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www.insideHALTO N.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, N ovem ber 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 | 10 Freedomwriter says act of kindness changed his life by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Manny Scott was used to being singled out in his sixth grade class, even though he tried desperately not to be noticed. Like many that age, he was self-conscious. Still, he'll never forget the hurtful words of his teacher on one particular occasion as she asked the class for the answer to a homework question. Ignoring all the raised hands, she turned to Scott as he sunk lower into his seat. "I don' t know," he recalls replying, to which she responded, "'You didn' t do your homework again?"' "I tried, but I didn' t understand it," he said. FLU S H O T S A VA ILA B LE All Oakville | Burlington Locations No appointment necessary ALL LOCATIONS ARE LOCATED INSIDE LONGOS & ARE OPEN 7 DAYS A W EEK m o R id i J's p h a rm a cy Filling prescriptions. Fulfilling expectations. MORELLISPHARMACY.COM I ONLINE PRESCRIPTION RENEWAL I COMPOUNDING AVAILABLE I FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED "'Nobody could help you at home? Nobody?"' "They didn' t understand it either," his reply She pressed further, pulling him aside out into the hallway, asking why his clothes looked the way they did and whether his family even owned a washing machine. "Your clothes stink Kids are complaining you're stinking up our class," she told him in private, "And then she said these words, `If you don' t get your act together young man, if you don' t start applying yourself, you're going to end up just like your daddy, isn' t he in prison or something?" "I didn' t have the words, the vocabulary, the lexicon to describe how much that hurt me, but it was in that moment that m y young soul began to realize that poverty is not just the lack of money, but poverty is the lack of access to the kinds of people and resources that can help you," recalled Scott to a crowd at the YMCA of Oakville Community Breakfast for Peace Wednesday (Nov 23) "And in that sense of the word, in m ost of m y schools, I was very poor." At age 39, Scott, now a motivational speaker, still can' t seem to shake the memories, struggles and experiences he was exposed to growing up. Going to school hungry and with holes in his shoes and clothes was the norm. He also recalled one weekend when he was thrown off a balcony trying to protect his mother. Manny Scott "My ribs got caught on a bolt on the way down and it tore out a piece of skin, but Mama said if I tell anyone at school, the police are going to take me away and so I'm sitting here with an infection and in pain," he said. Scott described the "anger and rage" simmering inside him when he was just a boy hoping to find encouragement from anyone, a classmate, a teacher, an adult. see `I don't' on p.12 V * W o r k e r s u n t ie ! Brothers and Sisters! End the tyranny of lace-up work boots with Blundstone CSA Greenpatch! Stand up for new "memory" footbeds! More cushioned working conditions! On the ground support for workers' rights! And lefts! Striking kick-toe leather protection! Strength and lightness hand in hand! Unite! Untie! Hillfield Strathallan College Learn with Joy. Live with Purpose. #164 The CSA Greenpatch in Crazy Horse Brown. Also available in Black and Stout Brown. $199.95 'g lund&G >fie T a s m a n ia A u s t r a l ia -ib 7 d H illfie ld S tra th a lla n College w a rm ly invites you to attend o u r u p c o m in g O pen House on W ednesday, D ecem ber 7. Call 9 0 5 -3 8 9 -1 3 6 7 o r v is it hsc.on.ca today. Factory Shoe Outlet 2394 Fairview St. Burlington, 905-632-9688