In celebration of National Volunteers Week, we are delighted to spotlight Peter Brodribb, an extraordinary volunteer with Volunteers In Education. Peter exemplifies the spirit of commitment and generosity that drives our community forward by volunteering to support newcomers to Canada in learning English. Join us as we honour Peter’s remarkable contributions and the significant difference he makes in our community.

“Peter Brodribb is an energetic, engaging, and committed volunteer. He comes to volunteer in our class of newcomers twice or sometimes 3 times a week. It is a class of students who are not literate in their first language so teaching them requires a lot of repetition, gestures and finding multiple ways to convey the same meaning. Peter works in small groups with the students helping them to learn English, reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The students have benefitted greatly from having another English speaking teacher in the class. His big smile and kind eyes make them comfortable trying to communicate in English. We are so fortunate to have him as our volunteer.”  – Audrey Wanner 

Read on to learn more about Volunteer in Education volunteer, Peter Brodribb:

Tell us a little about yourself

I was born and raised here in Ottawa. All my life I’ve loved the outdoors and I can’t think of a better city to live in to be outside. Biking along the rivers or skating on the canal, all seasons are a reason to enjoy the environment we live in. I also love spending time with my grandchildren and relish being part of their lives.  

What made you decide to volunteer with Volunteers in Education program? 

After experiencing the isolation of the pandemic, I wanted to find a way to contribute to my community in a meaningful way. I couldn’t think of a better opportunity than to support newcomers to Canada in learning English. These adults, each with their own storied lives, coming from a wide range of diverse backgrounds, find ways to support each other with positivity and good humour. And I get to work with two amazing teachers who always welcome me in to the learning space and who show each day such warmth, care and commitment to the well-being and learning of their students.  

Who was your favourite teacher? 

As a high school teacher for over thirty years, there was one principal that stood out as my favourite teacher. He was a remarkable leader who coupled an intellectual vitality with a generous listening heart. I knew his office was a safe perch to freely explore what I had been learning. He opened up the space for me to “think out loud” and name what puzzled, challenged or motivated me. In the cramped quarters of his office, space seemed to expand through the flow of conversation. The teacher in him never left when he assumed the role of principal and so visiting him in his office felt like being in his classroom. As an educational leader, he imbued us all with a sense of hope that was rooted in a belief in our collective capacity to solve problems. We knew we were “in it together” and yet he made time and room for each of us to find and forge our own unique paths. During those office visits in a curious way, I felt like a small boy again in the safe crook of the tree, stretching and reaching for new footholds to see a wider and different view. And I tried later to honour what I had learned from him in my work at Queens as a teacher educator, mentoring those entering the teaching profession.  

What is your favourite hidden gem in Ottawa? 

If you bike along the western parkway, you just may come across the work of a local artist, a rock sculptor on the banks of the Ottawa river. The setting itself is beautiful, a natural amphitheatre made of limestone shelving thousands of years old. Each spring, the artist begins to build these elaborate stone sculptures. He works just with what the river gives him. Huge granite boulders are his working materials. And every winter the ice jams topple his previous year’s labours. And yet he is not defeated for he sees the new season as an opportunity to find fresh ways to work with the new deposits of spring – different rocks with different shapes. He grows in his craft for he knows to build from the new knowledge he has gained from the previous year. He is a teacher at heart and a lifelong learner. And I love that he shares the beauty of his work in such a public way. 

What is your personal philosophy on life? 

As I grow older, what matters now is to live with an open hand to each day; to experience fully whatever might safely land there; whether an encounter, a connection, or a new insight, even if so briefly; open to it all to find a home in me.  

Lesson learned from a moment in the classroom: 

I can’t think of a richer more meaningful place for me to land than in this classroom of adults who have no doubt faced many challenges in coming to a new country and yet here they are, coming to school each day to learn a new language.  

One day, I was sitting beside one of our students from Afghanistan, a grandmother who had no formal schooling in her first language.  Here she was active and engaged in the process of sounding out letters. Without any prompting, spontaneously, a sound rose within her and lifted into the air, light enough to reach the sky, I thought. I can only describe that sound as a fusion of surprise and wonder – the vocalized expression of pure joy.  I realized in an instant how she had recognized the sound of a word and suddenly experienced that breakthrough moment of finding meaning. Learning to read.  Her wide smile, brimful with feeling, said so much more.  

To witness and share in this moment meant the world to me, and I thought to myself how blessed am I be in this classroom and be a part of such a vibrant learning community. 

If you are interested in volunteering with ONFE’s Volunteers in Education, please visit our program page.