Closing Day Address 2009 – David Robertson, Headmaster

Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Graduates of the Class of 2009,

I could be forgiven for starting my address to you today with some mention of the time and how quickly it has passed this year, but I will only be forgiven by the blazer-clad hordes if I can avoid making the time pass very slowly in the next little while! If you think that today is the longest day of the year, think again, the solstice, the longest day, is actually tomorrow and after that fall will be here in to time! That said, today is all about time – our last time together in this school year, the grads’ last time in their #1’s, ever, the School’s last time listening to the ramblings of the Headmaster, and even the time you’ll check, surreptitiously perhaps, as you wonder how long there is to go! Before that blissful release, however, we have some very important moments, some time well-spent, marking significant achievements and special bonds. One of the cleverer mentions of time for me was the old advertisement slogan of the watchmakers, Timex, who announced one Christmas that there was ‘ no present like the time’. Ask a small child what they’d like when their mom or dad is really busy and time would not be far from the answer. Try asking someone dealing with a bucket list if there is any greater gift than time and you can guess the answer. Unable to halt the march of time, however, it is to the other part of the slogan, to the gift and giving, that I will turn my attention in the next little while. The irony rippling through the audience of a Scotsman talking about giving is not lost on me, but, for a nation whose past is described by eminent author, John Prebble, as, “the long brawl of Scottish history,” irony is not uncommon. What is the difference, by the way, between a tight rope and a Scotsman? – even a tight rope gives a little!

The Grad Class of 2009 has given much to their school and the magnificent year that we have enjoyed is the direct result, but more of that later as I want to turn my attention first to the adults who work here. Some of them are moving on to challenges new and we wish them well. Sarah Wiley, Angus Murray, Neil Bryant, Gail Conway, Rachel Peters, Robin Byers, Evan Hall, Kiel Peterson and Doug Wooldridge –thank you so much, The rest, the superb faculty and staff of Shawnigan have given so freely of themselves yet again in the countless hours that they have invested in making this school the very special place that it is, and I would like you all to join with me in recognizing the ‘talented people of character’ that are so crucial to the creation of the moments, those weavers of the memories, the keepers of the dream – ladies and gentlemen, School – our staff!

I would like to focus for a minute or two on our teachers in particular as there can be few professions in the world, more frequently undervalued or under-appreciated and yet, after parenting, teaching can play one of the biggest roles in the creation of the societies that we all aspire to for our children. Perhaps it’s because everybody has taught something to somebody at some time that makes teaching a bit like editing a newspaper or coaching a sports team in terms of everyone thinking that he or she can do it better. At the risk of preaching to the converted, I would proclaim to anyone that the world needs great teachers more than it ever has, but we also need to create the conditions in which they can thrive, in which they can follow the mantra, “instilling a zest for learning is instilling a zest for life.” In his seminal work, “The Closing of the American Mind,” Allan Bloom wrote, “Fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise…specialized competence and success are all they can imagine.” Schools must be equipped again to venture, confidently but sensitively, into the realm of values and character just as we do at Shawnigan. Only then, will we restore the richness to the profession, the involvement that makes it a vocation, not just a job – something more akin to this description that I read recently, “a teacher is like a candle that lights others while consuming itself”
 

Please click here to read the entire Closing Address.

(Thank you to Margot Allen and Stephen Lane for the photos!)