MENTORSHIP MATTERS SERIES 1
This is the first in my mentorship matters series. These are stories, anecdotes and life-lessons that stuck with me and have practical day-to-day implications. I hope you think so too, and it makes you think.
What better way to kickoff than this lesson from my Dad. Mike Patterson was a public school educator and administrator his entire career. He also served on the city council of our hometown as councillor and mayor. The story I want to share today was from his time in public school.
We had a robust public school system in our small town and only a few private schools. The Catholic school was the largest and most established private system.
As a grade-school administrator my Dad would hear from families that were considering the move from public to private school. The common arguments: smaller class size, quality education, and “nicer” families (whatever that means). My dad always had a simple argument on why that child & family should remain in the public system:
Think of the value your child and family brings to the public school community and how that will be lost? Communities are the sum of parts which are greater than the whole. And if you remove your part OR block that part from participating, consider the LOSS? It’s a loss to YOU and a loss to the community.
I thought of this lesson last week. I was on a Zoom call for local residents association — which represents the concerns of the neighbourhood residents and homeowners. I live in a small suburban city of about 80,000 within a large, busy metro-area. My residential neighbourhood in this small city is one of the oldest in the whole region. We have a great mix of housing from apartments to condos to large 100-year-old stately manors (and of course regular city lots with modest bungalows like ours).
As you might expect, over the past 100 years some of these stately manors have had their lots broken up and “in-fill” housing built on the grounds. What was once a 20,000 square foot lot with a 6,000 foot mansion now has some version of the original home plus several other smaller lots and homes.
One such cul-de-sac was up for discussion on this Zoom AGM. A homeowner had applied to the city to take the modest home and split it so that the original old cottage could be restored and a new home built on the empty side of the lot. The floorplan and lot areas would be the very maximum allowable (and small!) but completely in keeping with surrounding streets.
The only thing in their way: people doing people-ing. We heard some time-worn arguments about destroying the character of the neighbourhood, too many families, not enough parking and my favourite about how its unfair to make families live on these small lots because they will lack green space.
To these bah-humbuggers and not-in-my-back-yarders I offer the humble advice my Dad shared. Instead of focussing on doom and gloom, consider the LOSS we all suffer by not welcoming another family into the neighbourhood. Imagine the energy of a young couple or a family with kids or some cool retirees would bring. Can you picture people biking to our nearby businesses to spend their money? Or, it could be a single person who becomes the next public school principal or Mayor of our fine city! But instead, you want to keep them out because a new house might mean an extra car parked at the curb.
We welcome new taxpayers to share the tax base burden and pay important development fees during construction. Perhaps the new resident will be an artist, writer or painter who will transform the our town’s arts community. To those who feel its their role to “protect” and “deny?” Please read and take my Dad’s lesson to heart.
In future Mentorship Matters I will share stories from other mentors such as a straight-talking ex-Hamilton Spectator editor; a VanCity Savings Vice-President; the kindest shop-owner in Toronto and two eccentric Americans who built Canada’s biggest brand.
– rich patterson