When looking out over his high school classroom, Ed Richardson never just saw 30 or so students.

He saw individuals. Independent beings with different goals, needs and confusions. Young adults with stories to share and experiences to be had. Personalities that meshed, clashed, withheld and surprised.

Most of all, he saw people with good hearts.

"When you work with teenagers, you realize how most of them are really good people. They're all different. At heart, they're good people. If you don't engage with them, you're just going to see what you see walking down the street, which is not who they are."

While he tuned into the characters of those he taught, Richardson stopped short of divulging too much about himself.

Beneath the full beard, accent (the source of which is undisclosed) and dry sense of humour, is a man students knew little about.

"Students ask all the time where I'm from," he said, noting they were never afforded an answer. "It didn't seem that important for students to know that much about me."

Even now that he has traded his place at the front of a Semiahmoo Secondary Grade 12 English classroom for retirement, he prefers to keep that veil of secrecy tightly pulled.

But he is happy to discuss teaching – his passion.

"I went to school to become a teacher. Did I know for what? Not really. I think I always knew I was going to. But I don't know why."

Richardson started his career more than 30 years ago in a Surrey kindergarden classroom, before moving on to other elementary grades.

"It was a great place to start being a teacher. It taught me to focus on the individual students."

When he wanted a change, Richardson began teaching high school. He continued doing so for 18 years and taught at Semi the last 17.

He started with Grade 8 and 9 social studies and English, and worked his way up to Grade 12, where he has been for around 13 years.

"I've taught every grade now, and I like every single one of them."

And while he considered being a college or university instructor, high school is where he felt he belonged.

"Being with high school students was the perfect place for me."

By getting to know his students, Richardson said he had a better idea of what material to present in the classroom – what poems a certain class might respond well to, and which short stories could trigger debate amongst another.

"The more you get to know the students, you can do different things with different classes," he said. "Each one is an individual with a life. A lot of teachers, they get so focused on (curriculum), they don't... look at individual students."

Richardson wanted to see students succeed, and recognized some struggled in the school environment.

"You have to try as much as you can to give them encouragement."

His consideration was evident in his involvement with the school's Triple A program.

He started the course 13 years ago for students who found it difficult to keep up with schoolwork while leading busy lives with academics, athletics or arts outside school.

Richardson taught those students English over an entire school year, spreading out the workload to fit their extracurricular schedules.

All five grades were in the same class, and Richardson had many students for their entire high school career.

The program has been so successful, it will continue in his absence.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "I was able to help these kids."

Richardson also taught the yearbook course, in which students learn photography and graphic design, and produce the school's yearbook.

Whatever the subject, Richardson infused his sense of humour and experimented with different ways of presenting the curriculum in order to keep students' attention.

"We learn more if we're enjoying it. If we're not enjoying it, it's really hard to learn anything.

"It's important to bridge that gap somehow, not to make it so dull; try to find a way to make students engaged."

While he recognizes it's impossible to reach every student, Richardson said it's still worth trying to understand them.

"I think if students feel like you do care and you're not playing the enemy, and you're being fair, and you're being real, it's not hard.

"If you're being a phony, they'll pick up on that."

Unless students keep in touch – some do – he never knows for sure if what he did made a difference.

"I'm just planting a seed in their life, I don't have to see it flower. To be a teacher you have to be satisfied with that. It's a very subjective thing whether you helped in a little way or not."

While Richardson prefers not to talk about himself, it's easy to gather he has a strong affection for working with youth during what could be called one of the most difficult and confusing times of their lives, offering a breath of fresh air with his teaching style and capacity to genuinely care.

As for where he's from, however – that will remain a mystery.