Wednesday, January 10, 2024
I just found out about Mr. Rioux's passing and I'm so sorry for his family. Mr.Rioux was the best teacher I ever had, and not only the best, but the kindest and most human that I ever encountered. He taught a class in Distributive Education, which I'm not sure is still a thing at the WSHS, but it made a big difference in my life and the lives of a lot of other students. DE was another way of saying a "Business Class"... it was about how business works... what it's like to be an employee and what it's like to be a manager or a business owner. I never went into business, at least not the kind of business Mr Rioux was talking about but his teachings of how to become very good at whatever job you have or want... and how to see other people's points-of-view in life and just plain how to be a good, fair-minded hard working decent person set the course for my life. That's a heck of a lot of teaching and learning the kind of lessons most of us only learn from making mistakes in life. Maybe the students in his class made less mistakes because of his teaching and life experiences that he shared with us. No teacher's life has ever meant so much to me.... and quite honestly, no other person's had as big an effect on how I have lived my life, with the possibility of my mom, than Mr. Rioux.
He was a one of a kind person and teacher and I will miss him for the rest of my days. Brian Scully Class of 1971
