A Culture of Care
“If there’s one thing that makes your school different from others, what would it be?” I was recently asked this question by a prospective parent at our fall Open House. The most straightforward and honest answer was relatively easy to provide. “Our mission,” I said. “We exist to forge character in the lives of boys.” “Yes, but what else?” she asked. After a short pause, I added, “It is our culture of care.”
Crescent was founded in 1913 when the needs of young boys were not fully met by Toronto schools of the day. And while there wasn’t exactly fertile ground for establishing another elite independent school (even then dubbed undemocratic), a middle-aged man of modest means, with no support from wealthy families or existing alumni, established one such school in his Rosedale home. There was little to distinguish his small, unglamorous home from others nearby, but the school within it could not have been more different. It was to be a kinder, gentler place.
History often repeats itself. Today, throughout the Western world, boys are falling behind girls in most statistical measures of school. They are lagging in numeracy and largely in literacy. They are graduating high school with lower overall averages and matriculating less at university. Sadly, boys are reporting feeling lonelier and more anxious and die by suicide at three times the rate of girls. Doing well and being well at school is getting harder for many boys.
We might ask (as we did in 1913), “How are good boys made into great men?” I believe the answer lies beyond tropes about getting “back to basics.” I think that, fundamentally, it is through love and care. In my experience, boys’ performance in and out of the classroom depends entirely on crafting a culture of care rooted in love and relationships. I’m speaking of a broad notion of love that includes showing affection, offering charity, and providing friendship.
Crescent’s core values — respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion — are one way we show love to each other and our school. This priority of care places students at the centre of school life and decisions, always causing us to ask “What’s best for the boys?” Our responsibility is to offer each young man the experience of feeling loved and learning to love in the widest sense. Occasionally, boys need our tough love to learn from their mistakes. Too often, we can shield ourselves and our boys from this important learning. We can prevent them from experiencing struggle, setbacks, and even a low mark, thinking that in doing so, we will help their confidence, well-being, and happiness. Instead, we can miss out on the opportunity to teach them to manage negative emotions as part of their mental health.
Crescent’s core values — respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion — are one way we show love to each other and our school. This priority of care places students at the centre of school life and decisions, always causing us to ask “What’s best for the boys?” Our responsibility is to offer each young man the experience of feeling loved and learning to love in the widest sense. Occasionally, boys need our tough love to learn from their mistakes. Too often, we can shield ourselves and our boys from this important learning. We can prevent them from experiencing struggle, setbacks, and even a low mark, thinking that in doing so, we will help their confidence, well-being, and happiness. Instead, we can miss out on the opportunity to teach them to manage negative emotions as part of their mental health.
Sometimes, simple questions are hard to answer, even those at an Open House. Who we are and what we strive to do with boys has been our work for over a century. Now more than ever, we are called to love those boys within our care. That is the Crescent difference. And that is the job we do best.
Vertitate Stamus et Crescimus
