Orford exemplifies

July 4, 2013 · 0 Comments

Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning author and historian David McCullough might have been the most enthusiastic among those praising the work of history-teacher Neil Orford had he been at Dufferin County Museum last Thursday when a small crowd gathered to honour Mr. Orford for having been judged one of Canada’s 25 best history teachers.

As such, he was among the finalists for the 2013 Governor General’s History Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

The museum last Thursday also seized the opportunity to announce the launching of DuffStuff on Sunday, July 7. DuffStuff will be a virtual war memorial that might have evolved from the 2006 partnership between the museum and Mr. Orford’s history class at CDDHS.

Locally, Mr. Orford’s selection as one of Canada’s 25 best has won him recognition and praise from the Upper Grand director of education, Martha Rodgers PhD, as well as the principal and his peers at CDDHS and of area politicians including Grand Valley Mayor and Museum Board chair John Oosterhof, who is no stranger to the kind of wartime devastation that Mr. Orford’s students are studying along with their research into the military service of Dufferin residents over at least two centuries in partnership with the museum.

It was not the first time Mr. Orford had been lauded for his contributions to education. He was previously named a provincial Teacher of the Year for 2011-12 as well as a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Alan Skeoch History Teachers Award, and an Ontario Secondary School Teachers Association District 18 Excellence in Teaching Award.

But it seems likely his most treasured and heartfelt praise has come from some of his students, in particular Alissa Droog, Alex Berry, Corah-Lynn Hodgson and Sarah Callaghan, who had created a marble memorial to Shelburne High School and CDDHS students who had served, or are serving, in Canada’s armed forces. The memorial is fashioned after the Group of Seven’s A.J. Casson scroll that’s half hidden in the front office.

Following the unveiling of the memorial on Nov. 10, 2011, the students thanked all who had helped with the two-year project but added, “however, after the ceremony we found there was one person who had helped us more than any other individual: Mr. (Neil) Orford our history teacher. Mr. Orford was the one that kept us on track for the entire two year project, always knowing what was the next step and who in the community to call to get help with certain things. The four of us just thought that Mr. Orford should get one more piece of recognition for all that he did,” Alissa, Alex, Corah-Lynn and Sarah said in a joint statement at the time.

And it was Corah-Lynn who nominated Mr. Orford for Teacher of the Year and who collected letters of support.

Almost coinciding with last Thursday’s event, Mr. McCullough lamented in an interview telecast on CHCH on the weekend that too many North American young people are “historically illiterate.” He said teachers of history need to specialize in the subject and to be passionate about it.

To visit Mr. Orford’s class is to witness the qualities of which Mr. McCullough spoke. The qualities of dedication to and passion for the subject might be credited for Mr. Orford’s success in having his biennial battlefields tours included as part of the regular curriculum, such that the students are able to complete the tours of study within the regular academic year.

In 2009, at the launch of the memorial project at Remembrance Day, one of the four students, Sarah Callaghan, said, “how can we remember? We weren’t there.”

Then, in a personal email after the memorial unveiling, she said, “While it is true that we were not around at the time of the wars and probably could never imagine the horrors that took place during those times, it does not mean that we shouldn’t learn about these events and honour the people who truly gave it all. After all, they sacrificed so that we -the future- could live in such luxury where war is not a part of our daily lives here in Canada. Knowledge is power when it comes to history and I firmly believe that history is not made by the few but rather, the many. That is why it is so necessary for us to learn about the many people who lived and -whether they were conscience of the significance of their actions at the time- contributed during those times.”

And that is the kind of historical passion that Mr. Orford has succeeded in arousing in his students. CDDHS Vice-Principal Jennifer Meeker said Thursday the school is lucky to have such a master teacher.

Mayor Oosterhof views Mr. Orford’s tours as going well beyond the learning and reaching into feeling. In an interview last Thursday, when the topic of Flanders Fields arose, he said wistfully, among other things, he would challenge anyone viewing the trenches where Col. John McCrae served, to stand there and read In Flanders Fields without shedding a tear before getting to the last line.

“The feeling” might well be much of what Mr. Orford aims for. Speaking of Juno Beach, he said in part, “being there; talking about it; feeling the emotions; sharing the experience; learning the story – that’s what history teaching’s all about.”

His sincerity shows through. As much as he felt honoured by his selection as a short-list finalist for the Governor General’s award, he said “the real reward would be if this partnership and project outlasts me and becomes part of a cultural expectation at schools well beyond the Upper Grand.

“My fondest hope is that this model will be stolen and used with stunning frequency by Canadian History teachers everywhere.”

He said he wished a way could be found by which all students everywhere could participate in the tours if they wished.

Mr. Orford said he also takes pride in the fact that CDDHS has donated more (memorial) bricks to the Juno Beach Centre than has any other school in Canada, and has raised more than $30,000 for the centre.

By Wes Keller