Long after his departure from Wellington Heights Secondary School (WHSS), Ian Turner’s influence on the school and its students will live on.
“He’s left behind quite a legacy,” says Steve Beggs, who will take over from Turner as head of the school’s history department in September. “He’s got tons of energy and he spearheaded so many projects and committees in the school.”
Turner, now 63, said he has mixed feelings about retiring this year after 39 years as a secondary school history and social science teacher, including the last two decades in Mount Forest.
“I like the kids and I get along with them well,” he said. “It’s tough, but it’s part of life.”
Turner is looking forward to having more free time, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be busy.
He plans to play hockey again this coming season and hopes to do more reading, walking, cycling, golfing, and travelling – he just returned from a trip to Prince Edward Island and hopes to take part in a mission trip to Nicaragua next year.
And those recreational endeavours are in addition to assisting with a Sports night for The Door, at St. Joseph’s parish hall in?Arthur, as well as his roles with the Arthur Lions Club (he is the past president), Arthur Historical Society and St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Arthur, where he teaches Sunday school and sits on the board of managers.
Plus, he’s thinking about volunteering; perhaps as a tutor or as a driver for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Ian thrives to be on the move,” said friend Faye Craig. “He is a highly respected, knowledgeable, generous guy … a real genuine, decent human being.”
With so much on his plate, one might wonder how he even found time to fit in a successful teaching career, but Turner has always made time for students – even when cancer recently crept into his life.
“He zoomed back and forth to Kitchener and wove radiation treatments into his teaching schedule, always managing to be back to Wellington Heights for his students and staff meetings,” said Craig.
“Those students and teachers were his fan club, cheering him on through those 21 challenging treatments.”
Even while raising three boys – Brett, now 32, Dave, 30, and Sean, 28 – Turner always made time to not only teach, but also to take on coaching duties every single year for the last four decades (including rugby, basketball, soccer and tennis).
“I always considered it part of my job,” he said, adding he figured if he could coach his own boys, he should do the same for others.
“It was a good way to meet the students and one of the main reasons the kids enjoyed coming to school.”
A pretty good athlete himself, coaching also allowed Turner to stay involved in the Sports he loved. Growing up in Toronto as an only child, it wasn’t long before Sports became a big part of his life.
After graduating from Royal York Collegiate Institute, Turner attended York University where, in addition to earning his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in history, he also played varsity tennis and rugby.
From there he enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Bachelor of Education program to become a certified teacher – a goal he had set for himself many years earlier.
Turner laughs as he recalls the story of how his grade 10 teacher wrote, “Ian should consider teaching” in his report card. His mother, who “worshiped” teachers and principles, immediately bought into the idea – and eventually so did he.
“That’s how it started,” he said.
Upon graduating from teacher’s college at U of T in 1972, Turner accepted a job at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute. He worked at GCVI for one year before moving on to teach for two years in Chapleau, located between Timmins and Wawa.
“They were good years there. I really enjoyed northern Ontario,” Turner said, adding it was a great experience to take part in partridge and moose hunts.
He then enjoyed 15 “wonderful years” in Centre Wellington, where he taught at the Centre Wellington District High School until 1989.
While there, he coached basketball and actually started the rugby program at the school. After that, on the suggestion of a colleague in Fergus, he applied to be the head of the history department at the high school in Mount Forest – and was pleasantly surprised to get the job.
“I was kind of shocked,” he said. “It was one of those life-changing things … I really didn’t expect to get it.”
But he’s been teaching in Mount Forest ever since, heading the history department and also coaching basketball, soccer, and tennis over the years. In 2004 WHSS opened and since then, “It’s been kind of a hectic six years,” he said.
Among others, initiatives at the school led by Turner have included:
– the opening of a Native Canadian showcase at the school this year;
– the installation of a plaque recognizing the local soldiers who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars;
– the formation of a heritage group, consisting of teachers and students, which painted a coat of arms and a Wellington North mural on a school wall; and
– helping to organize the school’s participation in the Royal Canadian Legion’s annual Remembrance Day poster and literary contests (the 2009 national winner for the black and white poster was WHSS’s very own Sarah Nicholson).
Beggs added that Turner has also worked tirelessly to bring together the communities of Arthur and Mount Forest and last year was responsible for developing the school’s first Native studies course.
“He saw a need and went with it,” Beggs said, noting most teachers with only one or two years left before retirement are not nearly as motivated. “He’s been a great mentor over the last few years in that respect … He runs a great department.”
Beggs says it will be hard to live up to Turner’s standards, especially when it comes to his affect on students.
“The kids just love him,” Beggs said, noting students gave Turner a standing ovation at an assembly last month.
He added the students have “Turnerisms” – oft-used phrases that have penetrated their vernacular – and also started a Facebook page in honour of Turner.
But the accolades pouring in for the retiring teacher are more than just anecdotal in nature.
This year Turner was presented with a certificate from the Mount Forest Legion recognizing his efforts to promote remembrance among students, which included producing two DVDs about veterans and war brides as well as publishing two articles on the same topic in Rapport magazine, the journal of the Ontario History and Social Sciences Teachers’ Association.
He also was named an “Everyday Hero” by the Upper Grand District School Board for going out of his way to make a difference in the lives and learning of students. Turner said that honour was extra special because his nomination came from two students.
Then, on June 17, Turner was informed the history department has nominated him for a Governor General’s award in teaching Canadian history (the winners are announced in the fall).
“I almost fainted when I heard that,” he said. “It’s a good way to go out, but I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by it all.”
Craig is one of many who describe Turner as a “modest and unassuming gentleman” – traits which are on full display when he’s asked about the honours bestowed upon him this year.
“I’m just trying to do the job … I enjoy people and I enjoy my students,” he said. “I never thought I was anyone special.”
Beggs says nothing could be further from the truth.
“Everyone’s going to miss him,” Beggs said. “There will definitely be a void.”
But Turner has thought about retiring for some time and is confident he’s making the right decision, despite his fondness for the profession.
“I’ve really enjoyed [teaching],” he said. “It’s a terrific job, but there are new horizons out there.”
