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Mar 14, 2023

Napanee welding teacher empowers students through skill building

When Rebecca Mair was in high school and failing to achieve academically, she

When Rebecca Mair was in high school and failing to achieve academically, she didn't think she would go very far in life.

It was in Grade 10 that Mair's life path became clear. After being hit by a car, she was no longer able to complete her gym class credit. She switched to an automotive class.

"I have a pretty severe learning disability, and I struggle a lot with the theory side of things," she said. "When I got into the skilled trades, it was kind of that new beginning for me, because my learning disability didn't hold me back. It didn't matter that I wasn't very good at reading or writing, or that I struggled with the book work. This way, I was able to look at the theory I was being taught and apply it physically."

Mair felt she had found where she belonged.

Now, the 37-year-old Napanee District Secondary School teacher is trying to instil the same hope, curiosity and sense of accomplishment in the students in her welding program.

After high school, Mair went on to attend post-secondary programs in automotive, welding, machining and other trades-related training, as well as a business program.

She worked for many years in the skilled trades before returning to university for a teaching degree.

"I think for me, getting into teaching, that's where it shone for me," she said. "I was always told, ‘You’re not going to be able to do this or that, your learning disability is going to hold your back.’ I am living proof that it hasn't. I was able to be successful in every career that I had. I’ve been successful in college five different times, even in a business course that was very theory-heavy. And I went to university, something that a lot of people didn't think I could ever do. The trades did that for me."

Mair has been teaching with the Limestone District School Board since 2021. NDSS's welding course ran two sections prior to Mair's start. Now it runs six. Each of Mair's daily classes is full, with approximately 22 young people gaining hands-on welding opportunities, putting their theoretical learning into practice.

"I also give them the freedom to structure their own learning," she said, explaining that the students can decide their own projects within a framework of guidelines.

Part of Mair's attraction to teaching skilled trades was her observation of female representation in the real world and the lack of information presented to young women about their potential future in a skilled trade.

"As I was out working in the trades, I just noticed that the young women were not coming in, there's not a big market for females. It was very rare. Over the years, I met maybe 10 female tradespeople," she said.

Mair didn't see messaging being presented to encourage young women to explore skilled trades as career options.

"There wasn't enough information out there for young women to be encouraged in the high schools. You see it all the time. If there's no representation for them in the high schools, they’re really wary about taking those classes."

Of the 22 students in each of her classes, five or six are young women, something that is exciting to her.

"That's really good numbers, and just how phenomenal these young women are. — the spark that you can see in those kids when they build something and they find something that they love in a place they didn't feel like they belonged. It's been quite the road, but I think I ended up in the right place."

Mair's welding class offers duo high school and college credit opportunities at St. Lawrence and Loyalist colleges.

In her classes, the students get to keep one item that they create, another goes on display in the shop, and two items are donated to the class to be sold to raise money for supporting classroom expenses.

Those expenses are substantial, Mair said. The school's program budget is low and doesn't go too far to cover the regular consumable expenses such as wire, gasses, tools, welding gloves and jackets and more.

"Metal alone is unbelievably expensive, especially with the economy the way it is now," she said.

Local companies and organizations such as Mitech, RC Industrial, Continental, Davis and Davis, the Napanee Rod and Gun Club and others have helped by donating tools and materials.

"It makes a world of a difference," Mair said. "Stuff is so expensive. It can add up."

Mair also teaches part time at Belleville's Loyalist College in its welding program. Much of the money she earns at that job goes back to purchasing materials for her high school classrooms.

She said that while it's frowned upon for teachers to spend personal money on school expenses, it's worth it for her to keep the students building their hands-on skills, something that isn't possible without materials.

"A lot of these kids have (individual education plans) and they need to be in the classroom actually using the equipment to learn how to use it. They can't read it in a book," she said.

Mair wants to be part of making the school day a positive experience for her students. Ultimately, she wants to empower her students by showing them that they are smart and capable, no matter what difficulties they face in their learning journeys, and that they have opportunities in the skilled trades.

"It's exciting to be able to point out to my kids, or show them pictures of the things I’ve built, or the fields I’ve worked in. It kind of gives them a little hope, too, in the long run, knowing there's someone else who has the same struggles that they do in school. Maybe school's not our favourite place, but we can make the best of it being in a class like this, where we get to work with our hands, build things and be creative," she said.

She is excited to share her experience and outlook with the children in her class.

"I can make way more money being out in the trades," she admitted. "I love what I do. But I think it's time for me to be that representation for all young people, not just young women, but young people who feel like they don't have a place or feel like maybe their academics aren't where they need to be," she said. "Maybe they’re wandering around lost being told they won't make it because they can't do the book work. I always wanted to be the person that helped those students through that. I didn't get that kind of support."

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