Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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We believe that the parade bashing and continued uniform inspections which made up the cadet training of the past are good only to a point. At an early age a boy can learn much in the way of smartness, bearing, and co-operative habits from the discipline required in good parade work. However, he definitely reaches the stage when he needs to move on from this and when he is ready for training in constructive activities, which will help him to be of some useful service to his community — and, equally important, when he is ready to have his sense of adventure kindled in the carrying out of interesting and exciting expedition work. With these purposes in mind this year we have supplemented our usual Naval Cadet programme with courses in first aid, rescue training, fire fighting and civil defence generally. Of course, it will take time to realize the full impact of this new training on the boys— and, indeed, on the community — and we are still in the experimenting stage. However, I hope that those of you who were here for our annual Inspection in May will agree that a good start has been made and that we are moving in the right direction. Believing also that in the future people are going to have an increasing amount of leisure time, we have found the philosophy underlying the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme particularly appropriate. I refer to the four aspects of its training — the requirements made of young people under the pursuits and projects section should teach them to fill leisure time with productive activities; the demands made by the expedition section should develop in them those qualities of self reliance and initiative which leaders of the future more than ever before will be required to have; the demands made in the physical fitness aspect should teach them the connec- tion between a healthy body and a healthy attitude to life; and the requirements made in the public service sec- tion should teach them to fulfil a useful role in the evolution of the more complex society of the future. Because of the standards required and the type of work involved, we were pleased that when the Duke of Edinburgh visited Ottawa in March to present the first Gold Awards in Canada, out of 18 recipients in our country, five were from B.C.— all of whom were from this School. Moreover, I am happy to report that seven more of our boys will have achieved their Gold Awards by this time next year, and another group will start the 72

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He indicated that there was so much yet to be done in so many different categories to improve the human condition, from the international scale to that of the small urban community; and that all endeavours needed the fresh approach of youth with new enthusiasm, new knowledge, new energy and, above all, new inspiration. At this time also the Headmaster gave his Annual Report. A few excerpts follow: Talking of the academic side of school life he said, There can be no question about the fact that over the last fifteen years great strides have been made at Shawnigan in this area. In fact, out of all University Entrance Examinations which have been written here at the Grade 12 level over the last decade, 94 per cent have passed — and over the last four years 41 per cent of our graduates have won scholarships to university. I feel certain that statistics such as those must be a source of encouragement to all those connected with Shawnigan. However, we have a long way to go and, as we examine the rigours of the competitive world for which we are preparing our young people, we must surely realize the necessity for a thorough re-examination of our methods and an up-grading of the standards of achievement which we shall require. Moreover, and more im- portant, we must develop in our young people a greater sense of inquiry — a greater anxiety to acquire knowledge for its own sake than is prevalent at present. There is still, on the part of many young students, an unhealthy lack of enthusiasm for study — unhealthy when we consider the requirements of the future. Or if, in some cases, there is interest in study, it is, too often, only because it is a means to an end. I feel, however, that the first pur- pose of education is not to help us earn a living but rather to teach us what to do with it after we have earned it. I am speaking, of course, of all our schools and not only this one; but at least it must be our purpose here to make a start in trying to do something about the situation. We must find ways and means to transform the learning process, which in too many cases at present is dull and tedious, into a series of projects which are at once challenging and stimulating; and in doing this we can only hope to re-awaken in our students a sense of enquiry which will not only make learning enjoyable, but will also help them to appreciate that any work worth doing is worth doing well. In this achievement we, as well as every other school in this country, have a long way to go — but the goal is there and can be seen and, as teachers, it is our responsibility to devote our energies to achieving it. Referring to the athletic side he said, The School has had a surprisingly successful year if results of competi- tions are any criteria of success. To be specific, there have been Independent School Competitions — between St. George ' s School, University School, Brentwood and ourselves— in the seven sports which all four schools play. Out of these seven, Shawnigan has won the independent schools trophies in six of them — namely in rugby, cricket, rowing, track and field, cross-country running and gymnastics. It may surprise some of you that the School has done so well without your realizing it— because in fact we have not gone out of our way to publicize athletic wins in the local press. Our view is that we should publicize academic success because this encourages good stu- dents to apply to the school; and that publicity, of the kind we had in connection with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and with the Civil Defence Programme in B.C., is good because it furthers the interests of other worthwhile movements apart from the School. But we do not over concern ourselves about gaining publicity for athletic wins. Our purpose in training teams to do as well as possible against other schools is to serve— in this area as well— o ur constant pursuit of excellence. We feel that whatever is worth taking up is worth taking up energetically, so that the highest possible standards can be achieved — believing, in fact, that the amount of enjoyment derived from any activity depends directly upon the standard attained. Thus, while the School, in win- ning six out of the seven Independent School Competitions, has had an outstanding year in one respect, let us not lose sight of the fact that our main purpose in playing games is for enjoyment — and that we compete with other schools not to display our superiority over them, but to increase our friendship with them in our mutual pursuit of the highest possible standards. In dealing with the extra-curricular side of School life, Mr. Larsen referred to the large participation of the boys in the hobbies programme and, specifically, he emphasized two areas in which Shawnigan is providing im- portant leadership to other Schools — as follows: There are two more aspects to which I would like to refer, because in initiating new programmes in these areas we have been attempting to keep abreast of the times in this school and to implement in a constructive way a kind of training which will better equip our young people for the type of life which awaits them in this modern world. This resolve has been behind our introduction of a new philosophy in Cadet work, and behind our estab- lishing the first Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in Canada. II

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Scheme in September. After his review of the results which have been achieved at Shawnigan over the past year, he gave much of the credit for them to the Staff, and he expressed sincere words of appreciation to all these people for their loy- alty and devotion to the School. He expressed genuine gratitude also to the Members of the Board of Governors, particularly for the great efforts they have made on behalf of the School in the current Fund Raising Campaign. Finally he referred to the heritage which is ours and our obligation for the future: I have referred to this as our Jubilee Year, and you all realize that we have reached the climax of fifty years of growth. In the beginning there was vision and courage, as the School began in an eight-room house bordering a swamp; over the years as the development of the School has unfolded there have been difficulties and frustra- tions—and to overcome these there have been dedication, courage and loyalty. And as we proceed with our sights set forward, we must never forget the courage and unselfishness of former staff members — Mr. Lonsdale, Mrs. Stanton, Mr. Skrimshire, Captain Palin, Mr. Willis, Pip Musgrave, Mr. Duxbury, Mr. Kaye, Mr. Twite, to name only a few — men and women who shared the vision of our Founder and in so doing dedicated so much of their energies and, indeed, their lives to the welfare of our School. We are grateful for the heritage which is ours on this fiftieth anniversary, and we now make our plans for the next fifty determined to justify the potential of Shawnigan. Even if we are fifty years old, we must remain young at heart, looking ahead with characteristic vigour, a sense of adventure, and the determination of youth which enables young men to revel in any challenege the future may bring. The challenges which face us today are many. Yet to be solved is the problem of living with our neigh- bours. The colour of a man ' s skin affects his opportunity to provide for his family and himself. Far too large a proportion of the world ' s population goes hungry to bed every night. The benefits of medical science reach far too few. Social, political and economic inequalities prevent too many Canadians living in this affluent western society from achieving their potential. No matter what occupation a boy may choose, tomorrow ' s world will require men of courage and rugged determination, men who have learned to rely on their own judgment, men who will stand up for what they believe to be right, men who can adapt themselves to a world in which the pace of change will become even more rapid, and men who will have the curiosity and the conscience to attempt to solve the problems which face mankind. For us remaining to direct the course which the School will follow, I suggest that we should have four main concerns: first, we should concern ourselves with the pursuit of excellence— the highest possible standards in in- tellectual, cultural and spiritual training— teachers and students alike to recognize the vision of excellent so far as our limitations allow— to get at least a glimpse of the unchangin g values of the eternal world as they are revealed in whatever is beautiful and good in the material world of earth. It is interesting to note that it is, in fact, a human instinct to pursue excellence— whatever activity people engage in they prefer the first rate to the second rate- sooner or later humanity turns to excellence as naturally as a flower turns to the sun; mankind crucifies Christ and executes Socrates, and they die amid derision and hatred; but, in the end they receive the homage of the world. Second, we must have a concern that we keep up to date with our training and see to it that our young people are equipped in the best way possible to make a maximum contribution to the complex world of the future. The introduction of service training in the Cadets and the challenges of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme are only a beginnin g. Third, a concern for teacher qualifications. We must do all possible to see that teachers keep up to date in their fields and that, from time to time, they receive fresh inspiration so that in turn they may inspire their students. Fourth, a concern that in all our fund raising and in our constant determination to improve our physical facilities, we resolve to keep at the core of our development a concern for spiritual values— inculcating the belief that there is a Godhead in man and that he can rise far above the petty distractions and gross evil which so easily beset him. Robert Browning said: ' There is an inmost centre in us all, Where truth abides in fullness; and to know Rather consists in opening out a way Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape. ' 73