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loo service brings top awar ByMARdHA^i Staff Reporter BLOOMFIELD - When Ruth Thompson had completed her university studies in London, England she and a group of friends celebrated their graduation with a visit to a famous old soothsayer in The Strand, who had made predictions for kings and notables. "She forecast for me a long life, associated with children til the end of my days. I wonder if the jinx was cast upon me then. At the time, I surely believed I would choose my path in life," says Thompson, 82, a former teacher who has just been named as the reci- pient of the Fred L. B a r t l e t t Me mo r ia l Award for 1983. The trophy, awarded by a panel from provin- cial education organiza- tions, is for outstanding service to education in Ontario. "Mine has been a hap- py calling, made so by the people with whom I h a v e s h a r e d t h e journey." Mrs. Thompson's last teaching post was in Etobicoke, where she taught senior public school from 1968 to 1972. After moving back to Prince Edward County, she volunteered to assist with the establishment of a Stott Clinic at Pinecrest School, in an effort to help young students with reading deficiencies. In the past 10 years, she has co-ordinated and super- vised the program, which has helped more than 840 pupils. The clinic was modell- ed after the Stott Clinic operated at the Universi- ty of Guelph by Dr. Den- nis Stott. It has received wide acclaim by educa- tors in Canada and the United States, many of whom have made in- quiries and visits to see the class in operation. When the Stott pro- gram was introduced at Pinecrest, as many as 80 youngsters were involv- ed and approximately 21 parent volunteers and several staff members participated. Today, only children with reading problems from the lower grades need to take the Stott classes. When the program was first established at the school, it was among the first to be undertaken in Ontario. The system employs a number of en- joyable games and children are instructed on a one-to-one basis. "We determine our success by the number of children who go out of this supplementary pro- gram back to their own grades and are able to read at that grade level," says Mrs. Thompson. "I don' t think I volunteered to co- ordinate this, I got drafted, I believe," smiles the f o r m e r teacher. "From time to time I say somebody else should take this on but it's the time it takes that makes it difficult for many. So I just keep on. I like to help kids." When Mrs. Thompson received the Bartlett Award in Toronto, last weekend, Dr. Stott, psychologist and pro- fessor emeritus at Guelph University was her personal guest. He described her as "a legendary figure in Prince Edward County, one of those great spirits who has never sought the limelight but has devoted all her energies to doing valuable work in the field which would never have been done on the same scale without her leader- ship." Mrs. Thompson was nominated for the award by the Prince Edward County board of educa- tion. Born in L o n d o n , England in 1900 she at- tended London County Council elementary school, where, at 11 she received a scholarship to attend a county secon- d a r y s c h o o l . S h e graduated at 17 and at- tended teachers' training college. She taught from 1919 to 1922 in a London senior public school and com- pleted a BA course at King's College, London University, receiving an honours english course and history as a sub- sidiary. Mrs. Thompson came to Canada in Feb. 1922 and taught at Glenavon, Saskatchewan. She later took a job at a con- solidated school, follow- ed by an appointment at a public school. She mar- ried in 1924 and raised five children. Since the Thompsons lived 20 miles from the nearest school, she tutored her young- sters, at intervals, prior to moving to Ontario. In 1939, she resumed her career and became supervisor of women at Victory Aircraft Factory in Malton. In 1952, Mrs. Thompson and her hus- band moved to Prince Edward County, where she taught at Salmon Point Public School and Warings Corners Public School; for two years. From 1954 to 1968 she was a social worker with the Prince Edward Coun- ty Children's Aid Society. From 1968 to 1972, she taught senior public school in Toronto. Mrs. Thompson came out of retirement in 1972 and resumed her duties as a social worker in Prince Edward. She is still employed with the CAS.