The Value of the Library

Posted on May 17, 2011 by admin

While in Toronto recently I was struck by the front-page headline in the Toronto Star: “Ontario Schools shelve libraries.”

In a controversial decision, the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board recently laid off all but four of its 39 librarians and is now dismantling all of its libraries. The board intends to revamp the use of space and use it more as student centres with computers and reference materials, or open it up for arts activities. This move has been attributed to two main factors: First, the ongoing shift to digital technologies resulting in declining use of books and journals by students. The second factor is cost savings, as that particular school board faces declining enrolment and an $8 – $10 million deficit in the next school year. So tough choices have to be made to avoid further financial losses.

Interestingly, that school board in Ontario is actually reflective of a broader trend across Canada. Although schools have not necessarily taken the drastic step of closing their libraries, very few are still staffed with a qualified librarian. To put things in perspective, understand that we have three full-time librarians here at LCC to staff our Junior and Senior libraries. In the public school system in the province of Nova Scotia there are none, there are only three left in all of New Brunswick, and numbers have declined notably in Alberta and BC’s public school systems as well. In Ontario primary schools, only 12% have full-time librarians.

In the face of this discouraging trend in Canada, studies have actually shown a strong relationship between professionally-staffed libraries and student achievement in school, including better scores on standardized tests (as much as 8%) and much more positive attitudes toward reading.

Meanwhile in Europe in the past decade, the trend has been the opposite of what’s happening in Canada. Europeans are investing in and developing libraries as a force to improve education. So in the Canadian context, I guess here at LCC we are “countercultural” relative to our Canadian counterparts and have aligned ourselves more with Europeans.

Although we have been proactive with the use of digital media at LCC, we also believe in the value of the book. We support the importance of the library as an information centre and oasis of calm in a noisy world. In the library students can read quietly, reflect and harvest the seeds of their creativity.

We have a reading week in our Junior School and our LCC Reads initiative in Middle/Senior School remains an important and interesting activity in our annual calendar. As the broader debate on libraries continues, one thing is for sure, the level of literacy that each student develops during their time at LCC will likely define much of their success in university studies and likely in professional life. So despite a host of other attractive options in their busy lives, young people need to make time to read; it will definitely make a difference in their futures.

Keeping our LCC libraries open is our priority and we will continue to actively support the development of literacy across all grades. By the way, our annual Book Fair is around the corner: May 26-27. Be sure to pick up a copy of the new LCC Reads book, The Heart Specialist. I hope you find something there that tweaks your interest. –Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Motherhood and Warfare

Posted on May 12, 2011 by admin

Last weekend we all took time to acknowledge and reflect. For most of us the focus was on something very important and valuable – motherhood. Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and I hope that at your home mom was truly pampered. We all have mothers, and the work that mothers do to nurture, support and guide is one of the great pillars of society. So every year we take one day to acknowledge mothers and their important work as the glue in most families.

I was struck by a report last week on the eve of Mother’s Day that an annual calculation of the value of unpaid work done by mothers. Even though men now do much more domestic work at home than a generation ago, women still do the lion’s share. Researchers for online publication MSN Money recently found that the time Canadian mothers spend on what they label as “mom” jobs translates into about $132,000/year for stay at home moms and $82,000 for working moms, in addition to their professional jobs. The assessment gave a market value for time spent on laundry, cleaning, childcare, chauffeuring, psychologist, tutor, and cook as some of the many roles women continue to play in families. In Canada it is estimated that unpaid work accounts for $300 billion of annual GDP with most of it done by women; a very high value, indeed. This has important implications for government policy-makers in terms of tax policy and so forth. The study claims the average mom works 96 hours/week, including full time employment. This is an increase of 4 hours from last year. So Moms appear to be busier than ever.

The other occasion/anniversary last Sunday was less visible to most of us. It was the 66th anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945 and the surrender of Hitler’s forces. I’m not sure how many of us took much notice, as here in Canada our remembrance focus is mostly in November. But we need to acknowledge that WWII transformed the world. Consider that WWII cost approximately 60 million lives, trillions of dollars and created millions of refugees who spent years in temporary camps across Europe between 1945-1950. WWII brought with it the Holocaust, the start of the nuclear age with the dropping of the atomic bomb in Japan, and the beginning of an era known as the “Cold War,” when superpowers USA and USSR faced off in an a dangerous and expensive ideological struggle for decades.

We lost 45,000 Canadians in WWII – a significant loss given our population of about 11 million at the time.

In Russia marking what Russians call the “Great Patriotic War” was most at the forefront this past weekend. Whereas Canada lost a significant 4/10ths of 1% of its total population during the war years (1939-1945), the Soviet Union lost an astounding 14% of its population, losing close to 25 million people. These are astounding numbers – 25 million dead – by far the worst suffering of any country during WWII. That’s why what’s called “Victory Day” – victory over the Nazis – with parades and great fanfare occurred virtually everywhere across the former Soviet Union this week. It is a national holiday – much more prominent than here in Canada.

Motherhood and wartime sacrifice – two celebrations that are at opposite ends of the spectrum. But it’s important that we remember find a way to acknowledge them both. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Organ Donations

Posted on May 4, 2011 by admin

I saw both courage and hope speak passionately before a large audience the other day. One of our graduating students, who was the lucky recipient of a liver transplant in 2009, addressed our assembly of Middle and Senior School students. She explained how fortunate she was to receive a new organ after a difficult 10-month wait. Her surgeon, Dr. Lallier from Hôpital St. Justine, also gave a broad overview of the topic of transplants in Quebec. He reminded us that there are never enough organs available to people in need. In fact the gap is quite striking – only about one in ten patients are able to receive an organ in a timely fashion and, unfortunately, dozens die in Quebec every year while waiting for a final lease on life.

There’s a simple solution to the organ supply problem. More of us should sign an organ donation sticker and place it on the back of our Medicare card. It authorizes medical officials to use our organs at the time of our death. It is a unique way to give life and provide a lasting legacy.
I was inspired by today’s presentation and will definitely be a donor some day. Maybe you should too.

For more information, visit www.quebec-transplant.qc.ca

Non Nobis Solum

—Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Toward a Sustainable World

Posted on April 28, 2011 by admin

It’s Environment/Earth Week at LCC. Although we have taken a lot of steps in recent years to be a more sustainable school, we can always do more. We have diminished our impact on our environment by changing a lot of our buildings’ systems and infrastructure: we installed high efficiency furnaces and new generation fluorescent lighting, upgraded ventilation systems, limited water waste, planted trees and added an urban tree garden. In addition, student learning now has a more pronounced focus on sustainability.

Last fall our Board of Governors published a Sustainability Commitment. Our student Green Team promotes sustainable practices at school and in our homes, and faculty and staff sit on a sustainability committee. This is all in an effort to raise awareness and find ways to make LCC a greener school.
As a large and complex organization, LCC seems to be on solid footing when it comes to diminishing its impact on our precious environment. Perhaps the biggest challenge to changing wasteful and harmful habits is not institutional, but personal. David Suzuki publishes a Top Ten list of ways to make a positive impact on our shared environment. However, expecting people to make ten changes is probably too many. So how about just three? Anyone can do these:

1. Walk, bike or take public transit more often.
2. Manage your trash better and recycle more efficiently.
3. Eat more locally grown foods.

If enough people made just these three changes, our environment would surely benefit.

As they say, ”Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “climbing any mountain begins with a single step.” So however minor, decide what you can really handle. Commit to making some positive changes and before you know it, you will likely want to do more. –Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Pondering the Future of Montreal @ LCC

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

What’s the future of Montreal? This was the focus of this year’s annual Destiny Quebec student leadership conference held this week at LCC. What an excellent topic for those of us who live in this great city. (view gallery)

Congratulations to DQ 2011 student Co-Chairs Kasha Bonneville ’11 and Greg Sigler ’11 who guided an enthusiastic committee of student leaders. After months of planning, students investigated this question with visiting experts. This was done through the lens of our aging infrastructure, evolving university and health care institutions, the vibrancy of Montreal’s culture, and emerging areas of economic challenge and leadership in the city.

Keynote speaker Alexandre Trudeau presented a fascinating perspective to all Senior School students and visiting delegates. He noted that in Montreal – and indeed everywhere in the West – we need to be aware of the challenges emerging from new economic superpowers China and India. We need to respond with innovation. In Mr. Trudeau’s words, our future success is dependent on being “flexible, tolerant and imaginative.” I know our students are up to the challenge and will emerge as confident leaders who will steward Montreal into the future with care. –Chris Shannon, Headmaster