He completed his high school education through correspondence courses from the Department of Education while working on the family farm. He joined the RCAF in 1942 and after completing the required technical courses was assigned to the Aircraft Repair and Maintenance Squadrons on many RCAF Aircrew training stations operated by the Commonwealth Air Training Program. After the war he studied at the University of Manitoba under the DVA program and graduated in 1950 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. After his naval service he was hired on the teaching staff of the Nova Scotia Institute of Technology to teach technical courses in the Mechanical Technology Program. Four years later he transferred to the Adult Vocational Education to develop courses for Manpower Training in Industry Programs, and to supervise the development of Literacy Program for Adults who had been out of school for many years and did not have the necessary math and communication skills to qualify for occupational training. In order to understand the literacy problems that these adults had, and to direct the development of a suitable upgrading programs for them, he enrolled in part-time evening studies at the Faculty of Education at St Mary's University and graduated with a BEd (cum laude) in 1968, and M.A. Adult Education in 1972. His graduation thesis (as required for the Master's Degree) was: "Experimental Research in Reading and Comprehension Skills of Sub-literate Adult Students" (December, 1971). He retired from the Provincial Civil Service in 1985 as Assiatant Director Program Services. |