About Ahoy Teacher
“I’d never wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to do something important.”
Dr Carolyn Mamchur: Everything You Want to Know
I’d never wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to do something important. I wanted to make a difference in the world. I studied, I earned scholarships, I worked hard. I was going to go into the sciences, work with researchers, find a cure for cancer, the disease that had killed both of my maternal grandparents in their fifties. I had been with them during their slow and painful dying. I was determined.
My mother always supported me. A nurse who gave up her job to take care of her mother and then her father, she worked long hours as a housekeeper in a hotel belonging to my uncle. We all lived there. Money to go to school was not something we had enough of.
When I won a Governor’s General scholarship to go to university, this practical woman encouraged me to go to Teacher’s College. “You can always get a job as a teacher and work yourself through night school and summer school.”
Off I went to Saskatoon to take a one year course in how to be a teacher. Surely I could handle one year of it. Classes came and went each day. I wrote reports, read curriculum guides, I didn’t really register anything. I was buying time. Waiting for the time when I could do something worthwhile.
The long division moment
One requirement of Teacher’s College was to complete three weeks of practice teaching in a real classroom. The regular teacher would be there, telling you what to do, how to do it, and then give feedback to your supervisor. I couldn’t imagine anything worse.
The first day of my practicum, the classroom teacher phoned in sick. Very sick. Perhaps needed to go to the hospital. I would be alone with 36 twelve year-olds. I was told to follow her lesson plan book.
Her lesson plan book instructed me to teach long division at 9 am Monday morning, my first day of teaching. Long division! I never could figure out how to do it. In my head, I turned the numbers into divisions of ten and then, with a little adding or subtracting, I figured it out.
By the time we were half way through the lesson, I was so confused I couldn’t even find the answers at the back of the book. I’d ask the students how many had that answer and if the majority put up their hands I’d say that was correct. I had no idea.
A very attentive kid with red hair and no freckles put up his hand. His arms were long and the sweater he wore barely reached his wrist. “Yes?” I nodded more than spoke aloud.
He looked me square in the eye and asked, “You don’t know how to do long division, do you?”
Now what? How could I deny what was so obvious.
The class sat in silence, wide-eyed, watching, waiting for me to what? To lie? To yell? To tell the little red haired big mouth to sit down? To go to the principal’s office?
I did none of those things. Instead, I told the truth and invited him to help me. I have no idea where that idea came from; but I’ll be ever grateful it did. That decision influenced my teaching for the rest of my life.
“No, you’re right. I don’t.” There was a silence in the room. That’s when instinct kicked in. “But I’ll bet you do.” I smiled.
He nodded, signifying that he did know how to long divide!
“Well, here’s the deal. You teach long division and I’ll teach you the things I know.”
It was the beginning of a relationship, a sharing, a commitment. I honored my students, valued what they knew. I shared the responsibility. We paid respectful attention to one another. I left that practicum knowing I had found the most exciting, challenging, rewarding profession in the world. I also felt it was the most important. Not teaching curriculum. Teaching people to feel good about themselves, to welcome challenge, to take responsibility.
A life of teaching
I have spent every working day of my professional life hell bent on teaching. Teaching high school, teaching in a school for the mentally challenged, teaching in a school for wayward girls, teaching in a university, teaching in a board room, teaching in a hotel full of film makers. And now, teaching through a computer screen. I train, I learn, I teach, I am.
Oh, my credentials? I did the expected – BA, Bed, MA, MEd, EdD. I enjoy going to school. During my Bachelor degrees I majored in literature. My Masters in Teaching in Secondary English classrooms. My Doctor’s in Curriculum & Instruction.
What do I feel are the sources of knowledge that serve me best?
- Earning all of my degrees as I taught, allowing me to field test ideas in the real world of a high school classroom;
- Studying Jungian theory with the founders of CAPT, Centre for Application of Psychological Type Theory and with Carl Jung’s disciples in Switzerland;
- Becoming a published author and screen writer and mentor in the film industry;
- Creating courses and programs as a Professor in the Faculty of Education;
- Serving as director of the Writing Centre and ending my career as a Professor Emeritus in the position of Writer in Residence for Simon Fraser University.
The Team
A couple of people trying to make the world of teaching and learning… BETTER, with you!
Dr. Carolyn Mamchur
Ahoy Teacher author
Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University, award-winning author and specialist in Jungian psychology, with a teaching career of more than four decades. Author of A Teacher’s Guide to Cognitive Type Theory and Learning Style and How to Run Productive Meetings (ASCD, 1991).
“My purpose in creating Ahoy Teacher – to share the knowledge and joy that 50 years of studying and teaching and developing curriculum have brought to my life, giving me clarity and purpose and satisfaction.”
Dr. Greg Gerber
Ahoy Teacher author
Senior education executive, systems builder and technologist with more than two decades of leadership across K-12 and post-secondary institutions. President of Robertson College and founding President of the Independent Degree Granting Institutions of BC Society (IDGI-BC). EdD (SFU), MEd (UBC).
“I focus on innovating teaching and learning by aligning technology with how people actually learn. This work is driven by a commitment to clarity, effectiveness, and impact in educational practice.”
Dr. Carolyn Mamchur
Dr. Carolyn Mamchur is a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU), an award-winning author, and a specialist in Jungian psychology. With a teaching career spanning over four decades, she is known for seamlessly merging her passions for writing, literature, and psychology to foster personal and professional development.
Early career and education
Mamchur began her career in education at just 19 years old, teaching high school at Prince Albert Collegiate in Saskatchewan. She subsequently took on more challenging environments, including teaching at a school for troubled girls in Sedley, Saskatchewan. She later moved to Gainesville, Florida, where she taught in the Faculty of Education while earning her doctorate. A pivotal moment in her career occurred in Gainesville when she met Isabel Myers (co-creator of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which shifted Mamchur’s focus from traditional English and drama education to the application of Jungian psychology in the classroom.
Academic and consulting work
As an academic, Mamchur championed alternative education and humanistic approaches to teaching. She has worked in northern communities, collaborated with Indigenous youth and leaders in Saskatchewan, and traveled internationally as an advocate for empowerment. To expand the reach of her work, she founded C. Mamchur & Assoc. Ltd., a company dedicated to applying Jungian psychology and the study of archetypes to improve the lives of individuals across education, the arts, and industry. In addition to her numerous publications and articles, she is the author of A Teacher’s Guide to Cognitive Type Theory and Learning Style.
Writing and the film industry
Beyond traditional education, Mamchur is a screenplay writer who has extensively taught in the film industry. She has utilized her expertise in Jungian archetypes to assist writers and directors in character development, working with organizations such as Telefilm, the CBC, and Women in the Director’s Chair.
Even after retiring from her institutional roles, Dr. Mamchur remains an active teacher and writer, creating independent courses that help writers use psychological archetypes to craft compelling stories and characters. Connect on LinkedIn.
Dr. Greg Gerber
Dr. Greg Gerber is a senior education executive, systems builder, and technologist with over two decades of leadership experience across K-12 and post-secondary institutions. Currently serving as the President of Robertson College, his extensive background also includes recent senior academic leadership as the Associate Campus Dean, Academic at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Vancouver. Additionally, he serves as the founding President of the Independent Degree Granting Institutions of BC Society (IDGI-BC), driving sector advocacy, government relations, and regulatory collaboration.
A lifelong entrepreneur and technology advocate, Dr. Gerber has founded a technology consulting firm, spearheaded large-scale digital infrastructure initiatives, and led North American training divisions focused on digital threat assessment and school safety. Known for his pragmatic approach, he consistently helps organizations navigate complex regulatory environments, modernize operations, and build self-sustaining systems. He holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Education (MEd) from the University of British Columbia. Connect on LinkedIn.
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