Mr Gill 50 years a Flaxmere teacher

Thousands of Flaxmere’s rangatahi will well remember passionate English teacher Kevin Gill, who is retiring at the end of this term after almost 50 years teaching in Flaxmere.

Mr Gill trained as a teacher after leaving secondary school, going on to teach first at Mangateretere Primary School for a year, then Raureka Primary School for two years.  He moved onto Flaxmere in 1980, teaching at Peterhead Primary School for eight years before moving to Flaxmere Intermediate School. He stayed on as the intermediate transformed into a high school in 1993, focusing on teaching English.

“I liked all of my subjects at school, but English fascinated me,” he says.

That fascination grew into a career that had been “immensely satisfying and rewarding”.

Reflecting on his 47-year career, Mr Gill says while he is a little sad to be leaving, the time is right for retirement. “I’ve loved coming to school every day and I want to retire while I’m still feeling uplifted – going out on a high.”

For him, the magic of his 31 years at Flaxmere College has been the school’s community spirit; describing a place where teachers and support staff all have one another’s backs, and the students are “delightful”.

“They really do care for each other. Just seeing how supportive our senior students are of our juniors is  something very special”.

He strongly values the college’s holistic approach to education and commitment to helping students thrive. “We work very hard here to get kids ready for whatever their next step is – building their confidence, leadership, and social skills, along with their academic abilities.”

Equally important is supporting the development of students’ self-esteem and ensuring they see purpose in their work. In his view, school should be “a place where students can enjoy their time without trauma, enabling them to gain a solid education that supports their future”.

As an advocate for making learning meaningful and enjoyable, Mr Gill helps students embrace modern works, but also brings the classics like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to life with relatable, modern-day settings.

It is still a relevant story but it helps if it is put it in a modern context, he explains. “If you want to make it relatable, change the names to ones they recognise, and equate it to situations that they can identify with; we must find ways to connect kids to the learning.”

He has no worries about the future of the written word, noting that “there are more books being written today than ever before; some incredible authors doing wonderful work”.

And, of course, all of today’s modern communication methods rely on reading and writing, so comprehension and critical thinking remain essential. “We must help students not only read what is written – important for establishing the facts – but ensure they also learn to read between the lines, pick up on tone and inference, and develop to where they can recognise connotation and relate what they are reading with the real world.”

Something many of his students may remember is his recitation of Desiderata, which he reads to them as a gentle reminder of world’s beauty. “We all need optimism and purpose, and that poem is reminder that regardless of all of the things going on in the world, it is still a beautiful place.”

After a career of helping make secondary school a positive and enriching place, Kevin Gill and wife Rose – also retiring from teaching – will be enjoying some rest and relaxation, time in the garden, walking, and travel.