Ken Hill

Never met the man, but it feels like he was my teaching assistant for a few years.

I had an English class at the time, sort of a Hail Mary class; a last chance credit course for kids who had already failed the literacy test twice. I was constantly on the look-out for stories that might engage them, and these were tough kids to engage.

That's how I happened upon Mr. Hill. I found a story in the Toronto Sun about a court case. A woman had taken her ex-husband to court to have her child support increased. Nothing much engaging so far, but get this; she was already getting $30 thou a month from Ken Hill!

I got teen moms in the class who can't fathom such sums. I got kids from single parent homes who can't fathom such sums. That's gonna get their attention!

It gets better. The protagonist, the dead-beat dad who is only paying $30k per month, is an Indigenous guy! That's gotta pique the interest of my FN students.

Turns out Mr. Hill had other kids with other gals. Apparently all of them were generously provided for.

That story was the gift that kept on giving. I used it for several years. It brought up loads of opportunities for discussion around parental responsibility, what it means to be a father, gender and racial stereotypes, and all kinds of other stuff. The kids loved reading about a FN  entrepreneur who shattered so many stereotypes, partied with Snoop Dog, and did the right thing for his children. What a mensch!

So while I never met the man, I introduced him to a couple hundred students over the years. Thanks for the help, Mr. Hill!