OTTAWA—Teaching excellence thy name is Chris Mara—the Wikwemikong High School teacher was one of 18 teachers across Canada recognized with a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in the STEM theme (science, technology, engineering and math).
“It was quite a surprise,” said Mr. Mara when The Expositor caught up with him picking up his son from soccer practice. “A really big honour.”
“Inspiring, motivating and igniting curiosity—that’s the power of our hard-working Canadian teachers,” said the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains in a release announcing the awards. “The educators we honour today are preparing our youth for the jobs of tomorrow. They are not only equipping young Canadians with knowledge and skills they will need but also nurturing a lifelong curiosity and passion for learning. They’re making dreams come true!”
Mr. Mara teaches computer science, applied science, manufacturing technology, calculus, physics and math to Grades 10 to 12 at Wikwemikong High School.
The citation for the award notes that “Chris Mara sets out to show his students—at-risk, marginalized, Indigenous First Nations youth in a remote on-reserve community—that they can succeed in anything they do, including STEM. He is dedicated to providing opportunities for his students equal to those that other youth have.”
That is a characterization that Mr. Mara tends to challenge. He credits his students’ enthusiasm with propelling the success that led to his award.
“I couldn’t do it without the students,” he said. “Their energy and passion, you just run with it.”
The citation notes that “using hands-on, practical experiences, Chris finds interactive ways to support students in STEM learning. He also works to ensure they have a voice and can be involved in innovation and the larger conversation in STEM, all while being firmly rooted in—and being ambassadors for—their First Nations community.”
Mr. Mara points to the fact that out of a student population of 150 to 200 students, there are 20 to 25 people involved in the school’s robotics team in some capacity.
“There are so many entry points,” he said. “There is coding, engineering, marketing—broad enough interests for so many to become involved.”
The citation notes that Mr. Mara “provides the resources, tools and opportunities for students to learn robotics: by participating on the school’s FIRST robotics team, 5672 First Nation STEM, students learn they can be engineers, mathematicians and scientists; they now mentor students at another school in the region.”
The success of the Wikwemikong High School students has inspired other Island schools to the point that of the 10 teams competing at a recent robotics event in Sudbury, four hailed from Manitoulin Island.
The citation goes on to highlight that Mr. Mara “keeps his sights on students’ future careers: students use Office 365 to collaborate and enhance projects with video, images and graphics; (he) encourages robotics team members to treat the team as a business, teaching them entrepreneurship skills, such as how to write a business plan. (Mr. Mara) stresses the possibilities for girls in STEM: girls play leadership roles on the robotics team; Chris drove a group of girls across the province to attend a conference to hear inspirational speakers, do team-building activities and learn about STEM career opportunities.”
“We have a wide diversity on the team,” agreed Mr. Mara, who noted that there was inclusion for LGBTQ youth with the team. “Now there is leadership at the provincial level as well,” he said. “We have one student who sits on a provincial diversity panel for STEM.” There is no mistaking the pride in Mr. Mara’s voice as he speaks of his students.
The citation goes on to say that Mr. Mara “breaks down isolation: students are encouraged to use social media responsibly to help open doors; Chris takes robotics team members to workshops and seminars on coding and programming and guests, such as Canada’s first female astronaut, visit the school.”
Among the outstanding achievements cited was the fact that the robotics team qualified for the quarter finals at its first competition and also won the Highest Rookie Seed and Rookie Inspiration Awards; the team is now Canada’s longest-sustained First Nation robotics team; that a female robotics team member was part of the provincial conference panel on leadership, along with prominent adults; her speech about resilience and showing strength through adversity received very positive feedback; Mr. Mara inspired the creation of another high school’s FIRST Robotics team on Manitoulin Island and was instrumental in starting and supporting four FIRST Lego League teams there. He took the robotics team from an extracurricular activity to a Ministry of Education-approved credit course and launched a year-long manufacturing technology/business course at school.”
“The robotics program is now a two-credit course at Wikwemikong High School,” said Mr. Mara. “It integrates manufacturing technology and computer science into the curriculum.”
But perhaps the most telling part of the citation comes under the rave reviews section where the comment of a student was listed. “He taught me more than just school subjects,” reads the review. “He really encourages individuality and creativity. Overall, he taught me to be more confident in myself and to never give up. He is selfless and willing to put the needs of the team and students before his own needs.”
