Editor:
I just finished reading the KTW story on Perry Kilby’s book, The Bridge Beyond the Boundary, and I had to write a quick note.
I am a lifetime Kamloops resident who attended high school here in the early 1980s. I attended Brocklehurst junior secondary, where Kilby was an English teacher.
I’ve wanted to write a letter numerous times about the great experience myself and many of my friends had at both Brock and NorKam secondary during those years, and reading of Kilby’s book and the tone of his interview finally brought it out of me.
You can tell by reading Kilby’s comments that this man still has a strong passion for helping young people progress through difficult challenges they face during their early years as adolescents.
I remember clearly the culture of his classes and the overall approach of a majority of the staff at those schools as being focused on helping kids realize their potential every day.
Their understanding of the term “education” went far beyond “curriculum” and these teachers taught with creativity and caring in an effort to reach their students.
The educators I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with in high school were a special group who influenced many young people for many years through their roles as teachers in the classroom, coaches on the sidelines and respectful advisors regarding whatever the need-of-the day was for any young person in their care. These things are not forgotten.
Kilby retired from teaching in 2005 and still speaks with the passion I remember in him in the 1980s. The story notes his book is for those ages 10 to 14. I’m ordering that book at a much older age.
Lorne Cumming
Kamloops
