LOOKING BACK : LOOKING FORWARD
Dr . Cyril Kesten retired after a 41-year career in the Faculty of Education
Dr . Cyril Kesten retired his position as Professor of Business , Technology and Media education on July 31 , 2019 after a 41-year career in the Faculty .
Kesten has had a long , successful career , yet the journey has held its challenges , a few bumps along the way . He expresses a mix of both embarrassment and pride as he looks back to his beginning steps . His career as a student began well as he excelled under the tutelage of his aunt until Grade 5 and then enjoyed successful middle years at a small Jewish parochial school in Winnipeg . The first bump in his educational journey occurred when he attended a public high school , which was " terrifying , having never been outside the confines of a fairly small parochial school ," says Kesten . Following a difficult high school experience , Kesten went to the University of Manitoba ( UofM ) where the next jolt along the way seriously threatened the possibility of his ever becoming a professional , let alone a professor . His first year in the sciences and his second year in the arts did not engage his interest as much as card games and movies , and this was reflected in his grades , resulting in a letter from the U of M to let him know he wasn ’ t welcome back .
Coming from a family in which many of his aunts and uncles were professionals , but his parents had not attended university , there was a great deal of pressure on Kesten to succeed careerwise . His first occupational solution , to volunteer to go with other Jewish youth from Winnipeg to help clean up Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War , didn ’ t work out , the quota being filled before he reached the head of the line-up . His next idea was a job in accounting : “ At the time , you could get into the Chartered Accountancy program without a degree .
So , I went into accounting , and amazingly enough I was good at it . Predictably enough , I hated it ,” says Kesten . Still , he pressed on doing accounting until , in 1970 , the misery he felt doing this work led him to seek out an appointment with a student counsellor at the U of M . Though he wasn ’ t supposed to receive counselling because he wasn ’ t a student , the counsellor agreed to continue to meet with him . Through these meetings , it became clear that Kesten needed to do something with people rather than things . Because there were teachers in his family , Kesten considered the possibility of becoming at teacher . But there was a problem : “ I couldn ’ t just go the University of Manitoba and say I wanted to be a teacher because I had that letter that said they never wanted to see me again . So I talked my way into a meeting with [ a Faculty of Education representative ], and I told him my story and I said ' I really want to do this .'" Though the university representative may have been looking to fill a spot in a discontinued program when he admitted Kesten to the 2-year Associate ’ s degree program , it was the second chance he needed . Kesten was warned , there could be no more failed classes ; in fact , he would need to excel . And he did . The second year of the program provided Kesten with the opportunity to teach in a school and see if this was work he would enjoy , and it was : " I loved being in the school ," says Kesten .
In 1973 , Kesten ’ s dream of becoming a professional teacher was realized ; he was hired as a teacher in an elementary school . After a year and a half teaching there , he moved into a high school position . At the same time he completed a Bachelor of Pedagogy and a Master ’ s degree focussing on Business Education by taking many night and summer classes
Becoming a university professor was his next dream , so he took a leave of absence to go to Iowa to do a Ph . D . In 1978 , with his coursework completed and his research proposal written , a position opened up at the University of Regina ( UofR ) and Kesten applied and was appointed to teach core studies and business education . At that time , " the business education program was going strong ," says Kesten . Three faculty members shared the load . " The program had a large physical area on the fourth floor of the Education Building , with a dedicated classroom and a typing lab ."
These were busy days for Kesten . Knowing how disruptive studies can be to family life when a Ph . D . program is dragged out , he and Helen had agreed that he would complete his dissertation within a year . " So , from 8 to 5 was University of Regina time , and from 6 pm to 8 in the morning was dissertation time ," says Kesten . In the fall of 1979 , Kesten successfully defended his dissertation . In one short decade , Kesten ' s life had changed dramatically : he had acquired a 2-year Associate ’ s degree , a 4-year Bachelor ' s degree , a Master ’ s degree , and a Ph . D ., and he had married , Helen , and had two of their three children . He had also taught at elementary school , at high school , and at the U of R . “ Most people don ’ t remember the 60s , but I have very little recollection of the 70s ,” jokes Kesten .
After three years in Regina , Kesten briefly changed career directions . By July 1981 , a move to Montreal , closer to family , was in the works . Kesten started working for CN on a three-year project . However , his team finished the final report in six months and he was looking for the funds to begin the implementation phase when he was told that they had finished the project too early and he would be put in charge of scholarships rather than the project for which he was hired . Kesten returned to his office in disbelief , opening the office door to the sound of the phone ringing . On the line was the Dean of Education in Regina , Dr . George Richert , asking " What can I do to get you back ?" Kesten answered , " Pay me more , give me tenure , and promote me to Associate Professor ." Kesten returned in July 1982 with tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor the next year . After the birth of their third child , Helen returned to Regina , too , deciding it was the best place for them to live . Helen became very active in the community over the years . In fact , Helen was awarded four medals by the Provincial and Federal Governments for her volunteer work . " She became a cheerleader for Saskatchewan . She is the one who cried when we left ," says Kesten .
Forty-one years in the Faculty have given Kesten many memorable moments , including trips to Africa , China and Australia , and insights into the work of the Faculty of Education . He has enjoyed the people he has worked with , in particular he mentions as mentors Orrison Burgess , Art McBeath , LeOra Cordis , Barbara Stange , and later Evelyn Jonescu . Thinking back to the
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