University of Western Ontario - Occidentalia Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

Page 33 text:

Talking about James Reaney just as a professor is impossible. Even in the classroom, his many interests and talents are too obvious. In a quiet, almost child-like manner, he stands at the front of a room, expressing so many ideas in a single sentence that the most astute stu- dent can grasp only a part of them. While this is a delight to the upper- classman, it has confused many of the multitude who have heard him in English 20. Even then however, there is still the charm of the man who peoples his plays with children and their dreams, and who delights in puppets that look like refugees from a kitchen cleanout. The irony of the man is that the child- world is subject to the intellect, and replete with frighteningly cynical overtones of death. A prolific and honoured author, he arouses in his associates much the same sort of paradoxical feelings as in his students. While many decry his regionalism , those who work with him seem protectively fond of Jamie , Perhaps he doesn't fit the corporate atmosphere of Western, yet it is en- couraging to see that talent on the side of creativity rather than that of criticism still resists being phased out. He contributes what a university greatly needs . . . integrity.

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I t I I I I S I I I I I I I Rev. P. E. Crunican of King's College, doesn't really care how much money his students will be making when they get out of university. His main aim is intellectual stimulation. Too many people have dollar signs for eyeballs. I like to see the lights go on in people's eyes. I don't think any- thing can replace the look of discovery of an original idea. Teaching is not giving a lectureg teaching is putting in the light. I firmly believe that the student must become actively involved before very much happens. lf l have a motto in this regard it is this: 'You never really teach anybody anything, if you're lucky you might be around when somebody learns something he says. For me the most rewarding academic experience is the privilege of receiving and giving a high mark to a really superior and imaginative essay. Like Ezra Pound, I would say that 'real education must ultimately be limited to those who insist on knowingg the rest is mere sheep- herding. Rev. Crunican is involved in students' personal lives also. As Newman chaplain at Western for eight years religious problems are a prime, but, hopefully, not an exclusive concern. lf a chaplain can be defined, l would say that he should first of all be a listener. A built-in by-product of the chaplaincy has been involvement in many ecumenical activities and student projects such as the Student Union Building campaign. I would turn every stone in sight to retain the personal dimension in the student-professor relationship, he says with an assurance indicating that he realizes the delicacy of the relationship. Like all professors, he admits, there are days when it is quite evident that my students would cheerfully cast me, unarmed, to the nearest starving lion, but by and large l think we get along. -Q . T4 1' N iLc gh 'S Ik f1 'Q .VY Q, --A 9 N, x :rx Q, I Y I .. N -,,. . g -! :'f!'E5HX 'i' -v S ,I

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Involvement with his students on more than an academic level seems to be the secret of Tom Stewart's rapport with people both in and out of his classes. As a veteran of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Concert Band and the U.W.O. Orchestra, he has had ample time to work NQLX with and assess a large part of the undergraduate population. Aside from personal enjoyment, he feels the value of such contacts is in getting to know students as in- dividuals. This enables him to meet people of different disciplines who still have a common interest-music. In fact his favourite students are those in music, and in expressing his point, he reveals his concern both for them and for the university con- cept. His role, he feels, is to moti- vate his classes, to achieve total involvement on the part of the stu- dent with his environmentf' This he stresses, includes all of life, not 30 just the subject matter at hand. He sees teaching as a means of leaving some valuable and tangible, though not necessarily material mark on life. This is a praiseworthy aim, but it is one which has led many teachers in- to a deadly concentration on the intellectual. Not so Tom Stewart. For him, even Physics can be fun, and a professor with a sense of humour is living proof that university has not lost contact with the outside world. With a respect for the student body, and a touch of good-humoured irony, Dr. Stewart modestly admits that stu- dents have never made me feel less than their equal.