Vic Jackopson’s Visit
The name of Vic Jackopson is known to every teacher and student of the First City Gymnasia, Cherkasy, Ukraine. He has visited this school many times, contributing greatly to its innovative development. He has had many meetings with the students during which he brought up in them human qualities and values and encouraged their desire of sharing and caring. On the 3rd of April 2012 on the invitation of the school administration Vic Jackopson met with the students of the 10th-11th forms. Both the teachers and the students listened with great interest to his story about his life and irresistible desire to help other people.
His grandfather was a boiler man on the “Titanic” and left his son orphaned at the age of 6. His father was a born leader and a good seaman who became world champion marathon dancer in Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1942 his four sons and daughter became fatherless. His wife was apparently poverty stricken and couldn’t support her family on her own, so Vic had to grow up in the orphanage. Vic Jackopson has led a difficult life: from the orphanage and imprisonment to the preacher and the President of the the Internatinal Charitable Christian Fund “Hope Now”. It was in 1992 that he came on a visit to the Cherkasy region, saw the life difficulties of the citizens of the newly independent country and began helping orphans, needy people, orphanages, boarding schools, hospitals, prisons.
Vic Jackopson has had especially warm relationship with the First City Gymnasia for many years. With his financial support there were built a reading room and a computer lab. Meetings of students with the members of the fund, the native speakers, were held at the English lessons on a regular basis. The play “The Merchant from Venice” by W. Shakespeare was successfully staged by the senior students with the help of the retired Head teacher Mr. R. Orr, the member of the fund. In 2004 a three-week trip of the talented and gifted gymnasia students was organized to Great Britain. A number of students’ competitions and contests were organized at school and as a result the winners were granted a two-week trip to Great Britain. In 2010 Vic Jackopson was awarded the Order MBE (Member of British Empire) by the Queen of Great Britain. This award is usually granted to the people for their outstanding service to the country. Vic Jackopson became the British citizen who was awarded it for outstanding charity abroad.
During the latest meeting with school administration, teachers and student Vic presented the gymnasia with a notebook “Mackintosh” and wished further success on the innovative way of the gymnasia development. He also promised to support personally the education exchange of Chilton Cantelo School form Great Britain and the gymnasia which will take place in October 2012 in the frames of participation the British Council program “Connecting Classrooms”.
N. Ananieva,
Ph D in Pedagogy,
