How Canadian private schools are imparting valuable life skills

Renowned for rigorous academics, private schools in Canada also prioritize imparting life skills, resulting in well-rounded, well-prepared students. “Strong academics matter,” says Dean Van Doleweerd, the associate head of programs at Lakefield College School near Peterborough, Ont. “But academics alone are not enough to prepare young people for the complexity of adult life.”

Andrew Keleher, head of school at Neuchâtel Junior College–a Canadian boarding school based in Switzerland–agrees. “Young people must learn social skills: when to talk, when to listen, when to push, when to be patient,” he says. “The world after academia expects young professionals to know this.”

Organic opportunities

Often, life skills are indirectly woven into private school life. “Character development is integrated across all of our programming, from academics to athletics to co-curriculars,” says Kate Taylor, vice-principal, academics, at the Sterling Hall School in North York, Ont. Jacqueline Richman, head of school at Toronto’s Bannockburn School, says private school students naturally master key life skills such as “how to balance work and social time, how to build a work timeline, and how to prioritize assignments.” Learning life skills extends to extracurriculars, too. “Playing sports or travelling together fosters relationship-building and collaboration, flexibility, patience and leadership,” Keleher notes.

Developing critical life skills is also inherent in attending a boarding school. “Living abroad has a way of making the essentials very clear,” says Davide D’Alessandro, director and founding family member of Canadian College Italy, located in Lanciano, Italy. “Sharing space, handling conflict, and speaking up respectfully when something isn’t working. In a boarding school, those life skills aren’t theoretical. They’re daily practice, with structure, clear expectations and caring adults close by.”

Classroom concepts

Some private schools in Canada take a more formal approach to the development of life skills. “They can’t be taught in isolation,” Richman says, “and therefore our curriculum focuses on the interconnectedness of teaching these skills.” At Lakefield, life skills are embedded within the school’s academic model. “Discussion-based learning asks students to listen carefully, articulate ideas clearly, and revise their thinking in real time,” says Van Doleweerd. “Students are regularly asked to do things that are unfamiliar, uncomfortable or demanding. Learning to persist through challenge, to adapt, recalibrate, and keep going are some of the most important skills young people can develop.”

And it’s never too early to start. “Critical thinking is strengthened through problem-solving and reasoning experiences,” explains Arno Krug, the CEO of CEFA (Core Education and Fine Arts) Early Learning Centres, a Vancouver-based network of private preschools. “Emotional intelligence is nurtured through creative expression and mindfulness, and collaboration is developed through shared projects and social learning.”

For Van Doleweerd, academics and life skills go hand in hand. “When students graduate, the question isn’t just what they know, but how they think, how they treat others, and how they respond when things don’t go as planned,” he says. “In the end, that’s the measure we care about most: not just how well students perform here, but how well they’re prepared to meet and treat the wider world.”