Her Story
The Teacher Who Built Chinese Class From Scratch
Before any of us could say 老师好, someone had to build the class. In 1996, Jianyi (Jenny) Li-Mitra, our Ms. Li, started the Chinese program at Ross Sheppard High School with no curriculum and no textbooks. Within three years it had grown to more than 300 students, and at the time was the largest Chinese program in Alberta.
She went on to help write Alberta's provincial Chinese curricula and to represent Canada on the International Baccalaureate's Chinese curriculum review. She was the founding president of the Alberta Chinese Language Teachers' Association and received an Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award.
Ask her students, though, and they won't lead with the awards. They'll tell you she was honest, sometimes bluntly so. She cared more about their lives than their Chinese marks. For many students from immigrant families, she was the one who helped them figure out life after high school, a path their parents hadn't walked here. And yes, the Chinese occasionally stuck too.
After three decades in the classroom, Ms. Li is retiring. Come celebrate with us, however long it's been and however rusty your Chinese is. 谢谢老师!