Chris Shannon: A Retrospective Chat on 20 Years as Head of School

When Chris Shannon, Pre-U ’76 talks about the past 20 years at LCC, there is something distinct in his tone—a mix of pride and humility—and a recognition that one should never come without the other. That is certainly one of the many things he has learned while leading the school through the last two decades. Carolyne Van Der Meer, writer and contributor to the LION, chatted with him recently and sounded him out on a variety of topics.

Carolyne Van Der Meer / After holding positions at Appleby College, several years at Stanstead College as Head of School, and now 20 years at LCC, you’ve made a career in education. What drew you to teaching as a profession and what made you stay in education?

Chris Shannon / I was a history teacher for many years, yet I wasn’t convinced I’d be in this profession forever. In the end, I think it was the human connection working with kids and what its impact can be that hooked me.

CVDM / What was your vision when you arrived in 2005 and how did it evolve?

CS / First, the curriculum. The vision was to develop the curriculum in a broader way, which went beyond the Quebec curriculum. We wanted to create globally-minded students. Eventually that became the IB programme, a globallyrooted, inquiry-based curriculum where you encourage children to ask questions. Rather than just memorizing information, the students develop a global perspective and gain experiences which are outside the norm. Although the IB programme was introduced in a staggered fashion originally to our grade 11 and 12 students as the Diploma Programme, and then to grades 7–10 through the Middle Years Programme, the ethos of IB has been adopted at all grade levels including in the Junior School.

CVDM / There have been significant changes in the arts as well as inclusive learning during your time at the school. How have these made LCC distinct?

CS / As part of the LCC vision to foster globally-minded students, we put significant energy into developing our arts programs.

We always had a very strong athletic program and the necessary facilities, but with this new direction, we focused on building appropriate spaces to house excellent art, drama and music programs. And today the largest team in our school is our senior band. At 110 students, it is almost three times the size of a football team! So, students embracing the arts in a meaningful way has been a big transition.

As for inclusive learning, we recognized that students have different learning styles, and these needed to be validated and supported. So, we created the LEAD Centre (Learning Enrichment and Development) a dedicated space especially for our learning support program. We continued to help students who learn a bit differently, and we have taught teachers how to be inclusive in their educational practices. That's really important, because there are different kinds of learners with different strengths and skills, and we have to build on those skills from kindergarten right through to Pre-University.

CVDM / Are there other programs that you believe have been game-changers for LCC students?

CS / We created a Design and Innovation program that’s based on students being creative, coming up with a project or an idea and iterating until they develop a product or service that works. We have an MIT-inspired Fab Lab. This same approach now begins with our primary school kids their own Junior science centre with a discovery zone that promotes exploration, creativity, refinement, resilience, and playful engagement. When I see what some of these kids are creating, I’m blown away. My hope is that rooting these kids in the freedom to create and giving them the tools will provide them with confidence in their professional lives and beyond.

CVDM / I know that coeducation has been transformative for LCC. Expand on how it has been a cornerstone of your vision.

CS / The most important thing that my school has done was to become coed about 10 years before I arrived. And it continues to be a key part of the LCC vision because to validate women and the importance of women and men being together is, in fact, a critical move in the 21st century. Men and women work together and for each other. So, it should be an integral part of their education. But we have taken things one step further, recognizing today the importance of gender inclusivity. As teenagers are growing and becoming independent young adults, gender identity must be validated and brought out into the open so that we can allow students, regardless of where they are on the gender spectrum, to feel a sense of belonging and involvement at school, and that their school is a place they can take pride in.

CVDM / Given your vision and its evolution during your 20-year tenure, what would you say is your most important accomplishment at LCC?

CS / It's been about finding ways, as much as possible, to create a sense of community and inclusion for our students, engendering a sense of pride, purpose and engagement, and the feeling that learning and activities at their school matters. We’ve done this not just by creating an environment where students want to achieve, but also by recognizing key aspects of development in adolescence. We have to respect kids for who they are at different moments in their evolution—as young people who are trying to forge their identity. It's not always just about excellent results. It's about striving. It's about falling down. It's about getting up. It's about good educators helping to validate them and support them in that complicated journey. That is by far the most important accomplishment that I’ve been part of.

CVDM / What to you is the most important thing about education and its development during your career?

CS / I think the most important element in education is maintaining the human aspect. For example, I'm not a huge believer in online education as the sole approach for adolescents. I think it’s best when young people are together because students learn from each other. The socialization of students up until the age of 18 is the cornerstone of who they become. Being together, collaborating together, working together, and learning from each other are critical parts of education. We have great facilities and solid programs, but we have to keep it human, and we have to help students use whatever emerging technologies there are to keep it human. Celebrate the creative. I think teachers are the facilitators of the human connection and that will never change. What is key is the need for the teacher to be the guide on the side, instead of the sage on the stage. Teachers need to help kids connect to learning and to the material, so they feel that what they're studying is meaningful and relevant.

CVDM / What are your hopes and dreams for this school?

CS / My hopes and dreams for the school are that we stay on this great path and never lose our way. I just mentioned keeping it human. Education is a human activity. Kids come to school every day to be together. Young children and adolescents need to be together for their social development, learning how to work together, how to collaborate, how to be angry at each other and then how to recover from that. All that is part of the human dynamic. At LCC we're teaching much more than content. We're teaching about citizenship, about character development. My hope is that we continue to embrace those objectives, no matter what the future holds, and that we take it forward with a global perspective, keeping our eye on the world, not just on our own backyard.

CVDM / After two decades of dedication at LCC, you will be moving on to new adventures. You call it “rewiring,” not retiring. How are you planning to rewire your days?

CS / Yes, rewiring because I am not planning to slow down to a crawl. I would like to do some consulting: leadership development with heads of school, who I think have complicated jobs that are getting more and more complicated. And I didn't expect this, but I'm going to be the chair of the Vimy Foundation for the next three years, which is an organization I helped establish it in 2006. I believe in it and have supported it for some time now because of the way it preserves history and promotes active learning and leadership. I’m also blessed with four grandchildren, and I will be spending more time with them and their parents. I am planning to help educate those kids too!