Alpha_Alternative_School_1972–2012-Yumpu
ALPHA Alternative School—A Lot of Parents Hoping for an Alternative—one of the oldest alternative schools in Canada, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012. It seemed like a good time to take a look at the lives of some of its earliest students in order to get a sense of the long-term effects of this radical experiment in education. Our idea was to place black and white childhood portraits taken by F. Robert Openshaw in 1978 alongside present-day portraits of the same people taken at ALPHA during the 40th anniversary reunion by Michael Barker, and to contextualize the photographs with portraits in words contributed by the subjects and shaped by Ariel Fielding. The result is a sort of ethnographic art project or a personal history. It was not commissioned by ALPHA, nor was it conceived with any particular agenda in mind, except to present portraits of some interesting people with a common educational background.
ALPHA Alternative School—A Lot of Parents Hoping for an Alternative—one of the oldest alternative schools in Canada, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012. It seemed like a good time to take a look at the lives of some of its earliest students in order to get a sense of the long-term effects of this radical experiment in education. Our idea was to place black and white childhood portraits taken by F. Robert Openshaw in 1978 alongside present-day portraits of the same people taken at ALPHA during the 40th anniversary reunion by Michael Barker, and to contextualize the photographs with portraits in words contributed by the subjects and shaped by Ariel Fielding. The result is a sort of ethnographic art project or a personal history. It was not commissioned by ALPHA, nor was it conceived with any particular agenda in mind, except to present portraits of some interesting people with a common educational background.
- TAGS
- education
- alternative
- toronto
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Kether Graham (née Beaulieu-Urbanski)
“The democratic nature of ALPHA
likely influenced every aspect of
my life, but it is most apparent
in the way that I raise my children.
I was very quiet and shy. I remem ber actu ally hid ing behind my mother’s
skirt when I met new adults. ALPHA gave me a place where I could have
con fi dence in myself, where I knew that my opin ion counted for some thing
and that I would be lis tened to. It taught me that every one can have valid
ideas and points of view, no mat ter how big or small, young or old they
are. I find that even now as an adult I have to remind peo ple that chil dren
should be lis tened to and that bosses or other author ity fig ures are peo ple
too, and can be spo ken to as well as chal lenged when necessary.
KETHER GRAHAM
ALPHA 1975 to 1979 or 1980,
ages 4 – 9. Stud ied Law
Enforce ment at Seneca
Col lege, then Bak ing and
Pas try at George Brown.
Works for the City of Toronto.
After ALPHA I went to a reg u lar, main stream pub lic school until Grade 10
in high school. My grades started falling and my mother sug gested that
I return to the alter na tive school sys tem, because it had worked so well
before. I went City School and then on to SOLE and grad u ated. After that
I went to Seneca Col lege and grad u ated with high hon ours from the Law
Enforce ment pro gram. Later in life, I took a year’s leave of absence from
my job and went to George Brown Col lege and grad u ated with hon ours
from the Bak ing and Pas try program.
The demo c ra tic nature of ALPHA likely influ enced every aspect of my life,
but it is most appar ent in the way that I raise my chil dren. I’ve taught them
that if you aren’t happy with some thing in your life, then do your best to
change it.
My mem o ries include moun tains of hum mus at potluck events, danc ing to
Grease on the stage, mak ing things at the craft table, being in charge of the
big wooden blocks for the day, scary story time, kiss ing tag, giant tires in the
play ground, spur of the moment field trips, tak ing the street car to school
with our teacher Susan and bunches of kids from the neigh bour hood after
the school moved across town from its orig i nal loca tion, call ing com mit tee,
weekly meet ings, most of all being a kid, being happy and hav ing fun.
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