Federation of Independent School Associations celebrates 50th anniversary on the occasion

The B.C. Catholic



Clapping echoed through the Vancouver Convention Centre as more than 5,100 educators gathered under one roof Feb. 4-5.

This first-ever meeting of representatives of independent schools from across B.C. marked the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA).

“There is certainly great cause for rejoicing in our midst,” said Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, who gave a brief welcome at the start.

“It is wonderful to celebrate 50 years of independent education in B.C., above all, for me, to celebrate the faith-based nature of much of that independent education.”

Most FISA schools are faith-based. The largest of its five member groups is Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese.

The Associate Member Group is the second largest and includes schools with evangelical, Jewish, Sikh, and Seventh-Day Adventist backgrounds. Other member groups include other Christian schools.

“You have so much to celebrate and a lot to be proud of,” said B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who could not attend and sent her welcome message via video recording.

“You give families the freedom to choose what’s best for their own children. Your dedication in education really does help our future, and you do it one child at a time.”

The massive, multi-faith crowd of teachers and administrators with blue tote bags spent the two-day convention attending workshops, keynote speeches, and exhibits.

Keynote speaker Daniel Pink gave an engaging presentation on how teachers can become influential and teach students to become more persuasive, skills that are useful in any area of life.

“You have little power to force people to do stuff,” he said. Pink said persuasive people have three core qualities: “attunement,” buoyancy, and clarity.

He defined “attunement” as tuning in to the perspectives of the other people in the room. From there, a teacher can find common ground and reach to otherwise uninterested students.

“Most times you are not going to get your way,” he added. That’s where buoyancy comes in handy, for educators and little ones. “Stay afloat in that ocean of rejection.”

Clarity is vital, he said, because of the different ways we now access information. Gone are the days when teachers and textbooks carried all the answers.

“Today everybody has access to information! Think of these younger people: my son literally does not remember life before Siri. You have access to information anytime you want, and it’s instant!”

“Where do you have the advantage?” Clarity. Pink urged teachers to make information easy to understand and interpret.

Then he presented six small, practical ways “to be a little more persuasive and a little more influential.”

These tips included focusing on the thoughts and interests of others, using positive self-talk (such as “you can do this,” or the more constructive “how can I do this?”) and making it easy for people to follow instructions.

“If you want someone to do something, make it easy for them to do it,” he said. He used statistics from a study that found personal, easy-to-use donation appeal letters were far more effective than impersonal ones, even in groups of people who were very unlikely to give.

He also urged teachers to turn down their “feelings of power” to better reach students.

“When we think of power, we think of it as a dial that can only go up,” he said. “You can increase your effectiveness by briefly reducing your feelings of power,” which helps you understand students’ vantage points and their needs.

Rabbi Don Pacht, head of the Vancouver Hebrew Academy, had voiced similar sentiments earlier that day during his welcome address.

“In order to be successful in transmitting your ideas and your values to the next generation, you first and foremost must have them securely engraved upon your heart,” Rabbi Pacht said.

“If we are going to teach the next generation, we must first teach ourselves. If we are going to inspire the next generation, we must first inspire ourselves. Today is about inspiring, teaching, and growing as educators.”