Chow retiring after four decades teaching northerners

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Chow was born and raised in Prince George, B.C. and she moved to Vancouver after high school, where she earned a five-year Bachelor of Special Education degree from the University of British Columbia. Her first teaching job was in Sandy Bay. 

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“I was engaged over in B.C. and I was basically just going to go to Sandy Bay for a year. That was my first teaching job in 1983,” Chow explained. 

“I was going to finish my year, go get married and live happily ever after in Vancouver. But, I fell in love with this place and fell in love with other people and I stayed here instead of going home.” 

Chow stayed in Sandy Bay for eight years, before transferring to teach at La Ronge’s Churchill Community High School where she has remained ever since. During her career, she’s taught special education, science, biology, vocational studies and mathematics. At Churchill, she mostly taught Grade 7 and 8 students.  

Throughout the years, Chow has been known for her memorable stories and her easy-going demeanor. While some of the stories she told can’t be shared publicly, one came to mind about an incident during a camping trip in Wadin Bay. 

“One of my boys, not giving names, shook one of the tents because we knew there were bears around, and this was like 3 a.m.,” she reminisced.  

“He yelled ‘Bear’ and none of the kids slept from that point forward and we operated with little sleep.” 

There have been many changes since Chow started teaching all of those years ago. One of the largest has been how technology has become so prevalent. She worries how articifical intelligence may affect the lives of students as they get older. 

“How will the institutions be able to figure out what the kids have done and what AI has done? I need my kids to be successful, so they can have a happy life and raise their families and continue that in the future. I don’t wanted my kids to be dummied-downed because of AI. They have so many gifts these kids. They need to follow those gifts.”

After retirement, Chow plans to remain living in the tri-communities. She also wants to travel to France to visit her son, and she is hopeful her daughter might give her grandchildren in the coming years.  

With her career nearly over, Chow would like to thank residents of the tri-communities, Pinehouse, Sandy Bay and Stanley Mission for their friendship. 

“They have made me feel like family here,” she said.  

“This has been the most pleasurable career and I would recommend it to anybody. Coming to the North is one thing, but the welcome the people from the North give you, that is another and that’s why I stayed so long.” 

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com