a Master degree in Music and Education

My two sons Rennie and Ryan and i lived in residence at Simon Fraser University for 4 years. A world unto itself on top of Burnaby mountain we had most everything 3 students could need and want. Mountain bike trails and theatres,( live, cinematic and lecture) , a pool and sports complex, libraries and a pub, a community garden , clubs galore, the famous second hand recycle Louis room and the most amazing families and students from around the world as neighbours and friends.

Thanks to the support of the Canadian Government’s Student loans program I was able to experience the life of an academic living in a green and ivory tower.

By academic I mean that I had the opportunity to devote my time to reading and writing and listening and learning without concerns of daily employment. When I began the masters program I spent the 1st year and a half attending the post graduate courses that were suggested. After this I began an immersive amazing process that consumed my days and nights with a focus that was unencumbered. It was time to write a thesis. An unforgettable experience!

Research

Firstly, I spent 4 months sourcing books and titles from universities and libraries throughout canada and the usa, reading continuosly, taking copious amounts of written notes and then repeating it again when the next batch of books arrived on campus. Totally absorbed in the mind and words of others, privy to an intellectual banquet. When would I get another chance such as this? and I knew it!

Organize the Research Data

After I had harvested the fruits and planted the seeds of notable scholars and authors I began the first draft of the writing process. Computer technology was still relatively new in 1992 but an innovation allowed me to convert and organize reems and reems of paper notes into easy searchable data. After months of imputing notes from various sources i was able to extract portions of text that contained the same keyword. The keywords became the glue that tied authors, ideas, topics and perspectives together. I built my thesis around these keywords. I had the quotes and references that would help to support my thesis.