ce in a en:

Who is .

John Chen-Wing?

John Chen-Wing is an edu-
cator, a father and an active
member of the community of
Terrace. John says he came to
Terrace by accident. He had

- been doing his UBC teacher’s

practicum in Prince Rupert
when a teaching position was
posted for Terrace. He applied
and was hired.

For four years, John Chen-
Wing taught biology at Skeena
(then the only high school in
Terrace). When Caledonia Sen-
ior Secondary opened, John
transferred there to teach Bio-
logy 11 and 12. He has taught in
Terrace for 25 years now, and he

Still enjoys living here.

For John Chen-Wing, teach-
ing carries on ‘‘the tradition of
education for learning’s sake’’.

‘Kids find it surprising when
I say I enjoy coming to school.”’
John started his early education
at Miss McBurney’s morning
kindergarten in Wood Brook,

_ Port of Spain, Trinidad, in

January 1938 at age 2%, to keep
his elder brother company.
John Chen-Wing was the sec-
ond of four sons born to James
and Mary Chen-Wing, originally
from Canton, China. With the

- reversal of first and last names

in Chinese, John and all three of
his brothers were called ‘‘John’’
or some form of it. John’s
Chinese name is Chen Chan
Hing. John has only one brother
alive now. He lives in Trinidad
with his wife and three
daughters.

He still misses the vibrancy
and vitality of Trinidad, where
he was born and spent the first
24 years of his life. John went
back to. Trinidad once in 1974.
He hopes next year to take his
three children, Sara, Lisa and
Ryan to visit his brother and
family.

was strong because of its
hearness to South and Central
America. Trinidad has no in-
digenous people. Negroes and
east Indians make up most of
the population. The official
language of Trinidad is English,
although the locals speak a
“patois’’. John chose to excel in
languages because he realized
the potential for communication
and education. He has recently
been brushing up on his French
and Spanish.

After his parents died, when
John was less than five years
old, he and his three brothers
were raised for seven years by
their Negro nanny, Octavia
Lovell. John credits her for ‘‘en-
couraging me most of all to
study’’. She engendered in John
a great joy for learning and a
strong passion for social justice.
Octavia was also an avid church-
goer. Although John was raised
as an Anglican (and attended St.
Crispin’s Anglican Church in
Port of Spain), she would take
the boys to a different church
whenever possible — just to
broaden their horizons. John
also credits the Trinidadian
school system for being ‘‘ar-
ticulate’’. In his school of 417
students, there were 65 instruc-
tors. With this high teacher-
student ratio, re-enforcement
was almost immediate. Exams
and papers were returned the
same day, and attention was
very personal.

In his teens, John enjoyed his
travels during summer months
by steamer to the Eastern Carib-
bean islands, the French and
Dutch Antilles, He also enjoyed
going to the British Council
Building near Queen’s Royal
College to listen to music, read
books and learn more about the
United Kingdom. He also took

"There’s no point in being a teacher unless you
are prepared to be dedicated. "says biology teacher

| John Chen-Wing.

John says he’s not a very
adventurous sort. When he was
12, his oldest uncle wanted to
take him to China. When he re-
fused because he wanted to con-
tinue his education in Trinidad,
his two younger uncles forbade

him to attend school for two.

years. He has still never been to
China. And he has forgotten
most of the Chinese that he
learned in Chinese language
school at age five and six.

During his two years away
from school, John worked in
one of the family general stores.
He was also employed as a phar-
macist's assistant to see if he
would like to. become a phar-
macist one day. Upon his return
to school, John attended
Queen’s Roayl College, a boys’
preparatory school, where he
received his Cambridge School
Certificate and his Cambridge
Higher School Certificate. He
excelled in French, Spanish,
Latin, English literature and
history. In fact, he made the
highest mark out of 33,000
students in history.

John taught Spanish for three
years in central Trinidad at a
Catholic boys’ college. The
Spanish influence in Trinidad

lessons in French at the Alliance
Francaise building in Port of
Spain.

John sometimes - thinks he
would have had a very different
life had he chosen to study
medicine at a university in
Jamaica, rather than biochemis-
try, psychology and zoology at
UBC. He had always hoped to
become a doctor, but finances
dictated otherwise. Always
frugal,
UBC with only a $200 debt.
During his university years, he
held summer jobs on a green
chain in a plywood mill, and asa
security guard, laboratory assis-
tant, cook and _ instrument

‘ mechanic.

‘Teaching was a good
choice” states John, with con-
viction. ‘‘There’s no point in be-
ing a teacher unless you are
prepared to be dedicated.’’ In
his teaching, John thinks that it
is important to foster in his
students the attitude that learn-
ing is for life, more important
than memorizing the details that
they may learn at preseni. He
also wants to leave with them the
impression that Biology can be
interesting and exciling so that
ihe students. will want to con-

John graduated from

Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 25.1990 B13

BIOLOGY TEACHER JOHN M. CHEN-WING carries on "the tradition of education for
learning's sake". Chen-Wing has taught at Caledonia Senior Secondary School
for the past 2I years.

tinue to learn it themselves in the
future. John wants his own
children and the students he
teaches to have all the oppor-
tunities at hand to reach their
full potential.

John enjoyed all the years that
he attended school. And he has a
tremendous enthusiasm for
learning which he now imparts
to his students. He is a voracious
reader. In his teens and early
twenties, he would read two
books a night. He is especially
fond of reading dictionaries. He
says, ‘This comment usually
gets a giggle.’® John continues to
learn at home and at summer
school. He has attended sessions
in French, adult education, geo-
logy, evolution, entomology,
physiology and ecology. In
1986, he attended the Biology
Institute for information on the
new Biology 11 and 12 courses.
He particularly enjoys the Na-
tional Science Teachers’
Association of America con-
ferences, held every 10 years.

John Chen-Wing has served
as president of the Terrace
District Teachers’ Association
for a total of seven years. He
served for 10 years as the North-
west B.C. Professional! Develop-
ment Co-ordinator. For the past
iwo years, John has been Chair-
man of the Northwest Com-
munity College Academic Ad-
visory Committee.

John has been a director of
the Terrace Co-operative
Association, on the executive of
the Terrace Concert Society
Board, on the Terrace and
District Arts Council, and presi-
dent of the Northwest Regional
Arts Council. He has been one
of the coordinators of the Ter-
race Science Fair since its incep-

tion 25 years ago. He has spon-
sored the Caledonia Yearbook
Club since 1970, manages the
school canteen, assists in con-
vening the Caledonia Awards
and Scholarship Committee and
helps in the planning of the
Caledonia Awards Day.

In his quiet, unassuming way,
John is a very good impromptu
speaker and was a stand-up
comedian at two school staff
functions. He claims to gain a
lot of inspiration for his jokes
from his students.

John puts a lot of energy into
things he likes doing. He loves
cycling, walking, going to
movies, listening to music, at-
tending live events and plays and
he enjoys all sports in general, as
did his wife, Alice.

John married Alice Uberall in
1970. He remembers fondly,
“She provided support and
security to me and the
children.’’ John was saddened
by Alice’s death in February of

this year. He is recovering slowly
with his ready smile-and usual
resiliency. He is helped greatly
by the comfort; patience and
understanding shown’ by his
former and present students, his
colleagues, members of the
Knox United Church, the good,
solid advice from his physician
and the tremendous support
provided by Allice’s sisters, close
friends and acquaintances.

The three Chen-Wing children
are away at school — Lisa and
Ryan at Brentwood College
School and Sara at the Universi-
ty of Victoria. Lisa will be going
on a study tour to France this
summer with Jo Patterson from
Northwest Community College.
Sara will be back at university
after a four-month work term in
Winnipeg as‘part of her co-op
program; Ryan will probably
spend most of the summer in
Terrace, playing soccer, and
John will be in Victoria working
for the Ministry of Education.

SN

Terrace Art Association

Annual Spring Arts & Crafts

Show/Sale

Saturday, Apri! 28

at the

Terrace Public Art Gallery
{located in the library basement)

10 A.M. to 5 P.M.

fine arts, weaving, pottery,
. handicrafts, painting,
and much, much more!!

Terrace ‘]

At
Association |

| Refreshments will be available. J