Dr. Woodward
By: Erica Cho
Dr. Woodward is a new teacher at Collingwood, teaching Grade 11 Seminar since September of 2021.
While this interview was to get to know Dr. Woodward better as one of the new teachers, and to highlight his journey and experiences to becoming an English teacher here at Collingwood, his story had unexpected twists and turns, and this interview with him was more interesting and inspiring than I could have hoped for.
Dr. Andrew Woodward was born in Port Hope: a small town in Ontario. He then lived in Toronto for 8 years. He enjoys swimming as a hobby, as well as some casual yoga (that he would really like to commit to more).
When asking an English teacher in highschool about his journey to becoming an English teacher, one could most fairly expect a story that involves a lot of English. Perhaps a passion for writing and for English classes during high school, and continuing this by studying English in university. Dr. Woodward then revealed his secret: The last time he had taken an English course was in Grade 12 English in highschool. Here’s the kicker: he did not even take English in university.
He grew up in a family that was very STEM concentrated—surrounded by very “math and science” people (his father being a retired engineer, for example). Accordingly, Dr. Woodward took STEM courses: AP Calculus, AP Chem, AP Bio; you name it, he took it in his last year in highschool. His undergraduate degree would also be chemical engineering. Then how did he go from chemical engineering to an English teacher?
At some point, chemical engineering began to grow old. What he really wanted to do was to think deeper and explore more topics and do more writing. (Of course, he points out that chemical engineering requires a lot of thinking as well. It was simply because he was now more interested in a different type of thinking.) This would ultimately lead him to the studies of philosophy.
Even before diving into philosophy, Dr. Woodward had completed his master’s in theology. This might have led him to becoming a minister, but he realized that was not the path for him. So with this background experience in studying theology, he began to dive into the world of philosophy. He started asking more questions. Questions like: What is science and what makes science what it is? How can people be religious when everything is science? All of these were questions he had been wrestling with himself. He found that being able to ask these questions and exploring to find some answers through the subject of philosophy turned out to be a great outlet for him. Dr. Woodward got his PhD in philosophy of religion at University of Toronto and published two non-fiction books about the philosophy of religion. One of these two books is called Scientific Models for Religious Knowledge: Are the Scientific Study of Religion and a Religious Epistemology Compatible? and can actually be found in our very own Karim library.
One of the most influential figures in Dr. Woodward’s life was his university professor, Professor Donald Wiebe. Professor Wiebe had been his supervisor when he was writing his thesis, and he credits this professor for the incredible influence and the help he provided that really got him to be where he is right now. He had learned how to write at the level of writing that he is doing right now under Professor Wiebe’s direction.
Around the time he was transitioning from his studies in theology to philosophy, Dr. Woodward came out as gay. That had not been working very well within the church world, especially then in the past. It was a tumultous time for Dr. Woodward and he struggled with his faith during this time. Being brought up in a Christian household and having that religion in his life since the beginning, made the change from religious to non-religious a very complicated journey. This was where Professor Donald Wiebe came into the picture. Professor Wiebe had written a book called The Irony of Theology and the Nature of Religious Thought. This book had a profound impact on Dr. Woodward’s life, totally changing the way he was thinking of things. It helped him be accepting of himself and his change in beliefs. It also helped him realize that it was okay to doubt and question things. He tells me that Professor Wiebe most likely doesn’t even know just how much this book had impacted his life. This book still resonates with him today and he even spent some time discussing with his Grade 11 Seminar class on what irony is.
Dr. Woodward believes that English has a connection with philosophy in that it is really about asking questions too and trying to understand. English involves learning the right grammar and writing with skill but Dr. Woodward believes that the subject is all that and deeper. He personally values the benefits of having the Humanities offered at Collingwood as it establishes this new idea about English and Social Studies being integrated with eachother. This integration between English and Social Studies has been going on for a long time in human history after all.
When asked what kind of teacher he wanted to be for his students at Collingwood, Dr. Woodward had an answer right away. He said that if there is a discussion in his classroom, no matter if he is the teacher in the room, he is still one voice in the discussion. He will bring whatever he can bring to it. He hopes that his students can be comfortable and trust him enough to share their own perspectives, even if they might disagree with the teacher’s. He also wants to help build his students’ skills on being able to actually explain their argument and perspective. It is essential to him that his students learn the importance of being able to expand on their ideas.
As for students that may be interested in pursuing a similar career as a teacher, Dr. Woodward wants to share that it is a job that you can benefit from doing a few other things first. Teaching can draw from so many other experiences, so it isn’t something that you need to just rush into. Even though he may not have seen himself teaching years ago, he absolutely loves teaching at Collingwood and is glad that he is here with us today. Dr. Woodward hopes that he can become an even better teacher with all the different experiences he has had. He advises students to take the time to find their passions and really enjoy and appreciate the education we have.
There are so many things to do and we have our lives to try it out.
By: Erica Cho
Dr. Woodward is a new teacher at Collingwood, teaching Grade 11 Seminar since September of 2021.
While this interview was to get to know Dr. Woodward better as one of the new teachers, and to highlight his journey and experiences to becoming an English teacher here at Collingwood, his story had unexpected twists and turns, and this interview with him was more interesting and inspiring than I could have hoped for.
Dr. Andrew Woodward was born in Port Hope: a small town in Ontario. He then lived in Toronto for 8 years. He enjoys swimming as a hobby, as well as some casual yoga (that he would really like to commit to more).
When asking an English teacher in highschool about his journey to becoming an English teacher, one could most fairly expect a story that involves a lot of English. Perhaps a passion for writing and for English classes during high school, and continuing this by studying English in university. Dr. Woodward then revealed his secret: The last time he had taken an English course was in Grade 12 English in highschool. Here’s the kicker: he did not even take English in university.
He grew up in a family that was very STEM concentrated—surrounded by very “math and science” people (his father being a retired engineer, for example). Accordingly, Dr. Woodward took STEM courses: AP Calculus, AP Chem, AP Bio; you name it, he took it in his last year in highschool. His undergraduate degree would also be chemical engineering. Then how did he go from chemical engineering to an English teacher?
At some point, chemical engineering began to grow old. What he really wanted to do was to think deeper and explore more topics and do more writing. (Of course, he points out that chemical engineering requires a lot of thinking as well. It was simply because he was now more interested in a different type of thinking.) This would ultimately lead him to the studies of philosophy.
Even before diving into philosophy, Dr. Woodward had completed his master’s in theology. This might have led him to becoming a minister, but he realized that was not the path for him. So with this background experience in studying theology, he began to dive into the world of philosophy. He started asking more questions. Questions like: What is science and what makes science what it is? How can people be religious when everything is science? All of these were questions he had been wrestling with himself. He found that being able to ask these questions and exploring to find some answers through the subject of philosophy turned out to be a great outlet for him. Dr. Woodward got his PhD in philosophy of religion at University of Toronto and published two non-fiction books about the philosophy of religion. One of these two books is called Scientific Models for Religious Knowledge: Are the Scientific Study of Religion and a Religious Epistemology Compatible? and can actually be found in our very own Karim library.
One of the most influential figures in Dr. Woodward’s life was his university professor, Professor Donald Wiebe. Professor Wiebe had been his supervisor when he was writing his thesis, and he credits this professor for the incredible influence and the help he provided that really got him to be where he is right now. He had learned how to write at the level of writing that he is doing right now under Professor Wiebe’s direction.
Around the time he was transitioning from his studies in theology to philosophy, Dr. Woodward came out as gay. That had not been working very well within the church world, especially then in the past. It was a tumultous time for Dr. Woodward and he struggled with his faith during this time. Being brought up in a Christian household and having that religion in his life since the beginning, made the change from religious to non-religious a very complicated journey. This was where Professor Donald Wiebe came into the picture. Professor Wiebe had written a book called The Irony of Theology and the Nature of Religious Thought. This book had a profound impact on Dr. Woodward’s life, totally changing the way he was thinking of things. It helped him be accepting of himself and his change in beliefs. It also helped him realize that it was okay to doubt and question things. He tells me that Professor Wiebe most likely doesn’t even know just how much this book had impacted his life. This book still resonates with him today and he even spent some time discussing with his Grade 11 Seminar class on what irony is.
Dr. Woodward believes that English has a connection with philosophy in that it is really about asking questions too and trying to understand. English involves learning the right grammar and writing with skill but Dr. Woodward believes that the subject is all that and deeper. He personally values the benefits of having the Humanities offered at Collingwood as it establishes this new idea about English and Social Studies being integrated with eachother. This integration between English and Social Studies has been going on for a long time in human history after all.
When asked what kind of teacher he wanted to be for his students at Collingwood, Dr. Woodward had an answer right away. He said that if there is a discussion in his classroom, no matter if he is the teacher in the room, he is still one voice in the discussion. He will bring whatever he can bring to it. He hopes that his students can be comfortable and trust him enough to share their own perspectives, even if they might disagree with the teacher’s. He also wants to help build his students’ skills on being able to actually explain their argument and perspective. It is essential to him that his students learn the importance of being able to expand on their ideas.
As for students that may be interested in pursuing a similar career as a teacher, Dr. Woodward wants to share that it is a job that you can benefit from doing a few other things first. Teaching can draw from so many other experiences, so it isn’t something that you need to just rush into. Even though he may not have seen himself teaching years ago, he absolutely loves teaching at Collingwood and is glad that he is here with us today. Dr. Woodward hopes that he can become an even better teacher with all the different experiences he has had. He advises students to take the time to find their passions and really enjoy and appreciate the education we have.
There are so many things to do and we have our lives to try it out.