Lacombe Composite High School’s Steven Prediger has been nominated for the Edwin Parr award. Each year, the award is given to a first-year teacher in each zone of the Alberta School Boards Associations (ASBA). Each school division nominates one teacher who demonstrates teaching excellence. 

“I was probably more shocked than anything, I’m a pretty humble person. So, I was a little surprised and taken aback. I was honoured by the nomination. I didn’t get into teaching for awards. I got into it to try and pass on my information as best I can. It was just nice to be recognized for that. I have just been being myself so I guess that’s kind of the cool thing, I feel that I am on the right path,” said Prediger, a welding teacher at LCHS. 

This year, Prediger was chosen for offering his students real-life applications while teaching his students welding. 

“I am pretty diligent in setting up my classes to align itself very similarly to what you’d see in industry. I kind of hold my guys accountable in those sorts of scenarios,” said Prediger adding, “I don’t like the word control. I like to say that my guys are educated meaning that they understand what the tool's capabilities are. I explain to them before they even pick up a tool what it is used for, obviously but also the safety precautions that come with that and precautions on what to look for.”

During his classes, Prediger said that he likes to pause the class for teachable moments and loves to have the freedom of operating an open shop. With no customers waiting, no time constraints other than a few of their projects, he finds that he is able to turn some mistakes and natural progressions into valuable lessons for the students. 

The teacher noted that one of the most rewarding parts of his job is seeing students grow from his lessons and gain independence in the workshop. 

“The cool thing that I’ve noticed so far is the grade ten’s. They come in and most of them have either never been in a welding shop or touched a welder in their life. You get the really unique opportunity where you get to get them at the ground level of teaching somebody those essential skills. It’s really cool to see them go from not having very much information, or very much experience and by the time they’re done their quarter—it’s like kind of watching someone grow up in a sense—they become independent, they get that new base of knowledge, and they come up with a product at the end,” explained Prediger. 

Like any first-year teacher, Prediger noted he was a bit overwhelmed at first but says being placed in an area of his expertise was definitely an advantage to his career.  

“Coming into your first year of teaching is quite overwhelming. It’s kind of like drinking from a firehouse a little bit. I am very fortunate in the fact that I was able to get into an area where I had quite a bit of background and experience and I think that kind of showed through based on my classroom management,” added Prediger. 

The teacher believes finding a mentor was important to help him navigate his first year of teaching. He also says managing a maintainable workload was also very important. 

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew take it in strides. It’s really, really, really easy to be overwhelmed and to be here until eight or nine o’clock at night. Focus on your rocks, focus on the foundations and the rest will work out as you go.”

These days, class is a lot different for the welding teacher who is currently working to offer content online because of the pandemic. Through technology, he hopes he is able to maintain connection and engagement with his students in the months to come. 

Although students and teachers may be far from the school now, Prediger is still proud to be called LCHS Ram. He said he couldn’t have done it without the support of his mentors, fellow teachers and leaders at the school and the behind the scenes support from his wife.