Every other month you can find a new “Get to know our tutors” video right here on our blog. We’ve got some great ones so stay tuned!

Transcript:

Hi I’m Heather, and we’re doing another “Get to know your tutor” and today we have with us…Richard!

Hi Richard.

Good morning Heather!

Ha ha hello!

Well!

How are you doing?

I’m doing fine, it IS Wednesday, right? OK.

It is, yes, I just saw the garbage trucks go by so that helps me figure it out.

So, I’ll jump right in and will ask you a couple of questions so that people can get to know you better. So how long have you been working with us?

I’ve been over five years, I do believe, yeah.

Yeah, definitely for a while, and of course, we used to work together prior to this at a school, which was how we knew each other. And how I knew you’d be a good tutor too!

And what was it that got you into the field of education in the first place?

Motivating the minds of young children and just seeing how they react and presenting them with different things to make it a fun learning experience with them.

Yeah, yeah.

So, if I can ask, what’s your favourite thing about working for The Open Door?

Working one-on-one really makes a difference. Seeing the different things that you can do with the kids, and finding the key that unlocks the door, and all the doors have a different key.  And when you find that key, it’s so rewarding for, well for me, and for them too!

Definitely! And it’s a lot different than that classroom teaching because you can do the one-on-one, and I know from your previous full-time teaching role that you were in a class that definitely had a high number of students with learning disabilities, so I’m sure that being able to tailor down to the individual needs is a nice change.

Of, definitely, and as you get to know, after a number of meetings, and sessions with the kids, you get to know their strengths and the things that they are interested in so that you can tailor the activities that you plan to their interests.

Alright, so now we’re at the point where I’m just going to ask you some quick, rapid-fire questions. Don’t hum and haw and think about the answer, just the first thing that pops into your mind and we’ll see what we get. Alright?

Yeah! Fire! Fire!

First question, what’s your least favourite food?

Lamb.

Oh yeah? The taste or because it’s a baby?

Um, especially when it’s with wool on it, yes. I mean, yep. Lamb…

I can’t eat it either!

It’s the least favourite that I can think of, I can start to feel not well already!

That’s funny, I’m the same! Because if it’s too cute, or actually if it’s too ugly I can’t eat it. That’s funny.

What was your favourite cartoon show growing up?

It would have to be “Quick Draw McGraw”, I think it’s a toss up between “Quick Draw” and “Yogi Bear”.

OK, I’m familiar with “Yogi Bear”, not so much “Quick Draw McGraw” although it is a bit of a mouthful to say!

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

People at the grocery store in the 1 to 8 line and they have, they can not count.

Right, with their thirty items, plus.

Yes.

And you’re there, very, you know, you counted out your six items and, you know, you counted each grapefruit as a single item, yep!

And the last one, if you had access to a time machine, when would you go?

When would I go? I would go to, I would probably go tomorrow, leave tomorrow and take a trip backwards in time.

You’d go back in time.

Yes.

And what sort of era would you go? I’m assuming you wouldn’t go back to last week. Haha

I think I’d go back to the last 50’s early 60’s, yeah late 50’s early 60’s.

Yeah.

Fair enough!

I’d take the car; I’d take the modified DeLorean.

Ha ha, there you go! “You turned a DeLorean into a time machine?”

And the last question I’ll ask you, I’m sure you had a number of different moments that have sort of stood out for you, but is there one in particular that you’d want to share with us?

Yes, the most interesting humorous experience I think was, I was working with a student and the student was unable to tell time. So, I asked him if he had a watch. And he said, “yes” and I said, “Oh, let me see the watch!” So, he turns over his wrist to me and he showed me the watch, and the watch had no numbers on it, all it had were lines.  And someone had given him this watch, I’m not sure who it was, to help him tell time.

Right.

So, I brought along, the next time that we met, brought along a clock.

With numbers?

With numbers on it.

And then how did he do? Did he learn?

Oh ya! He learned, no he learned very well after we used the clock and some other supports. Yeah he was able. And by the end of working with him he was able to use the watch with the lines on it to decipher and figure out what the time was.

So then he could even use his numberless, you know, the “advanced” watch to tell time? Oh that’s nice!

So this was very interesting!

Well, thanks so much for taking a little time to chat with us and take care and I’ll see you later.

OK, thanks very much Heather, happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!