In over half a century of teaching it is always interesting how memories of many students from my earliest years seem to resonate with me so long after. Two students come to mind now from the early 1960s. One former student, and former babysitter, because she is currently Premier of Ontario! How could i forget that! Another student is well remembered because Joel was such an unusual and quirky character who just did not fit into any school culture and led me eventually to document his academic life in a memoir I published in Education Canada called, Remembering Joel, A story of resilience.
But our current Premier in Ontario Kathleen Wynne, was asked by Gordon Cavanaugh a former student, to reflect on her memory of me as teacher and as an innovator. (At the time she was Minister of Education). Gordon wrote a monograph on my life as an educator called: "A Champion of Innovation in Education: Jerry Diakiw, A culture Change Leader. he included her response, which read:


I attended high school at a small school of 500 students. Jerry was my Grade 9 and 10 Geography teacher. He was one of a trio of teachers who were well loved by me and my classmates. His energy and enthusiasm suited our teenage longings. I was in his class in the 60’s and my overall memory of the time was that anything seemed possible. We were questioning all the norms of the school and our small town. We were challenging the adults around us and Jerry seemed to match our energy with his energetic love of everything he was doing. At the time I would not necessarily have known to say that he ‘loved knowledge or that he was an agent of innovation’. I would say that quite readily now and when we re-connected when I was Minister of Education, I saw in retrospect what a pioneer he had been. But at the time I knew that he wanted to stretch and push us. I didn’t love geography but I loved that class and have always held an image of Jerry as a wonderful teacher and seeker.

( Personal communication to Gordon Cavanaugh, July 7, 2011, )

The story of Joel can be read in its entirety at:
http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/remembering-joel-sto...