A GENTLEMAN AND A SCHOLAR — Reviews
Hayward C. Blake in Canadian Book Review Annual (1997):
A Gentleman and a Scholar profiles the personal and professional life of Don Barnes, who served as a teacher, as vice-principal at Macdonald High School, and as principal of Hudson High School. McDonald shows how Barnes managed to create a school environment in which all students felt secure and valued. More than a tribute to an outstanding educator, this book will stimulate and challenge current educators to re-evaluate their teaching strategies and to ensure that they are as effective as they can be. Recommended for educators, especially those in leadership positions.
HSB in Concordia University Magazine, Sept 1996:
Teaching was the life's work of Sir George Williams graduate Donald Barnes. Sharen McDonald's A Gentleman and a Scholar pays tribute to Barnes' career as teacher and vice-principal at Macdonald High and principal of Hudson High, both schools in the Lakeshore School Board on Montreal's West Island. Born and raised in London, England, Barnes emigrated to Canada in the 1950s. He significantly affected both students and peers as instructor and administrator until his retirement in 1994. McDonald describes how this man effectively faced the mounting challenges of high school teachers today. Geoffrey Isherwood writes in the Foreword that the book is "a fine portrayal of one outstanding educator … and a tribute to caring and dedicated educators everywhere."
Hollie Watson in The Chronicle, May 1996: "Book reflects Barnes's life as educator"
He has been an influential educator throughout his 38-year career, a man of conviction who has touched the lives of thousands of West Island students.
But growing up in wartime England, Don Barnes never imagined such a future for himself.
"I didn't do well in school," he conceded. "I never dreamed of or planned on being a teacher."
Moreover, the dictates of the British class system (his father was a milkman) forbade any such lofty notions, he added.
But teach he would.
Barnes retired in 1994 and today calls Pierrefonds home. A new book due for release this week from Shoreline Press provides an in-depth look at a man who earned the respect of colleagues and students alike during his tenure at Macdonald and Hudson high schools.
Gentleman and a Scholar, by Sharen McDonald, is a biography spanning Barnes's life.
"From the formative years - living through the Blitz, leaving school at 15 to work in a bank, his time in the RAF," said McDonald, "I wanted to show the links, like a jigsaw puzzle."
Donald taught at the elementary level at Hudson before taking over as head librarian in 1982.
"I wanted to research the influences in his life," she said, "the factors which help make a good administrator."
That character is the sum of his experiences: of the British tradition, strong values, a sense of duty and determination, pride in self, school and country.
It was after emigrating to Canada that Barnes decided to enroll in teaching courses at Sir George Williams University and later at Macdonald College. He was pursuing a career in commerce - rather half-heartedly, he admitted - when a test established that commerce was the last thing he should be doing.
Deep down he already knew this.
"Times were different in the early '60s; ours was a burgeoning society," Barnes said. "Schools were opening all over, and there was a glut of options and teaching posts."
He taught history and English at all levels, as well as economics while he was at Macdonald. Later, he became head of the social studies department and, in 1975, he was named vice-principal.
He left there in June of 1985. Scarcely two months later he was ensconced as principal at Hudson High.
"Both jobs gave me great satisfaction, although as principal you can't get as close to the students," Barnes said.
"Don came to Hudson in 1986; there had been a period of uneasiness earlier," said McDonald, recalling how permissiveness in the schools was giving the opposite of the intended effect.
"Staff - and students - want structure," McDonald said. "They want guidelines, firmness. Don had a reputation for being a strong disciplinarian, a man who was tough but fair and listened to both sides, which is why he was so popular."
The book contains anecdotes, snapshots and reminiscences from both former students and colleagues, whose admiration he earned.
Perhaps the most "emotional moment" of his career was during the Mac High Reunion of 1982, Barnes said.
"It was a beautiful October morning. Principal David Hill planted a tree, and said a few final words, and then everyone left," he said.
Barnes said he felt a certain emptiness, a sense of the passage of time.
Rosalie Bean in Education Libraries, Vol 20, No. 3:
We are all shaped by the geography, history, economics, and social structures of our time. For Don Barnes, who rose from a blue-collar environment in class-conscious England to a top educator in Canada, this is particularly true.
Don Barnes believed in the philosophy of fair, firm and friendly. He was innovative, visible and accessible to both staff and students. He instituted several extra-curricular clubs, introduced new courses, initiated school procedures and organized events. He encouraged students to think and to question everything they read.
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