Crestwood Preparatory College is proud to congratulate Scott Masters for his selection as one of the seven recipients for the 2012 Governor General’s History Awards for Excellence in Teaching. A past recipient of The Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Baillie Award for excellence in Secondary School Teaching (as nominated by former students), Mr. Scott Masters has been a teacher for the past 22 years and has been teaching History for grade 9-12 at Crestwood Preparatory College since its inception in 2001.
An active member of the community who strives to connect students to their own personal histories, Scott Masters has made an impact on many people while at Crestwood Preparatory College. “I first entered room 203 as a student teacher 6 years ago”, reflects Mr. Jason Hawkins. “Since that day, I have come to know Scott Masters as a mentor, a colleague, a department head and as a friend. In each of these capacities, Scott has shown the same amazing level of skill that he does in his classroom practice. His love of history, and the work he puts into teaching it, has inspired me as a teacher and colleague.”
In 2007, Scott Masters’ was awarded the Yad Vashem Study Grant, allowing him to pursue his interest in Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem. Upon his return, Mr. Masters set up the Oral History project, an innovative teaching plan that takes topics like the Second World War and the Holocaust and gives those most affected by history a voice of their own. Masters encourages his Grades 9 to 12 history students to research veterans or survivors, prepare interview questions, meet them personally and record and edit their powerful personal accounts.
Through the Oral History Project, Masters has had the opportunity to work with a variety of local community organizations including Sunnybrook Veterans Wing, Baycrest Geriatric, and the NOOR Cultural Centre. His love of history and interest in providing students with an accurate picture of racial and religious discrimination has led him to create the Human Rights and Tolerance Symposium. With over two hundred students from five participating schools, the Human Rights and Tolerance Symposium will feature over fifteen speakers who will share their insight and experience in working for human rights and tolerance.
“Scott Masters lives what he teaches. We cannot expect more from an educator,” explains Vince Pagano, Principal of Crestwood Preparatory College. “His exceptional interest and ability to profile the people and events of the World War II era has inspired young and old to understand and appreciate the connections between past and present, as well as those between endless sacrifice and eternal gratitude.”