If you follow this blog, you know it is essentially a story of teaching and teachers. I was privileged to teach Jian Ghomesi at Thornlea many years ago and I am here to tell you that Jian was incredibly sensitive, caring and intelligent. If all of my students were like him, what a wonderful classroom it would be!
He was the first to ask questions, confront deep issues, challenge current orthodoxy and write brilliant essays. I was his history teacher and thought tremendously highly of him as did his other teachers. If they want to comment on this blog I would welcome it. What I see today in the Globe and Mail and read on the Internet is simply a witch hunt which is so undeserving of this brilliant character.
When I moved from Thornlea HIgh School to Thornhill High School he came a calling and was gracious enough to come in and speak with my current students.
When he was in the band Moxy Fruvous and performing at the CNE I took my own children back stage to speak with him and luckily for me he remembered me and was extremely gracious to my two boys who were duly impressed!
I have been following his career, as I am sure most teachers of that era have, and I know we are very proud of him as a student as well as the body of work he has produced in the past few decades.
If he broke Canadian law, we have something called "due process" and I ask that any trial we have is in a court of law as opposed to this media circus we are now witnessing.
I am trying to think how my parents would feel to see my name on every newscast and media outlet in Canada and maybe the world. I am trying to think of Jian as the human being and caring student I knew. Can we all please reserve our judgements until we know more. Surely there are things more important in the world that should make the headlines than the sexual peccadilloes of my former student.
Michael Charles
Former History Teacher
Thornlea
He was the first to ask questions, confront deep issues, challenge current orthodoxy and write brilliant essays. I was his history teacher and thought tremendously highly of him as did his other teachers. If they want to comment on this blog I would welcome it. What I see today in the Globe and Mail and read on the Internet is simply a witch hunt which is so undeserving of this brilliant character.
When I moved from Thornlea HIgh School to Thornhill High School he came a calling and was gracious enough to come in and speak with my current students.
When he was in the band Moxy Fruvous and performing at the CNE I took my own children back stage to speak with him and luckily for me he remembered me and was extremely gracious to my two boys who were duly impressed!
I have been following his career, as I am sure most teachers of that era have, and I know we are very proud of him as a student as well as the body of work he has produced in the past few decades.
If he broke Canadian law, we have something called "due process" and I ask that any trial we have is in a court of law as opposed to this media circus we are now witnessing.
I am trying to think how my parents would feel to see my name on every newscast and media outlet in Canada and maybe the world. I am trying to think of Jian as the human being and caring student I knew. Can we all please reserve our judgements until we know more. Surely there are things more important in the world that should make the headlines than the sexual peccadilloes of my former student.
Michael Charles
Former History Teacher
Thornlea
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