The Heart Specialist |

This week we welcomed Claire Holden Rothman, author of this year’s LCC Reads book The Heart Specialist as well as Dr. Ariane Marelli, Director of the MAUDE Cardiology Unit at the Montreal General Hospital (Lib_LCCReadsAssembly_01Dec2011). In the spirit of discussing this book, I put together my own Top Ten list about the importance of reading (view LCC Reads photos).

1. Academic Success – Research confirms that the greatest single predictor of success in senior high school and post-secondary programs is the capacity of a student to read. Reading builds knowledge and makes students smarter.

2. Vocabulary Development – Reading helps put words in context and broadens our word recognition ability.

3. Imagination – Reading takes us to new and imaginary places and helps us to be more creative; it certainly helps develop more colourful ideas.

4. Quiet and Calm – The opportunity to quietly pause and focus in a busy/noisy world is an important attribute of focusing on a text.

5. Storytelling – Storytelling is so powerful that many ancient cultures continue to stress key stories as the foundations of their cultural identity. This remains the case with many aboriginal nations in Canada. Consider also how in mainstream culture the Harry Potter series excited and engaged a whole generation of young people. The release of every new book in the series caused pandemonium around the world.

6. Choice – Read whatever interests motivates or excites you. Whatever makes you think and develop original ideas, develop solutions to problems, or create a greater awareness of the complexities of the world is meaningful. Reading can actually lead to discoveries and have a “wow factor” that motivates us to achieve.

7. Inspiration – Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address “Ask not what this country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address as the first black President of South Africa… these are all examples of how the written word can awaken deep feelings in all of us. Also, stories of courage can motivate us and the written word presents the opportunity for a clear voice by people who are somewhat shy in groups and less inclined to speak out.

8. Meaningful – In our Junior School we use an active reading methodology called “AIM” which focuses on students’ meaningful personal connections to texts. While students are quietly reading they employ gestures that indicate what the material makes them feel, think, predict, connect and remind them of. Each sentiment has a quiet gesture. One-on-one, the classroom teacher listens to the student’s oral explanation of why something is personally meaningful. In short, the reading material becomes more relevant – and young students become more actively connected to the content.

9. Power of Words – Words resonate deeply. Remember that two winters ago Canada’s Olympic team chose a simple word to motivate our athletes and a whole nation – “Believe.” It was Canada’s mantra, “Believe.” The word inspired athletes, teams, and a whole country as we earned the greatest medal haul in our history.

10. Reading Builds Community – We begin young by reading some common texts/stories in school and continue to share stories in English classes in high school. Beyond school, book clubs are very popular in Canada (at LCC as well at various levels). Our LCC Reads program has helped to bring hundreds of people together over a single book.

Thanks to all of our English teachers for their support of reading and literacy skills here at LCC. A special thank you to Mr. Moore, Head of our English department and co-chair of the LCC Reads committee, along with our chief librarian Mrs. Varvarikos and dozens of students who are active members of our LCC Reads Club. Continue to read, learn and be inspired by the written word. Remember, literacy is timeless!– Christopher Shannon, Headmaster

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

Tag Archives: The Heart Specialist

Shannon’s Top 10 Reasons to Read

The Value of the Library