Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 12/01) - Elizabeth Monroe, 23, returned to Yellowknife after graduating with a B.A. in German Studies from the University of Victoria last year.
 Elizabeth Monroe |
Working as a substitute teacher now, Monroe is off to get a teaching degree this fall. But she'll be back. And when she does the city's two school boards will have to fight over a young woman who is professional, passionate and patient.
Yellowknifelife: You're only a couple years older than some of the students. Any advantages?
Elizabeth Monroe: Sometimes it makes me more approachable. But students have no concept of how old I am. I'll mention that I went to this school and they'll say 'I can't believe the school is that old.'
One student thought I was 37. I nearly had a heart attack.
Yellowknifelife: What's the craziest thing you did in high school?
Monroe: I was a band geek and in French immersion.
Yellowknifelife: You've had several jobs in retail. Any similarities between serving customers and teaching children?
Monroe: Patience. Multi-tasking. You have to read people to see how you can help them.
Yellowknifelife: You attended six schools (four in Yellowknife, two in Victoria) by the time you graduated from high school in 1995. Was that difficult?
Monroe: In some respects it helped me. When I went to Victoria in Grade 10, most of what they were doing we'd already done in Grade 9 (in Yellowknife). I guess it speaks highly of our education system.
Yellowknifelife:How much of being a teacher means being a counsellor?
Monroe: A lot. I couldn't give you a percentage but a lot. It hasn't been that long since I was there, so I know where they're coming from.
Yellowknifelife: How much does money factor into your career choice?
Monroe: I've known since I was 12-years-old that I wanted to teach. Money has never been an issue.
Yellowknifelife: How have classrooms changed compared to when you were in school?
Monroe: We take a lot more time for special needs students. But we're meeting the needs of more students because we can adapt programs to make sure kids succeed and finish school.
Yellowknifelife: You hear about the demands placed on teachers time when students with FAS and learning disabilities are in the class. Are you prepared?
Monroe: After having experienced it first hand in the classrooms, at least it's something I know is there. It's an issue you see all the time and I'm glad it's being addressed.
Yellowknifelife: Why aren't more young teachers heading North?
Monroe: I know three or four people who have come back to teach, which is great. Some people aren't prepared for the isolation or the cold. It helps if you've lived here before.
Yellowknifelife: Is there a connection between your ideal job and travelling?
Monroe: Not really. Just life long learning.
Yellowknifelife: What's your most memorable travel tale?
Monroe: Potsdam (Germany). I was at Sans Soci, Frederick the Great's palace, modelled after Versailles.
It was astounding.
I studied France as a child and always wanted to see Versailles but never did, and this was the next best thing.
Just being there in the court yard of his palace was mind boggling.
Yellowknifelife: What qualities do you admire most in a person.
Monroe: Honesty and humour.
Yellowknifelife: What would you want to be remembered for?
Monroe: If I died tomorrow, knowing I'd made the difference in the life of just one child.
Yellowknifelife: Was there a pivotal life-changing moment for you?
Monroe: I had a great Grade 8 music teacher. He saw I wasn't happy with my instrument (clarinet). He'd seen me try out other people's instruments, and he brought me an oboe and said 'Give it a try. I'll give you music books. I can't show you how to play but I know you can do it.'
Just knowing someone believed in me that much, it pushed me.
Yellowknifelife: You received your BA last year. You're going back to get your Bachelor of Education this year and you've vowed to return to Yellowknife. Why?
Monroe: Yellowknife is home. It's a part of me. A lot of people down south are very reserved don't understand where I'm coming from. I am who I am and here I can be that person.
