When I was in high school, track mattered as much to me as my grades in school. And thanks to a fortunate circumstance (I believe you make your own luck), I got noticed by the right person at the right time. I started getting calls from the distance running coach at Harvard University, and with the support of my dad, I completed the arduous application process. In the spring of my final year of high school, I received the thick packet through the mail, meaning of course that I had been accepted. None of this was what my family or I had expected; it wasn’t part of some master plan that we’d set out to accomplish. When presented with such an incredible opportunity, there was only one possible response: go for it!
From day one, I had the complete support of my parents. Education, at whatever cost, was a value they held dear, and I am forever grateful to them for this. Needless to say, my undergraduate experience was life-changing. Harvard is a remarkable place. I was taught by some of the world’s preeminent scholars, doors were opened to me (doors that don’t exist here), and I made friends with incredible people. I met my future wife at Harvard, someone whose parents shared a common value that had been bestowed on her: education. Years passed, we lived happily on both coasts of the United States before returning to my home, Nova Scotia, to settle down a bit. And now I find myself here at Sacred Heart School of Halifax, with two daughters in the school for which I serve as principal.
When I look back now, on my life’s unexpected trajectory, in the context of my current work at an independent school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I am amazed to see that so little has changed around me while I have changed so much. When I decided to leave home and travel to the United States to study at Harvard University, I received many conflicting messages from those around me. Those in my inner circle (family, friends, track coach) were only supportive. They saw this opportunity for what it truly was: a chance to attend one of the top universities in the world. Many others in my community responded with ambivalence at best. Why leave Canada? What’s wrong with our universities? Why would you go to a place like Harvard? You must be rich. Are you a snob?
The mentality of “just good enough” is still very much alive and kicking in Nova Scotia, Canada. I ask this: What’s wrong with striving for the best? Why is there such an insecurity around education in our landscape? Do Nova Scotians want the best education for their children? Why do most Nova Scotians assume that the best education is a public education? As an adult now in Nova Scotia, I feel exactly the same as that adolescent boy who had to defend his choice to go to Harvard. I am accustomed to hearing that tuition at an independent school, such as Sacred Heart, for example, is too much and the local public schools are “good enough” for our children. What we are talking about here is values. Follow the money trail. Are home renovations and extravagant vacations really more valuable than our children’s education?
When it comes to our children’s education, “good enough” is not good enough. In a local culture that is biased against independent schools, there most certainly is a place for a values-based education, as offered at Sacred Heart School of Halifax for the past 164 years. Does the rising tide not raise all ships?
