Paul Speck (1931-1993) believed passionately in possibilities, and took inspiration from John Henry Newman, whom he loved to quote:
“. . . To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
Throughout his life he applied himself to learning new disciplines and embracing challenges. He was educated by the Roman Catholic Basilian teaching order, receiving a B.A. in English at Assumption College (Windsor University), and a graduate degree in Sacred Theology at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. He was ordained a priest and taught at Michael Power and St. Michael's high schools in Toronto. He read secular theology and philosophy voraciously and, claiming that he had read himself out of his vocation, he left the priesthood and moved to New York where he received an M.A. in English Literature at Fordham University. He subsequently married and, when he realized he preferred teaching adolescents to undergraduates, he left his Ph.D. program at Drew University in New Jersey and returned to Toronto where he taught in the Public School system.
Paul and his wife, Bobbi (a literary editor), eventually founded their own highly successful private school in Toronto, the Annex Village Campus (1972-93), which featured a seminar approach to curriculum, engaging the students in challenging discussion in very small classes. Paul’s intellectual pursuits shifted to an intense interest in economics, political science and biography, which added breadth to his grade 13 English classes.
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One day in the late 1970s while sitting with him in his kitchen Paul told me that:
"A good teacher has a compulsion to share his or her discoveries.
Therefore, a good teacher continues to be a student in order to have
new things to share."
I felt that Paul was really describing himself and, over the years, I have often
found myself quoting him on this subject.
Bud Riley