Sheldon Fraser has mixed feelings about his retirement, though his students have been pretty vocal about what they think.
“I had one little girl that sobbed the whole class,” he said.
“At one point she pulled her shirt over her head. Then she pulled it back and asked if I’ll be back next year. I told her ‘I’m not sure’ and she pulled it back over her head.
“A lot of these kids, I also taught their parents, so that’s when you know it’s time to go. Some of my former students are teachers on staff here now so that’s a bit weird, in a good way.”
After 30 years in the teaching business, 27 of those at Westlock Elementary School (WES), Fraser is stepping back from an extremely rewarding and fulfilling career — one that he says he’s going to miss, probably more than he realizes.
“The children’s voices when they’re singing, without a doubt. Nothing to my ears sounds as good as the children’s treble voices,” he said. “There’s just a sweetness to it. It’s absolutely astounding. I’m going to really miss that and their laughter. It’s been lots of fun with them.”
He added with almost three decades teaching at WES, it was tough for him to highlight one memory, though he noted his first Christmas concert will always stay with him simply for the sheer effort that went into organizing everything for the first time.
Hosting concerts was a high point for Fraser, noting that after teaching two generations of Westlock kids, many parents came back to him with vivid memories of their own concerts.
“Not to diminish the importance of it, but most kids don’t remember doing math problems,” he said. “But they all remember their Christmas concerts.”
While he didn’t fully explore teaching as a career until he was 28, Fraser said he had known since he was a kid that was where he would end up.
“I first thought about being a teacher in Grade 5 when I met my homeroom teacher in St. Albert, who was a male. It dawned on me then that you could be a guy and teach in school,” he said. “So it was always in the back of my mind. But I always knew I was going to do something in music.”
His passion for music is strong as ever. One thing Fraser said he was looking forward to was getting back into practising new music, noting that over the years of teaching he has settled into a bit of a musical routine and wants to work his chops on some new material.
Exploring new music is also high on his priority list.
“I’ve spent 30 years working on the children’s music, now it’s time to get back to mine,” he said.
“While I still have a few good years left in me. I found over the last 30 years I play a fair bit but I don’t get to practice and there’s a huge difference. I’d like to get back into building up my technique for classical and rock and roll, that sort of thing.”
While he is leaving quite the void at WES, students shouldn’t despair. Fraser said he’s still planning to stick around the community at this point and is giving a lot of thought towards possibly volunteering with school functions in the years to come.
“After 27 years, this is home. When you’re doing it and you get to that last point and you realize it’s done, it hits you,” he said. “It’s overwhelming.”
