How Did I Land At KSS?

It was May 1960. I was a Graduate student in the department of Physics at U.B.C. I had just finished the course requirements, and was set to start research. Mr. Sirivastva, a post-doctoral Anthropologist, Mr. Bagai, a Statistics grad student, and another grad student from India, asked me if I could go with them for a week’s tour to the interior of B.C. Mr. Sirivastva had to interview some people of Indian (I mean East Indian) origin in Kelowna and Kamloops in connection with his anthropological research. They wanted a fourth to play bridge.

We spent the first night in Princeton, the second in Vernon. The following morning we watched Princess Margaret’s wedding on television in the motel before heading for Kamloops. In Kamloops we stayed at a motel in North Kamloops. It was called Isnardy and was on Fortune Drive. We spent about three or four nights in Kamloops. I remember quite vividly that one evening we went for supper to Hide Away restaurant, way out on McGill Road to the West of the town. On way back we parked at the look out on Columbia Street. I remember that below the look out was a city dump. The city and the valley looked so charming and attractive that night. There I wished, “if I could live in this town”.

Within a month of that trip to the interior, I decided to join the College of Education at UBC. (Why? That is another story to be told at another place). I completed a one year program in Secondary Education. For my final practicum I chose to go to Kelowna School District. That was in the spring of 1961.

Graham Tweedy, who was a school teacher in that district and whom I had known from Vancouver offered me to be my host for three weeks in Kelowna. Don Campbell, vice-principal at Rutland School, was my supervising teacher for the practicum. He had taught Physics at Kamloops High School before coming to Rutland in 1960. During the first week of the practicum, I received a phone call from the District Superintendent of Schools in Kamloops. The call was received in Don’s office. The Superintendent wanted me to go to Kamloops over the weekend to see the Principal of Kamloops High School. I did not drive then, and told him so. Then he suggested if I could be available if the Principal of Kam High drove down to Kelowna. I gave him the address of my friend I was staying with. This whole talk took place in the presence of Don Campbell.

Meantime, I thought of seeing the Kelowna School District Superintendent during the second week of the practicum. Okanagan Valley looked so pretty during the spring. It reminded me of the Kashmir Valley. So much so, I asked the Indian High Commission in Ottawa to send me a movie on the Kashmir valley to be shown to the students in Rutland. And it was done.

On Saturday of the first week of the practicum, Mr. Richards, the Principal of Kam High, came to my friend’s place. We had a talk for an hour or so. (I still remember poor Helen, his wife, kept sitting in the car and waiting for her husband to finish the visit). In order to sell the position, Mr. Richards told me that Dr. Barry Munro, my supervisor from UBC, who was in Kamloops during the week, suggested him to see me to teach Physics 101 and Physics 91at Kam High. Mr. Richards told me that I would be very happy at Kam High. And, of course, he told me everything about the greatness of Kam High, its academic programs, achievements in sports, and, of course, it’s Rhode Scholars. I told Mr. Richards that I will think about it.

On Monday, when I went to School, I told Mr. Capmbell about Mr. Richard’s visit and his offer to join me Kam High. Mr. Campbell had a meaningful smile on his face. Then he revealed to me that that was the position which he had left before coming to Rutland as vice-principal. He advised me to take up the position without any reservations. The same day I received a telegram from the Superintendent of Kamloops School District offering me a position to teach Physics 101, Physics 91, and one course in Math at Kam High. I still have that telegram as my pride possession.

Around that time you were obligated to say yes or no within 24 hours. My host also advised me to accept the position. So, just within about a year of my innocent wishing at the lookout in Kamloops in 1960, I had my wish fulfilled. It is not said for nothing, that be careful what you wish for. They may come out to be true. This one wish, I never regretted though.

On Saturday of the second week of practicum, my host, Graham, his wife, Anita, their one year old son, David, and I drove to Kamloops from Kelowna to see the school. Mr. Richards took us around the school. Everything was so imposing.

It was on Labour Day, 1961, morning that I reached Kamloops junction by train from Vancouver. At about 9:30, I asked a gentleman at the station as to where Munro Street was. I was to board with one Mrs. Cox at 607 Munro Street. Mrs. Cox had told me earlier that she won’t be able to receive me until 2:00 PM. The gentleman looked at me with a surprise. He said his people were waiting for me at the station with my baggage. They had to go home, as it was a holiday. He arranged a ride for me to go to the station at the foot of 3rd avenue from the junction. I collected my baggage. The gentleman, before he closed his office for the day, advised me, and rightly so, to keep my eye on my stuff. I was happy when I reached 607 Munro Street in the afternoon. I slept the rest of the afternoon, and attended the first staff meeting at the school that evening. Around that time first staff meetings of Kam High used to be held on the evenings of the Labour Day.

In the late fifties and early sixties there was a space race going on between Russia and the US. As a result of Russia taking a lead in 1957 by the launching of Sputnik, in North America a movement to revamp the teaching of science was afoot. Physical Science Study Committee at Princeton University wrote a new Physics program for High Schools. It was called PSSC Physics. During the summer of 1961, along with about 30 other teachers of Physics from the province, I took a special course based on PSSC philosophy. Dr. Derek Livesy from the department of Physics at UBC and Dr. Harry Cannon from the College of Education gave that course. We were the pioneers for this program in the province. Main emphasis of the course was on discovery and, of course, thinking. I landed at KSS with a big box of PSSC material to try my hands where ever I could while teaching the old course.

As mentioned earlier my assignment was 2 Ph 101, 2 Ph91, and one Math 10. I had crème de la crème in my Physics classes. All of my Ph 101 students passed the Government Examination in 1962.

Adrienne Allen and Barbra Allen, daughters of Nelson Allen, the Superintendent of Kamloops School District, were in my Ph 101, and Ph 91 classes respectively. Was I under supervision every day? Probably, yes. That explains why I did not have a visit from any inspector during the year.

Physics 91 labs were a sort of fill in the blanks type of labs which did not challenge the students to think and reason out the observations. Accompanying text written by Dull and Metcalf was equally dull. It encouraged the concept of applying the right formula to get answers to problems. It did not challenge students to think.

From the College of Education I came out with a wow not to give answers to the students’ questions directly. Challenge them to find their own solutions by asking questions back. This reminds me of an interesting episode. One day, during my spare period, while I was walking down the hallway by the office, I was stopped by a student near the library. He was to come to Ph 91 class next period, and was working on problems assigned a class earlier. He wanted some help with a problem pertaining to an object falling under gravity. He asked me as to what formula he should apply to solve the problem. Of course, I wasn’t going to oblige him that easy. I spent about 5 to 10 minutes asking him questions repeatedly as to what did the problem mean to him? Physics deals with problems in the physical world, and they should mean something to the person dealing with them. He got exasperated, and left without knowing what formula to apply and, of course, cursing me. He came into the class next period. I always used to ask, at the beginning of the class, if there was any question about the assigned work in the prior class. This student did not ask the question. Some others did. I spent about 5 to 10 minutes on the class making them realize and appreciate the practical physical situation. It was tough and taxing to make them think and have them appreciate as to what the problem meant to them, rather than just plugging in numbers in a senseless formula.

Move forward in time by about 15 years or so During the last week of June, some of us KSS teachers were having our lunch at Mr. Mikes on Victoria and 1st. A gentleman walked over to me and invited me to see his friend who he was having lunch with. This man introduced me to his friend and said, “This man changed my life. He made me think and finding solutions to my problems on my own.” He said a few more platitudes. This gentleman was a lawyer in the town. You guessed it right. This gentleman was the same student who stopped me in the hallway in 1961/62, and got exasperated when I won’t tell him the formula, and kept asking him questions. He is Albert Basile. Later on he practised law in Vancouver, and now is a successful business man in horse feed. What is the relation between physics, law, and horse feed? “Thinking, understanding the problem, and finding your own solution”. This is what Al says. Incidents like this make your life worthwhile, and satisfying. This is the true wealth of a teacher.

During my first year of teaching at KSS, Jack Buckam and Diane Bond was an inseparable couple in the West hallway. Allen Campbell and Bruce Turner were in one of my Ph 91 classes. Boyd Veness was in my Ph 101 class, and his wife Pat was in grade 12 then, and in my homeroom. Gerry Bond came to Ph 12 class in 1967, and so did Walter Harder. Looks like I must be getting old.

In 1964 PSSC Physics was introduced as Ph 91 and Ph 92 the following year. From only two Ph 91 classes, in 1964, we had six Ph 91 classes. In addition to Two Ph 101, I had three of them and Mr. Goodwin the remaining three. The following year Mr. Persallo joined us to teach Physics.

Some Memorable Years

In reality every new school year is a memorable and special one. However, 1972 and 1986 stick out in my memory as special ones.

After spending four years in Nigeria under the auspices of Canadian International Development Agency as an Educational Advisor, teaching at Nigerian Colleges and College of Education at University of Lagos, I returned to KSS in 1972. My assignment that year was four Science 10 and two Math 10 classes. So to speak I was put on the green chain to earn my way up. That year feeder schools sent 120 students to KSS. May be that was their overflow both number and problem wise. Both of Math 10 classes were General Math. Out of four science 10 classes, three were called Terminal Science 10. And one class was academic. Academic class was all girls.

I had no regular room in the main building. My classroom was a portable in the quadrangle. It had three long tables with 10 students to be seated at one table. There were only two water and gas outlets at each end of the table.

Around that time drugs, especially marijuana had started making its appearance on the school scene. My three terminal Sc 10 classes were a real challenge to teach in a portable. Before the end of the first week a couple of times terminal class students turned the gas tap on and tried to light it up They could have burnt the whole portable. After having seen this, I went to the Principal, Mr. Tait, and requested him to turn the gas and water taps off in the portable.

I re-wrote and re-designed the Sc10 for terminal classes and the Academic one. First period in the five period cycle was devoted for science news. Students were encouraged to present science related news collected over the week. Every student had his or her turn to present their collection. Second and third periods were devoted to the teaching of topics from Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy. Fourth period was used to show them Science and Environment related 16mm films. There were no videos then. Fifth period was devoted to research on any scientific topic selected by students from a list provided or of their own choice. Every student presented at least four researched reports in the year. There were reports on Planets, Solar System, Aeronautics, Environment, Nuclear Bombs, Agriculture, Biology, and on Marijuana too, to name a few. It turned out to be a very enjoyable year.

I was always at ease with those students. The word went around, and still don’t know how, that I was always high on something. At the year end some students out of appreciation and affection tried to give me a few “cigarettes”. When I declined their offer and said that I never smoked in my life, they got a shock of their lives. I made lots of friends that year. I have been to weddings of some. Still know and see some. It was a very satisfying year.

I ran into the same type of situation in 1986, my final year of teaching. Sometime during October 1986, Mr., Lloyd, the Principal, came to my room and asked me a “favour”. He asked me if I could trade my Algebra 11 class with another teacher and take rake his General Math 10. The reason? I was told that the other teacher was having difficulty with that class. I agreed. I used to meet that class in Dr. Hebden’s Chemistry room.. They were enjoyable kids, all 20 something. Some of them had their problems. We shared their problems. Encouraged and helped them. Had lots of fun. And in the end did Algebra 11 with them That was the most appreciative group I ever ran into. When I was a member of the Immigration Appeal Board in 1990’s, my office used to be on the corner of Burrard and Robson in Vancouver. I used to meet two of them on Robson Street.

In 1963, I don’t know how, my Math 10 class was all 35 girls. Fawn Mcgillvery was one of them. All of them were so smart, and it was a challenge to keep them busy all 60 minutes.

I enjoyed going on spectators bus to watch Red Devils playing foot ball in Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, and Vancouver. Survived through the noise and singing by the students. Once in 1962, on the way back from a league game in Kelowna, the driver of the bus couldn’t stand the noise anymore. As soon as we pulled out of Vernon, he stopped the bus, and refused to drive the bus back home. After some cajoling and sweet talking, we were able to reach home in a subdued atmosphere. The following day, the Principal sent the team captain and some players to me and the driver to apologize on behalf of the team.

Working with Ray Shindell with the Gifted and Talented program, on 1986 re-union, for Honours’ Banquet, and on KDTA executive for about eight years on behalf of colleagues were some other satisfying experiences.

There are teachers, lawyers, accountants, doctors, engineers (both male and female), and university professors who went through my classes. I run into them occasionally. I keep social contacts with some. We meet for lunches occasionally. Our students are our best investment.

It is no exaggeration when I say, “I still miss my classroom”. Teaching is a highly satisfying profession.

I would be remiss, if I end these reminiscences without mentioning the high level of professionalism and a sincere concern for their students by the KSS staff right from 1961 to 1987, when I took early retirement. During my early years at KSS, I was highly impressed by teachers like Messrs McWhannel, MacIlwain, Howard, Knapp, Rye, Marshall, Thomas, and Mrs Dundon, to mention a few. From the recent memory, I would like to mention Messrs Shindell, Hebden, Persello, Munson, and Trkla, McDell, and Altmeyer. In a situation like this one is always guilty of leaving some more deserving a mention. One can always take shelter under faltering memory.