1988 Saint John Spring Convocation
Wagstaff, John Russell
Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Orator: Taukulis, Harald K.
Citation:
CONVOCATION, MAY, 1988
JOHN RUSSELL WAGSTAFF
to be Doctor of Laws
It is our privilege to honour a scientist and educator who, for the past 37 years, has been entrusted with the minds of a long procession of students. Since receiving his degrees in science and education from Mount Allison University in 1950 and 1952, he has taught in numerous institutions, including several universities; but we know him best as a member of faculty at Saint John High School where, for twenty-seven years he was Head of the Chemistry Department, and, since 1984, Head of the Department of Physics. In addition, he was coordinator of the International Baccalaureate Programme.
But John Russell Wagstaff, better known as "Jack" to colleagues and friends, has been much more that a mere purveyor of facts and ideas, of theories and methods, to his youthful audiences. He has played a substantial role in shaping the form that science education (chemistry in particular) has taken both in this province and across the country. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions, he has received numerous honours and distinctions, most recently the prestigious Atlantic Council of the Sciences Northern Telecom Science Teaching Award. In past years he has received the Chemical Institute of Canada High School Teaching Award and the Science Teacher-of-the-Year Award from the New Brunswick Teachers Association. He was the first high school teacher to be elected a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada; and he is also a Fellow of both the Canadian College of Teachers and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.
Though a good teacher may receive accolades from his peers, it is not by their yardstick alone that he is judged; nor is it often by this yardstick that he judges himself. He seeks, indeed he must have, the respect and admiration of his students. For the dedicated teacher the rhythm of the seasons begins in the closing days of summer when autumn’s breath is in the morning air and precious daylight dwindles day by passing day. September does not signal a return to drudgery, a renewed prospect of numbing sameness; rather it is a time of excitement. There are fresh minds to be shaped, new ideas to be conveyed, and new pedagogical techniques to be tested! Behind each desk the teacher finds a new face, and behind each face a mind in which resides a spark, a glimmer of interest that a master of teaching craft can fuel and nurture. A flame thus kindled can burn for a lifetime.
There are those who would call this image I have just conjured unrealistic and woven with cloying rhetoric. I would disagree. We have before us a man to whom, I believe, these words apply. For thirty-seven years Jack Wagstaff has fueled the flames of scientific interest and inquiry in youthful minds. His students are the best monuments to his endeavors, students who have gone on to careers in science, medicine, or education. And those who are not scientists, physicians, or educators can, thanks to his tutelage, read about new scientific discoveries with a clear measure of understanding.
We in Canada are in urgent need of teachers such as this. At a recent federal conference on technology and innovation held in our city, leaders in government, in business, and in education expressed concern that the average Canadian is insufficiently science-minded. By this they meant that Canadians, particularly young Canadians, are poorly inspired to explore new vistas in science and technology and thereby fail to reap the benefits that can accrue. We must, for this reason, encourage and reward those who are sources of inspiration. By honouring him today, we as a community attest that we value highly that which Jack Wagstaff has given us: a life dedicated to the nurturance of scientific curiosity and creativity.
As a final footnote, I might mention that teachers sometimes leave to their schools a legacy that they had not necessarily intended, and Jack is no exception. At Saint John High School, his examinations achieved a certain notoriety for their difficulty and complexity. I’m told that students there now refer to any particularly challenging science test as a "Wagg" -- a dubious honour but nonetheless a reflection of Jack’s insistence upon excellence.
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment is at hand in which we at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John take great pleasure in bestowing upon John Russell Wagstaff, teacher extraordinaire, the degree Doctor of Laws.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 2
JOHN RUSSELL WAGSTAFF
to be Doctor of Laws
It is our privilege to honour a scientist and educator who, for the past 37 years, has been entrusted with the minds of a long procession of students. Since receiving his degrees in science and education from Mount Allison University in 1950 and 1952, he has taught in numerous institutions, including several universities; but we know him best as a member of faculty at Saint John High School where, for twenty-seven years he was Head of the Chemistry Department, and, since 1984, Head of the Department of Physics. In addition, he was coordinator of the International Baccalaureate Programme.
But John Russell Wagstaff, better known as "Jack" to colleagues and friends, has been much more that a mere purveyor of facts and ideas, of theories and methods, to his youthful audiences. He has played a substantial role in shaping the form that science education (chemistry in particular) has taken both in this province and across the country. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions, he has received numerous honours and distinctions, most recently the prestigious Atlantic Council of the Sciences Northern Telecom Science Teaching Award. In past years he has received the Chemical Institute of Canada High School Teaching Award and the Science Teacher-of-the-Year Award from the New Brunswick Teachers Association. He was the first high school teacher to be elected a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada; and he is also a Fellow of both the Canadian College of Teachers and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.
Though a good teacher may receive accolades from his peers, it is not by their yardstick alone that he is judged; nor is it often by this yardstick that he judges himself. He seeks, indeed he must have, the respect and admiration of his students. For the dedicated teacher the rhythm of the seasons begins in the closing days of summer when autumn’s breath is in the morning air and precious daylight dwindles day by passing day. September does not signal a return to drudgery, a renewed prospect of numbing sameness; rather it is a time of excitement. There are fresh minds to be shaped, new ideas to be conveyed, and new pedagogical techniques to be tested! Behind each desk the teacher finds a new face, and behind each face a mind in which resides a spark, a glimmer of interest that a master of teaching craft can fuel and nurture. A flame thus kindled can burn for a lifetime.
There are those who would call this image I have just conjured unrealistic and woven with cloying rhetoric. I would disagree. We have before us a man to whom, I believe, these words apply. For thirty-seven years Jack Wagstaff has fueled the flames of scientific interest and inquiry in youthful minds. His students are the best monuments to his endeavors, students who have gone on to careers in science, medicine, or education. And those who are not scientists, physicians, or educators can, thanks to his tutelage, read about new scientific discoveries with a clear measure of understanding.
We in Canada are in urgent need of teachers such as this. At a recent federal conference on technology and innovation held in our city, leaders in government, in business, and in education expressed concern that the average Canadian is insufficiently science-minded. By this they meant that Canadians, particularly young Canadians, are poorly inspired to explore new vistas in science and technology and thereby fail to reap the benefits that can accrue. We must, for this reason, encourage and reward those who are sources of inspiration. By honouring him today, we as a community attest that we value highly that which Jack Wagstaff has given us: a life dedicated to the nurturance of scientific curiosity and creativity.
As a final footnote, I might mention that teachers sometimes leave to their schools a legacy that they had not necessarily intended, and Jack is no exception. At Saint John High School, his examinations achieved a certain notoriety for their difficulty and complexity. I’m told that students there now refer to any particularly challenging science test as a "Wagg" -- a dubious honour but nonetheless a reflection of Jack’s insistence upon excellence.
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment is at hand in which we at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John take great pleasure in bestowing upon John Russell Wagstaff, teacher extraordinaire, the degree Doctor of Laws.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 2
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