A Lasting Curiosity

Charles Hou set the bar high for future recipients of the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Burnaby, B.C., teacher’s passion for authenticity and open-minded exploration fostered historical curiosity in thousands of young people throughout his career. As the award’s first-ever laureate in 1996, Hou inspired generations of students with his enthusiasm for history. His students held mock trials of figures from Canada’s past, visited historic graveyards and debated from the perspective of 19th-century colonists whether to join the new Canadian Confederation or the United States. 

Together with other Canadian studies teachers, Hou founded a national student essay contest, which ran for 20 years, focused on primary-source research. A funny and generous conversationalist, Hou collected editorial cartoons published from the 1840s through the early 2000s. He published three volumes of cartoons, which he found in libraries and archives all over the country; they now reside at Simon Fraser University in a collection that bears his name. 

Hou died in February of this year, leaving a lasting legacy for generations of students and teachers alike.