Demers Spells Out Life Without the Ability to Read

Friday, September 28, 2007 03:47 PM

He may have coached the Montreal Canadiens to Stanley Cup victory, but Jacques Demers had been living with a secret, he is functionally illiterate.

He told a group of students at Prince George Secondary School today that although he attended school, he slipped through the cracks, and never learned to read.

He first revealed his problem to his wife, in 1984 when she complained about always having to be his secretary. He feared she would leave him if she knew the truth, " You know, you don't know. But obviously it worked out."

He kept his problem a secret, worried that if anyone in the NHL heard about it, his career would be over “You're not going to hire someone and say he's illiterate and he's going to be a good coach.'”

He revealed the truth to the world in his biography “En toutes lettres” (English translation: All Spelled Out) which was penned by sports writer Mario LeClerc and released two years ago.

Jacques taught himself a few words so he could get by at events where fans gathered and called for autographs “I would always write a few words: 'Best wishes, Jacques Demers', 'To my friend’, I kept it to very minimal words.”

Jacques is going public and trying to raise awareness about illiteracy because he wants to help those who are living with the same secret. As a popular sport figure, Demers' admission is an important step to help bring the issues of low literacy to the forefront.

Tomorrow, Jacques Demers will be sharing his story with those who show up to the Kin Arenas Atrium. Seating has been limited to just 200 so it will be on a first come first served basis. The event starts at 2:00.

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Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 03:47 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: heidi1555 on September 28 2007 4:09 PM

What a wonderful courageous thing he is doing.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on September 29 2007 6:21 AM

What is truly amazing is how it happens in the first place!
What kind of a school system is so flawed and useless that kids can get even part way through it without knowing how to read?
And if you can't read,then you can't write.
Somebody is NOT paying attention, and it isn't only the kids!
The teachers are also responsible.
It is not an unusual occurance either.
As a business owner who hired many young people over the years,I have seen it first hand.
How do you graduate and still not be able to write and spell anything that can actually be read, and yet we dealt with that constantly.
Obviously,a grade 12 education really doesn't mean much anymore.
A question I used to ask the kids was "how many books do you read in year?"
The answer was usually "none!
Congratulations to Jacques for telling his story to others!

Posted by: heidi1555 on September 29 2007 1:53 PM

As a mother I totally agree with that Andy. The amount of homework my older two kids bring home is amazing! I couldn't imagine the poor kid who struggles handing in blank papers. I also feel the parents are truly responsible and need to make sure they go to the parent/teacher interviews.. need to plug in more as parents. The teachers can make phone calls or send notes home in the students planner but if the parents never look through them the kid will suffer especially in a classroom that holds 30 kids.