of the most challenged kids who are there first thing in the morning because school is where they feel safe, where they feel valued and where they feel celebrated.”
Simultaneously, Miles has tried to keep the education system on the cutting edge as technology progresses and education models become outdated.
“We’re moving away from ‘What year was the battle of Waterloo?’ I have more information on my phone than a teacher could ever know. So my job isn’t to tell you when the battle was was, it’s to say ‘look it up on Google, then tell me how to use it’,” he said.
He said the BC education system is transitioning towards individualized learning, so “rather than I as a teacher saying ‘I am an excellent chemistry teacher and you need to learn my chemistry, we’re reversing it. You’re the learner. You’re the client. We’re saying what do you need from me?”
And since the BC education program is becoming renowned internationally, they’ve begun to export their curriculum to “offshore” schools catering to countries such as China, Egypt, Thailand, South Korea, Qatar and Colombia.
Miles will be taking charge of a brand new school in Tokyo, which is intended to ease the transition for international students into the B.C. post-secondary system. He said his approach may come as shock to his Japanese charges.
"In Japan they're very 'sage on the stage'. BC education is completely different. It's 'guide by the side'."
And though it's a big undertaking, he feels like he's up to the ask.
“Nervous isn’t the word I’d use,” Miles said. “I’ve lived in China for two years, I’ve traveled the world. It’s more like stage fright. It’s more like ‘what’s it going to look like? Will I be able to understand my students?’ It’s an excitement.”
Miles' last day as principal at J.V. Humphries and Jewett Schools will be February 27.
His replacement will be Crawford Bay Principal Dan Rude, who Miles called “a real visionary”.