news&views Autumn 2024 | Page 11

FROM THE BRANCHES

June 2024 • MHADRTA ’ s President Therese Bullin presents Julia Bruins-Jacober with Life Membership . Congratulations , Julia !

Read the full story at bit . ly / MHADRTAAward

FROM THE EDITOR

I am not a teacher , but I am married to a now‐retired teacher , and this ensures the gift of being able to read every issue of news & views . And I do read each one , from cover to cover .

Many is the time I should have written to say , “ Thank you ,” but the summer 2024 issue was particularly thought-provoking and memory-stirring .

Kudos to a Favourite Teacher

I was fortunate to have known David Jeffares when I was Minister of Education and he worked in the department . He cared , wisely and with empathy . The piece by Heather Sinton was so appropriate , and I was delighted to have David back in my life for a moment , if only via print .

Kudos to a Favourite Teacher

44 | arta . net FLOWER POWER

Heather Sinton | Article and Photo

“ Your life lies before you like a path of driven snow ; be careful how you tread it , for every step will show .”

This is the quote that my Grade 7 teacher , Mr . Jeffares , wrote in my autograph book . Of all the teachers that I had in school , Dr . David Jeffares stands out as the one who inspired me to do my best . I have thought about that quote ’ s wisdom from time to time and have tried to live by it over the years .

David had a long and distinguished career . He taught or administered in schools located in Alberta , France , and Australia . He earned his PhD in 1973 and then worked as a director with Alberta Education . In various roles , he researched and developed curricula and programs for the integration of special needs children into regular classrooms and established the Attendance Board for Alberta Education . He was also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta until he retired in 1998 . Dedicated teachers like David deserve recognition , and in 2005 he received the Alberta Centennial Award for his outstanding contributions to education .

I had the privilege of having David as a teacher ( and principal ) while in Grade 7 in 1965 . He made learning interesting and challenging , and as a result ,

I loved his classes . The movie The Sound of Music came out that year , and he taught our class several of the songs . I still remember the words to “ My Favourite Things ,” and sang it to my four children and grandchildren .

In retirement , I have taken up painting and photography . I didn ’ t have any formal training in either . In fact , the only art classes I recall having were those that David taught . We learned about perspective , composition , and use of colour — obviously he lit a spark in me !

I had the joy of reconnecting with David last year . I learned that he had had a stroke , so I travelled to Edmonton to see him for the first time in almost sixty years . It was a very special and emotional reunion . I was able to express to him in person the positive impact that he had on my life . The knowledge , skills , and wisdom that he imparted to his students have stayed with me to this day .

Heather Sinton worked as an educator , reclamation specialist , and environmental director advocating for the conservation of native landscapes . In retirement , she celebrates their beauty through photography and art , hoping to inspire others to connect with nature .

“ Take the time to see A child as he unfolds . Sense his needs , what ’ er they be , And what the future holds .”

— David Jeffares ( 1977 )

— Lowri Williams

Getting Back to Our Roots

Margaret Sadler | Editor-in-Chief , news & views , ARTA

Timothy Leary , Ken Kesey , Allen Ginsberg — all countercultural radicals , pushing boundaries , organizing protests against the Vietnam War , all familiar names of the 1960s and ’ 70s .

“ Radicals ” — chemically speaking , radicals ( sometimes called free radicals ) have an element that ’ s unpaired — out of balance — thus making them easily reactive . You can see how the hippies of the ’ 60s and ’ 70s fit that moniker . They saw society as out of balance and reacted , striving for a more equitable , loving , just , and peaceful world . Protest campaigns soon arose regarding civil rights , women ’ s liberation , and Black Power , Red Power , LGBTQ +, and student rights movements — all with a strong countercultural undertone , by people who had quit cutting their hair and quit wearing suits . Some Canadian musicians became icons of the period — Joni Mitchell , Neil Young , and members of The Band among them .

While it ’ s a challenge to measure the effect of protest movements , progressive laws in the ’ 70s and ’ 80s grew out of Flower Power . Influenced by American culture and still more by the migration of draft dodgers , Canadian baby boomers joined in the movement with experiments in education ( Rochdale College ) and media ( Georgia Strait ). The ideals of the “ hippies ” undergird Canadians ’ leanings toward holistic health and wellness , mindfulness , and social justice in this century . Environmentalism , recycling

“ And we ’ ve got to get ourselves Back− to the garden .”

Joni Mitchell , “ Woodstock ”

and composting , yoga and meditation , and equal rights can all claim roots in that period .

New protests take strength from their predecessors : Tiananmen Square in 1989 , the Arab Spring of 2011 , the Women ’ s March of 2017 . One might wonder how effective they were , but seeds have been planted ; the ground is prepared for growth . Still , we are horrified by the effects of wars in Ukraine , Gaza , and Sudan . What are today ’ s protesters near you saying about these wars ?

Here we stand , Baby Boomers , with the wonder years of “ love and peace ” decades behind us . We were of the generation that influenced the world , with subsequent waves of influence . What now ? Let ’ s not be found waiting for death ! How can that enthusiasm to change the world be kept alive in us ?

Surely our experiences can contribute caringly , carefully , cautiously to conversations with those who succeed us . In the ’ 60s , we determined that those in power would only listen if we massed together and shouted . Read in these news & views pages of intergenerational opportunities , where we might listen whether at the library or in a garden . Relationships are built on listening .

I believe , as did Martin Luther King Jr ., that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice . And still we can influence that bend .

SUMMER 2024 | 7

Never

Underestimate

There ’ s an image I haven ’ t been able to shake since 1967 .

It ’ s of a young woman with long hair , placing a flower in the barrel of a rifle . The soldier who holds the gun is standing by , his face an unforgiving stone .

I thought of how brave she was . I remember being afraid for her . That soldier could have shot her during those turbulent times .

She was protesting the war in Vietnam with flowers . Such childlike innocence , that gentle protest . At the time , our generation was in the springtime of our lives . Being young , we thought anything was possible . Sure , maybe we could even stop a war with a flower .

What happened to those vibrant young people in bell bottoms and fringed vests with flowers in their hair ?

We got jobs and we raised families . We tried to follow our dreams : the love we thought would last forever ( maybe it did ); the career we longed for ; the life we so optimistically planned .

Did our dreams come true ? Did new dreams take over ? It ’ s a good thing some of those dreams didn ’ t come true . Life , it seems , has a way of knowing what ’ s good for us in spite of us . Maybe things turned out in ways we could never have imagined , back then in the springtime of our lives .

And then came retirement . A time to wonder if the most meaningful part of life was over . What ’ s my job now ? I can ’ t change the world . I ’ m just one person . So why bother to do anything at all ?

Getting Back to Our Roots and Never Underestimate

One flower placed in a rifle barrel . Did it stop the Vietnam War ? Maybe not . But who knows how that image affected the psyche of the people ? Almost sixty years later , that picture is still etched in my brain . So who knows just how far-reaching that one act became ?

Maybe it ’ s not for us to decide how one small act of goodness will affect the world . Maybe it ’ s our job to just do it and let the world figure out the rest .

So go ahead . Help a neighbour . Volunteer in an animal shelter . Share your talents . Reach out . Be present in your world . Consider this : The things we do in retirement are every bit as important as what we did in our work life .

And never underestimate the power of a single flower .

After a career in journalism , Tamela Georgi became a teacher . Her favourite subjects were Englishas-a-second-language and career planning . In retirement , she does a little writing .

SUMMER 2024 | 33 SUMMER 2024 | 33

Like many retired teachers , I am a Baby Boomer who wonders what happened to the promise of the ’ 60s and early ’ 70s . However we went astray ( and I , for one , think we did ), age and retirement may give us power to reflect and recover some passion for justice and opportunity . The above two pieces were very well-written and thought-provoking . I hope they will encourage readers to lean into the future again , with some modest part of our remaining energy , and encourage younger people to lean into the future as well . The outcome is always uncertain but the future is worth the effort .

Thank you for all of this , and more .

Tamela Georgi

David King , Victoria , BC

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