Series 2 - Education

John Hastings began his education at the Normal Model School in Toronto in 1933, went on to the University of Toronto Schools in 1939, and from there into the pre-medicine program at the University of Toronto in 1945. He received his MD in 1951, then did post-graduate work in the School of Hygiene, receiving his diploma in 1954.

This series documents Hastings’ progress through the educational system and the development of his academic and non-curricular activities. The files on the Normal Model School contain certificates, class assignments, press clippings, drafts of two plays that Hastings wrote, and the school badge. Hastings’ interests in drama were carried over to the University of Toronto Schools, where he wrote a number of plays, drafts of which have survived in this series, and one of which was published in its yearbook, the Twig, in 1943. At UTS, he also honed his public speaking and debating skills; the predominant themes of his public addresses being democracy, the British Empire and World War II. Hastings was a reporter to the Twig for his form and editor in 1943-1944 (his editorial files have survived). He was also a member of the school band and the cadets, developed an early interest in politics and became an active member of the young Progressive Conservatives. At the same time he maintained a high academic standing.

In 1944 Hastings entered a world-wide essay competition sponsored by the Royal Empire Society. His entry was one of three to receive a prize. This encouraged him to enter other essay contests while a pre-medical student at the University of Toronto (1945-1947). At the U of T, he was a member of the Hart House Debates Committee from 1949 to 1951; his notes reveal something of the parry and thrust of debating at that time. Among other activities, Hastings was a member of the Board of Stewards of Hart House and the U of T Historical Club and in 1948 he participated in the Mock Parliament. The remainder of this series contains notes, correspondence, certificates, and photographs relating to Hastings’ acquisition of his medical degree and his post-graduate diploma in public health.

A listing of his activities, academic and otherwise, while a student is found in B2002-0014/014(09).