Jared Purdy:
CLASS OF 1978
Nelson High SchoolClass of 1978
Burlington, ON
Strathcona SchoolClass of 1972
Burlington, ON
Jared's Story
Not sure how I ended up in the Strathcona School '72 "album"? I did go there, but I failed grade 6, so I did a repeat. I think I was looking at the Nelson High School page. At any rate, I never graduated from Nelson. I dropped out at the end of grade 11, which was '78. Public school was a dismal experience for me. I hated going to school. My mind was out the window. A couple of years after I dropped out, I wrote a letter to the admin department at U of G and by god, they let me in. That was the begining of many years in university - which I totally loved. I guess I finally hit my stride.
I finished with a Masters Degree from York U, though I got accepted into a PhD program (OISIE) at U of T, which I eventually realized I no longer had the enthusiasm for. Ironically, or maybe not so muc...Expand for more
h, I've been a professor for twenty years years, and occasionally, when I look at my students and sense or hear from them their feeling of near desperation, I tell them my story when I was in public school. They're almost always totally stunned. The guy who failed grade six, dropped out of high school but ended up on the dean's honour list and got scholarships for academic excellence did it. Bewildering, but true.
The 70's is pre-history for them, but I assure them that if I can do it, they surely can. Teaching became a calling, and I realized that with my education and passion in social justice, I might be able to make a difference. We live in a very f'ed up world. It takes every one of us to make it right. Retirement is on the horizon, though I wonder what I will do with all of that time?
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