10 Things I Learned in Thailand

Posted on October 13, 2010 by admin

1. Smiles need no translation
2. Less is more
3. The appreciation of a toilet seat
4. How to make concrete & cement
5. How count to 100 in Thai
6. Commuting to school in the morning can get a lot more difficult
7. It ain’t easy being a teacher
8. It’s possible to eat rice every meal of the day
9. Bridging the gap between cultures and language barriers
10. More than I could ever describe…

After 36 hours of flying to the other side of the world and a night spent arguing with the local marketers in Chiang Mai, we awoke bright and early to begin our trek through the Thai mountains. Expectations varied from person to person; everyone had their own ideas about what the school would look like, how the people would act, and whether or not they had enough Nature Valley bars to last them the trip. Unexpectedly, we were all wrong. No one could have predicted the life-changing experience before us.

The five-hour trip through the mountains was eventful to say the least. From muddy roads to evasive spare tires, we began to settle into our surroundings and got to know the 30 other students who had come together from around the world to rural village of Ban Maelid.

Upon arrival, the principal and the 150 students who had readied their traditional hand-woven bracelets for each of us greeted us with incredible hospitality and generosity. We proceeded to set up our beds (though Hutch and I couldn’t figure out the mosquito net until Day 3) and all took notice of the unprecedented guy to girl ratio (7 boys and 27 girls). Over the remainder of the day, our bodies began to adjust to the unfamiliar Thai cuisine (rice and pineapple replace pizza and fries), and our hearts began to warm to the omnipresent feeling of community and togetherness that was immediately vibrant and welcoming to all.

We awoke to the familiar meal of Corn Flakes and white bread, followed by the daily morning assembly in the courtyard/soccer field. We stood quietly while the members of the school recited the national anthem and their morning prayer. Needless to say, we understood nothing of the principal’s welcoming speech, but the Regent’s School (the host school) teacher, Kun Mina, translated for us.

We then broke off into two separate groups: those who would do construction work in the morning and teach in the afternoon, and vice-versa. We learned a lot about building and cement and concrete, and it was a pretty solid workout to say the least. It was awesome how everyone was working together and helping each other to reach one common goal. Though the language barrier made it really hard to communicate with the Thai people, we were able to work around it because of everyone’s willingness and patience.

In the afternoon (or morning for others), we went to go teach the kids in groups of 2 or 3. I ended up with a girl named Leah from Victoria, BC, and a guy named Bian from Indonesia (he goes to Regent’s now). The lesson plan varied from class to class (depending on their age), but it mostly consisted of teaching them some English (whether it be counting, shapes, animals, weather, etc.) and then playing some games when we felt they’d learned enough for one day. I am forever grateful to Ms. Hart, without whom I would have never learned the awesome drama games that everyone loved and made class exciting and fun. I must admit that it wasn’t easy teaching class after class. Keeping students busy and engaged while having fun is hard work. It definitely elevated my respect and appreciation for all teachers who do this on a daily basis.

Service ended each day at 4 pm (with two snack breaks and lunch in between), at which point most of the kids would walk back home to their villages while some stayed behind to play some soccer following the end of the day assembly. For the first two days, this would be the time when we “chilled” or played soccer with the kids. Either way, a cold bucket shower was unavoidable before our 6:30 pm dinner. After dinner was all done, we’d watch a slideshow of the day’s photos and relaxed until bedtime at 9:30 pm. During that time, we got to learn how to make bracelets and weave baskets from the kids who boarded at the school. It was great to experience their culture like that, and it was relaxing and lots of fun.

Speaking of showers, the bathrooms were not quite what we were used to. There was only one North American-style toilet at the school, while the others were located on the floor and were flushed by pouring buckets of water into them until it was clean. These stalls also doubled as the showers, which consisted of a bowl and a water tap. It was a tough transition to get over for everyone, but by the 3rd or 4th day it wasn’t too bad.

After service was done on the 3rd day, we had the privilege of walking back with the kids to their village. Each one of us partnered up with someone and took on the task of walking them home. To say it was the most genuine and powerful thing I’d ever experienced would be an understatement. Past the language barrier and the massive cultural contrast, we were all simply human beings connecting on the most basic of levels. They took us to their village and welcomed us into their homes and treated us with a respect and politeness lie I had never before experienced before. To really see how these people lived and how different our lives are from their own was a huge shock, and it really instilled a profound appreciation in me for all that we have and take for granted. At the same time though, it felt so unfair that we have so much and they have so little. Then I realized just why we were there: to be together as human beings, no matter where we were from. We were there to help and to learn how easy is was to live with and love each other. Round Square 2010: We Walk Together.

On the last day, we went for an hour-long hike up the mountain (the regular commute to school everyday for some of the kids), and went to see another village. The people were incredibly friendly and welcoming as always, and it was amazing to once again see how they lived and to be truly immersed in their everyday lives. The kids guided us up the slippery trail and were so excited to show us around. I was really lucky to go hang out with my new friend Kasen’s grandparents and really see what it was like for them to live in their home. They were very kind and eager to show me their home and they loved taking pictures with us.

In the afternoon, we all came up with games to play with the whole school, and everyone was having a great time (“What time is it Mr. Wolf,” “Indian Chief,” “Monkey in the Middle,” etc.). At night, we had a big celebration of the last few days and finished it off with a disco party, which was amazing. Everyone was dancing and happy and it was really a celebration of the world coming together as one. It was an appropriate end to an unforgettable experience that really changed my life.

If you’ve read this far, you have probably inferred what I’m about to say, but I think it’s really important to reiterate this. The people of Ban Maelid were the kindest and most polite individuals I have met in my life. They treated us all with immeasurable respect and hospitality that exceeds anything I’ve ever seen. They fed us and sheltered us like kings compared to how they have to live. For example, they eat meat only about once a week due to limited availability, while we had it almost every meal because they felt it would make us more comfortable. Every time you would walk by someone down the hall they bow and say hello (“Sawadeekap” for guys, “Sawadeeka” for girls) and make you feel so welcome in a land most of us had never seen. Their love, respect and all of their gestures motivated us to reciprocate in the same way, which in turn created the atmosphere at this pre-conference that we have all come to love and deeply miss.

As I sit on the bus from Bangkok to the real conference in Pattaya writing this, I can’t help but feel sad that the past week is behind me. However, I am thankful for the privilege to partake in something as powerful as the experience I had in Ban Maelid and for the opportunity of meeting their wonderful people. I’m VERY excited for the next week to come. —Greg Sigler ’11

Conférence sur le bilinguisme

Posted on May 10, 2010 by admin

Voici des commentaires d’élèves qui ont participé à la conférence sur le bilinguisme dans les écoles du QAIS, le 29 avril, 2010.

J’ai aimé la conférence sur le bilinguisme car c’était intéressant d’entendre les histoires des anciens étudiants. Ils ont dit que c’est très important de continuer le français après l’école secondaire car les langues aident tout le monde à communiquer et à s’exprimer avec plusieurs personnes du monde entier. Je suis d’accord avec ce message et je vais continuer de parler le français pour le restant de ma vie! —Alexandra Bélanger, 10e programme accéléré

Je crois que la conférence était d’une importance capitale pour ma perception de la coexistence des langues française et anglaise au Québec. Je sais maintenant qu’il est primordial de savoir et de maîtriser les deux langues et de ne pas passer trop de temps sans pratiquer l’une des deux. Aussi, j’ai découvert qu’être bilingue n’est pas si exceptionnel qu’on pourrait le croire. —Benjamin Dawson, 10e programme accéléré

Je suis très heureuse d’avoir eu la chance d’aller à la conférence sur le bilinguisme. Je pense que cette expérience m’a vraiment aidée à réaliser que maîtriser plusieurs langues est très important dans la vie. —Gabrielle Gendron, 10e programme accéléré

Bilingualism to Multilingualism

Posted on May 5, 2010 by admin

Last week, the downtown QAIS schools (Quebec Association of Independent Schools) held a special conference entitled “Le Fait Français,” a celebration the high quality of French taught in our independent school system. It was an impressive collection of speakers: experienced teachers, alumni, community members and the former Premier of Quebec, Pierre-Marc Johnston.

All presenters spoke about the critical importance of French fluency in Quebec. It is an essential for day-to-day life and success in professional careers. We were reminded that outside Quebec there are some 65 countries around the world who are members of “La Francophonie,” so French competence also has its use well beyond the borders of our own province.

What resonated most with me were the comments from an LCC graduate. Amrick Bansal ’98 is a young lawyer who practices in Montreal. He recounted how he was in Advanced French at LCC and felt pretty confident about his language skills when he graduated. After college and university education in English in Montreal, he felt that his French skills had declined somewhat. He decided to remedy this by attending law school in French at l’Université de Montréal. The nuances of language made this a challenging, yet satisfying, experience. Mr. Bansal solidified his French skills by spending a full year of legal studies at a university in France. Proud with his achievement at refining his French fluency, Mr. Bansal then spent a year at university in Holland, completing a graduate certificate in international law. However, upon arrival he noted that that most of his classmates from Europe and around the world arrived with the capacity to confidently speak four or five languages.

The important message here is that bilingualism is essential for all of us in Montreal. However, in an interconnected world with the domination of global forces, the knowledge of multiple languages is what most young people should strive for to gain a competitive edge. Bilingualism is a necessity, but multilingualism is what we all should aim for. I hope you have already begun to broaden your linguistic fluency.—Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Celebrating our Planet Earth

Posted on April 22, 2010 by admin

Another year has passed since our last Earth Day and Environment Week at LCC. Unfortunately, on the global scale it’s easy to feel gloomy about the general state of the environment. Climate change is a huge topic, and while politicians around the world debate the issues—as they did at the Copenhagen Conference last December and only implement minimal change—we all ask, what is really being achieved?

I believe that at the grassroots level, people are more aware that the environment matters. Individuals, not governments are making a difference. People are more responsible and accountable, not because they have to, but because they want to.

How about within our own school community? Have we made progress by reducing our footprint and becoming greener? Are we building a more sustainable school?

I am proud that we have made a number of advances. Yet, I will be the first to assert that we have yet to develop broad universal “buy-in” and consciousness. For too many people in our school community, environmental changes remain only skin deep. More effort is still required to embed sustainable practices into our daily lives.

We have made achievements and some notable progress. Consider the following:
 We have made the environment and sustainability one of the seven pillars of our school’s current strategic plan.

 We have significantly reduced our energy consumption at the school in recent years thanks to some initiatives we implemented three years ago.

 Under the leadership of Ms. Scattolin and Mr. Olive, the LCC Green Team and a host of students have made notable changes including implementing a composting program.

 Our Sustainability Committee, made up of student, faculty, and Board representatives meet regularly outside of class time to consider new directions for our school.

 We have developed a Sustainability Mission Statement that will soon be endorsed by our Board and will define school practices well into the future.

 Our Board has made a commitment to build a sustainable green “Learning Commons” and we are aiming to construct a gold LEED-standard building.

 The environmental curriculum has been enhanced for students and interesting activities are available beyond the classroom.

 Creative and engaging “environmental video minutes” have been presented at school assemblies.

 Our focus has been on initiative and change, not window-dressing.

Clearly, LCC has made an open commitment to become a greener and sustainable school. The rest is really up to our students. At assembly this week, I was direct and asked students from grades 7 to 11 if they cared. Is environmental progress something they see as important or do they see it as someone else’s responsibility? Will more leaders emerge from our student body, or will students simply accept bad habits that we know we cannot sustain? What is our students’ vision of environmental management, as it will likely be the defining issue of their adult lives?

These are difficult questions. I hope we address them head on in the coming year. In the interim, remember that this is Earth Week and the importance of celebrating all the elements that make up our very fine planet. The other evening I left school following a short, light rain shower that had refreshed our now green fields. The smell of the dirt and the grass was fantastic; a reminder of how quickly the natural world adapts from a barren, Montreal snow-covered winter. Miraculously, our fields develop into the beautiful natural green space our school community enjoys from spring to fall.

This week, I hope you will participate in some of our Earth Week activities. I also hope you will find time to connect with nature and remember how blessed we are in Canada with so much open space and exceptional natural beauty. We all have to accept responsibility for stewarding what native Canadians have always called “Mother Earth.” Let’s all care for her with passion and a true sense of responsibility. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Global Perspectives

Posted on April 1, 2010 by admin

There is an old adage that school is about the three R’s—Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic—the core subjects that support every young person’s success in the world. But in the modern world, I now see a fourth R that we have to add to the mix: Respect. For me this is a key element of every student’s education. In my view there are two primary elements to truly understanding respect: first, a focus on continuous character education, the molding of engaged and involved citizens and, second, respect for differences—primarily ethnic and cultural differences that are so common in today’s multicultural Canada. Both are important, but I would like to focus here on the second component of respect….respect for diversity. This is much more than simply building a sense of tolerance for others different than yourself. The notion of tolerance is simply not enough – tolerance should be a given between people, even people lacking education. I am thinking about something much more profound than tolerance. I want every student in our school to be intrigued by difference, not afraid of it, not ignorant of difference. To call oneself truly educated, one needs to learn to reach out, be proactive and want to know about “the other.” Who is “the other” you ask? Those who are profoundly different than ourselves.

This is exactly why the development of a global perspective is one of the most important attributes one can develop while in high school. In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, the capacity to be familiar with and navigate the waters between different cultures is a key set of skills that will contribute to success in life as adults. Historically, this has been a hallmark of Canadians—bilingual, rooted in French and British colonial roots and traditions, close to our American friends and open to the world through generations of immigrants coming to this land of opportunity. However, in recent years, I think teenagers in Canada have actually become too spoiled, too soft, too complacent, and too comfortable with our high standard of living and the many blessings of this very special country. Unfortunately, in Canada at large, actively reaching out and learning about different cultures and investigating things foreign is not seen by enough young people as necessary. It’s not on enough personal agendas.

However, such a perspective just won’t do anymore. As we move forward into the second decade of the 21st century, youth need to be sure how to read, write and calculate. However, I assert that perhaps most important, students need to stop and consider how they are building their own sense of global awareness. This is the global toolbox that will equip young people to navigate the currents of multiple cultures intersecting on a daily basis during the balance of their lives.

This will require youth to step into new and sometimes difficult situations outside their Canadian comfort zones. With increasing frequency, they will be forced to define and question core values and what really matters to them. In short, to gain a truly global perspective, students must be proactive, outward-looking and willing to test themselves through active learning experiences. In the process they will likely change, but likely for the better—more insightful, wiser and resilient.
Here at LCC we have created many opportunities for students to enhance their global perspectives. Our classrooms, clubs and activities, community fundraising initiatives, international exchanges and service projects abroad present a host of amazing opportunities that can be life-changing.

So a new core component of our curriculum is a desire to be better connected to the many cultures and historical traditions that weave across the tapestry we call earth—an active celebration of differences. On a personal level, this requires some courage, but students find the journey fulfilling, challenging, exciting and full of the unexpected. If you don’t believe me, just ask one of the dozens of LCC students who have actively developed a stronger global perspective. I am proud to say, they are the best ambassadors for our unique programs that develop actively engaged global citizens. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster