Last Saturday was the 9th anniversary of 9/11; the tragic attack on the World Trade Center in New York that took the lives of over three thousand innocents. A solemn memorial service took place at Ground Zero to commemorate those who died and to offer condolences to families for their losses. However, while most of us across North America offered thoughtful reflection, the “crazies” also came out of the woodwork.

Unfortunately, leading up to Saturday’s anniversary, a little-known Christian preacher from Florida publicly threatened to burn the Muslim Holy book, the Koran, on the anniversary of 9/11. This was to be his personal form of protest against radical Islamists. Yet it was simply an unfortunate public statement of intolerance. The burning did not happen, but we certainly learned a few lessons from the threat.

Lesson # 1: Freedom comes with responsibility. Although in Canada and the USA we have freedom of expression, the Florida Minister’s overt video threat was insensitive, provocative, incendiary and disrespectful—unacceptable from my perspective and he should still face criminal charges.

Lesson # 2: This incident was a clear example of the extraordinary capacity of the Internet to spread nasty messages globally. Although coming from a very questionable source, the message still went viral and provoked riots in Muslim communities and upset people on worldwide.

Lesson # 3: Schools need to be proactive about helping students develop genuine sensitivity and empathy for others. We need to expose young people to difference so that the ignorance and bigotry the minister displayed do not dominate their lives.

That’s why we speak so much about respect—for oneself and others—at LCC. It’s also why we are a part of the Round Square association of schools; a network of more than 80 schools around the world that promote respect and international understanding through exchanges, service projects, conferences, and leadership development.

Also, all 80 schools adhere to core pillars or IDEALS: Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service. In fact, it was no coincidence that these were the themes we chose for our Middle and Senior School Experience field trips to start the year.

 Grade 7 – Orientation/ Environment & Adventure @ Camp Nominingue
 Grade 8 – Environment
 Grade 9 – Outdoor Adventure
 Grade 10 – Community Service & Philanthropy
 Grade 11 – Leadership

We constantly ask our students to consider how they can reach beyond their comfort zones through experiences at school, in the community and at the international level. We see it as our job to help students develop empathy and sensitivity in a world which is crying for more citizens who possess those important qualities. Only then will we drown out the crazies. –Chris Shannon, Headmaster