On Saturday night I had the pleasure of being the emcee for Jasper Place High School’s 50^th reunion. Over 400 alumni were in attendance, but one stood out for me. Lynden Dorval was there. He seemed to be having a good time, but obviously has a lot on his mind. Some people at our table said I should recognize his presence and let him know there are those who support him and his belief in the “zero” policy. Others suggested it might not be a good idea since this was not the proper place to get “political”. So, I went somewhere in between and just mentioned he was there and added “God bless you Lynden Dorval”.

Not all agree with me. I have had calls from other teachers who say the issue is not the policy, but rather one of insubordination, where he was warned and still went off and did what he wanted. It makes me think of times when things happened that were against my principles and I chose to ignore it. I wish I would have been more like Lynden.

Today I came to work and found a couple of Facebook posts from people who have started protests and petitions to show their support for Lynden. Some of those who have rallied behind him are some of his students. On the way home Saturday I couldn’t help but think that if you were one of his students who got a zero, he may have taught you the best lesson you can learn in life. If work isn’t done in the real world, the zero takes the form of getting fired. How ironic that the Edmonton Public School Board basically wound up giving Lynden this zero. Sometimes in life there are no ticker tape parades and happy endings for those who show some courage…at least not yet. Sometimes, in some way, that can happen down the road. I hope.