BFA Fairfax Retired French Teacher Mr. Hancox

Janet Bonneau is a St. Albans Messenger Correspondent and this article appeared in a recent edition of The Messenger:

Salut!
BFA Fairfax retired french teacher shares thoughts on diploma seeking

Some people arrive at their careers in a prescribed pattern – high school, college, then jobs, or other training – and at predictable ages.

Not so for Stanley Hancox, retired French teacher and occasional rebel from Canada.

“In 1959 I was expelled from school for the heinous crime of smoking in the school basement. We were at a dance and the chaperone decided to go down to the basement to have a cigarette,” said Hancox.

Hancox and several friends joined their chaperone for a smoke. The following Monday, Hancox and buddies were called to the principal’s office.

“The chaperone had told him that we were smoking. We told the chaperone’s brother what a terrible person his brother was and that someday he’d pay for it. The principal took that as a direct threat to his teacher’s well being, so he got rid of the ‘criminal element,’” Hancox laughed.

It is 2006. A much admired, well respected french teacher, Mr. Stanley ‘Stan’ Hancox, is retiring from a thirty-two year teaching career.

What happened to that rebellious young teenager from Quebec? The razor wit kid who thought outside the box, shooting back with “Of corset does” when a teacher once asked “Does girdling kill a tree?”

By all accounts, he’s always been there, reveling in the art of humorous wordplay, leading his students with a blend of witty comebacks and double entendres; his kind blue eyes crinkling with merriment.

Hancox’s teaching style was also no nonsense and included serious expectations for success. No gum chewing, hat wearing or window gazing – his quiet stare could silence a class in seconds.

“His classes were intimidating; he wasn’t the kind of teacher who had the expectation that only half the class had done their homework that night. You better have the answers to his questions whether you did the homework or not, you didn’t want to let him down – he didn’t give you the option for failure,” said former BFA Fairfax student Alice Reighley.

“But he was always easy to open up to even though he was from a totally different generation than my class. He always told us that he wasn’t perfect either and that he’s dealt with the same issues as us. That kind of attitude and his style of teaching gave me a whole new perspective on the issues around me locally and worldwide,” said Reighley.

The path from smoking in the basement to teaching in the classroom began with a very kind English teacher who offered to tutor Hancox after he had been expelled.

“He had me come to his house. We sat on his front lawn and he tutored me in everything so I was able to go to a different school and write my final exams. I just was not allowed in my own school,” said Hancox.

“I got a high school leaving certificate, which is not quite a diploma, but it would allow me to go to work.”

   His father told him he’d been a burden long enough at home. Hancox moved to Montreal, found a job with Bell Canada and bought a hotel/bar.

   “I managed to mismanage it badly enough so that I had to come home,” said Hancox.

   A chance meeting with a teacher at a hometown bar gave Hancox the push to pursue another dream, that of becoming a teacher. But without a high school diploma, he could not get into college. The teacher suggested Hancox return to high school… “right across the street where you were expelled.”

   “At 23 years old, I wrote a letter of apology and promised to do my best, to do my duty to God and the Queen, and re-enrolled in high school,” Hancox laughed.

A year later, at 24, he graduated high school and enrolled at McDonald College [part of McGill University].

“I don’t say McDonald College because people associate that with ‘hamburger-ology,” said Hancox.

He graduated with a teacher’s diploma, but not a teaching degree. He could not afford four years of college – had even borrowed textbooks instead of buying them.

   “If you have a girlfriend in college who does well, you don’t need to buy books. I was smart by association,” quipped Hancox.

   Before moving to Vermont, Hancox taught French, English Literature and Composition in Bedford, Quebec. In the early ‘70’s, he and his wife, Marcy, who is also a teacher, were both offered jobs at St. Albans City School.

   “I really enjoyed my stint at St. Albans. I worked with great people and students,” said Hancox.

   In 1980 Hancox began teaching at BFA Fairfax and remained there for twenty six years, during which time he earned a Masters Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from St. Michael’s College

   “I considered myself very fortunate to have worked at Fairfax,” he said. “It wasn’t the actual teaching of french, it was the interaction with students, french being the raison d’être (reason for being there). My only regret is not reaching everyone I wanted to.”

Hancox noted that education has shifted towards too much time spent evaluating and assessing instead of teaching.

   “I think education has changed, I don’t think I have. As far as discipline, I always tried to be consistent, considerate and firm. I don’t think I wavered much from that. I have to be their teacher, not their buddy. Once they start calling you by your first name, things have changed. That wasn’t my style, nor did I hug.”

   Is learning a language difficult? Hancox said it is easier to learn french by the sound of it, rather than by the rules of grammar alone.

   “I don’t think you have to know the parts of the engine to drive. You can learn french like you can learn the guitar. There are varying degrees of ability. You can become functional in the language, and that way you can communicate through negotiation, because conversation is negotiation, give and take, right?” said Hancox.

Au revoir, et merci, M. Hancox, pour avoir partagé votre expérience avec le journal Messenger de St. Albans. (trans. Good bye, and thank you, Mr. Hancox, for sharing your experience with the St. Albans Messenger.)