When Marianne Davis taught at Westmount Park Elementary School, it was simply called Westmount Park School.
The school board it belonged to was the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal – now known as the English Montreal School Board (EMSB).
Tuesday, Davis, who just turned 100, was honoured as the last surviving member of Delta Kappa Gamma Quebec (DKG Quebec), an international, professional society aimed at promoting women educators.
“We want to support teachers in the classroom and to encourage professional growth,” said DKG Quebec president Bev Townsend, a retired EMSB principal.
“Our challenge is to strive for excellence in education as we stay abreast of the rapid changes in the world.”
DKG International was founded in 1929 by Dr. Annie Webb Blanton at the University of Texas in the U.S.; the Quebec branch joined 60 years ago.
Davis, herself, doesn’t talk much about the past: the Second World War, changes in the school boards over the years and current education politics aren’t topics she’ll discuss.
Yet, her eyes light up when she talks about the students she taught.
“A teacher learns as much or more than the children do,” she said.
“You’re learning all the time.”
Davis never married and didn’t have a family of her own, but she pointed out she’s had plenty of children over the years — the ones she taught and learned from in her classroom.