Tom Symons: A Canadian Life

Chapter 12: Tom Symons, Independent Schools, and the Canadian Educational Standards Institute

Tom Symons, Independent Schools, and the Canadian Educational Standards Institute JOHN STEVENSON T om Symons has been a lifelong supporter of independent schools in Canada and has played a leading role in their continuing development and response to challenges. Over forty years ago, in 1965, in an address to the Annual Conference of the Canadian Headmasters Association, he paid tribute to the important contribution of independent schools in Canada and expressed the hope that future changes and developments in education would be assisted by the special contribution for which the schools are equipped and of which they are uniquely capable. He impressed those present with his detailed knowledge of the history and development of independent schools, including examples of academic improvements initiated by independent schools and later adopted by public schools. Fourteen years later, in 1979, Tom Symons delivered another address to the annual meeting of the Canadian Headmasters Association in a joint meeting with the Canadian Association of Principals of Independent Schools for Girls and also the Founding Conference of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools. He noted that at his last address to the Headmasters Association in 1965, he had pointed out the need to work more closely and suggested that it would be a natural and constructive step if the separate organizations could join in one association and how pleased he was to be speaking again on the day this recommendation was adopted, although he “would not comment upon the somewhat less C H A P T E R 1 2 268 TOM SYMONS: A CAnAdiAn Life than breathtaking speed with which this proposal was implemented.” He noted that changing conditions, such as declining dollars and declining birth rates and the role of technology in society and the growth of cultural pluralism, presented challenges for change and experimentation and offered exciting developments in education. He looked to independent schools to assume their responsibility and to take a leadership position in resolving these issues. He stated that the arguments for diversity and freedom of choice needed to be put forward loud and clear and that there were many valid arguments to be made in support of independent schools: their existence ensures, for example, that the educational system is not a monopoly in control of the state and also provides a significant opportunity for educational experiment and for the search for excellence. This address was such a source of inspiration and practical ideas that the conference made the formal recommendation that all members read it. Over the years, the contents of this address have provided a working “blueprint” for the future of independent schools in Canada. Dramatic times followed the announcement in 1984 by then Premier William Davis of Ontario that Catholic schools would be fully funded to the end of the secondary level. On 12 June 1984, Premier Davis also announced the creation of three independent educational commissions. The first would establish the system under which the Catholic schools would be funded, the second was to enquire into the financing of all elementary and secondary education in Ontario, and the third was to examine the position of private schools in Ontario. On 2 August 1984, the minister of education announced the appointment of Dr. Bernard Shapiro, then director of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, as a one-man commission to enquire into the role and status of private schools in the province’s educational system. Shortly after this appointment, the members of the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario (CIS) met and unanimously agreed to retain Tom Symons to prepare a submission to the Shapiro Commission on behalf of all twenty-three schools in Ontario. A submission was prepared by Symons, who spent countless hours reviewing and discussing the positions taken on behalf of the schools, which had much in common but had not been accustomed to being so actively associated with one another. The independent schools were INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS AND THE CESI 269 not in the habit of preparing joint submissions to government. There was a need at the outset to convince everyone that presenting to the Shapiro Commission was important and necessary. Symons’s powers of persuasion were much in evidence as the schools debated what to do and what positions to take. The brief submitted to Dr. Shapiro on 27 November 1984 stated the belief that it was very important that there be an independent option in education, not just a...