Lee Maloney is probably best known for his enthusiastic leadership at the Pumpkin Run, coaching sports all year round at SJS, and his excellent rhymes in the classroom. SJS News sat down with Mr. Maloney to learn more about how he became a teacher and the important role that sports has played in his life.
Tell us about your own school experience growing up?
I grew up in Saint. John, New Brunswick. I played a lot of sports as a kid. My first love was basketball but then starting in Grade 8 I found I was really good at Football, so that became a massive part of life and who I am. After graduating high school, I started to coach high school football right away and I’ve been coaching various sports for 20 years now
What made you want to be a teacher?
It was actually a negative experience that first made me think about becoming a teacher. When I was in Grade 3 our principal substituted for our class and I remember crying after school because of how negatively he made me feel. My little Grade 3 brain was so confused because if he’s the principal, shouldn’t he be the best teacher? But it was his example of poor teaching that made me curious about what being a good teacher meant and I thought it was something that I could do some day.
Then when I got into coaching I was shocked to find that I loved it as much as playing, and I thought that would lend itself really well to a teaching career. So I started gaining as much experience as I could, challenging myself to improve my skills with young people through coaching and even working at a youth care home for troubled teenagers before I applied to university.
How did you come to work with the junior grades?
The teaching program in Saint John had only offered elementary education, so I knew I would be working with younger kids. Given my coaching experience was with high school students, I thought I would be placed with Grade 5 for my practicum. Hilariously, I selected “early childhood” on my application form because I thought it meant “elementary” or K–5. Because of that, I got placed in a Kindergarten class for my practicum, but I absolutely loved it!! My supervising teacher Ms. Wallace was amazing and I still attribute the foundation of my teacher’s knowledge to her.
What did you do before coming to SJS?
Back then, I never thought I would leave New Brunswick. But in my first year of teaching, I started learning about opportunities to teach abroad. I found a school in Bangladesh that was teaching the New Brunswick curriculum, and I thought why not? A friend of mine was going too, so I knew I wouldn’t be completely on my own. I had never been on a plane, but three flights and 27 hours later, I was teaching in Dhaka. It was pretty wild.
Suddenly, the world was so much bigger than I had known. It introduced me to international schools. I had never known about those before, and so I kept going. I taught at an IB school in Tokyo, Japan, for two years, which was where my Physical Education journey began, and I haven’t looked back since. I then taught in an American school for two years on Jeju Island in South Korea. After which, I felt like it was time to come back to Canada, but I really wanted to work in an international city. Ultimately, that brought me to SJS, and I’ve been here for nine years now.
What is your favourite part about SJS?
I really value the opportunity to have an impact on the culture of the school through my work in athletics. Sport has brought so much value to my life, and I can inspire others to join it as well. The community here feels very familial. It’s cool to say now that I’ve coached some of the kids who are graduating. Plus, I’ve always been a city kid at heart, so I like the urban setting and being in Vancouver. All in all, SJS feels like a good fit for me.
Why is Physical Health and Education (PHE) important for students?
The IB Programme is all about balance and being well-rounded. That includes how to be healthy, how to take care of ourselves and be resilient, which are all important parts of PHE. Every day we are supporting and teaching the complex social interactions that young students need to develop. There is a lot of problem solving, conflict resolution and building of social skills. They learn how to work in a team.
We do a ton of reflection with the students every day. How do you think that went? Why do you think your team did well or didn’t? We comb through it all, and the importance of being a good sport, respect, listening to your teammates, how your attitude impacts your performance and your teammates, and how to communicate with each other in a safe and healthy way. These skills all tie into so many different aspects of life, not to mention their other classes when they collaborate on projects or play together at recess. I see some adults in my recreational leagues who can’t do these things, and we’re tackling all of that in PHE.
What does sport mean to you?
So much. I attribute most of the moral virtues that I’ve learned throughout my life to sport. Things like discipline, grit. teamwork, and leadership—all these things that transfer to so many different avenues in life. It’s been a big part of my role here, such as building the basketball program in the junior grades. I’m passionate about all things sports.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Other than sports, I like to take advantage of being in Vancouver with all the different activities and events that happen here. Being able to go to great concerts and comedy shows and spend quality time with the great people in my life is important to me.
