The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Chalkboards are extinct, typing is superseding handwriting and technology is making the classroom more interactive than ever. Much has changed in education since Gerry Lannon's entry into the field, but his passion for shaping young lives has remained constant. 'I've always been interested in education and if I wasn't, I wouldn't be around as long as I have,' he says. Now in his 35th year in education, Lannon has brought his dedication and experience to the role of principal at Ecole McIsaac School. The Stephenville, NL, native took over the position this fall, ready to put his own administrative stamp on Flin Flon's largest school. 'I enjoy Flin Flon. It's a nice area,' says Lannon with a Newfoundlander accent not uncommon in this community. 'It's a very friendly community, people seem to be very close-knit. Ecole McIsaac School is a professional learning community. People are there to help the students.' Flin Flon is the eighth stop in a career that could have ended with Lannon's retirement from a Newfoundland school three years ago. 'But I wasn't ready to retire,' he says. 'I still felt I had a lot of energy and youth left in me to be able to work in education.' Headed north Rather than leave the hustle and bustle of a career in the rearview mirror of life, Lannon packed his bags to head to remote northern Manitoba in 2009. He spent two memorable years as principal of Mel Johnson School in tiny Wabowden, southeast of Thompson. While there, Lannon found time to visit Flin Flon. He was enamoured. 'It put me a lot in mind of (Stephenville) back east,' he says. 'So when the opportunity presented itself, (when McIsaac was) looking for a principal, I applied for the position and am happy to say I was the successful candidate.' Even before Wabowden, Lannon was no stranger to the administrative side of education. He taught for two years in the 1970s before becoming a vice-principal in Stephenville at the tender age of 25. Looking back on those early days, he believes the learning experience for students has improved drastically over time. 'It was the 'chalk and talk' exercise (back then),' Lannon says. 'The teacher taught and the children wrote pages and pages and pages. It wasn't as interactive. Today it's a lot more meaningful (with) a lot more fun experiences (and) a lot more interaction.' At McIsaac, Lannon replaces Brent Bedford, who will be taking over as principal of Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre in the new year.
