Jarrett Wilke
Jarrett Wilke is known for his quiet, quirky sense of humour in the classroom and in the staffroom! Jarrett was raised down the road in Mill Bay and attended Brentwood College School. He received his bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics (with a minor in math) and a bachelor’s of education from UBC, before going on to earn his master’s in mathematics education from SFU. While studying for his master’s, Jarrett also taught in the public school system in Abbotsford. He taught there for eight years before moving back to the Island and taking on a career at Shawnigan in September 2006.
Always an athlete growing up—he played soccer with Steve Nash in grades 8 and 9—Jarrett is a natural coach for our ice hockey and soccer programmes. He coaches senior boys’ soccer in the fall term, ice hockey in the winter term and is looking forward to coaching the junior boys’ soccer team this spring.
As well as coaching, Jarrett has a full slate of advisees and does House duty in Copeman’s (his brother, Justin, was Head of House as a boy in Copeman’s in 1998.) Jarrett doesn’t remember having the same advisor system when he was at Brentwood and finds it is a great way to get to know students on a more personal basis and to see how they live in community.
Jarrett also teaches Math 9, 11 and 12. “The most challenging aspect of teaching math is motivation, especially in the junior levels. The use of imagination in math class is stimulating for both the teacher and students. If the students love math class, they will learn. It takes a lot of time and energy to teach this way, but the learning outcome is well worth the effort.” Jarrett recently had a paper on Imaginative teaching published in Educational Perspectives—Journal of the College of Education/University of Hawaii at Manoa. Therein he writes, “As educators, it is our responsibility to engage students in meaningful and exciting lessons that aid in learning course material. The lessons are imaginative in that they do just that. There are many techniques to present material imaginatively, and it is the teacher’s task to develop various activities that challenge students to think in creative and innovative ways.”
Obviously, Jarrett brings to Shawnigan a wealth of teaching experience gained through his university studies and training in the public school system. Shawnigan, in turn, is giving Jarrett opportunities and surprises he hadn’t factored into the job of teaching. “I love the singing and Anglican Traditions of the Chapel. I can’t believe the opportunities we are afforded here, for staff and students—Ski Week for my family was amazing! I am continually refreshed by the commitment shown by staff to their students—the staff are all on board to educate the whole student, in academics, athletics, fine arts, and in the Houses as citizens of the School. And,” Jarrett recalls, “I will never forget the feeling of walking into Marion Hall for the first time. It was like visiting Oxford!”
Jarrett’s family is also a presence at the School, taking part in community events like the Terry Fox Run. His wife, Jennifer, an occupational therapist, has taken leave from her job to homeschool their four boys. They live in Cobble Hill, giving Jarrett an easy, seven-minute commute to Shawnigan.