Interview With Bill Carder Nov.27th/07

Bill Carder is known in his family as the guy who can always make you laugh. At parties, he is known to tear up the dance floor and sing like a professional on the karaoke machine. He can even do an exact impression of Donald Duck’s voice.

Over the phone his character showed as we shared many laughs. But aside from his character with the family, Bill is still a well respected geography teacher, even after his retirement.

Bill said that he was “very happy” with his career choice. “I liked the kids, and teaching, and the long break in the summer.”

“Well I guess there was mixed emotions. There were a lot of hours involved during the week. I had to plan classes and was a coach, which involved a lot of hours. But overall I was happy with my career choice.”

Coaching was also a big part of Bill’s career. He liked the team factor which brings kids together to work as one. Once Bill coached his curling team to OFSAA.

OFSAA “is the Ontario Federation School’s Athletic Association,” Bill explained. “Basically it’s where the best schools in the province meet. Being there was like being apart of the Olympics to me and my team.”

Bill did not always know he wanted to be a teacher. In fact he didn’t decide that he was going to be a teacher until his final year in University, when he had to make a final decision. “I never thought I would be teaching geography or even teaching at all for that matter,” he explained with a laugh.

“When I went to University there was a lot of options, but geography interested me the most. Geography opened up a lot of doors for me. Like one time I had the opportunity to work for the government, but I stuck with teaching.”

Bill has also had the pleasure of teaching and working with several interesting students and colleagues. One of his students became the Minister of Education in the government, while another was written into a book.

“Another became a big part of the World AIDS program,” Bill said regarding another one of his students. “My students, colleagues and everyone I worked with were interesting.”

There is no doubt that Bill loved his career as a teacher. It was a surprise to hear that he had worked in this career for thirty years. His final year of teaching was actually one of the most memorable times for him. “My colleagues threw a lot of parties for me,” Bill said.

“There was also a special assembly for the teachers retiring that year. I remember that the last month of my final year at school was pretty much all parties. I actually had to stay back into July to finish my work. But it was worth it.”

Despite these glorious thirty years Bill spent as a teacher, perhaps the most memorable part for Bill was the response and respect he got from his students and colleagues that he worked with.

All the work and effort was worth it, “because kids would always come back and say how much they appreciated what I did,” Bill said sincerely. “That’s probably the most rewarding part about being a teacher; when kids express appreciation.”