Henry Goertzen has plans to volunteer to teach English in Cambodia during retirement. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

accomplishment

Goertzen set to retire after decades as an educator

Jun 9, 2023 | 5:00 PM

There are only two weeks left before long-time educator Henry Goertzen retires from La Ronge’s Pre-Cam Community School on June 23.

Born in Saskatoon, Goertzen spent most of his childhood in St. Laurent, Man. living on a cattle farm. After graduation, he returned to Saskatchewan and earned a Bachelor of Religious Studies in Caronport from Briercrest College and Seminary in 1977.

“I decided I would like to do some teaching overseas, so I went to Japan and taught English as a foreign language from 1977 to 1979,” Goertzen said. “I came back from Japan and went to Manitoba because that’s where my family was and spent a year driving a truck. During that year, I had some health issues and the doctor said I should have an inside job, I should not catch a cold, you should get lots of sleep and I thought for some reason teaching would provide that.”

Goertzen then spent several years teaching in Manitoba in Riverton and Swan River, before deciding to move to South America where he learned Spanish in Costa Rica. He spent several more years teaching in Venezuela.

“I actually started a school there on the sideline in the evenings and it developed to have 150 students,” Goertzen said. “There were 250 on the waiting list.”

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Goertzen once again returned to Canada in 1996 where he lived in Caronport for a period of time. In the following years, he found work in Fond du Lac, La Loche and then Buffalo Narrows. It was in La Loche that he transitioned from being a regular classroom teacher to a focus on special education.

In 2010, Goertzen accepted a position in La Ronge at the Northern Lights School Division central office as a special education consultant. In that role, he travelled across the North and worked with teachers in all of the division’s schools. He did that job for three years before moving over to Pre-Cam Community School as the student support services teacher.

“It was good to be able to settle down into one school again and not be driving to 22 different schools and just focus on the needs of students in one school,” Goertzen said. “In the previous years as a consultant, I was focusing on the needs of the teachers rather than the needs of the students.”

Throughout those years, Goertzen explained a lot changed, especially when it comes to technology. When he first began teaching, he used a typewriter and he still remembers the early days of teaching in Manitoba when he purchased his first calculator. When it comes to technology and students, he noted it’s not common to see a child without a device, but he added that not a bad thing as it depends on how it’s being used.

For those interested in becoming a teacher, Goertzen mentioned the most important advice he could give is to build relationships.

“Relationships are the way to have a child learn,” he said. “Listening to them, hearing them, building trust and connecting with families as well. I am a strong proponent in connecting with families of children because it’s a team. You build a team to support a child.”

Goertzen, who also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis on education and a Master’s degree in Special Education, believes now is the right time to retire. In recent years, he lost people who were close to him, and he came to the realization that there are still goals in life he wants to accomplish.

“I have children living in Ontario and Alberta, so I will spend time with them and their children,” Goertzen said. “Also, about 15 years ago, I started making plans about what I want to do in retirement, so one of the things I want to do is volunteer teaching English as a foreign language in another country. At this point, I am working with an organization in Cambodia and the plan is to go out there for part of the year.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno