My Odyssey for Equality in Education

Episode 22

The Odyssey for Equality has arrived in Thunder Bay. I found it chilling to see the Terry Fox statue on the north side of the highway, marking the spot where he was forced to abandon his Marathon of Hope. At that time, Terry was a cancer survivor who was running across Canada in an effort to raise money for cancer research, and also to raise public awareness about the effects of that horrible disease.

Riding in my van and camping in my trailer, I am not trying to compare what I am doing to what Terry Fox did. But it is interesting to note that I am a cancer survivor who was motivated by my survival to embark on my Odyssey for Equality in an effort to raise public awareness about the long-term damage being done to many boys through their unequal treatment in school. It is tragic that some of the people who could do a great deal more to deal with the issue of boys’ underachievement in school appear to be unwilling to consider solutions other than their own. Hopefully, raising public awareness about the problem, its causes, consequences and solutions will motivate parents to take action to help their sons to achieve to the maximum of their potential.

I am no Terry Fox, but I am on my own mission to try, in any way that I can, to help boys who are being disadvantaged by the education system.

I think that is what being a survivor is all about.

Dr. James S. Brown